BREAKING NEWS!
♥
MONSTERS DON'T EAT BROCCOLI!
What DO monsters eat?
To find out, you'll have to wait for my newest picture book from
Alfred
A. Knopf, Summer 2009.
You'll love the funny, cheerful, not-the-least-bit-scary monsters created by
Sue Hendra for Monsters Don't Eat
Broccoli. Sue lives in Brighton, England and has illustrated more than 70
children's books.
♥
GROWNUPS DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING!
Did you know that mammoths,
saber tooth tigers and brontosaurs
not only are alive and well but MAY BE LIVING IN YOUR HOUSE?!
(And causing every kind of mischief...) Impossible, you say?
Then you must be a grownup! To the grownup mind, that which is impossible simply
doesn't exist. Children (and grownups with the hearts of children) know better.
Nothing is impossible!
Grownups Don't Know
Everything is my latest picture book manuscript,
recently booted out into the cold, cruel world to find its way.
Wish for it successful journeys and stay tuned for news—
hopefully of MAMMOTH proportions!

WALTER KITTY IN THE NEWS
Amazon.com
editors named The Secret Life of Walter
Kitty their #2 Pick for Best Picture Books of 2007. My grin is as big as
Fang's. Go, Walter!
The Secret Life of Walter Kitty was nominated for a Cybil award.
The Cybils are reader-nominated and kid-lit blogger-awarded. Go,
bloggers!

FREE WALTER KITTY FUN STUFF
Dan has created a coloring page, a paper toy and a
mask to make The Secret Life of Walter Kitty even more fun! To view and download
his fun stuff FREE,
follow the links below. Each item fits on 8.5" x 11" paper. For best results,
use a color printer and matte photo paper for the toy and the mask, or print on typing
paper and glue to construction paper before cutting out.

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS/ARTICLES
To read my most recent interviews, follow the links
to
Tales
From the Rushmore Kid, the kid-lit blog of children's author Tina
Nichols Coury, and
California Readers, a fabulous organization of
teachers, librarians, authors, and other people interested in reading and books.
I was also interviewed for a feature article in the November 2007 issue of California's
Central Coast Magazine.
Most recently, I have an article on writing posted on
La Bloga. My friend
René
Colato Laínez and five other Latino writers co-author this impressive blog focused on Chicano literature. For one day
René made me an honorary Chicana! "What's the Big
Idea: Tracking Down Your So-What Factors" is the text of a talk I gave in
October 2007 at the
Ventura/Santa Barbara SCBWI Writers' Day Conference in Thousand Oaks,
California, where René
was also a speaker.

ARE YOU LISTENING, UNIVERSE?
A couple of years ago I
started thinking how much fun it would be to illustrate one of my own picture
books. I signed up for art classes at my local community college, have put
together a portfolio, posted samples of
my artwork, and am putting it out to the Universe that I really want to do this.
(Look, leap and learn!) My local children's bookstore,
Adventures for Kids, is even selling greeting cards featuring my work. To see
samples, follow the link:
BARBARA'S ART SAMPLES

EDINBURGH UPDATE...
These Colours
Productions acquired stage rights for Jitterbug
Jam in 2007 for production at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Unfortunately,
they have been unable to procure the funding needed for development of the
project for the 2008 Festival. Maybe next year?

GOOD NEWS
JITTERBUG JAM
RECEIVES HONORS
New York Times Book Review:
Best Illustrated Books, 2005
Child Magazine:
Best Children’s Books, 2005
Nick Jr. Family Magazine:
Best Children’s Books, 2005
American
Library Association:
2006 Notable Children’s Book
Banks Street College of Education:
2006 Book of Outstanding Merit
Children’s Literature Assembly:
2006 Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts
Department of Language Education, College of Education, University of Georgia:
Finalist, 2006-2007 Georgia Children’s Picture Book Award
Alexis Deacon's outstanding illustrations for
Jitterbug Jam continue to garner accolades. Thanks, Alexis, for your wit,
imagination and skill!

JITTERBUG JAM RELEASED
IN AUDIO FORM
Jitterbug Jam is now available on compact
disc. The Recorded Books CD, featuring page-turn signals so even the youngest
kids can follow along, is performed by Norm Lee, a recent graduate of The
Juilliard School who makes his home in New York City. Join Bobo, Boo-Dad, and
the scary boy under Bobo's bed in a captivating interpretation of this
children's favorite.