The Inside Story

Here is some information on an event coming up this Sunday November 3rd at 4:00pm at Mockingbird Books in Seattle. I will be presenting my book "Boys Camp- Nate's Story".

"Get the INSIDE STORY about the newest books by local childrens' book authors and illustrators. Each presenting guest will share 2-3 minutes of the story behind their latest work. Food, drinks and fun upstairs at the Great Hall followed by book signing downstairs in the bookstore. Please join us!"

New work

I recently finished a project for National Geographic Learning and wanted to share a few of the images. It's a story about a pioneer family traveling in a wagon train. Enjoy!

Gifts From the Enemy

I recently finished work on my next picture book called "Gifts From the Enemy" written by the wonderful Trudy Ludwig. It will be released in March 2014. You can read more about the story in an earlier post below.  The cover design isn't totally finalized yet but since it is appearing on Amazon.com now as a pre-order I want to share it with you now along with a couple other finished paintings.

I am really excited to spread the word on this inspiring true story!

Boys Camp reviewed in USA TODAY!

"Boys Camp- Zack's Story" made it into the newspaper USA TODAY as part of a feature on Summer Reading For Kids! Very exciting to have such wide exposure.

You can see the article here:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/06/19/summer-reading-for-kids/2435439/

Boys Camp book launch & signing this Saturday June 8th!

Just a heads up that this Saturday June 8th at Magnolia Books in Seattle author Cameron Dokey and I will be launching our new middle grade book, "Boys Camp Book 1- Zack's Story" into the world! We will be signing books from 1:00-3pm and I will have all of the art to share. Hope to see you there! Please spread the word.

Here is a link to the event: http://www.magnoliasbookstore.com/news.php

A new picture book project you can help get off the ground!

I thought you’d like to know about GIFTS FROM AN ENEMY, my exciting nonfiction picture book project that I have been working on with bestselling author Trudy Ludwig. Trudy's inspiration for GIFTS FROM THE ENEMY is Alter Wiener, a teen survivor of five prison labor camps during WW II and the author of From a Name to a Number.

GIFTS FROM THE ENEMY is carefully crafted to educate young readers in an age-appropriate way about the dangers of hatred, stereotyping, and prejudice. It’s also a story of hope for anyone who has ever been devalued or treated poorly by others—not for what they’ve done but simply for being who they are. The cool thing about this children's book is that it also includes a brief history overview, vocabulary, discussion questions, AND activities to promote social justice and kindness in kids!

To make this book happen, we need some help. We’ve created a a Kickstarter Campaign, offering some great giveaways for those folks who want to support our project with funding pledges. Click here to check out the short video clip about our project and see some of the amazing artwork in progress! You can also support us by spreading the word by Email, Facebook, twitter, or blog posts, etc. to those who may be interested in this great project! We would appreciate any help you can offer.

Below are two of the finished paintings from the book thus far. I have been able to spend time with Alter on a couple of visits to Portland, Oregon. On one trip I took photos for the painting you see below. He is a very special person and I feel honored to help tell his story.

Current projects

By the look of things it has been some time since my last post. I am happy to say it's for a good reason. I have been very busy with work! Now is a good time to mention a couple of the new projects I am working on. The first is a sequel to the Boy's Camp chapter book I illustrated last fall which will be released in May called "Zack's Story". Each book follows the adventures of a different boy at the same summer camp. The project was started by some of the people behind the "American Girl " books including the author of the Kit Kittredge books, Valerie Tripp. The new book I am working on is called "Nate's Story" and will be released this fall. Fingers crossed their will be more for this series in the future. My contributions consist of two illustrations per chapter plus the cover. They are really fun well written stories perfect for a 7-10 year old reluctant reader. The most fun for me are the nature scenes, a favorite subject matter.

Another project I am working on is my first picture book project in three years and the first trade-picture book since "The Can Man" four years ago. I was lucky to be chosen to illustrate the great Trudy Ludwig's new book "Gifts From the Enemy". I have been working closely with the author to bring this true story to life. It's based on the autobiography of Alter Wiener, a Holocaust survivor who was separated from his family in Poland as a teen and survived four slave labor camps in Germany and a Concentration camp before WWII's end. His powerful book is called "64736: From a Number to a Name- A Holocaust Survivor's Autobiography" and has found great success since it's release in 2007. You can learn more about his book here www.alterwiener.com. The books success is partly due to 86 year old Alter's unwavering efforts to speak to school and libraries about his experiences during the war.

Trudy's picture book focuses on the kindness shown to Alter by a German woman factory worker and how her actions helped him survive. The best part of this project has been the chance to spend time with Alter and gather information from him to better illustrate his story. He has been very patient with all of my questions and it's been wonderful to get to know this kind man with a great sense of humor. He also plays a mean game of scrabble. Alter lives outside Portland Oregon and you should really see him give a talk if you have the opportunity. Our picture book will be released next year. Until then I have a lot more work ahead of me. Below is a photo of Trudy Ludwig, Alter Wiener and myself taken last weekend outside Portland.