MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGS

Coupla sketches

2010-02-24T16:42:00.002-06:00

"What are you working on?" Perhaps you have asked. Maybe (probably) not. But what I am working on is my second written and illustrated picture book titled, tentatively (?), ANOTHER BROTHER. I haven't talked much about it, but I did talk a little about it here, at my recent interview with Travis Jonker of 100 Scope Notes. Dare I say more?

I'm about 98% done with a picture book written by Lauren Thompson titled, newly (?), LEAP BACK HOME TO ME. A lovely story about a mama frog and a baby frog. I'm just finishing one last jacket illustration now. Very cool.

In the meantime, here are two random sketches I found to post. I kinda (used to) have a thing for elephants.

Anderson's Children's Lit Breakfast

2010-02-21T10:17:00.003-06:00

To anyone who may have bought copies of any of my books to be signed at the Anderson's kids book Breakfast (always fun--great people, great speakers): My apologies, but we had to leave early. Our 15mth old's Grandma (our babysitter) was a last minute cancellation due to being sick and we had to bring Romy with. By around 11 am, she was being crazy cranky/tired and we had to leave early.

If you wanted/needed something signed by me, please just contact me and we could maybe work something out?

matthew@matthewcordell.com

Interview at 100 Scope Notes

2010-02-16T10:09:00.004-06:00

Please take a moment to head on over to the awesome children's lit blog, 100 Scope Notes, and check out this interview I just did with Travis Jonker. Travis found this weird website, Twiddla, that acts like a collaborative computer sketch pad. We did some interview-style mouse doodling together (alongside the more traditional q/a interview questions), and the results are something else. A cool idea, Trav. Drop a comment and let him know you stopped by!

Travis also just redesigned the blog and it looks great. The new home page, here.

Thanks for having me at 100 Scope Notes, Travis. Lots of fun.

Top Ten (January 2010)

2010-02-08T12:16:00.002-06:00

That time again. My favorite things from the month previous.

1. BOB DYLAN: BEHIND THE SHADES REVISITED. From what I can tell this is the most comprehensive and accurate bio on the man who is well-known to not like to be well-known. It's very dense (long) but was quite the page turner. I mean, you gotta like you some Dylan to want to turn these pages, and I really liked it. As my pal and fellow Dylanologist, James Preller said, "it helps connect the dots." My favorite period remains the controversial "going electric" one. Coming to a loud, loud crash with the world tour of '66.

While I'm on topic, I just discovered this nasty, nasty performance from the '02 Grammy Awards. Circa Love and Theft. Freakin amazing.

2. LATE NIGHT WARS. I'm not much on Late Night TV these days. And I'm not much on bickering matches (especially in this political climate). But I have to say I was entertained by what went on this past month. I think it peaked when Jimmy Kimmel soundly eviscerated Leno at his own table. Oomph.

3. SESAME STREET: A CELEBRATION OF 40 YEARS OF LIFE ON THE STREET. This book was one that I got for xmas but had not yet cracked til a week or so ago. They did an AMAZING job with this. The amount of detail, history, behind-the-scenes info is incredible. Ever wonder how Big Bird is brought to life? You'd be amazed. Anybody who grew up with SESAME would find it hard not to get a little misty when thumbing through this beautifully illustrated document. Especially in the Mr. Hooper section. Sniff.

4. THE DAY AFTER RECOVERING FROM STOMACH FLU. Act I: day of getting hammered in the stomach for hours accompanied by unspeakable acts of purging. Act II: it abruptly ends and you discover what it is to "have your health" again. Being of sound health the very day after being ill--It is a beautiful reminder that even the worst days of some (stomach flu) will never be as bad as the best days of others (serious illness, poverty, famine...). As the late great Mr. Rogers used to say, "It's such a good feeling to know you're alive." Straight truth.

5. MOON MAN. Phaidon is reprinting a lot of classic Tomi Ungerer picture books. I say they're classic cause this one is from 1966. Not that I'd ever heard of them or him. But I have now, and I've started with MOON MAN, and I am impressed. I don't know if it's any relation, but it has that whole Yellow Submarine vibe to the art. Loose pen and ink line and wash. Very nice.

6. MEZZETTA GARLIC AND DILL GOLDEN GREEK PEPPERONCINI. I love salty foods. I love salty, pickled foods. I love salty, spicy, pickled foods. I love salty, spicy foods pickled with garlic and dill.

7. MUPPET WHAT NOT. I am, it seems, some kinda Henson nut. I mean, somewhat yes. But mostly, there's just been a lot of it going around with Sesame's 40th. But a while back, Julie discovered that FAO Schwarz offers a build-your-own Muppet program (much like the more commercial Bear Workshop out there). How amazing is this? If you can't get to NYC to do it in person (which, by the way, looks awesome!), you can assemble and order the whole thing online. For Romy's Xmas/Hanukkah gift, we got her one of these. Well, it's supposed to be for her.

8. 100 SCOPE NOTES. This blog, by Travis Jonker, is one of a handful of kidlit blogs that are constant abuzz. I really like the tone of it and Trav always finds new and creative ways to present himself (e.g., he sometimes reviews in the form of a comic strip). I actually met Travis at an ALA Conference (he's also a librarian) not too long ago in Chicago. A very nice guy.

9. GIBBY from iCARLY. Now that we have cable television, I've become a bit of a connoisseur of the tween comedy. I don't like much of what Disney has to offer, except Wizards of Waverly Place is pretty funny despite it's shameless hopping on of bandwagon. iCarly trumps them all. There's this old jaded codger side of me that cringes from time to time when they get all tweeny but I'm not exactly the intended audience. Anyways, the best part of the show is this kid Gibby, a secondary player. He is positively built for physical comedy (no offense, Gibbs). Man, that dude is funny.

10. MAN V. FOOD. Another recent cable TV fascination. This time from the Travel Channel. A dude goes around the country taking up local restaurants on insane eating challenges. Like, "eat this gigantic steak in under an hour and you get a free t-shirt." Or, "eat this disturbingly spicy sandwich (made with "ghost" peppers...?!) and you get a free t-shirt." If it sounds ridiculous, it is. And it is also both disgusting and appetizing at the same time. Weird.

From Korea with Love

2010-02-03T11:41:00.002-06:00

Just got wind of this. TROUBLE GUM is gonna get a Korean edition, from one of their publishers, Forever Books! How awesome is that? I think it's especially cool since not too long ago, one of my earlier pic books, RIGHTY AND LEFTY (written by Ms. Rachel Vail) also got a pick-up from a Korean pub. Cool, cool.

(I did a quick online translation of TROUBLE GUM from English to Korean. Below. I doubt it's an accurate trans, seeing as TROUBLE GUM is my made up thing, and those online translators usually end up being wack. Hopefully this ain't nothing too vulgar, at least.)

More About Me.

2010-01-21T22:23:00.003-06:00

Ever wonder what nibs I use? What I collect? My pre-drawing rituals? Favorite comic strip? Musical instrument I play?

I have answered these questions and many more here, at David-Wasting-Paper, the blog of cartoonist/cartoon enthusiast David Paccia. David has sought out and Q/A'd some of the coolest in the cartoon/illustration biz. Bob Staake, Bill Griffith, Shannon Wheeler, and fellow Feiwel and Friends illustrator, Greg Ruth (also a fellow James Preller collaborator) to name a few.

Not sure what his motivation is, but he's getting some cool people to contribute. Thanks for including me, David.

(Up next is Rick Geary. Nice!)

TROUBLE GUM studies, etc. at new MacKids blog

2010-01-18T12:43:00.004-06:00

Macmillan Children's has an awesome new blog up. It's a lot of behind-the-curtain type of stuff played out by various Macmillan Children's personnel. And for those not in the know, Macmillan is the great big pub that's home to imprints Feiwel and Friends, Henry Holt, Roaring Brook, Priddy, First Second, Roaring Brook, and Square Fish.

Already, I've read a cool piece by Nicole Moulaison, Production Manager for F+F and Squarefish, about color-correcting scanned art for print. And another cool piece by Reka Simonsen, Senior Editor, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. A "what's on my desk" fun one.

For my part, I was asked to send in some early stuff I did for TROUBLE GUM. Not finished art, but just sketches, thought process, color study work I did before the final art came around (like the drawing I did way back when, below, as a color test). Please do have a look at this, and please do have a look at this hip new blog!

The Letterman

2010-01-15T12:27:00.004-06:00

I suppose it's the fact that my BFA was made in design, but I love hand-lettering. In some (most?) cases, I prefer it. For any readers who have seen any of my previous book covers, you may have noticed some bit of hand-lettering going on--or not, depending on how much you appreciate such a thing.

It's fun to draw letters. I guess, in part, it's cause they don't judge. A "T" is a T. Just cause you draw it one way or another, doesn't make it not a T. I think, from now on, when someone asks what is my favorite thing to draw, I will say "Letters.". So, there.

Below are some sketches I whipped up for possible hand drawn title treatments for author Rachel Vail's and my forthcoming middle-grade one.

Below, below, is the standing font treatment. We'll see what happens.

Top Ten (December 2009)

2010-01-09T12:40:00.012-06:00

1. GOOGLE'S HOMAGE TO E.C. SEGAR. Someone at Google has good taste. First they get it with Sesame Street, now they mark Segar's b-day (115!) with this one. Nice job.

2. RICHARD THOMPSON'S ANECDOTE REGARDING BRANT PARKER. I really enjoyed reading this blog post from the great Richard Thompson about when he was a young, aspiring writer/cartoonist and he met cartoonist Brant Paker--creator of THE WIZARD OF ID. A very vivid memory. Just cool.

3. GRIT COOKBOOK. The Grit, in Athens, GA, is the best vegetarian restaurant that I've never been to. (Whatever that means.) I got this cookbook for xmas and it's got some cool, savory stuff to do with tofu. Some of it looks fancy-complicated, but I'm game. We kicked it off with a dang tasty tofu ruben sandwich last week.

4. JOHN BURNINGHAM. Genius, genius, genius. How have I gone this long without knowing about the children's books of John Burningham? All I can say is this guy has got GUTS.

5. GOOGLE IMAGES. Just finished drawings for a pic book, and Google Images was with me all the way (apologies for two Google endorsements in one Ten). Whenever I need an image ref, Google Images is the place to go.

6. FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES BY OLD CALIFORNIO. A Facebook friend posted this video. I had never heard of Old Californio, but it seems that they are an up-and-coming CA band. This song--I like it.

7. MAP OF MY HEART. John Porcellino's King Cat is the king of the zine and mini-comic. When I first moved to Chicago in '99, I discovered his books at Quimby's. His drawings are so elegant, and his observations just sweet, simple, and often heartbreaking. Drawn and Quarterly has been so good as to reprint King Cat in book form. This is the second collection of such.

8. STONEWALL'S JERQUEE. Who'd a thunk it? Vegetarian "beef" jerky that actually tastes like beef jerky. I was a fool for some jerky growing up. But once I hit 18, I went vegetarian and never touched the stuff. When I turned a ripe 34, I started eating the occasional bit of bird. No beef, no pork, no fish. As weird as it sounds, this stuff is good (and frighteningly addictive).

9. WHALE TALK. Julie gave me a stack of YA novels to read recently-- one of which was this one from Chris Crutcher. My first Chris Crutcher. Very intense story about swimming, bullying, racism, and tearing stereotype to shreds. Really good. Hurts to read something like this, but it's good to hurt sometimes.

10. ROMY'S EVER-EXPANDING VOCAB. Hi, light, bottle, night-night, Mama, Dada, girl, good girl, num-num, bye-bye, more, more please, purse, wow, cat. And she's a heck of a mimicker. Babies are cool, man.

ring-a-ding-ding.

2010-01-04T21:32:00.005-06:00

Let's ring in 2010, here on the blog, with a little bit of "whatchu know good?". Down south, where I'm from, that roughly translates to "what's the good word?". Here's some latest and greatest in word.

1. Just finished finals (all but jacket) on my latest illustrated picture book. Titled LEAP FROG. Written by Lauren Thompson, illo'd by yours true. I'm quite happy with the end drawings. A very sweet book, this one, and thrilled to have been invited.

2. Julie's new one, INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER, just got short-listed for the CYBILS (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards) best YA fiction. Only a handful left in the running, in this category, and I think my babe should win. Git er done, CYBs?

3. One of my previous collaborative pic books, RIGHTY AND LEFTY, (written by my pal, Rachel Vail--we also recently teamed up on her über-cool forthcoming middle-grade novel, JUSTIN CASE) just got picked up by a Korean publisher. Which means it'll be getting some fancy Korean type-treatment for this foreign release. Can't wait to get a look at this!

4. Currently kicked into high gear for my next author/illustrator picture book. The text is mainly wrapped. Just a few tweaks left to tweak. Which means now I'm off and into sketches. Super-psyched here. Pumped.

These are the highlights of the moment. Shall we start this new year? We shall, and right. Onward, folks!

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-23T12:38:00.004-06:00

Julie, Romy, and I are about to head down south for some holiday festivity. For those who do not know, my people are from South Carolina. We were planning on boarding a flight that left Chicago this afternoon, but it's been canceled due to some snow. A white Christmas cancels flights, people.

But looking forward to a fried turkey and various other southern-style (probably not good for my cholesterol issues) sides and desserts.

Happy Holidays to all, and to all a great 2010!

Bookpage: Best Picture Books of '09!

2009-12-09T21:47:00.004-06:00

This just in! TROUBLE GUM was selected by BookPage for a short list of this year's best picture books. In case you missed it, I was in the magazine back in September for their supercool "Meet the Illustrator" column. Check that out here.

Thanks, BookPage!

Top Ten (November 2009)–Addendum!

2009-12-07T11:48:00.003-06:00

I forgot. Make it Top 11 this time. A Facebook friend posted this earlier this month (and another posted just now and I remembered...), and all I could say was "wow". Up for auction is original art by the greats. William Steig, James Marshall, Maurice Sendak, and many more. All you can do is salivate, cause you know you can't afford these pups. But a girl can dream, can't she? By all means, go crack this catalog and dream.

Top Ten (November 2009)

2009-12-02T22:03:00.017-06:00

I can't believe a month has blown by since my last Top list. I guess I've only blogged a couple of times since then, too. Heck.

Well, it's been a good month with some prime pickin'. Let's see:

1. GOOGLE SESAME HOMAGE. In case you missed it, Sesame Street just celebrated it's 40th anniversary this past month. Google knows a good thing when google sees it, so Google did a week's worth of Sesame-inspired Google logo treatments. Good on ya, Goog. (Now, pardon moi for all the scrolling...)

2. CHICAGO HUMANITIES FESTIVAL PANEL. The title of this panel discussion, from Nov 7, was The Not-So-Funny Situation of Alternative Comix. It was a dream panel. Lynda Barry, Jules Feiffer, Chris Ware, and Matt Groening. The discussion was comics, specifically the demise of the comic strip in alt-weeklies like the Village Voice and the Chicago Reader (panel was moderated by Chicago Reader's Michael Miner). Lots of talent, lots of laughs, lots of fun. One of my favorite moments was when Chris Ware stepped off-stage for a few minutes, then came running back on when it was time for his slide show. And said, "when you spend a lot of time at home, your bladder shrinks down to the size of a shallot."

3. CANON EOS REBEL XSi. Our first digital SLR (single lens reflex). Takes a great looking picture. And it's so much better in low light situations than our old point 'n shoot. Even though this cam's, like, amateur hour for you serious photographers, it's fits us nicely in performance and price.

4. CAKE BOSS. Julie's got me watching TLC now. Which I think (ironically?) stands for The Learning Channel. Which doesn't quite add up because it basically seems like a "reality show" cavalcade of hot tempers, multiple pregnancy families, little people, overweight people, BBQ competitors, and bikers. Nevertheless, a personal favorite in "learning" is the CAKE BOSS. Billed as a bakery reality, it's painfully obvious when there's a blatant setup, plot fix or unreal moment happening. And it's spilling over with Jersey Italian stereotype (lovably). But I love watching them construct the custom cakes. Airplane or Leaning Tower of Pisa or NYC cityscape or your basic "old school" icing piped beautifully on a 4-tiered wedding cake. Talent. Like edible sculpture. Yum.

5. CHRISTOS' FALAFEL, PHILADELPHIA. Julie and I came upon this street vendor while on a recent trip to Philadelphia. It wasn't your typical cart. This was a spanking clean and shiny silver cart without any obvious signage/pricing. But with big tasty smells and lots of fresh herbs, garlic cloves and flowers adorning the front. After asking the line of regulars what smelled so good, we found out it was Greek char-grilled chicken breast, falafel, and lots of other savory homemade Mediterranean sides. Totally tasty! And fresh. Once we got home, we found out this dude is kind of a legend. People seem to liken him to Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi". Though we found him to be quite pleasant. A neat vid/write-up about this here.

6. BOB DYLAN PLAYS HANK WILLIAMS. I've been on a Hank Williams (Sr.) kick this month. I remembered there was a clip in DON'T LOOK BACK where Dylan picks out some old Hank tunes. Found a clip of it on YouTube. Dylan, Joan Baez, Albert Grossman, etc. And a good hair day for Dylan. That classic Glaser silhouette.

7. MUPPETS BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY. Two tips of the hat to Henson Studios this month. I realize most anyone who's been on the internet recently has either heard of or watched this vid. But I would be remiss in my work as an art blogger and as a Henson worshiper if I didn't also recognize this brilliance.

8. THE CURIOUS GARDEN. This gem by übertalent Peter Brown was one of a stack of picture books Julie and I picked up at ALA this past summer. It was only just recently that I seriously gave a look. Beautiful. It's all abuzz from the kidlit crowd. Rightly so.

9. FANTASTIC MR. FOX. Really dug this Wes Anderson and co. adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel (novella?). And I read the book just after. I do very much like Dahl, but I dare say the film was even better. Maybe just for the insanely good stop-motion animation. Liked the cuss outta this flick.

10. ROMY STANDS! For her next trick, Romy has solved that whole "how does one stand?" riddle. Sooooo big!!

TROUBLE GUM at 7-imp

2009-12-01T11:16:00.004-06:00

I'm still in the thick of final art on a new book by Lauren Thompson, but wanted to drop a quick post. This morning, alongside Steve Jenkins and Scott Magoon, I'm featured (for TROUBLE GUM) on Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. We're rounding out a series of posts, by Jules, highlighting new books by illustrators who've been on the blog before. 7-imp remains one of my absolute favorite kid lit blogs (my go to for the best illo in kid books!), so I'm honored to be invited again. Check it out here.

One other bit of hot TROUBLE news, before I get back to work. Just found out that it's gone into its second printing! Say what??!

Scrawlings of a Madman

2009-11-19T22:13:00.003-06:00

Generally, when I'm working on final art, I go through alternating periods of, "I'm worthless!" and "I'm brilliant!". Usually, I land in the area of, "At least I'm OK.".

Sometimes, when people look at my drawings, I get an occasional, "I bet it doesn't take you too long to draw, huh?". I am a tortured soul, dear readers. If you only knew.

You see, I just drew this frog 6 (and a half) times, wasting precious and pricey watercolor paper, because one little wiggly line didn't look wiggly enough. Or because the circles of the eyes were TOO circular. Or because the lines that make the mouth met kinda weird. Or because there were a few too many "bumps" on his skin. Et cetera.

I know what you're thinking. "Huh?"

Cut me some slack. "I'm brilliant!"

In the end, we have prevailed. On to page 2!

Top Ten (October 2009)

2009-11-03T15:28:00.003-06:00

Make it 6. It's been a weird month, and I'm shortening my likes to a mere 6 tops. Better luck next month. I mean, I'm enjoying, still, some of the other things from previous lists. Top 6.

1. SPUD. Julie is my go-to for good books. She brought home, from the library, a bunch of novels she thought I'd like. Top of the pile was this one by John van de Ruit. Billed as South Africa's CATCHER IN THE RYE, it's a hilarious story of a young teen kid who is starting an all boys boarding school in South Africa. It's set in 1990, so there's an interesting fall-of-apartheid backdrop. Told through a series of John "Spud" Milton's journal entries. There's a sequel, which I intend to track down and read directly.

2. BLACK TICONDEROGA. I went looking for pencils to buy for using at my TROUBLE GUM readings. I found a box of these. The standard Ticonderoga comes in classic yellow, but these look so much cooler and were cheaper, for some reason.

3. A.D.: NEW ORLEANS AFTER THE DELUGE. This new graphic novel from Josh Neufeld is the true tellings of 6 survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Neufeld interviewed 6 different folks, smartly, from very different sides of the socio-economic spectrum. With amazing results. Steeped in details and the sort of stories that have been sadly forgotten or perhaps never known at all. It's in extremes of frustration, heartbreak, and inspiration. Very well done. Very recommended.

4. MELISSA AND DOUG LEARN-TO-PLAY PIANO. This tiny piano is a birthday gift for Romy. She can actually play this mother! But, I think I'm getting more enjoyment out of it than she is. I love plinking out my little tunes... Theme from Star Wars, Rainbow Connection, O Christmas Tree, "Chopsticks"... you know, the essentials.

5. CHRIS WARE'S NEW YORKER HALLOWEEN COVER and ACCOMPANYING COMIC STRIP. I love his take on parents with iPhones, passive-aggressive texting, and Halloween. Beautifully drawn, as always. Read it here.

6. ROMY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY! Wow, I can't believe it's been a year since this. Romy, dear, you are the apple of Mom's and my eyes. Happy, happy, happy day.

Pigs, pigs, pigs.

2009-10-28T21:31:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to post these since my reading at The Book Stall the other week. One thing I did, near the end of the presentation, was go on about how I love drawing and seeing other people draw because it's very much an extension of one's personality. Much like the way someone speaks, or laughs, or sneezes, or smells, dresses, walks, eats, etc. Everybody draws differently. Cause everybody's brain is different, hands are different and it all flows out just different. EVEN IF we draw the exact same thing. Different.

So I drew, step-by-step, a big drawing of TROUBLE GUM's main pig, Ruben. Kids and parents and grandparents and friends followed along. Unfortunately, a couple of my tiny guys got lost, but generally the experiment went well.

These were the only ones left laying around at the end. Everyone else took theirs home. And there are some real beauts here. Like I said, all very different. All very cool.

My babe gets a star!

2009-10-21T16:06:00.003-05:00

As reported here earlier, Julie's newest YA novel, INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER, just came out on Sept 29.

It's been picking up some great reviews (Kirkus, School Library Journal), but the best so far is this STARRED (the best of the best) review from Publisher's Weekly! So, so proud. Well-deserved, my sweet. Congratulations.

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder Julie Halpern. Feiwel and Friends, $16.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-312-38252-0

Sophomore Jessie Sloan is having a bad year. Her two closest friends are turning punk and boy-crazed; one of them even pursues Jessie's longtime crush. To make matters worse, Jessie's beloved older brother will soon be leaving for college. Jessie feels adrift and spends her time sewing skirts and listening to audiobooks. Halpern's (Get Well Soon) story picks up pace when class nerd Dottie introduces Jessie to Dungeons and Dragons, which Jessie (to her surprise) actually enjoys, leading her to a new group of friends as well as a heartfelt, if a little clichéd, crush on a cute boy with his own nerdish tendencies. Jessie is a thoughtful, sympathetic narrator (“How is it that someone becomes a dork?... What makes some people like punk music and Denny's and other people like costumes and Dungeons and Dragons?”), and her fresh voice will reveal to readers just how independent and exceptional she is (even when Jessie can't see it herself). The relationships and dialogue ring true; readers navigating the stratified social structures of high school will relish an ending that celebrates true friendship. Ages 12–up. (Oct.)

TROUBLE GUM inaugurates

2009-10-19T12:38:00.005-05:00

On Saturday, last, I had my first solo author event ever (Julie and I have done a team show in years past, but I've never held the spotlight alone). And this was the first TROUBLE GUM event so far--complete with a reading, some awkward banter, a little drawing. It was a great success! Thanks to Robert McDonald and everyone at The Book Stall in Winnetka! Thanks to everyone who showed up, smiled, supported, bought books! And special thanks to Julie, Romy, and Grandma Janice for moral support and advice. Looking forward to doing this again--polishing, revising, getting better, and crushing this fear of public speaking once and for all. Now here's some pics. Thanks to my lovely wife and assistant for making with the digital camera.

Check our man out. Pretending to be all cool just before the start.

My first ever read-aloud to an audience. Complete with "voices".

Getting my draw on.

I did a bit of show-and-tell with drawings from the Cordell archives. Here I am telling my infamous "cabbit" story. Mental note: tighten up the "cabbit" story.

Giving a step-by-step drawing lesson of TROUBLE GUM's star pig, Ruben.

From the front.

The kiddos and adults did a bang-up job in the drawing lesson.

Signed some books and cooled down afterward. Here I am signing a big sketch of Lord Vader for a fellow fan.

Thanks again, everybody! I had a blast. More to come.

Stepping on my soapbox a sec here: Support your local independent bookstore, people! Even if you're maybe paying a tad bit more (I certainly know it's hard times) than the big corps and chains, you walk out with a squeaky clean conscience! And you can't put a price on that.

Oct 17--See Matt Draw.

2009-10-12T14:11:00.002-05:00

This Saturday, October 17 at 3pm, I'll be headlining an event at one of my all-time favorite indie bookshops, The Book Stall in Winnetka, IL.

By headlining, I mean, I'm the main event... er, the only event. I'm doing a reading of my newest pic book, TROUBLE GUM. Then, I'm showing some semi-embarrassing drawings from my past. Then I'm doing a little drawing demo. Then wrapping up with some audience participation drawing. I'm very excited about it. Admittedly, a little nervous. Public speaking is not my forte, as I'm sure I have mentioned here before. But to quote Eleanor Roosevelt:

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

I have lived through this horror. Well, it's not "horror". Don't be silly.

Now that I've spilled all this, I hope, if you live in the area (or are willing to make the drive), that you will come and see me. I guarantee fun will be had by kiddo and adulto alike-o. See you there!

Top Ten (September 2009)

2009-10-05T11:36:00.005-05:00

I know it ain't September. So, yeah, I'm running late with this. But the blog is one of only a couple of things (work-related) where I don't have a deadline on my shoulder. So here I am, late, and loving it.

1. CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. The return of LD! Catherine O'Hara (aka "Funkouser's Crazy Sister"). The Seinfeld "reunion". Leon.

2. CUL DE SAC and Richard Thompson. Richard Thompson is a pen/ink genius. Hands down. AND a nice guy to boot. Julie bought me some original art by RT for my birthday. Blew me away.

3. ANDROMEDA KLEIN The new YA novel by KING DORK author, Frank Portman. He's got a great "voice", Portman, and I'm enjoying the originality of his main character, Andromeda. He's really done his homework, it seems, on the tarot and occult.

4. STITCHES New graphic novel/memoir from illustrator David Small. His true story about how he had cancer as a pre-teen, why he got it, and a horribly dark mom/dad/son relationship. Amazing.

5. BORED TO DEATH New series on HBO from writer Jonathan Ames. Starring Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis, and the hilarious Ted Danson. Danson (yes, Sam from CHEERS) has really been surprising me with his comedic chops as of late. First, CURB. Now, BORED. Very cool, there, Ted. (p.s. Loads of great cameo appearances.)

6. FRESH AIR While I'm drawing, I've been putting on NPR's FRESH AIR. I love that Terry Gross. She just seems so interested. And she gets the best guests. Shows I've enjoyed lately are Nick Hornby, Rosanne Cash, Dan Fante, and (yes) Ted Danson.

7. ROMY CRAWLS Last week, Romy made a huge leap into mobility. She's crawling. At first it was cute. Then, it became quickly obvious that my job just got a lot harder. Proud of you my lil' girl!

8. ANTHONY BROWNE Julie turned me on to the excellent illo of pic book illustrator, Anthony Browne. He does a sweet Gorilla. We just bought his book, LITTLE BEAUTY. It is a real beaut.

9. REALLY ROSIE The CD. Music, Carole King. Lyric, the great Sendak. This is Romy's favorite music. She actually dances when that little rat-a-tat-tat drumline brings in the opening track.

10. QUENTIN BLAKE One of my Facebook friends found and shared this superb Quentin Blake video slideshow. Blake is too dang cool, man.

INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER, hot off the press!

2009-09-30T12:06:00.002-05:00

My lovely wife, and uber-talented YA scribe, Julie Halpern, has a brand new book out today! INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER. And it's her best yet. She's got a real knack for sharp-as-a-tack teen humor and dialog. Working with kids (she's a middle school librarian by day), she ought to know. It's getting great reviews and I'm super-proud!

This pulled from a new review in The Horn Book...

"Fans of everything geek will adore Jessie’s induction into the world of nerds, one that includes the band geek lunch table, Dungeons & Dragons, and a genuinely fun-filled weekend in a field immersed in a medieval role-playing game."

NERD power!

Latest, Greatest

2009-09-25T11:00:00.004-05:00

This has been an especially crazy couple of weeks. Just as I'm finishing up art for one book, a middle-grade novel (JUSTIN CASE by Rachel Vail--Feiwel and Friends), I'm immediately going into sketch revisions for another book, a picture book--finals due mid-December (LEAP FROG by Lauren Thompson--Simon and Schuster).

I'm also trying to do some coordinating of TROUBLE GUM promo. Right now, local indie bookshops, maybe libraries. Maybe some small school stuff. Getting up in front of groups is not my specialty. It's something I really need to do more of, get used to. Shake the anxiety once and for all. I'm about to get a crash course.

On Saturday October 17 (3pm) I'm doing my first "event" at awesome bookstore The Book Stall, in Winnetka, IL. I'm working on a bit of structure to the thing right now. Really, just a reading of TROUBLE GUM. A bit of demo drawing. A bit of "stuff I drew when I was a kid". And a bit of audience drawing participation. Simple enough, but... my nerves. Anyways, here's a sample drawing (one that'll be shown at my events). Pulled from the archives.

(huh?)

Next weekend, Julie and I are driving to Cleveland where we'll be attending, as guests, the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association (GLIBA) Trade Show. Promoting our new books. Julie's new YA novel, INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER, and my ol' TROUBLE GUM. We're a little stressed cause packing for the baby, in our past couple of experiences, is a major deal. This weekend, we will prep.

Speaking of baby, Romy just started crawling. Like two days ago! One night, she crawled for the very first time. The next day, it's like she was already a pro. Scooting all over the dang house. My job just got a bit harder. But we are so proud. She really likes to move.

On top of this, we just caved and bought in to a cable TV package. Mainly so we could DVR stuff and bypass commercials on shows we like. But now, there's like a bazillion more new cool shows to watch.

Where does the time go?

57th Birthday

2009-09-14T22:39:00.009-05:00

Last weekend I had another birthday. Most birthdays just come and go, but this one really was the best birthday I've ever had.

(Why am I doing that with my finger?)

Friday, Julie totally blew me away by giving me the best b-day gift and surprise I've ever gotten. Saturday we had a nice dinner out with the fam. And Sunday, Julie, Romy and I trekked down to Chicago's beautiful Hyde Park neighborhood to partake in our first ever (but their 23rd annual) 57th Street Children's Book Fair. The whole shebang is organized every year by Hyde Park's very own 57th Street Books bookshop. President Obama's favorite bookstore (Hyde Park is the President's original pre-White-House home and stomping grounds).

I was signing copies of TROUBLE GUM in the early afternoon, right when the fair kicked off. When we got there, I was told that I would be giving away (not selling) my books to families that came to the table. Giving away. Because the Fair's head coordinator Angela Sherrill (of both 57th Street Books and 57th Street Children's Book Fair) had received a grant for the Fair which allowed them to purchase 25 copies of my books--as well as the other signing authors' books! I could just share the TROUBLE GUM love with fair attendees (limit one per family). Wow.

This was a great time. Children's books (and children) all over the place. Friendly faces, perfect weather. And our first visit to indie bookshop 57th Street Books. It's a sweet basement level store with a neat windy layout and LOTS of good books. A great kids section! We loved the store.

Hyde Park is a great place. Lots of amazing homes and architecture, great shops and restaurants. Lots of diversity in its residents--a cool and intellectual community. University of Chicago's right there. And lots of great big trees. Just good vibes all around.

On our ride home, Julie recorded a podcast of our day (she's been doing some hilarious podcasting on her blog for the last week or so). I reluctantly agreed to answer some questions into that digital voice recorder (reluctantly only cause I can't stand the sound of my own voice, and I'm perpetually afraid of having something dumb I've said be immortalized like this). I haven't listened (won't listen) to the recording, but it was a lot of fun in the making. Check this out here.

And here are some photos from the book fair and otherwise...

Here I am getting set up and ready to sign/draw. I'm putting out some of the bubble gum Feiwel and Friends made for promo opportunities. The kiddos seemed to enjoy.

People are coming at this point. For some reason, I ended up standing for the whole signing. It was kinda awkward drawing all hunched over, standing over the books, but I guess I got stuck that way. That's my table buddy on the right, Jeff Jarka (we both had the 1-2pm shift). It was his good idea to lay out the books like this. Seemed to work well, in drawing in some crowd (who might normally shy away from the likes of us). Jeff's a nice guy. He was signing copies of his new book, LOVE THAT PUPPY.

After the signing, we had a quick lunch at the park across the street with our friend Ali. Thanks to good pals Ali and Sam for showing up!

On our way out, we stopped for one last pic. They had all these cool hand-painted book-inspired wooden backdrops for kids to play in and have photos taken with. My best girls.

These last two are not my photos (I lifted them from someplace off of the internet). I wanted to show some pics of the front of the coolest 57th Street Books. Very great (and surprisingly large!) friendly neighborhood bookstore.

The cool old-school sign up close.

Thanks, 57th Street Children's Book Fair! We had a blast.