Probuditi!

Probuditi! by Chris Van Allsburg

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Probuditi! is yet another classic story from Chris Van Allsburg that will surely delight readers. The book follows Calvin, a young boy celebrating his birthday, and his friend Rodney as they race to halt the hypnosis they haphazardly affected on Calvin’s pesky little sister, Trudy. Trudy is led to believe that she is a dog, complete with barking, panting and lapping up milk. When they can’t snap her out of it, the boys go to great lengths to avoid trouble from Calvin’s punitive mother.

The sepia-toned illustrations are excellent and really convey a sense of summer heat and a city atmosphere. I appreciate the genuine sibling rivalry in the story (especially since Trudy gets the last laugh), the multicultural characters, and the chafing dynamic between Calvin and his mother. It's not often that a children's book comes out with a boy being punished on his birthday by his own mother, but having experienced that myself after tormenting my own siblings as a child, I can relate to the characters.

Van Allsburg seems to love a twist ending, and while they certainly delight some folks, it may require some additional explaining for really young readers. I personally found the end of Probuditi! to be a bit of a downer, but some kids will love it. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is unique enough to hold something of interest for everyone.

View all my reviews on Goodreads.

The Secret of Kells

I loved learning about illuminated manuscripts in art school, especially The Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. They remain some of my all-time favorite pieces of cultural and art history.

To my utter delight, Cartoon Saloon, an Irish animation and illustration design company, has developed and produced an exciting new movie called The Secret of Kells. Inspired by the aforementioned Book of Kells, the movie is a retelling of the provenance of the ancient artifact as one young boy’s adventure to complete the book and save his people from Viking invaders.

Visually, this movie looks great. I’m really digging how the unique animation style harkens back to the pages of the Book of Kells itself. The colors and details are vibrant and lively, and the backgrounds are gorgeous. We need more movies that truly celebrate art like this. I’m really excited for The Secret of Kells theatrical release here in the US this fall.

View the trailer and learn more about the movie here. Thanks to Kelly Light for the tip!

Coloring Page Tuesday: Hugs

Here’s a sneak peek into My Dad's Deployment, a children's activity book for which I’m currently revising a few illustrations. The images are various vector “sketches” that were used on various pages throughout the book. I rendered a LOT of hugs for this project, so I guess you could say I’m pretty hugged out!

Look for this activity book to debut soon from Elva Resa Publishing, a fine publisher of books and materials for military families.

Illustration Friday: Caution

If these kids don’t exercise more caution with their toy, nobody will be able to play with it!

Illustration from the bilingual children's book Somos Primos / We are Cousins.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Time for a Breather

Some good news to report today: I’m finally finished with the illustrations for My Dad’s Deployment, a children’s activity book done entirely in vectors. The technique was fairly new to me, so it came slowly and was frustrating at times, but I’m grateful for the learning experience (and the deadline extension!) I received while working on this. I’m so excited to see the finished product!

In the book release department:

• The Antarctic Express is available for purchase! You can order it today from Amazon or directly from Atlas Games.
• The Triangle Republic is going to print very soon. Look for it from Penelope Press in late September 2009.
• Baseball on Mars / Beisbol en Marte is available for pre-order from Amazon! It’s my newest of bilingual children’s picture books, and will be released from Arte Publico Press in October 2009.

Have a great week, everyone!

Minnesota SCBWI Annual Conference Announced

Can you believe that it’s almost time for the Minnesota Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators annual conference? Once again our volunteers have been working hard to pull together a great day, and we’re very excited for the event!

Date: Saturday, September 12th, 2009
Time: 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Location: University of Minnesota Continuing Education Center, 1890 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108
Fee (Early Registration): $100 members, $125 non-members, $50 students

Join us for a great line-up of speakers, an increased number of manuscript and portfolio review opportunities, and the ever-popular “First Look” and “First Pages” presentations. Download the brochure today and be sure to register early – slots for the individual reviews fill up fast.

See you there!

Art Crush Wednesday: Editorial Anonymous

If you’re not reading Editorial Anonymous, you should be. This blog of an anonymous children’s book editor grants readers hearty doses of wisdom and hilarity as she answers their questions about the publishing industry. To that end, the author is about as subtle as a sledgehammer through a stained glass window! While I love her style, I certainly wouldn’t want to be on the business end of her biting wit, and I salute those who are brave enough to submit their questions. I imagine that even if she puts the “brutal” into “brutal honesty,” in the end you’ll thank her for it!

Thanks to Kris Waldherr for the tip!

Disney Princess Movies

I have a confession to make... I’ve enjoyed nearly every Disney "princess" movie ever made. It’s probably because of my affinity for fairy tales, which I'm not ashamed of, but I also can’t recall any other woman my age who didn’t love The Little Mermaid as a child.

Disney is making a return to classic hand-drawn animation with their forthcoming movie, The Princess and the Frog, a retelling of the classic fairy tale, The Frog Prince. It certainly looks gorgeous with the 1920’s New Orleans setting. I’ve missed quality 2-D animation for awhile now, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this one turns out.

Another fairy tale coming to the big screen is Rapunzel. While the animation will be computer-generated, the concepts look great so far. From what I've read about the animation technique they're using, the final product sounds promising.

Check out more images for these movies at Disney Animation’s website.

MRA Conference Coming Up

Tracy Nelson Maurer and I will be at the Minnesota Reading Association Conference next week! We’re presenting Storm Codes for education professionals during the morning breakout session. Here’s Tracy’s awesome write-up for the program:

The author and illustrator behind a picture book rarely meet. But this duo worked together, sharing research materials and checking references, to create the award-winning book Storm Codes. This historically accurate book tells the story of a young girl waiting for her father to come home from a shipping trip during a fierce storm on Lake Superior. Hear from both the author and illustrator as they demonstrate engaging methods for connecting Storm Codes to cross-curriculum learning opportunities for early elementary students in language arts, social studies, geography, art, and math. Try toothbrush painting, make flag code streamers, count your lucky taconite and more! Storm Codes won the Tau State Jeanette Fair Children’s Book Award, the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award Honor for Children’s Literature, and it’s been named to the New York Reading Association Charlotte Award Suggested Reading List for Grades 3-6.

I’m nervous but excited as always. Wish us luck! Check out the MRA website for more information on this great organization.

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I used pretty much every trick the Pigeon uses to stay up late when I was a kid.... and it didn't work out for me, either! I LOVED this book very much and was amazed at how Mo Willems could get so much expression and personality into such a simply-drawn character. The story is just long enough for bedtime and is a great laugh for both parents and children. This was my introduction to the Pigeon and I can't wait to read Willems' other books featuring this character!

View all my reviews on Goodreads.

"Alice in Wonderland" Live-Action Film

Alice in Wonderland is a beloved children's story, a beautifully-animated movie, and even a delicious cocktail. Soon, Disney and Tim Burton will bring it to us as a live-action film, but I'm not overly-excited for it. Johnny Depp is a fabulous character actor and all (not to mention that he's dreamy) but after being cast in just about every memorable Tim Burton movie that I can recall, I worry that he's getting a little overused. Plus, there are some obvious departures from the book in this film, which makes me worry that there will be too much going on and it'll quickly get annoying.

No doubt one can easily recognize this as a Burton film just by looking at the teaser trailer, as his style is readily identifiable. On that note, I applaud his clear vision... I just hope that he honors the original text as he indulges in his own style.

Your thoughts? Is anybody out there in bladder-straining anticipation of this film?