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Basking Lion doodle (left). Actual Basking Lion (right) from the Franklin Park Zoo. Here's a mini rewind of the past couple weeks: Unfortunately, The Elephant Listening Project and I did not win the AE Roastery and Tea Earth Day coffee label contest . We'll get 'em next time! Congratulations to the winning Daddy-Daughter team (aww!) A teeny-tiny visit to the MFA (so small in fact, I'm plotting a re-visit for mid-April). I made a brief trip to the Franklin Park Zoo to spy on some of the cool-temp tolerant critters. The Zoo trip was very brief, due to my sudden spite for the cold weather. It probably didn't help that I lacked a hat and scarf, and had to keep pulling my mittens off to take a picture, or doodle in my sketchbook. I visited for the wildebeest, and I'm planning a return when the zoo "unpacks" the giraffe. Shocked, I was to see Zebras (one of which wasn't even a month old!) and Ostriches, romping around in the New England bree...

Sketches & cover ideas for Plank & Pancake I follow enough librarians on Twitter to know that it's really that book cover that wins a reader's attention. It's also interesting to know that the book COVER, (though the first taste to the overall book experience,) is usually the LAST bit designed to complete the story. It's the reader's first introduction - that first impression, so you want it to be a good one. As I work on my first picture book dummy, I am piecing together a cover to make my story feel polished. Then this morning I couldn't help but think what would Master Kidd do ? Chip Kidd is well respected as one of the "Kings of book coverings. Though the titles linked to his name are actually novels, his Ted presentation is an excellent example of how he deconstructs a book to build upon the story it encases.  All this can be applied to Picture Books as well. One just has to be consistent with the book's illustration style....

Library Day tomorrow (if the Library is open... pretty sure it is!) This week's collection includes: Me... Jane , but Patrick McDonnell Ginger , by Charlotte Voake Katy Did It! by Lorianne Siomades The Very Smart Pea and the Princess-To-Be , by Mini Grey The Sticky Doll Trap , by Jessica Souhami Coco the Carrot , by Steven Salerno The King Who Wouldn't Sleep , by Debbie Singleton; illustrated by Holly Swain Sarah's Little Ghosts , by Thierry Robberecht; illustrated by Philippe Goossens First of all, loved   Me... Jane ! I choked up a touch at the end. I most certainly agree the Caldecott Honor is well deserved. I'm very happy that I happened upon The Very Smart Pea and the Princess-to-be , because I'm in the crosshairs of writing my own version of the "Princess and the Pea," and now I'm thinking I want to take my story into another direction. Happy Reading!