shadrieka Last week I was taken out of the world to go home and be with my family as we said goodbye to my grandmother’s youngest son, Keith Harris (Uncle Son in BIRD). I can’t begin to tell you how special he was to all of us. He was a great light in this world and … Read more
Scoot on over to Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast and check out a really cool superview with some of the artists from OUR CHILDREN CAN SOAR (yours truly is included) ;-). “Where have I been”, you ask? Buried under a pile of work. It’s neverending over here which is a good thing, but maaaannnnn I … Read more
The 40th Coretta Scott King Award Ceremony was more than I hoped it would be. I shared the stage with some of my favorite artists and authors and was uplifted by librarians from across the country. I was especially excited to see a lot of familiar faces from the Brooklyn Public Library and the New … Read more
For those of you who have a great idea for a kid’s book, but can’t seem to find the time to pull the dummy together, here is a great opportunity for you! Pat Cummings (children’s book author/illustrator extraordinaire a.k.a. my grad school advisor) hosts a boot camp for people who are interested in making children’s … Read more
If you’re in Chicago this July, check me out at ALA. I will be singing with Lee and Low on July 13th and 14th.
My favorite dark is prussian blue and burnt sienna gouache. It has such a velvety soft tone that I can go into and pull lights out from without it feeling too dead, and the darkest end of it is sooooo rich. It’s my favorite. Here’s a snippet from a study that I worked on this … Read more
Let’s raise our brushes and send a shout out to Lauren Castillo, yes, THE Lauren Castillo, illustrator of books like WHAT HAPPENS ON WEDNESDAYS, BUFFALO MUSIC, THAT’S PAPA’S WAY, BIG CAT PEPPER and THE PIG AND MS. PRUDENCE. Stop on over at her blog and wish her a happy sweet sixteen!
This year I worked with Learning Leaders to visit NY classrooms and share my work with kids. I did 8 visits between two classes over the course of 4 consecutive months. For the activity portion of my visit we made single sheet books where the kids had to tell a story with pictures only! It … Read more
Wow, my job just keeps getting better! At the Free Library of Philadelphia Festival, I met Ms. Stokes, an enthusiastic and dedicated special needs teacher from New Jersey, who invited me to come and speak to her students before the end of the year. In the meantime, she bought a copy of BIRD and shared … Read more