Thanks a lot, Blog.

Readers… I have my favorites; what are yours?

Suggested Reading, Splashy Picture Books: Art & Max by David Wiesner, I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont and David Catrow, Mudkin by Stephen Gammell, Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth and Stephen Gammell.

Wishing you all blue skies for 2012!

Suggested Reading, Picture Books About Clouds: Cloudland by John Burningham, Little Cloud by Eric Carle, The Cloud Book by Tomie de Paola, Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld, The Police Cloud by Christoph Niemann.

illustration © Deborah Freedman

Julie Danielson interviews me today over at her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. She’s brewed plenty of coffee… won’t you join us?

BLUE CHICKEN is available today, from Viking Children’s Books!

We will be celebrating it’s release at several events in Connecticut this fall; they are listed here.

Or find BLUE CHICKEN here:

• Indie Bound!
• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Your Local Library

© 2011 Deborah Freedman

Hey, Blog, look at my new bag!
My husband gave it to me, to celebrate
the release next week of BLUE CHICKEN!

Suggested Reading, Picture Books About Purses:
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes; The Lady with the Alligator Purse by Mary Ann Hoberman and Nadine Bernard Westcott.

★“Breathtakingly beautiful meta-illustrations will draw many eyes to this tale of a curious chicken who spills some paint… Delicate and durable, visually sophisticated yet friendly: simply exquisite.” 
– Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★“The spare, poetic text allows the images to shine… this delightful treat emphasizes the joy of breaking free of conventional boundaries and turning accidents into art.”
– Booklist, starred review

★“Full of surprise and emotion… The book has much to pore over on every page, and children will want to experience the action over and over again.” 
– School Library Journal, starred review

More Blue Chicken news and upcoming events are listed here.

A good way to carry your carrots when you pretend you’re a horse is put them inside your shirt. Probably you’ll need a belt or a piece of string around your middle so they don’t fall out when you gallop.

By Ruth Krauss, Illustration by Crockett Johnson
From How to Make an Earthquake, Harper & Brothers, 1954

Ruth Krauss was born on July 25, 1901.

Have I said before that I want to be Ruth Krauss when I grow up?

Text © Ruth Krauss, Illustration © Crockett Johnson

© Deborah Freedman

Suggested Reading, Picture Books About Water: A Drop of Water, by Walter Wick; All the Water in the World, by George Ella Lyon & Katherine Tillotson; Wave, by Suzy Lee.

Blogs Get Neglected.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) will launch its Fund for Free Speech in Children’s Books with a Silent Auction on Wednesday, May 25, at BookExpo America. The ABC auction will feature more than 100 works of art by beloved children’s illustrators, including Barbara McClintock, Jerry Pinckney, Chris Raschka, Lane Smith, Mo Williams. An online preview of the artwork, including the above, is here.

© illustration Deborah Freedman, 2011

The Illustration Friday topic for May 20, 2011 is SOAKED.

Elephant Entertains Eggplants

© Deborah Freedman

The Illustration Friday topic for April 29, 2011 is LESSON.

Look, Blog!
Blue Chicken got it’s first review,
and it’s pretty good!

I know, but… too late to fix anything now.
It’s at the printer. And anyway, my editor seems happy…

Blog! SSHHHHH!!

Suggested Reading, Picture Books About Secrets: It’s a Secret, by John Burningham; The Secret Circus, by Johanna Wright; The Secret Shortcut, by Mark Teague; The Secret Birthday Message, by Eric Carle; Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter; The Day of Ahmed’s Secret, by Florence H. Parry and Ted Lewin; The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Robert Ingpen.

illustration © Deborah Freedman

This entry was posted on 11 April 2011 at 12:10 pm and is filed under This Blog.

11 April 2011

illustration © Deborah Freedman

This entry was posted on 11 April 2011 at 12:11 pm and is filed under This Blog.

Would This Happen On Blogger?

11 April 2011

illustration © Deborah Freedman

in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman

whistles far and wee…

By E. E. Cummings

Read the rest here.

Suggested Reading, Picture Books About MUD: Mud Book: How to Make Pies and Cakes, by John Cage and Lois Long; Mudkin, by Stephen Gammell; Mud Pies and Other Recipes, by Marjorie Winslow & Erik Blegvad; The Piggy in the Puddle, by Charlotte Pomerantz and James Marshall.

Illustration © Ezra Jack Keats, from The Snowy Day,
first published by The Viking Press in 1962

Today, March 11, is the birthday of Ezra Jack Keats, 1916 – 1983.

I would not, could not, in the fog.
I could not, would not on a jog.

Yes, Blog, but it’s Dr. Seuss’s birthday today, so I thought it would be fun to play again!

That’s very good, Blog! You are so clever!

Sigh…

Help us celebrate the birthday of Theodore Giesel (aka Dr. Seuss) and Read Across America Day by adding your own “Green Eggs and Ham” verse!

From The Shrinking of Treehorn
by Florence Parry Heide, drawings by Edward Gorey

It’s Treehorn week! Today is the birthday of illustrator Edward Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000), and author Florence Parry Heide celebrates hers on February 27th. She is interviewed about Treehorn here.

Text © Florence Parry Heide
Illustration © Edward Gorey