Illustration Friday: Homage

     Odd theme this week, but I have a fit. The last illustration in "Paco and the Giant Chile Plant" is an homage to family and home, no matter how challenged - and of course, my dog Bernie is running to meet Paco and his family (click the image to see the whole thing).
     I had my first reading of Paco to an all Latino audience last weekend during the Nuestra Vida event at the Chamblee Library hosted by Univision 34. I was nervous trying out my Spanish in a public venue like that for the first time, but the families could not have been more warm and patient with me. I hope to have some pictures to share soon.

Coloring Page Tuesday - Spring Blooms

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     A boquet of Spring blooms for you this week. Tulips, Daffodils, Crocus, and Pansies - all hints of sunny days, warm breezes, and joyful sighs.
     Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Send me your colored version (less than 1mb) to coloringpages@dulemba.com and I'll post it to my blog!
     For more coloring pages, go here.


     Learn about my Cinderella story picture book, The Prince's Diary, click the cover.

Happy Easter! (Bonus coloring page)

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     I must admit this one snuck up on me. (And me with all this new Easter-themed art to share. This is from one of three Easter coloring book covers I created recently.) Easter is early this year. But as it seems to happen every Easter, it is a beautiful morning. So, to help celebrate, I'm including a bonus coloring page - this is my "hip hop bunny." Get it?
     Just as with regular coloring page Tuesdays, click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Send me your colored version (less than 1mb) to coloringpages@dulemba.com and I'll post it to my blog!
     For more coloring pages, go here.


     Learn about my bilingual picture book Paco and the Giant Chile Plant ~ Paco y la planta de chile gigante - click the cover.

Illustration Friday: Pet Peeves

     A perfect fit! This is an illustration from "Ready for Bed," written by Stacey Kaye, illustrated by Yours Truly, Free Spirit Publishing. It will hit shelves in just a few months, so keep your eyes peeled. Oh that's gross. Maybe just keep a look out. But where would you put it? Keep your radar up . . . are you submerged? Um. Yeah, it's Friday and I'm feeling a bit slap-happy. What of it? Anyhow.
     Isn't it a perfect fit!? Get it? PET peeves? Who would be more particular about brushing your teeth correctly than a crocodile? Hmmmm?

CBC Hot Off the Presses!!

WOW, WOW, WOW!!! Paco and the Giant Chile Plant ~ Paco y la planta de chile gigante made the March CBC Magazine's "Hot Off the Press" listing (only 16 titles made it, including Elizabeth Bunce's "A Curse as Dark as Gold" which I loved!) Wippee!!!

Go Fetch!

I have to share this awesome invention. Is there anybody on the planet who owns a dog and doesn't want one of these? (Not sure I'd let my kid that close to it though.) Anyhow, thanks to cuteoverload.com.

Coloring Page Tuesday - Flip Flops and Sunglasses

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     We've been getting a few sneak peeks at the warm weather that's coming. Makes me want to kick off my shoes and run my toes through the grass. I've pulled my flops out of deep storage in any case. I'm ready!
     Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Send me your colored version (less than 1mb) to coloringpages@dulemba.com and I'll post it to my blog!
     For more coloring pages, go here.

     Learn more about my fun picture book Glitter Girl and the Crazy Cheese - click the cover.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Grant me a sense of humor, Lord,
the saving grace to see a joke,
To win some happiness from life,
And pass it on to other folks.

Like the warmth of the sun
And the light of the day,
May the luck of the Irish
shine bright on your way.

Highlights Magazine!

     Ta-da! My first art for Highlights Magazine! I showed you the art I did for their new mag, High Five. Well, they both hired me about the same time and I just received my April copy of Highlights with my art which accompanies a very cute story by Heather Tomasello called "Egg Drop Soup." Check your mailboxes, it'll arrive soon!
     And more good news - Highlights has hired me to illustrate their December cover! I'm looking forward to that - woohoo!

     OMG, so with Paula's comment below, I go looking back through the new edition of Highlights to check for other illustrators I know, and gads - it's full of friends! Check out Paula Becker's art on page 38; Karen Lee's art on page 26 & 27; and Connie McLennan's art on page 5! I am surrounded by greatness. :)

Coloring Page Tuesday - Leprechaun with Treasure

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     Next Monday is St. Patty's Day, so if I wait until next Tuesday to give 'im to ye - I'll have missed the boat. So, nice and early, to decoriate yer walls, this Leprechaun guards the real treasure - in books!
     Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Send me your colored version (less than 1mb) to coloringpages@dulemba.com and I'll post it to my blog!
     For more coloring pages, go here.


     Learn about my bilingual picture book Paco and the Giant Chile Plant ~ Paco y la planta de chile gigante - click the cover.

The Reading Tree!

     We have a new independent children's bookstore in the Atlanta metro area - a great big warm welcome to The Reading Tree!
     Rather than being competition to my favorite independent children's bookstore - A Little Shop of Stories now has a new playmate. This is a big city. LSOS covers Decatur and Atlanta proper, but there wasn't an indie servicing the northeast side of town outside the perimeter. The two stores are a good 45 minutes apart (without traffic) which means they have a completely different set of kids anxious to fall in love with books through the hands of booksellers who really know their stuff.
     And let me tell you, Martha, at The Reading Tree, really knows her stuff. The store is bright, cheerful, charming, and stocked full of all the best children's books from today and yesterday. I stopped by this past week to show Martha "Paco and the Giant Chile Plant" and my other books, and what a pleasure it was!
     Between the passionate and inspired staffs of these two stores, I wouldn't be surprised if they turn Atlanta into one of the most literate, well-read cities in the nation. I feel so, so lucky to have such incrible children's book stores and children's book lovers in my area. Boy did I land in the right place!

Illustration Friday: Garden

Paco planted the magic chile seeds and waited for something to happen . . .

Talk at SCAD Atlanta

     So, Monday I was a guest speaker at SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design - Atlanta campus). I love talking to college students. They're about to hit the world running and they need real, practical advise on how to do it. Of that, I have plenty. Of course, I usually share way more information than they could ever possibly absorb in one sitting, but I include hand-outs for them to review later (including links to all my favorite online communities - so watch for them).
     The cool thing about SCAD is they are really pushing the international scope of children's illustration and becoming quite respected around the world. I told you about the Teatrio exhibit they hosted recently. Well, Julie Mueller Brown, illustration professor and my kind hostess on Monday, is incredibly knowledgeable about what's going on internationally and is very tied into the scene at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. She pulled out some samples that made my jaw drop and I wish I could take one of her classes just to let her expand my mind and broaden my horizons.
     (Look around at the 2007 Gallery of illustrations from Bologna to get an idea what I'm talking about.)
     So what I wonder, dear readers, is where do you see these types of cutting edge illustrations fitting in in the American children's publishing market? I can definitely see the inspiration in some illustrators' work, but what about the whole hog? Any thoughts?

I'm in the March Scholastic News!

     Wowsa!!
     Sascha Zuger has written a wonderful article entitled "Meet Your Favorite Author: Here's how to plan a memorable and successful visit from an inspirational children's author" to appear in the March/April edition of Scholastic magazine. And best of all, she quoted me in a big way! Wippee!
     How did this come about? Well, Sascha put out a call on Verla Kay's Blue Boards in August looking for authors and illustrators to quote in an article for a "national mag that couldn't be more targeted to the prime audience for promotion." That's all she said, but it sounded great, so I responded. I had no idea she meant Scholastic News!!
     And just when I'm thinking I spend too much time on message boards . . .

Coloring Page Tuesday - Teacup with a Butterfly

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     I created this little doogie quite a while back, but I still love him and hope to use him some day. His name is Teacup - for obvious reasons, he's just a teensy thing.
     Today Teacup issues in those funny days of transition. The days you walk outside and feel something different in the air, a few more birds singing, a few more bugs buzzing.
     It's rainy and cold today, but yesterday, I spoke at the Savannah College of Art and Design (Atlanta campus), and when I walked outside, there was that hint in the air . . . the promise of Spring!
     Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Send me your colored version (less than 1mb) to coloringpages@dulemba.com and I'll post it to my blog!
     For more coloring pages, go here.


     Learn about my Cinderella story picture book, The Prince's Diary, click the cover.