A tip for aspiring children’s book writers and illustrators: Try not to let yourself get sucked into too much fussing over preparation and ritual. Make a routine and then stick to it. Now to follow my own advice…
Happy International Caps Lock Day, everyone! And don’t forget, only ten days until Picture Book Month. I’m especially excited beause this year I’m a Picture Book Month Champion!!
Thanks so much to CANSCAIP for inviting me to be a speaker at the Packaging Your Imagination conference at Humber College this past weekend. I had a fantastic time and once again appreciated what a wonderful kidlit/YA community we have here in Canada. I’ve posted some of my photos on Facebook and on Flickr. Kate Blair Thanks . . .
#BookADay: A HITCH AT THE FAIRMONT by Jim Averbeck, with very cool chapter heading comic illustrations by Nick Bertozzi. Fun and satisfying read with some great twists, and I loved the fact that young Jack is an artist. Advice for new illustrators and writers from Jim Averbeck from his interview on Kidlit411.com:”Grow a thick skin. . . .
Just finished WE WERE LIARS by Emily Lockhart. Totally lives up to the hype, I have to say. It’s a novel I definitely want to reread (if you’ve read the novel yourself, you know why). In hunting down interviews with the author, I was intrigued by the fact that Emily . . .
Above: I love teacher Colby Sharp‘s enthusiasm for reading and how he shares it with his students. “READING IS AWESOME!” Thanks to Colby for letting me use his classroom as photo reference for some of the illustrations I did for the Judy Blume chapter books. He and my teacher friend Allison . . .