Cover Connections
I had to share this. Recently I noticed that the typeface for my new picture book, NEVER LET YOU GO, was very similar to the typeface of the cartoon book I did a few years ago, YOU’RE MY GUY BECAUSE. Now upon close inspection I can see that they are slightly different – the type for YOU’RE MY GUY BECAUSE is narrower and stretched out, but I suspect they come from the same typeface family, Mirielle.
So how cool is that? Two different designers pick very similar typefaces for my book covers. What does this mean? Well, I’d like to think that it means both designers were insightful enough to connect the right kind of type with the ‘heart’ of the book. Here’s a description of Mirielle: Mirielle is curvy yet angular at the same time. Whimsical yet orderly. As with all Typadelic fonts, this script typeface is unique and original, with a playful twist.
I’d like to think of myself as ‘whimsical yet orderly’. Heh.
World Penguin Day!!
Woo hoo! Did you know that today is World Penguin Day? A very nice lady reminded me this morning (I forgot! Shocking!) and so I must write a brief post about my love for these adorable creatures.
According to the Ian Somehalder Foundation website, there are currently 17 species of penguins living throughout the world, and they are considered the world’s most popular bird.
I have now written & illustrated two picture books about penguins, and illustrated one counting book about penguins. Obviously, they are not non-fiction books revealings lots of fascinating facts about penguins. That’s not my gift. I like to make up sweet, fun stories for kids. I love to draw funny, positive art. That is who I am. At my core, my nature is positive, open and friendly. Some people who have met me have commented that I “have no guile”. This has served me well, in some ways, in other ways, not so good.
So that’s why I love penguins. To me, they seem like they have no guile, either. They just want to live, and enjoy life, without being bothered, and without bothering others. Oh if the world was only like that!
Chirp Can Weather the Storm!
Eeep! I’m a naughty girl. I neglected to post the Chirp cover for April! Yes, this month’s issue is all about weather! And yes, it’s raining on the cover. I had considered posting this cover yesterday, but yesterday was nice & relatively sunny, so I didn’t want to tempt fate. I figure since it’s raining today, nobody will get mad at me. And as much as you don’t like the rain, well – it brings those lovely May flowers!
Yes, I Love Snow
…almost as much as I love penguins! And so why not mix, snow, penguins & love in one image?
Here’s another peek from my upcoming book, NEVER LET YOU GO. Can you tell that I really adore this little purple penguin?
Snow Job!!
So it’s April 11th, and guess what – this morning it snowed. I didn’t really mind. I had to pop out of the house in the early hours to meet with a lovely person and at that point it was raining ice, so I figure the snow I encountered on the way home was an improvement.
To celebrate this crazy weather day (because honestly – what good does complaining do?) I am posting some wonderful drawings given to me in January of this year when I did a snow-themed presentation at the Richmond Hill Public Library. I had been telling the kids about my recently illustrated book Snowy Science, so I thought it might be fun for them to illustrate a kooky snowy science story about an evil scientist named Professor Zamboni who creates a monster snowman whom he hopes will take over the world. Unfortunately for evil Professor Zamboni, the snowman (named Dave) is really a nice guy, who just wants to sell ice cream and then retire to Florida to melt.
Beautiful, beautiful Bologna
A big thank-you to the fine folks at Scholastic Canada for taking this photo while attending the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Yes, I finally have some wonderful news to share! I have a new picture book coming out this September, to be published by Scholastic Canada. The book is entitled Never Let You Go, and I’m pleased to say that I am once again both author and illustrator. And yes, once again I’ve created a book with PENGUINS! It would appear that I am not quite ready to ‘let go’ of these lovely little creatures.
This picture book is a bit of a departure for me – yes, there is humour in it, but there’s also a lot of heart, & warmth & love. It feels good to tap into a part of myself which has been tucked away for far too long. And now that the floodgates are open, who knows what will come out next? Stay tuned…
What’s Not to Love About CAKE?
Even though I had to get up early in the morning with the hubby yesterday morning, I ended up having tons of fun. Guy and I did a performance of our play, The Pirate and the Penguin at the Comic Arts for Kids Expo (CAKE), a daylong, interactive celebration of image-based storytelling, which took place at the Lillian H. Smith Library. After the play I did a short cartooning workshop, showing kids & parents how easy it was to draw pirates and penguins.
I truly love drawing and performing for kids. And though I always encourage these little creators to keep their own drawings, I really do love it when they give me their art. Here’s some samples from yesterday’s fun event:
A big thank-you must go out to Small Print Toronto, Little Island Comics and the Toronto Public Library for joining forces and creating this amazing day.
Creative Kids Got it Covered!
This past Friday I visited Frankland Community School in Toronto to share with the grade 4-6 kids some of my art, as well as some of my experiences in the wonderful, wacky world of publishing books. It was a blast! The staff were super friendly & helpful, and the kids were SO amazing. I focused most of my presentation on the process involved in creating a (hopefully) good book cover. Of course the workshop shouldn’t be all about me, so eventually I got the kids to create their own book covers. Here are a few of the gems these creative geniuses produced:
Whoops. Now isn’t that a clever, catchy title?
And who wouldn’t want to read a book called My Cat the Evil Alien Robot?
Gahhhh!! The Creepy Donut from Outer Space! Beware!
And finally…The Smart Kid. Heh.
But seriously, all these kids are super smart. I hope they all continue to write & draw. Because we need more artists & creative problem-solvers out there, brightening up our world.
Art Attack!
Woot! The Chirp March issue is all about one of my FAVOURITE subjects – ART!! It’s a wonderful feeling, to be able to create, and even more wonderful if you are able to share your art, and even MORE wonderful, if you can make people laugh!
And don’t Chirp & Sparky look adorable in their fancy French berets? C’est very fun!
