Dazzling Dogs Release Recap

Frenz,

I’m totally overwhelmed by the positive response – we packed Diesel Books! It was SRO! We also sold out of copies of A Dazzling Display of Dogs (but not to worry – if you want a copy, you can order one here).

For those of you who braved the rainy weather and [maybe even] came out with your kids on a Wednesday night – I thank you! I hope you had as much fun as we did. Thanks also to Tricycle Press (this is, sadly, one of the last books they will publish), Suki and Andy for the music, and Loriana and Carolee for helping out and setting up. Thanks to Betsy Franco for making the trip to Oakland, and to Diesel Books for being so accommodating. If you’re in the Bay Area, go buy your books there! It’s a great shop.

Here’s a little video that Michael Zelner shot (thanks Michael!):

What’s next for the book? Well, The Mutts are going to be recording these songs for real sometime soon. Betsy and I are going to be making a book trailer or two for the two books we’ve published together thus far. There are also rumblings about another collaboration. Stay tuned.

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A Dazzling Display of Dogs on shelves this week!

Friends to the Four-Pawed:

my second picture book, A Dazzling Display of Dogs (written by Betsy Franco – yes, that Betsy Franco), has been released and is available at your local bookstore and online. We’re super excited about it over here, and hope you’ll get yourself a copy!

The book release party has been set for March 23, at Diesel Books here in Oakland. Andy and I will probably, as with the Curious Cats opening, embarrass ourselves in front of you. Just to let you know.

Here’s a great review from School Library Journal:

Starred Review. Grade 1–5 – This follow-up to A Curious Collection of Cats (Tricycle, 2009) is dazzling indeed. Each of the 34 poems features a different animal, most of them engaged in true dog behavior. From farting in the car to wheezing and snoring while sleeping, these pups are funny and lovable even when they’re being annoying. The verses and the book’s design are beautifully matched. In “Emmett’s Ode to His Tennis Ball,” the text is enclosed in a circle held firmly in the dog’s mouth. It begins, “Slobbery, sloppy, slimy, sphere—oh, tennis ball, I hold you dear….” Like the poems, the pictures are funny and dynamic. The pages are definitely full, yet careful use of color, typeface, and detail means they never look chaotic. A note says the pictures were started in pencil and then finished using monoprints and Adobe Photoshop. Overall, a delight for kids, their adults, and maybe even their beloved canine companions.—Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL

Sadly, ‘A Dazzling Display of Dogs’ is one of the last books that Tricycle press will publish. I am so grateful to my editor Abigail Samoun for making this book happen!

See more images from the book here.

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A Dazzling Display of Dogs – sneaky preview!

Hi there friendlies,

here’s a sneak peek at the kids’ book I’ve been working on for the past few months. I’m excited, and eager for the book to publish (2011). It’s called A Dazzling Display of Dogs, and it’s the follow-up to A Curious Collection of Cats. It’s being published by Tricycle Press/Random House. You can see another sneak preview image here. Each page showcases a colorful concrete poem (written by Betsy Franco) and illustrated by yours truly.

More later…

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singing/signing at kepler’s books tomorrow!

Hi everyone!

Andy and I will be doing another “singing” and signing of A Curious Collection of Cats tomorrow at Kepler’s Bookstore in Menlo Park, California. Andy and I will be performing a few of the poems in the book (singing and playing uke), and author Betsy Franco will be doing a presentation about how the book was written. Should be a hoot! If you’re in the area, come on over and say hi and get a book signed. Fun for kids (or for the eternally young).

What: ‘Singing’ for a Curious Collection of Cats

Where: Kepler’s Books, Menlo Park
1010 El Camino Real
Menlo Park CA, 94025
(650) 324-4321

When: 11:30 am, Sunday June 28

Here’s a little video from Diesel Books in Oakland:

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