Reviews are in!

Reviews are starting to come in for 'Look Where We Live!' and they're good! I specially liked Kirkus. You can see it here:  http://tinyurl.com/ncruylk
And the CBC has chosen 'Look Where We Live!' as one of their 15 'kids' books to watch out for' in 2015. http://tinyurl.com/nexktn9

Another book I've just finished is called 'P'ésk'a and The First Salmon Ceremony'.  It's out in the fall. The original name was 'Qwuni and The First Salmon Ceremony' but I found out that Qwuni is the wrong dialect for where my story takes place so it had to be changed. It turned out to be a good thing because P'ésk'a means hummingbird. It's a perfect name for the little boy as he runs through the village, poking his nose into everything. I'm really grateful to the Chief of the Sto'lo nation who was kind enough to give his approval to the book - it means a lot to me. 

So that's the latest news - of course there are the usual possible, probable or potential projects that may (or may not) come through - all part of the ever exciting life of a freelancer!

Berlin 2014

This is pulled from a spread for the latest in my series of books done with Kids Can Press (Follow that Map, Look at that Building and the upcoming Look Where We Live.)
Just coming to the end of another great visit to Berlin.  But this time has been special because I've been working on a story based on real people living here.  This is a first for me and I have to say it's pretty special to be influenced by your surroundings. The story could take place in any city but I think it's definitely influenced by the casual nature of Berlin and it's mix of urban life with nature creeping in on all sides (in a good way.)   Hopefully next time I write I'll be reporting that I found a publisher but I'm talking to someone now and keeping my fingers crossed.
Other than that there's a few books on the go - all 3 I have already written and am now preparing to get to work on the illustrations.  Usually I prefer the art part of a book the most but I think that has more to do with the fact that I've illustrated so many books but only written a handful.  The more I write the more I enjoy it.
I also did another great project with pirates and the great big ocean as a theme.  I'll put up one of the mazes I created for that.
I'm also looking forward to a new book I just illustrated called "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Puck'., based on the old children's song. This was so much fun to do because everything is so outrageous with the old lady eventually swallowing a whole hockey rink.  It's written by the very talented Stella Partheniou Grasso for Scholastic. 

Governor General Awards

     I can finally tell a secret that I've had to keep for the last 2 months.    I was asked to be a judge in the children's illustration category for the Governor General's Literary Awards - one of Canada's most prestigious awards.  The finalists have just been announced.
    It is a big honor to be asked but the biggest reward was being sent over 100 children's books to review.  I got  such a great overview of the amazing talent we have in Canada. 
    The follow up to this is going to be interesting. As an illustrator I have mostly kept to myself - believing, as a creative person, it's best to keep your head down and focus on your own work rather than looking at too much else.  But I have to say this has been so enjoyable to see how other illustrators handle certain subjects or choose to fill up a page. I wouldn't be surprised if it shows up in my work.
    To see the wonderful finalists check out http://canadacouncil.ca/en/council/news-room/news/2013/gg-finalistes-2
    Having said how enjoyable it was I also have to say it was a tough gig - deciding which book is better than another is a very arbitrary thing when styles, subjects and moods vary so much. But it is the nature of awards and I am grateful to have been asked to take part. 

This is a bit of a change for me but I really enjoyed this project.  I worked with an archeologist and the Sto:lo band of B.C. (near Harrison Hot springs) to recreate some ancient people's homes and way of life.
4 villages were unearthed (some 1000 years old) and then a trail was put in so you can see what used to be there. But not a lot remains so I was hired to recreate the villages, one for each season.  It's fascinating to see how the people lived.
Aside from that I'm waiting on two other books and hope they will come through soon.

Sock Monkey Alert

My new Sock Monkey book is on it's way to a bookstore near you!  Check out http://tinyurl.com/cqzof2l if you want to see.   Gotta love the sock monkeys.

'How?' It's here!

It's out!  Owl Kids Books has released my newest book called 'How? The most awesome question and answer book about nature, animals, people, places - and you!'
"How' was quite an undertaking with almost 100 spreads it took us about 14 months to complete.   Barb Kelly did the layout for the book and an amazing job of pulling it all together.  I have to admit I opened my first copy with a bit of trepidation because the whole process had been quite a challenge.  But after checking it out, and friend's telling me the book looks great, I've decided I'm happy too. I guess most of us are a bit more critical of our own work.
This is a follow up to 'Why?' both written by the talented Catherine Ripley. We have pretty big boots to fill since 'Why?' is still going strong after 10 years and has sold over 120,000 copies.  In fact the Chicago Tribune chose 'Why' as the holiday gift to give in 2010.
Other news to report is that I have a few books out at publishers now waiting to hear back. I've really pumped up the writing aspect of my work.  I'm primarily an illustrator but have enjoyed writing 6 books to date so here's hoping I can talk some publishers into doing more.
One book I'm working on with my good friend Kari Lynn Winters is proving to be a lot of fun.  I'll attach a rough sketch here... not sure it will make it into the book but I'm sure having fun drawing.

Sock Monkeys and Bologna

Well I guess I've been busy, can't believe how long it's been since I last wrote here.
Still looking forward to the release of 'How' the enormous q+a book I did with OwlKids.
Right now I'm working on a book on Sock Monkeys, which impresses some people no end. It's great to be working with Adams Media again. I have to say it's a lot of fun and I never thought I would be sitting around coming up with sock monkey puzzles.
I've started doing a cartoon with Daily Commercial News (http://tinyurl.com/7qawd5l). It seemed like a natural progression after the review of 'Look at that Building'
I'm sorry to be missing out on the book fair in Bologna this year but at least I have some artwork on display thanks to the great people at SCBWI - you can go here to see everyone's illustrations: http://tinyurl.com/7fprfx9 I plan to make it again next year for sure. Hope everyone who goes has a great time.