My little reader

Eric Carle Museum signing

I had such a wonderful time at the Eric Carle Museum last week, signing books with the below authors and illustrators, as part of the SCBWI-NE spring conference. If you haven't been to the museum, now is a great time to go... there is the most fantastic exhibit of Kadir Nelson's work! Here we are standing in front of a giant Eric Carle painting.

(from left to right: Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Shelley Rotner, Brian Lies, Harry Bliss, Carlyn Beccia, me, Jane Yolen, Dan Yaccarino)

Happy Earth Day!

If you're looking for some creative, earth-friendly fun, check out the activities in What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe?. And if you're looking for gardening inspiration, check out the Homesteading facebook page or store, where I snagged these pictures. Aren't they great? I have a shoe organizer that may be headed for some reinvention.

What can you do with an old palette?

What can yo do with an empty tackle box?

What can you do with a leftover shoe organizer?

Furball Friday

New Greta activity

I've just added a new free download for kids to my web site, a photo frame from A Photo for Greta. Color it in with a picture of you and your dad, or anyone you like!

Book Signing and Mix and Mingle at The Eric Carle Museum

This Friday, I'll be signing books and chatting with attendees of the NESCBWI annual conference at The Eric Carle Museum. If you are attending this year's conference, please come by and say hello! Details below.

Book Signing and Mix and Mingle at The Eric Carle Museum on April 20th from 11:30-1:30 pm. This event is part of the SCBWI-NE spring conference. Anna will be joined by Harry Bliss, Dan Yaccarino, Carlyn Beccia, Brian Lies, and Shelley Rotner.

A Photo for Greta shadow box

Getting emails from kids about my books is really just the best. Last week this photo from a second grader named Arden, who used A Photo for Greta for her book report, was sitting in my inbox. Her shadow box features hand-colored illustrations from the book, a light made out of coffee stirrers and foil, and a camera made out of electrical tape. Genius! Beautiful work Arden!

Storyfest at the Virginia Festival of the Book

This year, in addition to visiting schools, I gave a book talk as part of Va Book's Storyfest line-up. It was a rainy day, but we had a lovely group of families. Here are a few pictures, taken by my dad, our photographer for the day.

Coloring sheets for all:

Artwork on display:

Talking to kids about how to make a book:

Drawing demo:

Kids making their own illustrations:

And coloring in my drawings:

A quiet moment at the end of the day:

The Funky Zebra

I had a school visit in Newton a few days ago, where I drew with a class of second graders at the end of my talk. I asked the group to help me come up with a brand new character; they choose an animal, activity for her to do, and the clothes she wears and I do my best to draw it. They chose a zebra swimming at the beach and wearing a bikini. Once I started on the bikini they broke into hysterics. Someone shouted "she's wearing a 'ZI-KINI'!" Kids have such fabulous ideas. They titled the illustration "The Funky Zebra."

Pottermore

Have you heard about the Pottermore shop? An e-book site run by J.K. Rowling? Of course something like this could only be accomplished by someone so famous, but it does seem to be an interesting twist in the way digital book distribution is evolving. More here.

"Harry Potter is the only publishing brand big enough (so far) to break all the rules about how e-bookstores work. Instead of being sold through the retailers and their devices, or even through the publishers, all sales are made through a site owned and branded by the author. Rowling and Pottermore convinced retailers to digitally support the books with device syncing, bookmarks, and all the trappings that usually are only provided for books sold through the retailers’ own sites."

(Via Wired)