Kirkus Review for PIG HAS A PLAN

This great review will appear in the June 15th issue of Kirkus.

 A noisy barnyard is no place for a nap!

Poor pig, all he wants to do is take a short snooze. However, there seems to be something going on around him. Each of his farm friends is making noise of one kind or another. “Hen wants to saw.” “Dog wants to tap.” “Hog wants to hum.” Pig looks closer and closer to fainting from exhaustion until he spies some drinking straws and has an idea. He sinks himself in his mud puddle and breathes through a straw snorkel. He’s finally able to catch some Z’s…but all those barnyard noises had a purpose: prep for a piggy birthday celebration. So much for napping! Long’s entry in the I Like to Read series tells its simple tale in 47 words, nearly all of which are of the single-syllable, easy-to-sound-out variety. Bright pastel-and-primary full-bleed illustrations featuring big-eyed farm folk will keep eyes on the page during storytime or guided independent reading. The visual humor and the easy-reading text make this a winner for readers just starting out.

Proving even pooped piggies are ready to party, this will make children want to join in. 

(Early reader. 4-7)

Happy Memorial Day!

This post goes out to all of the Americans who have died in service of protecting our country. My hope is that this silly optical illusion will bring some joy to everyone in a way that barbecues and kegs of beer can't. Stare at the center of the image for 20 seconds. Then immediately look to the white space at the right and wait. SURPRISE! You can click on the image to make it larger. Have a great weekend!

Thank you, Princeton Elementary School!

A big, giant THANK YOU goes out to my friends at Princeton Elementary School for having Heather and I speak at the Writer's Celebration on Thursday May, 17th. Mrs. Kennedy, you are very special to us and we truly do feel appreciated when we spend time with you. All of the students were well behaved and asked great questions. They also made Heather feel comfortable as she spoke as a published author for the first time. It was a great morning and the letters that were given to us at the end of the session reminded me of why I love doing what I do.  Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts and we look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Happy Mother's Day! To Mothers EVERYWHERE!

Maurice was the main reason I decided to make children's books my life's path. I wanted to be just like him (and create work just like him) because his books took me to places I hadn't been. We never met but he will always be remembered. 

Publisher's Weekly Reviews SOUP FOR ONE

Running Press Kids, $14.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7624-4354-3

"Tee hee hee! Some soup for me!" cries a delighted insect as he flies through an open window into a bowl of soup on a kitchen table. Not prepared to share, the fly becomes increasingly vexed as one bug after another joins him ("No more! No more!/ It won't hold four!"), until the count reaches double digits: "Not again! Now there are 10!" Long's (Chamelia) singsong couplets with their counting-themed rhymes invite chiming in as the insect tally climbs. The mixed-media illustrations incorporate photographic elements (namely the bowl, a spoon, and some soup crackers), lending a three-dimensional quality to the swimming pool–like soup bowl. The cartoony bug characters add an abundance of visual humor: all but the first, cranky interloper are having a dandy time in the soup--diving below the surface, resting on a cracker, and drinking from a straw--and a spider is seen loitering in the background. The soup's rightful (and hungry) owner spoils the fun, but leaves a soupçon for the spider. Straightforward but entertaining fare. Ages 3–6. (Apr.)

Reviewed on: 04/30/2012

Coming October 25, 2012!

Free bookmark!

Because I
know how
much you
like to read!
Just click
on the
bookmark
image,
print it,
and cut
along the
dotted lines.
Now you
can stop
dog-earing
those pages!
:)

I can't wait for the release of this book!

Tun Tun Books

An interesting relationship has formed between myself and the folks at Tun Tun Books in South Korea. They like my stories and illustrations and keep wanting me to create new material for them. I am pleased with how the work is being printed and the overall feel of the books are excellent. What a nice creative outlet! Here are three board books I created for them. As far as I know, the books are unavailable in the States because they come in a set to teach Korean children how to speak English.

Too Many Wieners!

I am currently working on the second installment of my math series, The Wing Wing Brothers (Holiday House), and my eyes are about to fall out of my head. Who knew that drawing hot dogs would bring a man to his knees! I've got my work cut out for me because I have to make sure the amounts are correct. Please pass the ketchup!!!

Begins April 23rd. Learn how to write and create your own children's book. There are 4 openings left. Sign up today!

Up, Tall and High! - as read by Ethan Long

Click here to watch more videos!

KIDS ARE AUTHORS!

I spent this morning with the folks at Scholastic Book Fairs judging the KIDS ARE AUTHORS competition. Fun times and lots of great stories to judge. Good luck kids!

HAPPY EASTER!

MAILTIME!

THE BOOK THAT ZACK WROTE - as read by Ethan Long

In Progress

What a great start to my Tuesday! I started on the thumbnails for the second book in Heather's and my Max & Milo series. Exciting. Can't wait to see how the story unfolds.

Another Wonderful Monday

And I am not being facetious. My Picture Book Pow Wow will be kicking off in about 3 weeks (if I can find 12 attendees!) and my work is getting done and done well. Plus, I currently have 3 books coming out, and it's always fun to plug books. To top it all off, it's a sunny day in Florida and my family and I are all healthy and happy. No complaints here. I do have some writing to do, so I guess I need to glue my butt to the chair and get busy. Onward and upward!

Sneak Peek!

This is an interior spread of a book I wrote and illustrated for Grosset and Dunlap that just wrapped up this week. I spent hours doing hand-drawn marker drawings and scanning them all individually to get the washy background, when I probably could have had it all done in 20 minutes with a Wacom tablet. Good thing I bought one on Wednesday. . .

Drawing is for the Birds

Here's a demonstration of how I draw the birds that inspired my new book Up, Tall and High (But Not Necessarily in That Order) published by G.P. Putnam's Sons. Keep a look out for the bald eagle that makes an appearance in the video. ;) Enjoy!

It's . . .

Blending their spectacular brand of comedy entertainment with elementary math! 

Coming Fall 2012. 

A 2nd Random Thought - By Rufus

Surprise! It's the Croaky Pokey!

Look who made it to the cover of the Scholastic Book Clubs/Firefly catalog! I love those funny little frogs! Jan Berenstain passed away last week so it is an honor to be joining her Bears on the cover. And Olivia. And The Lorax. Wow! Very flattering. My book is getting a lot of exposure.  What a fun read.

St. Patrick's Day FUN!

Stare at the very middle of the pink shamrock for 30 seconds. Then immediately look to the white area and wait about 3 seconds. What you'll get is a St. Patricks' Day surprise! Click on the image to make it larger. Enjoy and have a great (and safe) day!

Soup for One! In my mailbox!

The first printed copy of Soup For One arrived today and, man, did it blow my socks off! The rounded corners. MMM. The fibery cover. AHHH! The smell of fresh ink. SNIFF SNIFF. What a great looking (and smelling) book! Thanks to Lisa Cheng at Running Press for expertly directing this book and for keeping the process as simple as possible and to my agent, Nicole Tugeau, for her helpful ideas. Nice work to all of the designers and marketing people as well. Bravo! You're all making me look good. This book is a pleasure to hold in my hands.

SOUP FOR ONE! releases April 3rd. . .

. . . and I couldn't be more excited! This was such a fun counting book to write and produce with Running Press. There are so many fun bugs and so many textures. You'll have to inspect the art closely to guess what textures I used for the "look" for each insect and for all of the props. You can pre-order copies today and add it to your children's book collection. Have fun!

Bizzyness

When people ask me "What are you working on?", of course, without hesitation, I start talking about how busy I am. My mouth starts yakking, my eyes get big,  my arms start flailing and the base of my spine starts to sweat. Then of course, after 15 minutes of boring everyone I run into with my feeling of being overwhelmed, I feel extremely, overwhelmingly busy. And when I feel busy, I get frantic and don't think straight. Panic sets in as I try to figure out how I am going to get all of the work done, along with all of the other responsibilities I have. But after doing this for over 20 years now, I finally developed a technique to negate my panic. I stopped talking about how busy I am. It works wonders. My schedule magically makes room for new additions. I take a few more minutes to plan ahead. I, metaphorically speaking, start floating on my back through the day and taking things in stride, knowing full well that the work will get done and all will be well. I start communicating more with my friends, family and clients, letting them know what is ahead and what I am thinking. Funny thing is, everything works out and I usually meet my deadlines early.  So, on my best days, when someone asks me "What are you working on?", I just say "Lots of fun stuff", "Things are good" or, if I am really busy, I say "No offense, but I can't talk about it, because it makes me feel busy. Just know that all is well". It really works wonders, not only for my sanity but for all of my relationships. So if you're wondering what I am currently working on, just know, I am very busy, I don't want to talk about it, work is getting done and looks great, and everyone is happy (especially me). So what are YOU working on?

Sneak Peek!

I'm also putting the finishing touches on Max and Milo: Go To Sleep!, the book Heather and I will be publishing through Aladdin Books. I tried to push the deadline by a few days, but they wouldn't budge. Now I'm working long days to get it done. No worries. It's going to look fabulous!!!!

Sneak Peek!

I'm putting the finishing touches on the illustrations for Chamelia and the New Kid in Class! More to come soon.

BOOKLIST Review for UP, TALL and HIGH!

This is a great review! They made the mistake of saying the bird is "high on a branch" rather than the genius idea of the bird wearing a pair of sneaker stilts, but c'est la vie. Thanks for the positive words, Hazel!

Feeling small in a giant world is a scenario every young child will recognize. A small, orange bird feels tall until a bigger purple bird says he is tall. A lift of the page flap reveals a small, green bird that has jumped up high on a branch to be taller than them all. Then there is a penguin, who can’t fly, but the other
three birds give him a set of balloons, and he begins to soar: “I am up!” More action comes when a bird on the ground joins one in the tree, but the branch breaks and both fall down. Luckily, a page flap folds back to show that their friends have come to help them up. With its uncluttered images in opaque colors and thick black lines, sturdy pages, and lift-the-flap surprises, this story about power plays turned upside down will delight both preschoolers and beginning readers alike.

— Hazel Rochman

Drawing Scribbles and Ink

Here's a fun demonstration of how I draw the main characters from my new book, Scribbles and Ink, published by Blue Apple Books. I did it it one take! Enjoy! You can also like it on my Facebook page.