ABFFE 19th Annual Children’s Book Art Auction & Reception

Hi chaps,

I've donated some of my sketches to this year's Children's Book Art Silent Auction at the 19th Annual Children’s Book Art Auction & Reception.
The event is to help raise money in support of The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) which champions the free speech rights of young readers.
The auction is in New York on 29th May, but is also open to the public online, from Saturday May 18 at 9am, closing on Friday, May 24 at 9pm, so anyone can try and win something

Here's the website of the organisation: http://abffesilentauction.wordpress.com/
and here's the auction: http://myworld.ebay.com/abffe.
There's alot of good stuff there, so have a look, it's all for a good cause.

The sketches I've donated are character studies for my book Stuck With The Blooz, and also included is a copy of the book signed by both me and the author, Caron Levis.
As Caron is based in the US and I am in the UK, this copy will be the only copy in the world signed by us both!

The actual auction will take place on Wednesday, May 29 form 5:30 - 7:30pm in the River Pavilion of the Javits Convention Center in New York, in case you happen to be nearby,
and bestselling authors Jack Gantos and Lauren Myracle are co-hosting.

But here are my sketches so you can have a look

Box of Blooz

Hi Chaps,

I got a big box in the post the other day, here it is.

And it's my copies of Stuck With the Blooz. It's great fun to open something like this. Thanks to they guys at Harcourt.

I was tempted to dance on the bed, flinging them up in the air, like people do with money in films.

But they are hardbacks, so I decided to just make a nice curved pile instead.

 

Also, there has been another review of the Blooz, this one at publisher's weekly, you can read it here - publishersweekly.com
But it strikes me as being a very intelligent review, I like the way they say the story has an impressively light touch and that the readers are given room to feel the arc of the girl’s struggle.
I think that captures it nicely. So that makes me pleased with what they write about the art too.

The Blooz Arrives

Look what arrived in the post, an actual copy of my book 'Stuck With the Blooz'.
Here it is just out of the package.

It's great to see it in real life and see all the pictures properly in real life on paper rather than on screen.
And with my Artist's head, rather than my Reader's head on, I do think it's been designed as a package really nicely.
Just noticing all the bits and bobs that the design team did with the cover etc.
I like the way they've echoed the stripes on the Blooz's Victorian swimsuit on the back cover and dust jacket, and have used the goldfish, crayon and paper plane on the dust jacket flaps and back cover.
Also, the picture of the Blooz dripping on the child was a favourite with everyone, but it had to be lost from the story on the inside, but a use was found for it on the back there, which was very nice.
Here are some pics of said bits.

And the paper texture is lovely. Really nice feel, and it shows off the colour and texture in the art really nicely too.
Well done indeed all the chaps at Harcourt.

But enough of me talking about the design and paper texture like some pretentious artist with a funny haircut and silly trousers.
Here's a sneak peek at one of the spreads.

The Blooz Is Coming!

Hi Chaps,

Well, I've got another book available to preorder.
This one is called 'Stuck With The Blooz', due out in October, published by the lovely people at Harcourt Children's Books in New York.

The story is about a child who is feeling blue, and is visited by a manifestation of a blue mood, called the Blooz., a big soggy lump of a thing.
But the story is about the child dealing with and coming to terms with the Blooz, and so the blue mood.
It's a very nice story indeed, written by Caron Levis, who you can find out more about here. But it was great fun to illustrate, and I'm really pleased with it.
I had the idea that the illustrations could start out quite washed out, with muted colours, and then gradually get more colourful as the child's mood lifts.

Everything was done via email for this, so I've not met or even actually spoken to the editors or author, but nevertheless it worked very well.
Even though the only communicated was via emails and with a 5 hour or so time difference too, I found it to be a good way to exchange feedback and ideas and get some really good creative stuff going.

So, here are a few spreads from the book, as a bit of a sneak peak.

As this was done with US publishers, it's available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble over there, and they are also publishing it over here in the UK too, so it's available on Amazon and The Book Depository here too.
Here are the links.
US
Amazon, Barnes and Noble
UK
Amazon, Book Depository