Thumbnail

Not much to say on this, other than it's a rough composition of that moment when Athena bursts forth, fully grown, armed and armored, from the skull of her father, Zeus. This would be the thumbnail version-- I'll eventually post up a rough draft and a finished piece for comparisons.

Well, at least I can draw good...

How's this for the least photogenic man alive? While doing a Google vanity search the other day I can across this monstrosity of a photo on the Publisher's Weekly site. On the right is Rivkah, the cartoonist behind Steady Beat from Tokyo Pop. Nice photo of her, right?

Now, on the left, we have me. One will instantly notice the glassy half-lidded eyes, slightly askance to the wall, and think, "my, what a terrible photo". Oh, but there's more. A closer look at my right paw reveals that I am unintentionally flipping the bird at the viewer. How do I let something like this happen? What was wrong with me that day? How have I not learned to not hold a piece of paper like that? I wonder how many people saw this photo and thought terrible, unkind things about me? "Well, I was going to do a cover story on Mr. O'Connor, but after seeing that photo..."

Lesson learned? Always use my index finger, and invest in sunglasses.

A Little Some-Thing about Missouri...

So I just got an e-mail from my buddy and fellow children's book guy Nick Bruel telling me that my book Sally and the Some-Thing (henceforth referred to as my baby) has made the list of nominees for the 2008 Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award.




To explain what that means, please allow me to borrow liberally from their website. The Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award, administered by the Children's Services Round Table of MLA, is presented annually to the author and illustrator of the picture book voted most popular by preschool children in Missouri's public libraries. Designed to encourage reading aloud to children from birth through kindergarten age, the award was first given in 1996. Parents and other caregivers are encouraged to read aloud to children from a list of ten titles selected annually by a group of Missouri children's librarians. Colorful posters, bookmarks, activity sheets, and a manual of great ideas add to the fun.



Apparently the voting goes on from September until the end of December, and the part that has me excited is that it's actually voted on by the kids. They always say that it's an honor to just be nominted, and that goes double in that case. Always nice to hear this sort of good news