Mutants and Maps.

I had a nice opportunity this past month to work with the NYC firm Mutant Media, this time on a poster for Aramark's Fuel school lunch program, with art direction, design and photography by Jessica Mehlman and illustrations, hand lettering, and little touches of photoshoppy goodness by, well, me.

What's not to like about drawing a piratey map with platypus? Here's (respectively) the whole shebang, followed by some of the spots...

September 30th is Ask A Stupid Question Day.

I won't be in the studio to celebrate it, as I'll be out teaching all day. Which, come to think of it, might provide ample celebration...


September 30th marks the much venerated
Ask a Stupid Question Day.

But it remains a day
like any other for
Eliza Lee Bonodona, who,
for once in her vibrant young life,
would like to take
her Capybara,
"Mr. Whiskers,"
to the park without without
having to respond to
the ubiquitous,
"Dude,
how old is that
Guinea Pig?"

August 22nd is National Tooth Fairy Day!

While little publicized, it is nonetheless true that for every cavity, root canal, or pulled tooth, the Tooth Fairy pays one late night visit, during which she roots through couch cushions and laundry baskets, retrieving loose change from our less dentally fastidious populace. Every 22nd of August, she balances her books and purchases for herself a brand new tutu.

Adam Gustavson probably needs a haircut.

Coming soon to a bookstore near you!

By Leslie Kimmelman, Illustrated by Adam Gustavson
Peachtree Publishers, Atlanta Georgia

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Wah.
Wah who?

Wah hoo!

Planes, Trains, and Traffic Court

...and one of my father-in-law's feet...

It's nice teaching with patient people.

...who don't mind sitting for a drawing when a student cancels, leaving me with a random hour to fill.

Dragons.

For this cycle's "Drawergeeks.com" post on the subject...

It's National Grammar Day!

March 4th is National Grammar Day,
and so it bears mentioning that even if, in the end, the statement
"Ain't no way no flying pig's gonna hit this spot twice,"
achieves through its triple negative
an outcome no less negative than intended,
such a syntactic transgression rarely goes
uncontradicted or
unpunished.

Happy Groundhog Day.

Uncle Chip would often detail
just how he'd shot it,
while his sister Mary would tell us
how easy it had been to clean.
It tasted a good deal like pot roast,
but pot roast made from a very,
very small cow.

Woroniak Family Groundhog

One Groundhog, cleaned and with scent gland removed, cut into sections.
One white onion, halved.
Three medium carrots, sliced.
Water.
Vegetable oil.
Salt and pepper.


Heat oil in a large skillet, brown ground hog sections.
Transfer to dutch oven.
Reduce heat, add one cup water and simmer till water reduces by 1/2. Repeat.
Add onion, carrots, and more water. Continue to simmer until sauce reduces and carrots are tender.

Salt and pepper to taste.

A Starred Review in Publishers Weekly

For my forthcoming title with the charming folks at Tricycle Press, written by Elka Weber. Yay, team!

The Yankee at the Seder Elka Weber, illus. by Adam Gustavson. Tricycle, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-58246-256-1
When his mother invites a Union Army corporal—“a Yankee Jew” named Myer Levy—to join the family for Passover, Jacob is aghast: they're proud Virginia Confederates, and only 24 hours have passed since Lee's surrender. But Mother has tradition on her side: as she reminds Jacob, the Haggadah commands Jews to welcome “all who are hungry... all who are in need” to their seder tables. With a cinematic flair and rich, realist oils, Gustavson (A Very Improbable Story) depicts how a détente between North and South is forged—albeit tenuously—by the timeless values of faith, civility and chicken soup. Basing her writing on a historical incident, Weber makes an impressive debut. The fiercely held loyalties and enthusiasms of her 10-year-old narrator feel authentic, and her gift for dialogue—especially the Southern-Jewish inflections of Jacob's family—makes the pages fly. Above all, she deserves great credit for not forcing her characters to hug and learn in the final pages. “Well, that was something, wasn't it?” the mother says as the Yankee departs. Sensitively written and beautifully illustrated. Ages 7–9. (Mar.)

Bird Day.