WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? turns ONE (and a giveaway!)

How do you celebrate the one year anniversary of the publication of your very first book? By hosting a giveaway, of course! To celebrate WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?'s big day on Thursday, June 9th, I am giving away one signed copy of the book. Fill out the rafflecopter below for a chance to win! You have until the end of this week to enter. Good luck!

UPDATE: For some reason, blog comments don't always appear when using Rafflecopter. If your comment doesn't show up, your entry will still count!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Moosey Monday: Interview with Illustrator Keika Yamaguchi

It is officially launch week for WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?, and to add to the fun, I interviewed the

book's talented illustrator Keika Yamaguchi.

Keika is the illustrator of the picture books SICK OF BEING SICK, PUDDLE PUG, and now WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?! She lives in Los Angeles, CA. You can find more about her and her art by visiting her website, Keika's House.

And now, on to the interview!

The characters in What About Moose? are all so adorable. I especially love Toad, with his little goggles. Do you have a favorite? 

I must say, my favorite is the Moose. He's has a interesting personality, and has a squishy bottom!

Aw, Moose is so happy that he is your favorite!

What was the most challenging part of illustrating Moose's story? 

Some of the most challenging part of illustrating this story was to find a step by step instruction of how to make an actual treehouse or playhouse. I tried to find one that has similar instruction to the way the manuscript was written. All the terms for construction, I was not familiar too so I had to look them up as well.

That was a challenge in the writing of the story too, Keika!

I love that you added your own vision to the illustrations, such as including characters that aren't mentioned in the text, but still become part of the overall story. How do you decide what kinds of extra touches to add? 

Thank you! I decided to add the side characters to help emphasize that Moose's behavior are rude. It is disruptive to not only the opinions of his friends but also from perspective of others. I usually look to add extra touches like these to help get the sense of the world/setting that the characters live in as well.

What do you look for in a story when deciding whether to pursue an illustration project? 

So far, I had been pursuing a project that I get a vivid vision when I read the manuscript or when I am drawn to the main character in the story. When I picked up the manuscript for Moose, I couldn't help but giggle!

What is your illustration process like? 

 First, as I read the manuscript, next to each page break, I jot down as many visions that naturally come to me with pencil in as rough thumbnails. Then I slowly narrow it down to number of pages there are suppose to be in the book. Once I have the compositions I want, I then scan them into my computer, expand the size of each spreads to actual size of the book and print them out and draw on top of them, and staple it together into a book format, and flip through them. Making sure that the pages flow well together. Once I like how it looks, then I clean them up and send the images in for approval. Upon getting the confirmation, I paint. For Moose, I used Photoshop. 

Have you always pursued art? What made you decide to become an illustrator?

 No. I decided to pursue art within my last few months of senior year in high school. Until then, I was pursuing music. I was trying biology as well, but I learned that I was horrible at memorizing all the terms, I decided to back out of it. I knew I wanted to do something with art during college, but I didn't decide to pursue as an illustrator until I had the opportunity to work on Sick of Being Sick, where I rediscovered my passion for children's books.

Do you have a favorite picture book? A favorite illustrator? 

One of the books that is most close to my heart is called MISS NELSON IS MISSING by Harry Allurd and James Marshall. When I was about 7 years old, I was very behind with my use and understanding in English because it was my second language, and it had been only few years since I came to the U.S. I usually stayed away from reading, but this book, I really wanted to understand what was written in it. During the story time at the school library, my classmates looked so focused and laughed so hard as the librarian read out loud. I was determined to read it, and with the help of easy to read text, and the size of the text helped me finally read and understand an English language book all by myself. I was quite proud and very happy with myself. As far as your question about a favorite illustrator, right now I can't get enough of Michael Sowa.

What else can we expect to see from you in the future? 

 My next book, TEENY TINY TOADY, written by Jill Esbaum, is coming out next Spring. I'm also working on writing my own stories as well.

Awesome! Considering how much I love Toad in WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?, I can't wait to see what you do with this toad! And how neat that you are pursuing writing too.

Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview, Keika. Here is to the success of our little bossy Moose and all of his friends!

WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? releases TOMORROW, June 9th! Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a
chance to win a signed copy.

Moosey Monday: Author Copies!

You work for years and years toward becoming a published author, and then one day copies of your book arrive on your doorstep.

It's a real real book!

National Poetry Month: Review of WINTER BEES

Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman is my new favorite poetry collection. Written by the author of Song of the Water Boatman, Winter Bees is a book of gorgeous wintery poems complemented by equally gorgeous illustrations by Rick Allen.

I mean, just look at that cover! Does this book not beg to be read?

My favorite poem from this book is "Big Brown Moose." Here is the first stanza, to give you a little taste:

I'm a big brown moose,
I'm a rascally moose,
I'm a moose with a tough, shaggy hide;
and I kick and I prance
in a long-legged dance
with my moose-mama close by my side.

Wonderful, no? Don't you want to read that aloud to someone right now, while kicking and prancing a bit yourself?

As if the poetry and art weren't enough to make this book a delight to any nature loving poetry-enthusiast (or is it poetry-loving nature enthusiast?), each poem is accompanied by a short informational piece about the plant or animal celebrated on that spread.

This book is a must-have for any poetry library!

Moosey Monday: THREE MONTHS TO GO!

Today is March 9, 2015. That means, in exactly one month, WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? will be officially published!

Three months, as anyone who's experienced summer vacation knows, is not as long as it sounds.

Do I have any other exciting updates to share? Nope. I just had to get this THREE MONTHS TO GO! out of my system. Thanks for indulging me.

And now, here's some moosey advice that I found on pinterest:

Moosey Monday: The WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? Trailer!

I love book trailers. And I love making short movies. So, since before I had my first book contract, I've been playing with the idea of making trailers for my books some day. Well, that "some day" came last month when I began putting together the trailer for my forthcoming picture book, WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? Here it is for your viewing pleasure!





A special Thank You goes to my sister-in-law Stephanie and four of her kiddos for the sound bite at the end.

By the way, if this trailer has you itching to get your hands on a copy of this book, why not pre-order it? You can do so at the following online retailers:

Indiebound
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Books A Million

Also, if you are one who purchases books for libraries, you can also find WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? at Bound to Stay Bound.

Moosey Monday: Sneak Peek of WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?

WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? will release in exactly FOUR months! To celebrate, here is a little peek into the book.

Darling, right? Don't you want to see more? Well, you can, by clicking here to visit the WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? page on the Simon & Schuster website.

Moosey Monday: A MOOSE acrostic

Meandering across the meadow, this
Oversized mammal,
Oblivious to the camera,
Steps, stops, looks,
Eats. Repeats.


This poem was inspired by this video of a moose in the wild.

Moosey Monday: Cover Reveal!

And here it is! The picture book cover you have all been waiting for!

Is it not the cutest thing you've seen all day?

Moosey Monday: If You Give a Moose a Muffin

In continuing the celebration of moose in all their forms, today I bring you the adorable picture book If You Give a Moose a Muffin, by Laura Numeroff. This was one of my and my son's favorite books to read aloud when he was little (as were the others in this series). The pictures are fun to explore, the series of events elicit chuckles, and the way the story comes full circle is satisfying and clever.

And, of course, it stars a moose! What's not to love?

Moosey Monday: My Birthday Present

My college daughter surprised me with an unannounced visit on my birthday (this past Saturday). As if that wasn't enough of a treat, she also brought me this little gift:

A moose figurine! Isn't it lovely? I think it will go very nicely on my writing desk.

Moosey Monday: WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? updates

On Friday, the "fold and gathers" for WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? arrived on my doorstep! A "fold and gather" (f & g) basically looks like an unbound book. All the pages are printed, then folded and gathered together the way they will look when the book is bound.

So we are one step closer to having a real published book!

The book is turning out to be fantastically adorable. I can hardly wait until I get the go-ahead to reveal the cover!

Moosey Monday

Moosey Monday: Moose Tracks!

Today's Moosey Monday post features two things that happen to have the same name: Moose Tracks!

Moose Tracks, the book by Karma Wilson

I bought this book for my kids a few years ago at a book fair (or maybe it was a book order?) It's a silly, rhyming mystery that asks the question, "Who left the moose tracks all over the house?" It's fun to read aloud, and kids will enjoy the rhyme, the bright illustrations, and the surprise ending.

Moose Tracks, the ice cream flavor.

If you are a fan of ice cream, and chocolate fudge swirls, and little bits of peanut butter and chocolate, then you will love this ice cream. It is the flavor most commonly purchased our house, because it is the only one that everyone consistently agrees upon! Yum yum!

Moosey Monday: Updates about WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?

It has been about a year since Corey and I sold our picture book manuscript, WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? What has happened in that year?

The first few weeks were spent on REVISIONS. The story was great, but it was too long. We had to tighten a story that we had spent months and months tightening and polishing! It was no easy feat, especially considering that WHAT ABOUT MOOSE? is told in rhyme. We spent hours in google docs, and even had a conference call with our editor, Emma Ledbetter, in order to work out the kinks. In the end, the story was tight and polished and still 100% adorable.

After that were discussions and daydreams about who might be chosen to illustrate it. Corey and I had ideas about who we thought we be perfect for the job, and Emma was very open to our suggestions. We saw some adorable art samples from a few talented illustrators, and the folks at Atheneum finally settled on Keika Yamaguchi to illustrate our little Moose. Keika's art is colorful and  vibrant, and her characters are adorable (check out PUDDLE PUG, which she illustrated--too cute!).

Approval of the final text was next, and then...we waited.

In November we got to see some rough sketches and offer any feedback we had. I was surprised and delighted to be included in the illustration process in this way.

In January we sent in our bios and dedications.

In February Emma showed us the flap copy (the little description of the story that shows up on the jacket flap of the book).

In March, we got to see final sketches--the whole book drawn out in pencil from beginning to end. Overall, I was very pleased with how it was turning out. Keika's illustrations are very active and fun, she's added her own little extras to the story, and the characters are darling!

More waiting.

And then, last week we got to see jacket art! It isn't quite final, but the cover is colorful and adorable and captures the feel and theme of the story perfectly.

No, you can't see it yet. Patience!

Moosey Monday: Z is for Moose

It wouldn' feel right to celebrate the forthcoming What About Moose? without spreading the love for some of my favorite moose-related picture books! 

First up: Z is for Moose by Paul O. Zelinsky

I like this book because it is so different than most other alphabet books. No basic "A is for apple" format. This book is a story about a moose who is so anxious to be a part of the alphabet that he can't wait his turn! What will happen when the "M" page goes to Mouse rather than Moose? Z is for Moose is a fun way to share the alphabet with the youngest readers, and it's amusing enough to entertain those already well versed in the ABCs.

Moosey Monday: The great moose hunt

In celebration of my and Corey's forthcoming picture book, WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?, I thought it would be fun to set aside Mondays to celebrate moose in all their forms!

First up, the (not so) great moose hunt!

No, I didn't really set out to hunt moose. Not with a rifle, anyway. But I did vacation with my family last year in the beautiful Grand Marais, Minnesota, which, according to all the touristy informationy stuff, is home to plenty of moose. Having just received an offer for WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?, I had moose on the brain. I was determined to see a moose in the wild, and photograph it for my lovely writing partner.

We drove along highways with moose crossing signs, we meandered along back roads and up into the hills, we trekked through the woods with our eyes open wide. But we never saw a moose. We followed the maps to all the right places at the right times of day. But we never saw a moose. We did get startled by a big fat beaver, but that's a story for another day.

On our last day, as we drove away from Grand Marais, the thought going through my mind was, "What about moose?" I was beginning to think that moose were mythological creatures. Like the yeti!   But that's ridiculous, right? Maybe I'll never know...

So Corey had to settle for a postcard. And I had to settle for a picture of the Grand Marais water tower.

Small consolation.