It's a Book! Two New Books!

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My advance copies of YOU MAKE ME SNEEZE! and the paperback edition of YOU ARE NOT A CAT! arrived this week. Both books will officially be released on February 20th by Astra Young Readers.

Unboxing a year’s worth of hard work, seeing it glued and bound together as a book never gets old. I had the pleasure of sharing a sneak peek of YOU MAKE ME SNEEZE with some classrooms this week for World Read Aloud Day, and I’m happy to report: the jokes landed!

The lovely folks at Astra also created a very fun promotion for SNEEZE at this year’s ALA conference: tissue packs! They’ve sent me a bunch that I am looking forward to sharing with readers at some upcoming children’s book festivals this Spring and Fall. For more information on my appearance, scroll down this page to the Events section.

I also collaborated with Astra to create coloring pages based on a few of our favorite images from SNEEZE. Those are free for download here and on Astra’s website.

If you’d like to order a copy of one (or both) books, click here. ACHOO!

YOU MAKE ME SNEEZE Book Trailer!

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Acchoooooo!…I mean, Yippee! My book trailer for YOU MAKE ME SNEEZE! just went live! Feel free to watch and share. :^)

Written by Sharon G. Flake and illustrated by me, SNEEZE is the sequel to YOU ARE NOT A CAT! featuring the same kooky duo of Cat and Duck as they navigate the world and the hiccups (sneezes?) that friendship can bring. Written completely in dialogue, it’s perfect as a read aloud, and for kids who are starting to read on their own. YOU MAKE ME SNEEZE! is available for pre-order now, and will be out in February 2024.

If you’d like a sneak peek at some of the interior art, I’ve posted some images in the books section of my site.

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Speaking of YOU ARE NOT A CAT!, Astra Publishing House is also releasing a paperback edition to coincide with the publication of SNEEZE. And guess what? It’s also available for pre-order. Many thanks for my editor, Rebecca Davis and art director, Barbara Grzeslo and the whole team at Astra for bringing our book to life. And a special thanks goes to the amazing Sharon Flake for her wonderful, hilarious words!

Coming soon: YOU MAKE ME SNEEZE!

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ACHOOooo!!! I’m excited to share the cover of my latest collaboration with the wonderful Sharon G. Flake, You Make Me Sneeze! featuring Cat and Duck, the same hilarious duo from You Are Not a Cat! So the cat’s out of the bag…or is it? For answers to this question and more, you’ll have to pre-order a copy for yourself or that comedy-loving, picture book reader in your life. You Make Me Sneeze! will be out February 20, 2024—just in time for allergy season. But if you’re like me, every season is allergy season, so no time like the present! Get it?…present!🎁

Coming Soon: You Make Me Sneeze!

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Cat and Duck are getting back together again. I’m happy to report my latest picture book gig, You Make Me Sneeze, a sequel to 2016’s You Are Not a Cat! , to be published by Astra Young Readers. Once again, I’m team up with the wonderful Sharon G. Flake, author of the much-beloved and awarded Y.A. novels The Skin I’m In and The Life I’m In.

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Wrapping Up 2016

2016 is almost a wrap! It was a year full of books, art, festivals, teaching, and my first nErDcamp. It started with the release of A Big Surprise for Little Card, and The Wrong Side of the Bed early in the year, and You Are Not a Cat! in October. Also, I got married(!) and had a BIG birthday……you do the math! 😉

My year is ending with a flurry of super, fun school visits. In kidlit, there are few things more rewarding than sharing a book that you (and your author and publisher) have labored over (usually in solitude) with a group of kids, and experiencing their reactions first hand. As you can see above, I had a pretty good time earlier this week sharing You Are Not a Cat! with a bunch of kindergarteners. During this visit, I also made a funny discovery about the case cover I painted for the book. Yes, this is the same case cover that won an Undies Award last month…yippee! Maybe everyone else realized this right off the bat, but you know…sometimes you are so deep in a project, you can't see what you've done. All I have to say is, DUH! So, it's a costume too!

2017 starts off with the release in late January of Magnets Push, Magnets Pull, my third collaboration with David A. Adler, and the lovely folks at Holiday House. I'm hoping to share a short trailer for the book in a couple of weeks, so stayed tuned. Our previous collaborations were Junior Library Guild Selections, and I think this one is the best yet. And I just turned in first sketches for our fourth book about light waves—the official title and release date, still to be determined. I've learned so much while illustrating this series. Not bad for a kid who had absolutely no interest in science growing up.

April 2017 also brings the release of If I Were a Kangaroo written by Mylisa Larsen and published by Viking Children's Books. Earlier in the year, I'll be sharing a bit of the art, in addition to a trailer. Last but not least, I am about to start sketching a new picture book—my third with the wonderful Candlewick Press.

Speaking of trailers, I love making them (here's a sample) and would be happy to help other illustrator and authors who have no idea how to go about it. But more on that in a few weeks. In the meantime, I wish you and yours Happy Holidays, and a very happy and healthy new year!