Tortoise and Hare's Amazing Race

Yesterday I received my ARC (advanced reading copy) of my second book coming out this fall. It's Tortoise and Hare's Amazing Race by Marianne Berkes, a retired teacher and librarian, now a full time children's book author and presenter. This is our third picture book together and we are working away on our fourth to come out spring 2016.

Arbordale Publishing is the publisher and they specialize in fun stories that build on science, nature and math skills. Tortoise and Hare is a retelling of the classic story with a math twist. Fractions and distance measurements mark progress for Henry Hare and Tess Tortoise along the way. 

How far to the top? 1,760 yards or one mile!

No Henry, you really don't have time to play, but you never did listen to me...

5,280 feet is the same as one mile. I already knew that because Denver is the Mile Hi City.

Click on the images for a larger view. And as always, thanks for taking a look!

Latest buzzzz for If You Love Honey

After turning in artwork for If You Love Honey, Nature's Connections I got a look at Patty Arnold's design and layout for the book. I'm posting a few spreads here to give you a sneak peek. This is my second book illustrated by Martha Sullivan and third book for Dawn Publishing. It comes out this fall. After doing a lot of research for the illustrations I've converted to a true honey bee fanatic, not to mention a Martha Sullivan fan!

And here's a couple of early reviews:
"If You Love Honey is vibrant and engaging with warm, lifelike, and impressively accurate art that remembers the young audience the book is written for. Parallel sections of text throughout the book effectively lead the reader through the pages. The theme text is repetitive and playful, while the more instructional sections are informative but still easily accessible and interesting to a young audience" --Randy L. Seagraves, Curriculum Coordinator, International Junior Master Gardener Program

"If You Love Honey takes its readers on a beautifully illustrated adventure through the intertwining natural world around us. It highlights the work of our bees, linking golden honey on bread to the earthworms crawling underground, and everything in-between. Children will be fascinated by this tale." --Sarah Red-Laird, Bee Girl, Executive Director, American Beekeeping Federation, Kids and Bees Program Director

And I wanted to say "Thanks!" to William Porter at the Denver Post for including me in his Mother's Day tribute. It's always great to give a shout out to our moms, especially our moms who spent so much time reading that favorite book once, twice, three times and please, just one more time before going to bed.

Neigh, maaaaaa and a STREAM event

Here's new images from an upcoming picture book for the littlest readers, a counting book with baby farm animals. You're sure to see some cheeps, gobbles and squeaks soon. Click on the image to see a larger view. There will be more to report about the book as I go along.

And I just wanted to add this very fun event sponsored by The Poudre River Public Library District in Fort Collins. This was part of their Women's History Month program. I was very honored to be included with this group of amazing women. Although I enjoy being a children's book illustrator I was blown away listening to their advice and experiences. It was a good time and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the kids who attended the event.

From left to right: Susan Shriner, wildlife epidemiologist at the National Wildlife Research Center, Me, Hannah Mikelson, pursuing a dual degree in Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics minor at CSU, Amy Kathleen Ryan, Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing at The New School in NYC as well as award winning young adult science fiction author, Erin Macdonald, Phd in Astrophysics at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and voice actress and last but not least, our wonderful moderator, Kristen Dean, the Program Coordinator at the CSU Environmental Learning Center. Michelle Strout, professor in the computer science department at CSU wasn't able to make it.

Thanks so much for taking a look and Happy Easter!

A Visit From Mr. Pig!

Mr. Pig from The Little Crooked Cottage dropped by today for a Studio Tour!

What’s The Little Crooked Cottage? Well, it’s home to four children’s book authors -- Anika Denise, Jamie Michalak, Kara LaReau, and Kristen Tracy -- and a pig. It’s also the name of children’s book blog dedicated to celebrating authors, illustrators, and their creations.

Finishing artwork for "If You Love Honey, Nature's Connections" this week

Here's some full page spreads from If You Love Honey, Nature's Connections by Martha Sullivan, published by Dawn Publications. This week I should be done with final artwork. Normally I'd say more but I still have a lot of drawing to complete. Robert Frost said it best, "and miles to go before I sleep".

Click on the image for a larger view and thanks for stopping by for a look!

Every fall Colorado Country Life Magazine features local authors and illustrators. This year they featured The Prairie That Nature Built's Augmented Reality (AR) app under Discoveries. This is a freebie pop-up app that is included with the printed book. After downloading the app onto your tablet or smart phone you view the printed book which makes the characters dramatically spring to life - the owl swoops, the mouse runs, the foxes lunge and prairie dogs hide. Meanwhile a narrator reads the story aloud. This is not your grandfather's app!

The folks at the magazine created a very cool video explaining how this works. It's so great to live in such a supportive community. Thank you Colorado Country Life!

Colorado Country Life November 2014

And Dawn Publishing just created a separate game/book app that supports the book as well. You can buy it or find more information about it here on Dawn's website.