A book signing in Brooklyn...

I'll be signing copies of THE BLUE HOUSE DOG at BookCourt, 163 Court St., Cobble Hill, Brooklyn on 10/3 at 11 with the book's author Deborah Blumenthal.

Stop on in, by all means!

If I knew what my laurels were, I might rest on them for a second.

But as it turns out, I'm not sure from whence that saying derives. So I guess I won't.

For what I'll just generalize as contractual issues, I'm not saying what these are from at the moment. For now we'll just call them jobs, though if even that gives away too much, I'm happy to pretend for now that it's all from one big job detailing the long involved travails of Bigfoot, some yeti hunters, and a couple of time traveling musicians.

Various sizes, oil on paper, 2010.

Calico Dorsey

Hey, even if it's not shipping until September 28th, my latest picture book illustration project on the market, "Calico Dorsey," written by the extraordinarily gifted Susan Lendroth, has already garnered a nice review from School Library Journal. In the in interest of shameless plugs and self-aggrandizement as a healthy and effective marketing and promotional tool, I'm reproducing it below:

Gr 2-5—Illuminating California's silver mining era, Lendroth creates a plausible story line. It is based on a possibility of actual events surrounding the Border collie that came to be an official U.S. Postal Service mail carrier, crossing the Mojave Desert between the town of Calico and the hills where the miners and prospectors worked. Perspectives on the dog's experiences are related by the Stacey brothers, who run the general store and post office; Nellie, the young daughter and niece; and Dorsey himself, which create excitement for young readers. In the author's notes, Lendroth writes that she uses the information she found during her research to create a story based on fact. Gustavson's paintings are intergrated into the text, flowing from page through the centerfold to page, making this obscure story larger than life. The vitality of the characters is enhanced by the artist's accurate, yet expressive details that add humor and sweetness to the faces of both the people and Dorsey.—Tina Hudak, St. Albans School, Washington, DC