Blog to Follow: Chicken Lit

There's a new blog in town!  Chicken Lit: A blog for readers of stories and lovers of books, especially the ones starring chickens was created by Elizabeth, children's librarian extraordinaire at the Free Library of Philadelphia.  Elizabeth kicked off her new blog with a fantastic interview with Matt Phelan, one of my favorite author/illustrators.  And she will be posting Chicken Clips: videos featuring young children reading, singing and interacting with books and the people they love to share them with.  The first of the series is up and it's adorable! 
Check it out!

Awesome Giveaway!

Yesterday was the publication date for a new book written by the super-talented Audrey Vernick and illustrated by the amazing Kirstie Edmunds, who is also represented by my agent, Teresa Kietlinsky from Prospect Agency.

So You Want To Be A Rock Star is out and is getting wonderful reviews, and deservedly so!  Publisher's Weekly and Kirkus agree: this book rocks!

And, lucky me, I was the winner of the ROCK STAR PALOOZA SWAG GIVEAWAY promotion on Audrey's blog.  Would you like to enter a contest to win one too?  Guess what, you can!  Head over to Kami Kinard's Nerdy Chick's Blog before March 19th for your chance to win.  Rock on!

Comfy | Confortável

We Give Books - Little Dog Lost Online

We Give Books - Books

Read Little Dog Lost for a great cause! Check this amazing program: read a book online and help support literacy programs all over the world!

Leia Little Dog Lost por uma grande causa! Confira esta incrível iniciativa: leia um livro online e ajude a programas de apoio a alfabetização em todo mundo!

Book Launch Party!

Last week, on Wednesday January 25th, the second anniversary of Baltic's rescue, The Free Library of Philadelphia hosted the Book Launch party for Little Dog Lost.  Just look at the wonderful cake!

It was a fantastic event: among many other guests two kindergarten classes from Russell Byers Charter School came for the book reading and party.  What a great audience!  Also attending were my agent, Teresa Kietlinski from Prospect Agency, and from Penguin Young Readers Group my editor Nancy Paulsen, art director Cecilia Yung, and book designer Marikka Tamura.  What a thrill it was to all be together on this special day!


The following day Publisher's Weekly mentioned the launch party in its In Brief: January 26!

Illustration Friday | Twirl and Forward

I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to the Olympic Games this summer!  

Não sei se você sente o mesmo, mas estou ansiosa para os Jogos Olímpicos em julho!

Pub Date is Today!

What a day! 

Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic was released today.

And....Horn Book picked it for its Review of the Week.

And....author Cynthia Leitich Smith posted an interview with me in her wonderful blog Cynsations.


I'm practically speechless.  What a great way to start the year!  Thank you all for your support and friendship.  I hope 2012 is off to a good start for you too!

By the way, if you're wondering about the cute Baltic sock dog, it was made by the talented Stacey Hsu of Original Sock Dogs.

Getting to Know Baltic

I first heard about Baltic on "All Things Considered" on NPR.  It was a brief story, recapping his amazing rescue earlier in the week, and concluding with the news that Baltic had been adopted by the crew: he was now an official crew member of the R/V Baltica!

Once I decided to work on a book about Baltic's adventure, I started looking for more information about him.  There were lots of news reports from all over the world, as well as photographs and videos.  Especially helpful were a number of interviews with the Baltica's crew done for Polish television that I had translated into English.  Mr. Paweł Rola, from the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW), graciously gave me access to some incredible photographs of Baltic taken right before his rescue:

Unbelievable, right? This last picture is in the author's note in the book, courtesy of the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW).

One of my favorite videos about Baltic requires no translation: the images alone capture all the emotion and drama of that day.

Countdown to Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic

This is exciting!  My first picture book, Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic, is going to be released in early January.  In July of last year, I wrote a blog post telling all about the book deal and how it came about.

And now the reviews are coming in and I couldn't be happier.  Kirkus Reviews and Publisher's Weekly already had some wonderful things to say about the book, and this week I learned that The Horn Book gave Little Dog Lost a Starred Review.  Wow!!

Throughout December I'll add a few more posts detailing the process of creating my first picture book.  I hope you'll stop by!

Amazing Gift | Incrível Presente

Last month I received an amazing gift from illustrator Roger Simó of A Spoonful of Sugar and A Spoonful of Sugar Watercolor Edition : a personalized, autographed copy of his book "La Mare Porta Perruca!"  The book was written by Montse Banquells Aparicio and it's a labor of love: based on her own experience battling breast cancer, it's meant for families that find themselves in the same position.  Roger is such a wonderful illustrator -- a master of pen and ink and watercolor!

Mês passado eu recebi um presente incrível do ilustrador Roger Simó dos blogs A Spoonful of Sugar e A Spoonful of Sugar Watercolor Edition: uma cópia do seu livro "La Mare Porta Perruca", com dedicação e assinatura! O livro, escrito por Montse Banquells Aparicio, é um trabalho muito especial: é baseado na própria experiência dela com câncer de mama, para ser compartilhado por famílias que se encontram na mesma situação.  Roger é um ilustrador tão maravilhoso -- um mestre com nanquim e aquarela!

But that was not all!  He also sent me an original illustration, made especially for me! Isn't it absolutely lovely?  I'm having it framed! Thank you, Roger!
Roger is now represented by Advocate Art, in Ashtead, London.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of Roger's work all over the world!

Mas isso não foi tudo!  Ele também me enviou uma ilustração original, feita especialmente para mim!  Não é absolutamente linda?  Vou emoldurar! Muito obrigada, Roger!
Roger agora é representado pela agência Advocate Art em Ahstead, London.  Estou ansiosa para ver o trabalho do Roger no mundo todo!

November is Picture Book Month!

How cool is that?  A whole month dedicated to picture books, with daily posts by some really impressive authors and/or illustrators of this art form.   Hurry to this great site and read up posts already up by Eric A. Kimmel, Kelly Milner Halls, Suzanne Bloom, Dan Yaccarino, Elizabeth O. Dulemba and Marc Tyler Nobleman.

And isn't that the cutest logo?  It was designed by Joyce Wan who is also represented by Teresa Kietlinski, Prospect Agency.

Join the party and spread the word!

Illustration Friday | Scary

"Can I sleep with you?"
Sometimes nightmares can be quite scary.
A quick and messy one this week.  But I kind of like it!

"Posso dormir com você?"
Alguns pesadelos podem ser bem assustadores.
Esta semana uma pintura rápida e bagunçadinha.  Mas eu até que gostei!

Blog to Follow: Illustration Station

©Kim Fleming

Kim Fleming of lil kim's illo blog has created a new and super cool blog geared towards the illustration community:  it's called Illustration Station and it's just brilliant!  It's THE place to find and share information about contests, giveaways, art swaps, projects, etc.

Do you know of any opportunities for illustrators?  Just make sure it's open to anyone, anywhere in the world, and submit the information to be added to the blog.

Link back from your blog and participate!

Kim Fleming do lil kim's illo blog criou um novo blog super legal para toda a comunidade de ilustradores:  chama-se Illustration Station and é uma idéia brilhante.  Um lugar para encontrar e partilhar informações sobre concursos, rifas, troca de arte, projetos, etc.


Você sabe de alguma oportunidade para ilustradores?  Assegure-se de que está aberta a todos em todo o mundo e mande a informação para ser acrescentada ao blog.


Coloque o link no seu blog e participe!

Illustration Friday | Mesmerizing

Poor Little Red Riding Hood -- she doesn't stand a chance!  I've always been mesmerized by wolves.  When I was little I wanted to be a wolf biologist (I lost count of how many times I read "Never Cry Wolf" by Farley Mowat!)

This coming Saturday I'm participating in SCBWI-EPA's Illustrator Day.  Our assignment is to illustrate two spreads of Little Red Riding Hood.  Here's a sneak peek!

Coitada da Chapeuzinho Vermelho -- ela está perdida!  Eu sempre fui fascinada por lobos.  Quando eu era pequena, queria estudar lobos (já perdi a conta de quantas vezes eu li "Os Lobos" de Farley Mowat!)


No próximo sábado vou participar do Dia do Illustrador, uma oficina organizada pela SCBWI-EPA.  O dever de casa era ilustrar duas páginas de "O Chapeuzinho Vermelho."  Aqui vai uma prévia!

Exhibit News : The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats

A new exhibition at the Jewish Museum in New York City celebrates the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.

The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats opens on September 9 and stays at the Jewish Museum until January 29, 2012. From there the exhibit travels to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Massachusetts (June 26 to October 14, 2012) and to the Contemporary Jewish Museum in California (Mid-November 2012 to February 2013.)

This is the first major exhibit in the United States honoring author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats and features over 80 original works by the artist, as well as sketches and dummies.

I feel a trip to NYC coming on!

Illustration Friday | Imperfect

But not for long!  It needs just a few extra tweaks...

Mas não por muito tempo! Só precisa de uns pequenos ajustes...

Wonderful Gift from Alisa Coburn

Look what I found waiting for me when I got back from vacation: the most amazing package - all the way from Australia - filled with treats from illustrator and designer Alisa Coburn.

 

My photo doesn't do it justice: Alisa generously sent me an original figure painting done in beautiful line work, color and textures. AND she also sent me two of her unique, hand-printed Gocco cards, using her lovely design of a fox! In her blog, Alisa explains how these cards came to be and it's so very cool: you can read about it here and then here.

Alisa was part of an international art exchange project I participated in a year and a half ago along my friend Shirley Ng-Benitez, of Shirley's Illustrations.   Recently Shirley told me to expect something from Alisa and, WOW! Just WOW!

Alisa's blog Ink Caravan is a total delight, bursting with great photographs, art and creative ideas.  Alisa is also the illustrator and designer of a new children's book, Alisa Has Cancer, written by Alison Jones. 

Many thanks, Alisa, for such wonderful gifts!

Where did she go? | Cadê ela?

Okay, it has been AGES since I posted on my blog, I know.  Summer does this to me -- there are vacations (I'm off to Paris!), projects to get started (we're getting the apartment painted) and long days full of sunlight and warmth -- Can you tell I LOVE summer? ;-)

No new illustrations this time, but two links worth exploring:

First, the SCBWI-EPA is planning a number of really cool events this fall.  You can read about them here.  I've signed up for the Illustrator's Day workshop.  This will be the 3rd one I attend -- always a great event for illustrators!

Secondly, a link to a great interview posted on Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast with one of my favorite illustrators, Kady MacDonald Denton.  This blog is amazing!

I'll be back in August!

Faz muito tempo que não coloco nada de novo no blog, eu sei. É por causa do verão -- tem férias (estou indo para Paris!), projetos (estamos pintando o apartamento) e dias longos cheios de luz e calor -- dá para perceber que eu ADORO o verão, não? ;-)

Nenhuma ilustração nova, mas dois links que valem a pena explorar:

Primeiro a SCBWI-EPA está planejando eventos muito especials neste outuno.  Informe-se aqui.  Eu me inscrevi no evento Illustrator's Day.  Este será o terceiro ano que participo deste evento, sempre muito interessante para ilustradores!

E segundo, uma excelente entrevista que encontrei no blog Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast com uma das minhas ilustradoras favoritas, Kady MacDonald Denton.  Este blog é incrível!

Voltarei em agosto!

Illustration Friday | Launch

You know what happened next.

A quick one for this week.

Vocês sabem o que aconteceu depois.

Rapidinho para esta semana.

Illustration Friday | Swept

Watercolor and black Prismacolor pencil

Aquarela e lápis Prismacolor preto