Thursday, April 28, 2011

Last Minute Poetry Month Offering

This is the illustration that's in the May/June issue of New Moon Girls, a very cool magazine that's all about empowering girls.
Yea!

And, in honor of poetry month, which is almost over but we've enjoyed you and look forward to having you back next year, here's a post-Easter Egg poem.

Enjoy!

THE BAD EGG

Something’s rotten at my house,
I mean, it really stinks,
a tell-tale and unwelcome smell:
an egg’s gone bad, methinks!
We search throughout the kitchen,
desperate to locate it,
I find a mushy chocolate bar,
(my little brother ate it.)
Our quest continued through the house,
it lead us to the den
the smell got even smellier,
My father found it then.
And yet, my mother wondered,
how did it rot so fast?
That egg took time to fester,
but Easter had just passed.
We saw the egg so moldy,
twas then the truth came clear,
this was the one stayed hidden,
from our Easter egg hunt-last year!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Cat Drawings - Learning from the Pros


I haven't posted in awhile partly because I just reentered the (paid) workforce- at my local library in the children's section! I am shelving books which is similar to housework only someone's paying me to do it. And now I get to be around children's books alot!

But also because I've been illustrating more than writing. Which seems to use a different part of my brain.

But I'm back. (big sigh of relief, right?!)

I'm working on a PB about cats. And so I'm looking at some of my favorite cat artists.

Starting with Arthur Howard- (and I would post his website, but I can't find one) He illlustrated all those fabulous Mr. Putter and Tabby books by Cynthia Rylant (along with tons of other great books including some he also wrote.) And talk about excellent writing and amazing illustration perfectly wed! Don't you love Mr. Putter and Tabby- and not a kid in sight. And, no, Tabby is not the kid- she's an old cat who mostly snacks and sleeps. Just lovely, fun books about friendship. And napping.

Anyway, Arthur Howard's (my hero) cat illustrations. Here are two. I love tabby. And I love his style- loose and lively, but also right on the money cat-wise. I mean, this guy can draw! But he's having fun doing it. And we have fun just looking at it.

I guess that's what great picture books are all about (ok, they're easy readers, but you know what I mean....)