Come see me and a slew of other children’s book creators at these upcoming events: Westchester Children’s Book Festival White Plains, NY | April 29, 2023 Hudson Children’s Book Festival Hudson, NY | May 6, 2023 Chappaqua Children’s Book FestivalChappaqua, NY | September 30, 2023 ..read more

Illustration by Tae Kim, MFAI ‘23 | @jjangga_tjk A scholarship has been established in honor of MFA Illustration as Visual Essay founder and longtime chair, Marshall Arisman, to provide financial support to future MFAI students. To make a donation, visit the Visual Arts Foundation website and include “Marshall Arisman Scholarship Fund” in the comment field. This year marks my 5th teaching in the MFA Illustration program at the School of Visual Arts, and my 4th year curating “The Book Show,” an exhibition of work by our students. But it is also a first, as we forge on without the calm, stead ..read more

It’s hard to believe, but 2023 is just around the corner. For all you teachers and librarians out there, I’ll be participating in World Read Aloud Day again, which is on February 1st. I’d love to connect with you and your students for a reading, or to discuss my illustration process. As usual, the wonderful Kate Messner has graciously organized us all here. I hope to see you on WRAD ..read more

Cat and Duck are getting back together again. I’m happy to report my latest picture book gig, You Make Me Sneeze, a sequel to 2016’s You Are Not a Cat! , to be published by Astra Young Readers. Once again, I’m team up with the wonderful Sharon G. Flake, author of the much-beloved and awarded Y.A. novels The Skin I’m In and The Life I’m In ..read more

Recurring cast member, the mini turntable. [This is the second of a two-part post. You can read part one here.]  Back when I was in grad school, one of my classmates was struggling with an important project. In an effort to help, I offered advice on ways to work through it, not realizing her method for seeking out creative answers did not mirror mine. “I don’t use play the way you do,” she said.  Before this exchange, I had never considered the importance of play for me in relation to work. And I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Over the past few years, the light-hearted tone ..read more

It’s been a while since I posted any news on this space. The truth is, for the last two-plus years I’ve been in a bit of a mood about my work. Added to that, there was the death of my friend-mentor-teaching partner-boss, Marshall Arisman in late April. It’s no wonder that my typical rah-rah, self-promotional posts here have been feeling tone deaf. So I thought I’d try something a little different this time, beginning with a two-part missive about how I seem to have gotten myself out of it.  It’s no secret that the past few years have been difficult on everyone, including us creatives. I ..read more

In addition to it’s other mentions and accolades, The Day The Universe Exploded My Head has been nominated for a Prairie Bloom Children’s Book Award by the South Dakota Library Association. This is a very special honor, as the awards are decided by readers themselves. For Universe, that means the 2nd and 3rd graders of South Dakota have singled out our book, and love it as much as we do. If you’d like to see all of the other wonderful books for all grades, nominated for this year’s awards, check out the South Dakota Librarian Association website. And if you’d like to get yourself or someone y ..read more

Great news! The Day the Universe Exploded My Head has been nominated for a 2022 Beehive Book Award by the Children’s Literature Association of Utah. Founded in 1980 by professors at Brigham Young University, CLAU is an organization that “promotes literacy and a love of reading, and serves as a resource for excellence in children’s literature.” I’m thrilled that our book continues to get into the hands of more kids. For more about the Beehive Book Awards, CLAU, and to see the other nominees, click here ..read more

Ever wonder how a picture book gets made? On Saturday, July 17th, I’ll be giving a free, kid-friendly, virtual presentation at on of my favorite New York institutions, the Society of Illustrators. Presented monthly, Saturday Stories invites guest illustrators to lead children and their adult companions in a read-aloud Zoom workshop related to the wide range of materials and processes that illustrators use to create their picture books. Join me at 10:30 AM–noon EST, on Saturday, July 17th for a workshop about children’s publishing, including a behind-the-scenes look at my illustration process ..read more

We kidlit creators miss in-person school visits terribly. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we need creative, new ways to connect with our readers. So when I was contacted by the NYC Department of Education to team up with the local PBS station for a read aloud and drawing demo, I jumped at the chance. My segment on “Let’s Learn, NYC!” aired Monday morning on Thirteen/WNET and Channel 21/WLIW. Just as I’ve done classrooms in-person, I read A BIG SURPRISE FOR LITTLE CARD (written by Charise Mericle Harper, published by Candlewick) and showed kids how to draw the main character ..read more