November 22, 1963

Perhaps the greatest challenge I faced while illustrating Jack's Path of Courage: The Life of John F. Kennedy was deciding how to illustrate the page that deals with his assassination. I tried a few different ideas, but ultimately I decided to let Doreen Rappaport's well-chosen words tell the tragic news of his death, and I focused my picture on the last moments of his life, when he looked so young, vibrant and happy.

Kansas City recap

Last week I went to Kansas City to do a couple presentations about Henry Aaron's Dream. Here are a few pictures from my trip.

First I visited Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Liberty, MO, just outside of Kansas City. I presented to a group of 200 4th and 5th graders. I did a presentation about Henry Aaron's story, and about how I made the book. The librarian's husband is a big baseball memorabilia collector, and she borrowed some of his treasures to put together this great display of Henry Aaron memorabilia, along with some of my books. Very cool

another picture of the Henry Aaron display

It's always amazing to arrive at a school and see a big huge sign welcoming me!

After the school visit it stopped raining for long enough for me to walk around a bit. I stayed in a section of Kansas City called the Plaza, which was very nice. It had Spanish architecture, which I didn't expect in Kansas City. This is a picture of a rather surreal moment, when I noticed this beautiful bell tower and wondered what it was. Just then, the bells in the tower began playing "Something" by the Beatles, and I realized that the building was a Cheesecake Factory. Interesting...

Next I had a wonderful lunch with a great group of librarians from the Kansas City Public Library: April Roy, Kim Patton, Crystal Faris, and Helma Hawkins. We joked about some web site they had seen of "awkward photos with authors", so we decided to take one ourselves. Not very awkward, but definitely blurry!

After lunch I headed over to Reading Reptile, which is an amazing children's book store. It's one of those places where there's something interesting to look at everywhere you look.

This picture doesn't do it justice, so if you're in Kansas City, you should go to Reading Reptile to see it for yourself.

Next I visited the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which was amazing. If you're a baseball fan and you ever find yourself in Kansas City, you should visit this museum. The exhibits are every bit as impressive as those in Cooperstown. Here's a picture of the bronze statue of Rube Foster.

A Jackie Robinson bat

and a nice display about Henry Aaron's time in the Negro Leagues

My favorite part of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was the Field of Legends, an impressive group of bronze statues arranged on a baseball diamond. It was very moving to walk on the field past Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Buck Leonard and other Negro League legends.

Now and then an announcer's voice would call all the names in the starting lineup, and from the field the statue of Rube Foster could be seen beyond the outfield fence, watching the game.

Satchel Paige

One more picture of the Field of Legends

Next up was Family Fun Night at the Kansas City Public Library, where I did a presentation on the making of Henry Aaron's Dream. We had a very nice group of families, and I had a great time. Everyone in Missouri is so nice!

This was all in one day. Looking back, I see why was so tired by the end of it! Still, I found the strength to walk over to Jack Stack BBQ and get some dinner. And I'm glad I did, because it was one of the most spectacular meals I've ever had. Wow.

talking about Jack's Path of Courage on '207'

"The Author in You" tv show

During a visit to Rock Springs Elementary School in Lawrenceville, Georgia last spring, GCPS-TV filmed this segment with me for their show, The Author In You. There are some interview questions from students, some snippets of my presentations, and footage of me throwing out the first pitch at a AAA Gwinnett Braves game (I thought I threw a strike, but in the video it looks a little high). Enjoy!

And check out their web site to see other episodes.

Jack's Path of Courage is in stores, right... NOW!

Find Jack's Path of Courage: The Life of John F. Kennedy at a bookstore near you, or on Amazon.

New York City

I'm back in Maine after a great weekend in New York City. On Thursday night I attended The Original Art show at the Society of Illustrators, and had a great time seeing lots of friends and checking out some amazing artwork. It's always so interesting to see the art in person and see the different ways people work. Some of the originals are gigantic, some are the size of the book (I always work at the same size of the book). I noticed that more and more artists are using elements of traditional media combined with digital, which I guess isn't a big surprise. The best part of the exhibit was being able to hang out with so many illustrator friends I don't see very often. Writing and illustrating books is a very solitary job much of the time, and I get such a creative boost from being able to spend time with other people who are doing the same kind of work that I'm doing. I always forget to take pictures, but I did get a few:

my friend Dan Santat accepting his Silver Medal

The amazing Eric Carle accepting his Lifetime Achievement Award

My Art Director at Candlewick, Kristen Nobles, and me standing in front of my cover illustration from Henry Aaron's Dream

me and my Henry Aaron's Dream illustration

...and one more.

The best time to actually see the artwork was after most of the crowd had left. The show is up until November 24, so if you get a chance, go see it!

Then on Saturday I had my first signing for Jack's Path of Courage: The Life of John F. Kennedy, at Books of Wonder. As always, they put together a great event, with the creators of five new picture book biographies, including Sean Qualls, Bryan Collier, and Javaka Steptoe, all on hand to talk about their work and sign books. It was great talking with all the authors and illustrators, and I got a copy of Dave the Potter signed by Bryan Collier- an amazing story, and a beautifully made book. Here are some pictures from the Books of Wonder event:

a display of all the books

my daughters were excited to find some of my other books there too

my camera died toward the beginning of the Books of Wonder event, but here are a few from the panel discussion.

Now, back to work!

Picture Book Biographies event at Books of Wonder