Sketch of the Day

Sketch of the Day

NYT Best Selling Picture Books This Week

NYT Best Selling Picture Books This Week:

1. KNUFFLE BUNNY FREE, written and illustrated by Mo Willems. (Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, $17.99.) A little girl and her well-loved companion take a trip that leads to unexpected discoveries. (Ages 3 to 7)
2. FABULOUS FASHION BOUTIQUE, by Jane O’Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. (HarperCollins, $17.99.) Fancy Nancy takes an entrepreneurial approach to haute couture. (Ages 4 to 7)
3. SCAREDY-CAT, SPLAT!, written and illustrated by Rob Scotton. (Harper/HarperCollins, $16.99.) Splat aims to scare his cat school pals on Halloween. (Ages 3 to 7)
4. ZEN GHOSTS, written and illustrated by Jon J Muth. (Scholastic Press, $17.99.) Stillwater the panda with a Halloween-themed tale of Eastern wisdom. (Ages 5 to 8)
5. ART AND MAX, written and illustrated by David Wiesner. (Clarion, $17.99.) Two artists mix methods and media. (Ages 5 to 8)
6. OLIVIA GOES TO VENICE, written and illustrated by Ian Falconer. (Atheneum, $17.99.) A piglet prone to big ideas wants to live on the Grand Canal. (Ages 3 to 7)
7. LEGO STAR WARS, by Simon Beecroft. (DK, $21.99.) An annotated visual dictionary. (Ages 7 and up)
8. THE LION AND THE MOUSE, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. (Little, Brown, $16.99.) A fable of reciprocal kindness, redrawn. (Ages 3 to 6)
9. MY MOMMY HUNG THE MOON, by Jamie Lee Curtis. Illustrated by Laura Cornell. (Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins, $16.99.) A child waxes poetic about Mom’s amazing achievements. (Ages 4 to 8)
10. THE THREE LITTLE DASSIES, written and illustrated by Jan Brett. (Putnam, $17.99.) A retelling of "The Three Little Pigs," with Namibian flavor. (Ages 3 to 5)

Sketch of the Day

SCBWI-C Fall Conference Update

As I expected, the SCBWI Carolinas Fall Conference this weekend was an informative, enriching, and inspiring experience. 

Most of the sessions I attended were lead by the incredibly talented, accomplished, friendly, and funny Laurent Linn, the art director for Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. His compliments and advice about my work during the workshops were invaluable.

I invested in a few books that have been on my wish list for some time: Illustrating Children's Books by Martin Salisbury, the 2011 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market (I have the 2008 edition), and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books by Harold Underdown. All worth it.

These conferences are well worth the investment in time and resources, and I plan to make many improvements and changes to my work based on what I learned this past weekend.

And I thank my dear husband for attending this conference with me and spending his time doing freelance web and graphics work from our hotel room while I was attending conference sessions.

SCBWI-C Fall Conference Illustration Intensive

This weekend I will be attending the SCBWI - Carolinas fall conference in Charlotte, NC. I did this painting for an illustrators' workshop with the art director of Simon & Schuster. 

This should be a very informative weekend, and we're looking forward to visiting Charlotte for the first time since moving to North Carolina back in December.

Tomie dePaola's Birthday

Today was Tomie dePaola's 76th birthday.

Roald Dahl's Birthday

Today would be Roald Dahl's 94th birthday. Here is an interesting series of articles about him (forwarded to me by one of my uncles):

Part I: Roald Dahl's Darkest Hour

Park II: Roald Dahl: The Spy Who Love Me

Park III: Roald Dahl: The Plane Crash that Gave Birth to a Writer

NY Times Children's Books This Week

The NY Times bestselling picture books this week:

1. LEGO STAR WARS, by Simon Beecroft. (DK, $21.99.) An annotated visual dictionary. (Ages 7 and up)

2. HEADS, written and illustrated by Matthew Van Fleet. (Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster, $17.99.) Animal noggins with tabs to make them move. (Ages 2 and up)

3. IT'S A BOOK, written and illustrated by Lane Smith. (Roaring Brook, $12.99.) It doesn’t tweet or need recharging. (Ages 6 and up)

4. STAR WARS, written and illustrated by Rufus Butler Seder. (Workman, $14.95.) Action scenes are set in motion when you turn a page. (Ages 8 and up)

5. HOW ROCKET LEARNED TO READ, written and illustrated by Tad Hills. (Schwartz & Wade, $17.99.) Reading is as much fun as chewing a stick. (Ages 3 to 7)

6. THE JUNKYARD WONDERS, written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco. (Philomel, $17.99.) A child with reading problems is placed in a special class. (Ages 6 to 9)

7. DOG LOVES BOOKS, written and illustrated by Louise Yates. (Knopf, $16.99.) Dog opens a bookstore, and when no one comes at first, devours the books himself. (Ages 4 to 8)

8. BATS AT THE BALLGAME, written and illustrated by Brian Lies. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99.) Bats, the mammals, swing bats, as in baseball. (Ages 3 to 6)

9. CITY DOG, COUNTRY FROG, by Mo Willems. Illustrated by Jon J Muth. (Hyperion/Disney, $17.99.) Friendships transcend seasons and city limits. (Ages 3 to 6)

10. LADYBUG GIRL AT THE BEACH, by David Soman and Jacky Davis. Illustrated by David Soman. (Dial, $16.99.) Lulu, a k a Ladybug Girl, is both enthralled and frightened by the sea. (Ages 3 to 5)

Little Sketches