Please Help Save Books of Wonder!

Books of Wonder, in New York City, is a treasure of a bookstore. And right now, it needs our help. Due to an enormous, unexpected expense, Books of Wonder finds its future endangered.  If the store is to survive,  they must raise a minimum of $100,000.

Books of Wonder is beloved not only by the parents and kids who enjoy children's books, but also by the authors and illustrators who create them. So several of us (myself included) are pitching in to help Books of Wonder get through this temporary setback.

Here's a picture of my contribution, an original pencil drawing which you can have as a 4 x 6 print if you donate $10. The original is also available as a thank you for someone who donates even more.

You can also choose from prints by some of your favorite artists in children's literature, like Brian Selznick, Paul O. Zelinsky, Adam Rex, and even a pop-up postcard by Robert Sabuda!

I know better days are ahead for Books of Wonder. If you can, please visit their web site and help out.

Thanks.

Books of Wonder

I had a great time in New York City last weekend. Doreen Rappaport and I introduced our new book, Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller, at one of my favorite book stores anywhere, Books of Wonder. Here are a few pictures...

Very exciting to see Helen's Big World in the window of Books of Wonder! This was our very first public event for this book (It doesn't actually come out until next Tuesday.)

Nice display inside the store

Doreen and I did a little presentation about the book.

After the Books of Wonder, event, we visited the Helen Keller Archives at the American Foundation for the Blind, which was amazing. Here's a picture of Helen from the AFB reading a letter that Mark Twain wrote to Helen Keller! (Pictured, left to right: Doreen Rappaport, our editor Rotem Moscovich, Helen Selsdon of the AFB, and Doreen's husband, Bob).

My illustration of Helen learning to write, above a display case containing some of the actual papers I used as reference for my illustration.

Doreen sitting at Helen Keller's desk!

Doreen and I signed plenty of stock, so if you missed the Books of Wonder event but still want a copy of Helen's Big World signed by both of us, you can still get one!

Now I'm home for a few days, then it's off to Wisconsin for the Waupaca Book Festival next weekend!

Fall Events Schedule

At Book Ends in Winchester, MA in 2010 (I'll be there on October 20 at 1:00 pm!)

I'm just about to start final art for my current picture book project, so I don't have a ton of events planned for this fall... but I will be traveling around a little bit, with events planned in New York, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and California (but oddly, none in Maine, which is where I live...). 

So if you happen to be in or near New York City, Winchester, MA, Newington, NH, Waupaca, WI, or Tustin, CA, please come join me for one of these fun events! Here's where I'll be:

October 6	12:00-2:00 pm, book signing and talk with author Doreen Rappaport on our new book, Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller, at Books of Wonder in New York City.
October 12-13	Waupaca Book Festival, Waupaca, Wisconsin.
October 20	1:00 pm, book signing and talk on Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller, at Book Ends in Winchester, MA.
October 24	School visit, Mast Way School, Lee, NH
October 25	6:00 pm. Opening reception for "The Original Art 2012: Celebrating the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration". Original artwork from There Goes Ted Williams will be included in this exhibit at the Museum of American Illustration, at The Society of Illustrators in New York City. The juried exhibit will be on display October 24-December 22.
November 17	1:00-4:00 pm, Barnes and Noble, Newington, NH, book signing for Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller, part of a book fair for Wells Elementary School.
December 1	1:00-5:00 pm, Opening reception for 21st Annual Children's Book Illustration Show, Chemers Gallery, Tustin, CA. This is a group exhibit featuring original artwork by 5 comtemporary children's book illustrators: E.B. Lewis, Sylvia Long, Chris Sheban, Boris Kulikov, and Matt Tavares.
December 7	6:00-9:00 pm, reading and signing my Christmas books at Barnes and Noble in Newington, NH, part of their annual Polar Express night. I read at 6:00, then there's a reading of The Polar Epress, and lots of other fun stuff (like free cookies and hot chocolate!)...

Road trip!

We're packing up the family minivan and heading down to New York City tonight for my signing at Books of Wonder tomorrow. Then it's on to Connecticut for an event at R.J. Julia Booksellers Sunday afternoon. If you're in NYC or the Madison, Connecticut area, come say hi! Both events should be a lot of fun. Here are the details:

Saturday, March 31	12:00-2:00 pm, book signing and talk at Books of Wonder in New York City. "Batter Up!" baseball event with Diane deGroat & Shelley Rotner (author and illustrator of Homer) and Audrey Vernick & Steven Salerno (author and illustrator of Brothers at Bat).
Sunday, April 1	3:00 pm, book signing at R.J. JuliaBooksellers in Madison, CT, for There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived

FYI- there happens to be an Ivy and Bean event at RJ Julia on Sunday at 2:00, just before my event. So if your kids are Ivy and Bean fans, come early and stay for both!

New Events Added in NYC and Connecticut!

My kids at Books of Wonder, 2009

I'm traveling around a lot this spring, promoting my new picture book, There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived. I just added two exciting events for the weekend of March 31-April 1, at two excellent independent bookstores- Books of Wonder in Manhattan, and R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT. Here are the details:

March 31	12:00-2:00, book signing and talk at Books of Wonder in New York City. "Batter Up!" baseball event with Diane deGroat & Shelley Rotner (author and illustrator of Homer) and Audrey Vernick & Steven Salerno (author and illustrator of Brothers at Bat).
April 1	3:00-5:00 pm, book signing at R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT, for There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived

If you happen to be in NYC or Connecticut that weekend, come say hi!

And since I haven't posted this in a while, here's the trailer for There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived.

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

upcoming events for Jack's Path of Courage

Now that the publication date for Jack's Path of Courage: The Life of John F. Kennedy (written by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by me, published by Disney-Hyperion) is less than a month away, I thought I'd start spreading the news about a couple fun events I have planned.


First, on Saturday, October 23, I'll be at Books of Wonder in New York City, from 12:00 to 2:00, part of the "Picture Book Biographies" event, along with Sean Qualls, Bryan Collier, and an amazing lineup of award-winning authors and illustrators. The authors and artists will present their picture book biographies, take questions from the audience, and sign copies of all of their books.


For details, go to the Books of Wonder event page.


Then on Saturday, November 6, I'll be at Book Ends in Winchester, MA, 2:00-4:00 pm. I'll present Jack's Path of Courage: The Life of John F. Kennedy, show some some sketches and talk about my experiences working on the book, answer questions, and sign books.


For details, visit the Book Ends event page.