I don’t think I’ve mentioned it to a lot of people, but I have another book lined up with Roaring Brook/Flash Point for 2011! The book is called BIRD TALK and it’s a 48 page non-fiction picture book about the different ways that birds communicate, and why. I’ve been working on a finished dummy and thought it’d be fun to share a few images (click on any image to see it larger).
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(Written by Dave) We were just updating several of the pages on Lita’s website and thought we’d post a few pencil sketches. These are part of a story that’s currently percolating. (Click on any of the images to see them larger)
More sketches are here and more illustrations are here.
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My next book will be released three months from now! Born to be Giants is a 48 page non-fiction picture book with Roaring Brook/Flashpoint Press.
This book fills a lifelong dream to investigate paleontologists’ understanding of baby dinosaurs and their parents. It was an exciting book because scientists have made many great new discoveries of fossilized baby dinosaurs, nests, and eggs in recent years. I wrote and illustrated the book in a format with hypotheses about dinosaur behavior following clues to engage young readers in the scientific method.
Here’s an example of the format of the book. First we see some clues. These are things that are known about dinosaurs based on fossil evidence along with observations about animals, like crocodiles, that are alive today. (Click on any of the following images to see them larger.)
Then we see a hypothesis of possible dinosaur behavior.
Born to be Giants is a Junior Library Guild Selection and will also be available at Scholastic Book Fairs! The release data is April 27th.
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(Written by Dave) We just got back from a few cold days in New York City and had a great time there. We made a quick stop at the Children’s Center at the New York Public Library and I got a picture of Lita out front with one of the Library Lions.
After the library and a quick hello to Betsy Bird, we had lunch with Lita’s wonderful agent at Metrazur on the balcony above Grand Central Station. It was really fun! Then we visited lots of great book stores, like Books of Wonder, Barnes and Noble at Union Square and The Strand. We wanted to get up to the Bank Street Books (Children’s Bookstore) but never quite made it up that way.
I just saw an article in the NY Times which said the number of visitors in the city was down a few percent in 2009, but we saw unbelievably huge crowds at the Natural History Museum and at the Met. At the MOMA people were lined up outside the building all the way to 6th Ave. We never did get in there — didn’t even try. At Rockefeller Center, in the early evening, there was a human traffic jam like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I can’t imagine fitting more people into the space.
The window decorations at Bergdorf Goodman were pretty good this year:
Good trip overall, but now we’re glad to be back in New Hampshire!
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Just a few days ago the Smithsonian Magazine put out an annual list called the Smithsonian Notable Books for Children 2009. Here’s how they described their list last year: “… at Smithsonian Magazine, we’re reviving a tradition: our annual selection of outstanding books for children, a compendium of surprising, inspiring titles—everything from picture books and novels to memoirs—for youngsters and the grownups who read to, and with, them.”
For the 2009 list, they said, “This year’s titles range across cultures, into the past and toward the future. Their creators have relied on humor to touch our hearts; documentary accounts to bring history alive; biography to convey the true meaning of courage; poetic language to demonstrate the power of the written word—and the artist’s brush or camera to create ravishing illustrations.”
We were excited to see Yellowstone Moran included on the 2009 list!
And here’s what they said about Yellowstone Moran: “In 1871, a young artist joined an expedition of scientists setting out to explore the West. The monumental canvasses based on his travels would become iconic images that are now part of our nation’s heritage.”
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Last May Dave and I traveled to England to research the book I’m currently working on, titled Strange Creatures: The Story of Walter Rothschild and his Museum (2011, Disney-Hyperion).
Walter Rothschild was the son of Lord Rothschild, banker to Queen Victoria. He was incredibly rich and seemed like a kid who would have had everything, but he struggled with being horribly shy. His father demanded a lot of him — yet Walter was so nervous, he could barely speak. He seems like an unlikely hero, but a hero is just what he was to me. When he was 7 years old he declared to his parents he would build a museum. He set out to collect bugs, butterflies, birds, fish, reptiles, mammals and even plants. By the time he was a late teenager, he was funding expeditions all over the world to collect animals. This was in the late 1800’s when scientists still had not discovered many of the world’s plants and animals. Walter’s father discouraged his dreams and insisted he begin work at the family banking firm, but Walter persevered and opened his museum to the public when he was 24 years old. With the help of two curators and many explorers, Walter created the largest natural history collection ever gathered by one person and furthered our understanding of the world’s animals in immense ways. I’m really enjoying bringing his story to life!
You can see how the visit to the actual museum helped in creating some of the sketches:
I’m getting pretty close to finishing the final art for the illustrations so I wanted to post a sneak peek at a couple of the paintings:
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