At last, my latest picture book project has arrived on bookstore shelves! Maple and Rosemary, written by Alison James and illustrated by me, published by Neal Porter Books/Holiday House, arrived in the world on February 28, 2023. More about this beautiful story and how I made the art for it, soon. First I must finish the final art for my NEXT picture book project! (more on that later too!) In the meantime, enjoy this lovely starred review from The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, here ..read more

Soon I will be writing much more about this particular book, but I wanted to let you know that my next picture book is available for pre-order! The Camping Trip is a hybrid picture book/comic, and it is near and dear to my heart for very many reasons. Suffice it to say, I can almost taste the s’mores when I think about making this sweet story about a girl named Ernestine’s first overnight camping trip. You can get a little sneak peak here and place a pre-order, or go directly to your favorite indie bookstore and ask them to order it for you. Can’t wait to talk with you more about the joy of c ..read more

Happy July friends! We are getting closer and closer to the release date for JOSIE'S LOST TOOTH, and I've got some excellent gifts for those of you who are organized enough to pre-order my book from your favorite independent bookstore or other good source. If you pre-order, and send me a note to let me know, I will send you these *RARE* Josie buttons, AND, this super cool shark's tooth necklace, just like Josie's! Your gap-toothed imp might need a shark's tooth to fill that gap! And if you order my book from Eagle Harbor Book Company, you can request that I sign it before they send it off ..read more

The Camping Trip was honored this past year with the Washington State Book Award, for picture books. This honor came completely out of left field for me, and I am so thrilled to have my book recognized by the wonderful people at Washington Center for the Book, Washington State Library, and Seattle Public Library. In lieu of a fun and celebratory public awards ceremony, which sadly could not happen again this year because of you-know-what we made a video of a conversation between me and Librarian Erika Miller. In it I read (most of) The Camping Trip, show a peek into my art process for this bo ..read more

The Camping Trip has been very busy finding its way into readers’ hands since it was published last spring. I’ve heard from so many kids, parents, bookseller, teachers, and reading (and speech) specialists just how much they’ve loved reading and sharing The Camping Trip with kids of all ages. It has been a great book for all of us stuck at home during the pandemic, and I know lots of kids have been able to practice camping in their living rooms and backyards, using The Camping Trip as a guide. Hopefully this summer some will be able to try camping out in the woods, or near a lake or the sea ..read more

The Camping Trip has been reviewed by The New York Times Book Review, and you can read it here ..read more

Here in the Pacific Northwest, summer is an elusive and brief affair. It sneaks around for quite awhile, teasing, with glimpses of bright sun and blue sky between days of rain, mist, wind, and cool temperatures. Locals refer to June here as Junuary, and they are not wrong. (and I secretly like it—sweaters in June are cozy!) But then along comes July, usually the Fourth of July actually, and the clouds part and the temperature goes up to a broiling 75 degrees farenheit, and then it feels as though summer has finally arrived. What do we do with our free time in the summer in the Pacific Northwes ..read more