Hometown Visit

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday!

Authors and illustrators everywhere are spending the day at local independent book shops recommending books to shoppers and signing their own books. I've gone ultra-local and am in my hometown! I'm hanging out at Brilliant Books on Front Street in Traverse City, MI from 11-2 tomorrow so please come say "hi!" if you're around.

Not only has this past week been filled with my loud, lovely extended family and lots of good turkey, I also got to take a nice walk down memory lane. On Monday I spent the day with some exceptional 2nd, 4th, and 5th graders at Old Mission Elementary School, which was my elementary school once upon a time. I met some future authors and illustrators in that bunch. Hopefully I'll see some of them at Brilliant Books tomorrow!

What am I doing here?? I think asking the kids if the pond behind the OMS playground
is still haunted. They said no, but ponds don't just suddenly get un-haunted, guys.

How to Make Ink

More books about ink! If you like Ike's Incredible Ink you'll love this book by the amazing Pintu. He came to the event at McNally Jackson earlier this month and made a very cool collage. He then went home and began working on How to Make Ink. Obviously, it's super awesome.

Also available in hardcover! Thanks so much for sending me these photos, Pintu!

Spellbound Bookstore

This weekend I did two of my favorite things; hung out with my sister and her husband, and collaged with kids. Thanks again to Spellbound Children's Bookshop in Asheville, NC for hosting an hour of reading, drawing, and mess-making.

A good story has good descriptions! After reading Ike's Incredible Ink, the awesome kids you see here helped me think of creative ways to describe the color blue. We filled this drawing of a blender to make our own blue ink. This particular ink was made with squished blueberries, ocean sounds, cold snowflakes and soft furry monsters. We have some little Yves Kleins here! (Eh? Nerdy art joke? Anyone?)

Then, the kids filled blenders and bottles with collages of their very own story-telling ink. These are some serious author/illustrators in the making. You saw them here first.

Photos courtesy of Leslie Hawkins at Spellbound Children's Bookshop

Dressed for Success

Photo belongs to Atlantic-Pacific

Hey guys, I'm reading at Spellbound Bookshop in Asheville, NC tomorrow and I'm going to DRESS THE PART. Just kidding. But this skirt is pretty awesome, right?

McNally Jackson

Photo by Jenny Song

Check out the awesome kids that drew blenders with me this Saturday at McNally Jackson! We made some pretty great collage art, too. This weekend: Spellbound Children's Books in Asheville, NC. It's a collage-off!