Amos McGee takes an international flight

The photo to your left was taken (with a cell phone, so let's not judge too harshly) in the Arboretum in Ann Arbor. I've been spending a lot of time here lately in the mornings, before the heat completely takes over and makes everything completely unlivable. This second half of summer weather has been oppressive. I'm getting through it, but not with a good attitude.

However, it is keeping me indoors and I am getting my work done. I'm thinking about a new book and trying to tie the book I've been working on all up together in a nice clean package. I've got some shaky legs about that one. But maybe I'll finish strong.

In the meantime, I found out that our little Amos McGee has released in Japan.

I haven't seen a copy in person, but I have seen some images. The publisher took the images where I drew words like "City Zoo" in the sign and translated them. For instance, the original is below–

And now the Japanese translation. They did an amazing job. I was really blown away by the level of care they gave each letter.

Here are two more examples. They translated everything! Including little tiny things I wouldn't expect anyone to notice. There is a tiny sign in the back of the zoo below that says "eat vegetables!" for instance...

That's it for now!

On learning not to google.

This June has been a little dramatic weather-wise. It's been extremely humid during the day and then thunderstorms-really good ones- at night. I don't like the hot humid days but I like the thunderstorms. When I was little and there was a big summer storm at night, my dad would stop whatever he was doing and he and my brother would go straight to the porch and I followed. We would all stand there and take it in.

I still have that instinct now. Maybe at my own peril. But in this new apartment, I am without a porch. When the storms start lately, I feel a little like I'm wearing pants without pockets. I have nowhere to put my hands. I park at the window and watch the storm anyway, but it's not quite the same. I can't smell the rain and I'm a little too protected.

I'm discovering that the pants without pockets feeling is also a little how it feels the first month your first book is published. I am no longer in charge of A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Almost everything that goes along with that is wonderful. Amos McGee gets to be someone else's book from the library or someone else's bedtime story or someone else's book they don't like very much. I really like that. I think the process of making art can feel selfish. But once the book is a book and not 32 separate drawings, I like that's it's someone else's experience.

Okay, most of the time. That lack of control can get to me. I have an extremely thin skin and I'm often nervous. Since this is my first book, too, I'm just not sure what to think. So this last month I have taken to attempting to spy on the book. This means google. This, I have found, is a mistake. It has only expanded my horizons to the fact that I know nothing about nothing.

So, I'm circling back to my original illustrator intent. The book is someone else's now. I hope they like it, but if they don't it's okay. Everything is oooookaay. I should get back to work.

That's it for now!

p.s. I can't figure out what the glitch is that won't allow the pictures get bigger when you click on them, but I'm working on it...

Well, I left you in May.

Hello, again. It's June 1st now and I've been away from this blog for a while. Philip, Wednesday, and I had moved during May and then were without the internet for a couple ofweeks after that. But here we are again in the digital age. We moved into a 100 year-old barn that is still in downtown Ann Arbor (the image on your left). We live across the street from atrain station,too. This place should end up being full of inspiration. Or at least a train book.

We have a lot more space to work now, which we are happily adjusting to. Below is our desk area now. For those of you who are artists, we get northern light through those windows!

We've had some good fortune with the new book, A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Have I mentioned it yet? Did you know I drew the pictures in that book? Did I happen to mention it's now available in stores?

Also, Phil and I just did our first event for the book at Madison Square Park hosted by the park and Time Out New York Kids Magazine. It was loud and scary for me because it required talking but we got through it. It was actually really fun and I felt a little honored to be there. They wrote a nice review in this month's issue of the magazi

ne, which you can see here.

A long time ago I showed a sketch of a bunch of bears. Here is how that turned out.

That's all for now!

By George!

My friend and colleague George O'Connor has a number of books out there in the world for you to buy. You can find them here, here, here, here, here, and here. Recently, he has embarked on a new series of graphic novels about greek mythology. I've only laid eyes on the first one so far (but the second one is out in 6 days!). The first book is truly outstanding. It's inspiring to see a friend make a series of books that suits them as well as this does. I'm not sure I can describe it properly, but perhaps the quality of the books will speak for themselves. Hurray, George!

He also has a great website that pairs with the series.

http://www.olympiansrule.com/

And on that website you can follow his special Olympians blog.

http://olympiansrule.blogspot.com/

And on that blog you'll notice today that yours truly is featured. What a kind friend he is! I'll let him talk about the description, but this is the image I drew for the feature.

Buy his books! They're great! And they are all a little different. He has many facets, that George.

48 days and counting!

Hello again! It's been a nice few weeks for Amos and crew (Phil and myself included). It certainly helps that it's spring and that baseball season has started. Phil has started a blog in anticipation of his next book, Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat. The book is about a very lost best friend teddy bear and the adventure Jonathan has to go on to find him. And so, for every day that passes he'll be putting up a postage stamp of a ship from somewhere around the world. You can follow the journey here. You can see some of the art from both of Phil's books here and here, too! Also, see some kid art related to Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast here.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee has had a very nice couple of weeks. Phil and I received our

certificates and lapel pins from the Junior Library Guild (Amos is their September selection) and we've been discussing the best way to wear them with pride. Amos McGee

will also have reviews coming up in Kirkus and The Horn Book (hooray!). But today was also very exciting because Amos was reviewed on Elizabeth Bird's blog for the School Library Journal. You can see that here. It was delightful but very strange to see my own drawing on a blog I read daily. What a nice surprise.

Whew. Well, who's fed up with the bragging? That will be it outta me for a couple of weeks. Let's get down to some art sharing. Today we'll go to a tea party....of the non political variety (I'll admit, I kind of resent that group for usurping such a happy phrase of mild friendship time).

I sketched this one out towards the end of the book making process so I was able to be a little looser and more confident before I went to a final illustration. If you look closely you'll notice I had to color code the penguin to table to Amos area because carving woodblocks for that area was getting a little confusing.

And there's the final illustration. Come back soon! Less bragging! More art!

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Spring is really rolling here right now. There are Marches in Michigan that laugh in the face of spring but this year it's really mild. I'm tentatively enjoying it and so is the dog (who is on your left tentatively checking out Huron river).

7o days until A Sick Day for Amos McGee hits the shelves! Or at least the internet! I'm probably going to post about the process for the next few weeks to get everyone nice and sick of the book before it comes out. Remember this post about my picture making process?

We'll start today at the very last picture I made for the book but the very first one you'll see. The cover.

For better or for worse, I tend to thumb my nose at the computer. It's a tool for me. There are times when I make bad sketches on it, lay out a book, or stare at it to try to get an idea. I avoid the computer for final art. For the cover of A Sick Day for Amos McGee, I had an idea that I would do the title type by hand. So I went to work. Below is the carved block.

Here is a detail of it.

I printed the title type in 3 colors– one for the cover, one for the title page, and one for luck.

I ended up (with the help of the art director) using the dark blue type on the cover. I don't think it mattered. The type is pretty small and would have been just as nice as digital. But I learned a little and I enjoyed carving the type.

The book is out May 25th! Mark your calendars! 'Til next time!

A case of books!

We're actually thawing out this week after the snowstorm pictured on your left. But it was pretty. I live in Michigan, so you never really know, but it may have been the last big one.

Last week Phil and I received a couple of cases of A Sick Day for Amos McGee (which will be out May 25th). We had to give a few copies away and the recipients wanted them signed.

It might sounds silly, but I have been dreading signing copies of my book since I knew I was making a book. I have terrible handwriting. I think the type of drawings I usually make should go hand in hand with nice nun-like script. But this is not the case.

To compensate for my handwriting, I made a little print on each book I was giving out.

So everyone gets a penguin along with a hurried signature.