Author Archives: illustrationclass

KU Kid Lit Conference 2016

The Kutztown University Children’s Literature Conference is 18 years old this year. The event takes place Saturday, April 16. The beautiful poster by Christina Davies is a puzzle showing a cast of famous children’s book characters heading for Kutztown’s campus. This year is a great year for illustrators. Three of the four keynote speakers are illustrators, andContinue reading “KU Kid Lit Conference 2016”

Kutztown Welcomes Jersey Students

Kutztown University gets a lot of students from New Jersey. Why so many? We are in Eastern PA, less than an hour west of the Delaware River. I grew up in New Jersey and must admit I always resented this sign: Welcome to Pennsylvania: America Starts Here. I suppose it wasn’t meant as an insult. The otherContinue reading “Kutztown Welcomes Jersey Students”

The Third Man behind the Terrible Two

The Terrible Two was a 2015 NY Times bestseller. The Terrible Two Get Worse, just released this month, has already gained that honor. The series is a runaway hit with middle grade readers.  According to Variety, the Terrible Two have a movie deal!  Boffo!  I met co-authors Mac Barnett and Jory John at the ALA librarians convention in SanContinue reading “The Third Man behind the Terrible Two”

Aubry Cohen has got Skills

Aubry Cohen graduated from Kutztown in 2014 with a concentration in Graphic Design. She had all the classes for the Illustration Concentration, but one. As I always say, a portfolio is WAY more important than a transcript. Today Aubry works for Artskills, a Bethlehem, PA company that makes art and poster supplies along with manyContinue reading “Aubry Cohen has got Skills”

The Real Poop on Pigeons !

Time to reveal the subject of my next book, -PIGEONS! “Robert McCloskey’s original idea for Make Way for Ducklings (1942) was to use pigeons …but he found pigeons too difficult to draw.” from Claudette Hegel’s Newbery and Caldecott Trivia.  Hard to believe, but it makes me happy because my next book is The Real Poop on Pigeons! The greatContinue reading “The Real Poop on Pigeons !”