ParentSmart KidHappy Series still going strong!

I was thrilled to see Dr. Nerissa Bauer is still using the ParentSmart KidHappy book series written by Stacey Kaye, that I illustrated for Free Spirit many years ago: READY FOR THE DAY, READY FOR BED, and READY TO PLAY. She did a video about them - click the image to go have a look on Youtube!

12 Days of Christmas in Georgia still bringing smiles!

A friend recently sent me a lovely heads up. My book, The 12 Days of Christmas in Georgia (written by Susan Rosson Spain) was on display at The Ball of Georgia for the holiday. So nice to see that the book is still going strong in my home state!

Books in the Wild

Stan and I recently visited my picture book buddy Ashley Belote and her husband up in lovely Davidson, North Carolina for lunch on the banks of Lake Norman on a beautiful fall day. Afterwards, we headed to Main Street Books, of course. After browsing for a while, Ashley and I were happy to see that her new picturebook, FRANKENSLIME, was proudly displayed face out.Only to realize moments later, that my board book, MERBABY'S LULLABY (written by Jane Yolen) was also face out, just a few feet away! What a fun discovery that was!

BIG NEWS! ON EAGLE COVE is now out!

Look what showed up at my door this week - it's my author copies of On Eagle Cove written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Yours Truly for Cornell Lab Publishing Group. Wippee!! Since the eagle is the US national bird, I'd say the pre-election timing is pretty good for this one. If you click on the cover, it will take you to Bookshop.org, where you can purchase the book through your local independent bookseller, helping to keep them in business. You can also learn a little more about the book on my website:
      My Website Landing Page for OEC, including a peek at the pencil dummy
     On Eagle Cove: First Peek! (images of it in my studio, while it was a work-in-progress)

As I walked out towards Eagle Cove, Skipping through a greening grove, I followed where the pathway led― And spied a great big lake ahead. - Jane Yolen

From the prolific Jane Yolen comes On Eagle Cove, a sparkling new addition to the On Bird Hill & Beyond series. A young birder and her mother hike beside a lake and experience the majesty of an eagle aerial show. They spy a massive nest, high in a tree, and understand that the two eagles dancing across the sky are a mating pair. Soon, there will be chicks, and the girl and her mother return to the nest months later for a peek at the new little lives. On Eagle Cove reunites Jane Yolen with award-winning illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba for this quiet walk through nature that leads to an unexpected encounter with the magnificent Bald Eagle.

Here's a picture of me working on On Eagle Cove when we were still living in Scotland.

MERBABY'S LULLABY!!!!

My first board book, MERBABY'S LULLABY, written by the fabulous Jane Yolen and published by Simon & Schuster's Little Simon imprint is now IN THE WORLD!!!! WOOHOOOOOO!!! I am so thrilled with the way it turned out, and the big thick pages make me so HAPPY!!! If you see it in the wild, will you please send me photos? I'm so excited!!!!CLICK HERE to see some work-in-progress images!

MerBaby's Lullaby!!!

My new board book, MERBABY'S LULLABY written by Jane Yolen for Simon & Schuster has just made its first appearance in the wild at the Mile High Reading Blog! I'm thrilled to have my book in such fine company - woohoo!!!!

From Scholastic: Monster Academy

Check out this awesome video of Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple talking about their newest picture book, Monster Academy coming out soon from Scholastic. And while you're there, check out all of the videos promoting Scholastic's upcoming books for the season!

Hanging the Crow Show!

I am honored to be sharing my original artwork from Crow Not Crow, written by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple, at the University of Glasgow right now. Several people had a hand in making the show happen: the Art and Design Technician in the School of Education, Mona Rahman; my supervisor, Maureen Farrell; and fellow PhD Researcher Yaxi (Sissi) Wang who helped hang the show alongside me and Mona.The system is very cool. Picture rail runs high along the wall, and metal rods hang down from the rail. Tension clips slide up the rods and act as hanging mechanisms, making the hanging of a show easy peasy. From there, it's just a matter of spacing everything evenly.The pieces weren't framed or mounted, so we placed a strip of stiff cardboard behind the top of each piece to make them hang straight, it ended up resembling how the work looked hanging in my studio and worked great. For the show, I am sharing originals and sketches, an early dummy, and some storyboard drawings.

The whole thing went up in about two hours, ready for my opening talk on Friday - more on that soon!      The show will be up for three weeks in the St Andrews Building on the 5th floor through November 23rd. If you happen to be in Glasgow, I'll hope you'll stop by to see it!
     Meanwhile, here's a big fuzzy THANK YOU to Mona, Maureen, and Sissi!

CROW NOT CROW Talk and Gallery Show!

I'm happy to announce that I will be giving a talk about the making of my new picture book CROW NOT CROW on 2 November. It will be the launch of a three-week-long gallery show of my original work in the University of Glasgow St Andrews Building, 5th floor. All are welcome, although you do need to register on Eventbrite. Hope to see you there!

Crows and more crows!

Wonder what I'm up to? CROWS! That's what! One of my art deadlines is coming up soon and I'm actually ahead. I've ended up with a production line, which works great for the layering and drying time watercolors require. This is the first layer of color all of the images have received - yellow cadmium deep.This string system has worked out pretty well to give me the overview of what I've been doing.The pieces on the lower right are all experiments, then thumbnails color scripts and studies above those. I've done two covers for variation's sake, to see which I like better. At any rate, it's fun to step back and see this coming to fruition!

SOAP, SOAP, SOAP part of BOOKCASE.CLUB

What a nice surprise! My picture book, Soap, Soap, Soap has been chosen to be included in the monthly books delivered through BOOKCASE.CLUB for Kids. Click the image to learn more.

Time again for LULA'S BREW!

Teachers, are you looking for a good Halloween book to share with your young gargoyles? Might I suggest my picture book, LULA'S BREW to get in the spirit?
     Lula's Aunties want her to be a witch like them. But Lula prefers to study cookbooks rather than spellbooks (and hates to fly on a broom). Lula wants to be a famous chef. In desperation, the Aunties insist she try to make one last potion. Lula secretly adds her cooking flair and in true witchy fashion creates a brew that bewitches the entire town, and her Aunties too!
     LULA'S BREW is available in hardcover from your local bookseller (they might have to order it, so don't wait!), and also on the iPhone, iTouch, iPad, Nook Color, Kindle, and as a .pdf. Visit the activity page for all options, to download free activities (and a recipe for the BREW), and to see some cool videos. Bwahahaha!

Great Mid-grade reads

I've been on a roll discovering great mid-grades to read lately, and must share.

     The first is A HERO FOR WONDLA. This is the second book in the Wondla series by Tony Diterlizzi. Gotta say, it's just getting better. I think I liked the second book even better than the first. There are aliens, overpowering governments, magic, robots... I can't think of a reason not to like this book!

     The second is by the author of ORIGAMI YODA, Tom Angleberger.
I thought Yoda was spot on as a mid-grade read - loved it. But HORTON HALFPOTT was even better! I wish I could crawl in his brain and see the world through Tom's eyes. He's obviously still eleven years old. And his books are perfect for the mid-grade readership!

     So if you have some younger readers in your world, here are two books I highly recommend!

Brian Dettmer's Altered Books on CBS

Remember when I featured Book Sculptor Brian Dettmer? Well, he was recently featured on CBS Evening News in anticipation of his New York show which opens this Thursday - Click here for more info.
You can also view it by clicking HERE.
Needless to say, I've become a fan.

CBAIS at Cheatham Elementary School

     Remember I told you about our Children's Book Authors and Illustrators of the South or CBAIS booth at the Decatur Book Festival? Well, we did a drawing to give away an enormous bag chocked full of our books to a local school or library. The winning ticket belonged to Jennifer Frederick , School Counselor at Cheatham Hill Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia.
     Yesterday, the five steering committee members made the drive to deliver the prize. Here we are with the winner:

(Me (Elizabeth Dulemba), Connie Fleming, Jen Frederick, Susan Rosson Spain, Vicky Alvear Shecter, and Liz Conrad.)
     We presented the book bag to Jen and the school's Media Specialist, Marlo Buro. They were thrilled to add over $300 worth of books to their school's collection, especially considering all the books were written or illustrated by local creators. As they examined the collection, they were excited by how many of the books would easily tie in with existing curriculum covering almost every subject and age range in the school.
     Even better - one of the Kindergarten classes joined us during their storytime and posed for a picture with all their new treasures.

     I'm not sure who was more pleased, Jen, our CBAIS group or the kids. It don't get no better than that - spreading the love of reading and books to smiling young faces.

     Learn more about CBAIS and our twenty members, all available for speaking engagements and school visits, at http://cbais.blogspot.com.