Furball Friday

It's a Book

I've been doing research for the book trailer I'm putting together for Disappearing Desmond and came across this one. I love it so!

All things blue rose

This weekend some of us Blue Rose Girls got together to do some celebrating. There was a lot to celebrate... birthdays for Libby and Alvina, Grace finishing the first draft of her new novel, and my little BRG baby on the way.

There were of course blue rose cupcakes created by Grace:



And blue flowers on the table:



Baby on the way was given the most adorable little blue rose outfit, complete with headband (!):





Then we went out to do some shopping. I've been wanting to make a mobile to go over the baby's crib, something like this (pic via Greyhood):



When we were out and about Libby, Grace and I spotted these lovely Vietnamese "prosperity hens":




Aren't they sweet? We all got some to hang around the house. I am working on how to convert mine into a mobile...

Ella the Octopus

Friday's visit to the Mattapoisett Public Library was a delight! After my presentation to the kids I did some drawing with them. First I drew some of the characters from What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe?, then I had them help to brainstorm a new character. This is what they came up with: an overall wearing octopus about to attack a diver with popcorn. Once we were finished the kids put on the finishing touches by coloring it in. Good fun!

Furball Friday

What can you do with an old hardcover book (besides read it)?

I just across Engrained, an Etsy vendor who makes pinhole cameras out of reclaimed books! Love them.

Mattapoisett Free Public Library on Friday

If you are in the area, come visit me at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library on Friday at 11 am, where I'll be giving a free presentation for kids about my work as part of their Go Green summer reading program. I'll be focusing on how I made What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe? and showing some of the recycling craft activities in the book. Hope to see you there!

Chronicle Sale

Twice a year Chronicle Books offers a fabulous discount to friends and family- last time I made out like a bandit with bunches of kid's books and stationary. The sale is up again, here is the deal:

"It's our annual Friends & Family Summer Sale! Now through July 28th, get 35% off plus FREE ground shipping on www.ChronicleBooks.com with promo code FRIENDS.

Craft books, cookbooks, kids’ books, stationery, Moleskines... it’s all on sale! We only offer this discount twice a year (summer & holiday) so it’s a fantastic deal, not to be missed. Enjoy!"

Some great finds I am thinking of for myself:

Furball Friday

Wilbur is very excited about Disappearing Desmond's first review. So excited, he can barely stay awake.

A spot for you

Its been a slow week work-wise; the heat has left my pregnant self tired and unwilling to stray very far from the ac, which is not in my office. While I rally and organize my post-deadline piles, please enjoy a tiny spot illustration from A Photo for Greta, which will be out next spring:

Desmond's Rich Inner Life or A Tale for Shrinking Violets

The first review of Disappearing Desmond is in, hurray! I love this review from Publishers Weekly, they really got Desmond's spirit.

"'How Not to Be Seen' is a famous Monty Python sketch, but it also describes the peculiar and poignant talent of shy children like Alter's (What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe?) hero Desmond, an anthropomorphized cat. Desmond is so self-erasing that he can easily blend into a classroom poster: "Sometimes, even his teacher could not find him." Then one day, a vivacious and persistent rabbit named Gloria (think young Auntie Mame with long ears) arrives in class and pulls Desmond out of his shell. One good turn leads to another, and soon most of the class wallflowers are blooming--although the final image makes it clear there's still work to be done. Many of Desmond's camouflage efforts show a lot of ingenuity, which could convey to some readers that his inner life in rich enough to compensate for his lack of friends. But Alter's empathy is never in question, and with Gloria's arrival it becomes clear just how much yearning was in Desmond's heart--socially confident readers and shrinking violets alike will be won over."

-Publishers Weekly

And in honor of "not being seen", take it away Monty Python:

PS. There are some explosions and gun shooting in this video, if you're showing this blog to your students be warned!



Desmond will be in stores August 24th!

Furball Friday

Camping out

Oh the heat! If you are on the east coast you know what I mean. Hope you're staying someplace indoor and cool. We have temporarily moved all essentials into the bedroom, where we have a little ac unit working very hard at its job- its a little tight with my drafting table stuffed in the corner so I can paint and Bruno with my desktop into another corner so that he can write papers (his laptop just exploded, its been a great week) and the cats sleeping on every available surface (or running in circles wondering why we've locked them in this tiny room). But its better than melting in the rest of the apartment. And its a cozy in a way, a little concentrated family time.

Disapproving Rabbits

Just discovered this delightful web site.

On the Media: Book It

On the Media is one of my favorite NPR shows, I like to listen if I'm working on the weekends. This weekend they replayed a great recent show about the book industry, check it out here.

There are some very reassuring words from the founder of Publisher's Marketplace. He says recent book sales aren't really all that different than usual, even with e-books in the mix, and on the whole book publishing has taken a much smaller hit than other industries in this economy.

Furball Friday