It’s always a good feeling to finish up a book and send it off, but a lot of people don’t realize that it takes nearly a year from the time I send in the finals to when the book is released! Most children’s picture books are printed in Asia (usually China, Singapore or Hong Kong) and to send the artwork overseas for separation, back to the U.S. for corrections and then sometimes back again to Asia for adjustments takes a great deal of time. Sometimes it’s hard to wait that long to see the final product, but it’s still exciting to receive the first proofs and then the advanced copy. That never gets old!

Here’s a preview of the new book. 

Billy Twitters and his Blue Whale Problems by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex – This book is a wonderful combination of informative reporting and wacky storytelling. Plus Adam’s illustrations are amazing. I’ll buy all his books!

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown – This is on several top 10 lists and for good reason. It’s beautifully illustrated and the story is timely. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this win a Caldecott honor. 

The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo – Another classic from Kate. Her words are magical.

Moonshot by Brian Floca – This book blows me away! It brought me right back to the days of early space exploration. Informative, fascinating and gorgeous.

All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee – What can I say about this book that hasn’t been said? It’s EVERYWHERE! But the story and art go perfectly together and the message is so simple and heartwarming. It deserves all the attention it’s getting.

Let’s Do Nothing! by Tony Fucile – This is my friend Tony’s first children’s book and it’s hilarious! If you haven’t seen it, you owe yourself the pleasure. Brilliant!

The Lion & The Mouse by Jerry Pinkney – When I first saw this book I literally gasped as I turned the pages. This is a truly stunning book and a favorite for the Caldecott medal.

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan – My friend Matt has received several starred reviews for this graphic novel. It’s simply beautiful. I love the sparse use of color, the historic setting and the pacing of the story. This could win some awards, too.

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan – I love all of Shaun’s books and this is another classic.

Robot Zot! by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by David Shannon – Funny and energetic. 

I know this is just a partial list of the books that came out this year and I’m sure I’m leaving out some terrific titles. 2009 was a strong year for picture books. Here’s to an equally  great 2010!

CHEERS! 

If you’re a fan of the Magee books, you might also be interested in knowing that my next book will be another Magee story. It’s called Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee and I’m working on the final paintings right now. It will be out next winter, 2010. I think you’ll like it. My wife thinks it’s the funniest Magee book yet!

So thank you! Because of your interest, not only are the first two books coming back, but they’ll be joined by another stumbling, bumbling Magee adventure – the Mr. Magee Tril-oh-gee! Stay tuned!

Saturday, November 21st – Flying Pig Bookstore, Shelburne, Vermont – 4:00 PM

Sunday, November 22nd – Northshire Books, Manchester, Vermont – 1:00 PM

Saturday, November 28th – The Book Cellar, Waterville, Maine – 10:00 AM

Saturday, December 5th – Kennebooks, Kennebunk, Maine – 10:30 AM

Saturday, December 12th – Borders, South Portland, Maine - 2:00 PM

Saturday, December 19th – L. L. Bean, Freeport, Maine – 12:00 PM

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure (ECA) is not as morbid as it sounds. It’s named after an old parlor game where one person would write a sentence on a piece of paper, fold it over and pass it on to the next person who would write another sentence and so on until the paper was unfolded and a story was revealed. In the current version of the game, the story is being written by some of today’s most talented children’s book writers. Each author will write a episode and then “pass it on” to the next author. Every episode will be illustrated by a rotating list of four children’s book illustrators. I feel very lucky to be in this group, and I was honored to illustrate Episode 1, written by the inimitable Jon Scieszka. It’s hilarious! Not to be missed!

The whole project is sponsored by The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance (NCBLA) and The Library of Congress. Reading Rockets has created a fabulous writing contest based on the ECA and the NCBLA has in included terrific educational materials relating to the ECA on their website. I’ve added  links to these sites on the right side of this page.

I hope you get a chance to check it out and please pass the word. It’s going to be a ton of fun! Here’s my illustration for Episode 1.

If you’ve seen the book, I’d love to hear what you think. You can drop me a line through the form on the Contact page. Thanks!

In the future I plan to add a list of available original artwork from Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes (Book 6). I’ll also be adding a couple of new prints from The Circus Ship after it’s been published. So keep an eye out for new things to come.

It was absolutely great to see Kate DiCamillo again. She’s a hoot. I love her. I actually heard her laugh before I saw her in person when I arrived at the show. We had a couple of book signings together for the last (sob!) Mercy Watson. One librarian asked us if we were married- to each other! This of course sent Kate into hysterics and we had fun with it for the rest of the signing. Soon we were telling people it was our 20th anniversary…etc. I’m having a hard time accepting the fact that I may not have another signing with Kate. It has been a wild and wonky ride!

I also had a chance to meet and hang out with Matt Phelan and Tony Fucile, two fellow Candlewick author/illustrators. It was so fun and we got along so well it was as if we were old college roommates who I hadn’t seen each other for awhile. Check out their books. They’re fantastic!

The last thing I want to mention was the highlight of the ALA Conference- The Newbery Caldecott Wilder Awards Banquet. It was magical. To see so many people so excited and so supportive of children’s literature was amazing. The speeches were beautiful and I had the chance to meet the winners in person. And to be there to see my dear friend and neighbor Melissa Sweet accept her Caldecott Honor brought it all home for me. It was a great night and a wonderful wrap-up to ALA.

Thank you Candlewick for everything!

I’m hoping that everything will be up and running in the next two weeks. Thanks for the interest!