Original Art Show 2008

The Society Of Illustrators Original Art show opens this Thursday. The annual show highlights original art from children's books published within the year. I'm happy to have work from BEFORE JOHN WAS A JAZZ GIANT and PHILLIS'S BIG TEST in the show.
The work will be on exhibit along with art from over a hundred other books through November 26th.

Panorama Project 3-A Group Show curated by Jordin Isip and Rodger Stevens

I'll have a piece in this show.
Sep 6 thru Oct 4, 2008
Opening reception - Saturday, September 6th, 7pm-9pm
Jonathan LeVine Gallery
529 West 20th Street, 9th fl
New York, NY

7th Heaven - Park Slope this Sunday

I'll be signing books, selling prints and originals this Sunday at the 7th Ave Street Fair - Seventh Heaven - June 15th (10am-6pm).

I'll be set up between 9th and 10th streets. Come by and get a copy of Phillis's Big Test or Before John Was A Jazz Giant.
These photos are from last year's 7th Heaven.

Cab Calloway!

Baltimore Magazine just commissioned me to do a portrait of Cab Calloway the jazz singer/big band leader. I've included a detail and the sketch below.

Reviews For BEFORE JOHN WAS A JAZZ GIANT

All apologies to those who come here looking for up to date information regarding my work. Professionally, there is not a lot to report and I'll try to put it all in this one post since I have not posted a thing in over two months.
There is an in depth review of BEFORE JOHN WAS A JAZZ GIANT by Ms. Betsy Bird. You can read it here. Her review was so thorough and insightful that I think even I learned something. Reviews are really fascinating to me and I do read them because they can provide useful and objective insight into one's work albeit sometimes painful.

I also did an interview with Betsy here.BEFORE JOHN WAS A JAZZ GIANT was also chosen as a Bank St. College Committee pick for the month of April and a Newsweek pick of the week.

More Reviews and Interviews!

Elaine Magliaro from Wild Rose Reader has a review of Dizzy on her blog. Check it out - Wild Rose Reader Blog. Also, she reviews Ella Fitzgerald - Vocal Virtuosa by Andrea and Brian Pinkney.

Thanks Elaine!

Read an interview with Jonah Winter, author of Dizzy, Frida, Diego, and Secret World of Hildegard!
Interview.

Interview at The Brown Bookshelf!

I did an interview with illustrator/author Don Tate for The Brown Bookshelf. In celebration of Black History Month they've interviewed authors and illustrators and posted them on their website. Each day features a new interview. Here's a partial list of other authors and illustrators interviewed: Karen English (author of THE BABY ON THE WAY), Carole Boston Weatherford (author of BEFORE JOHN WAS A JAZZ GIANT), Nina Crews, Tonya Bolden and Shane Evans. Many thanks to Don Tate and The Brown Bookshelf!

The interview is here.

Jazz Giant Review!

Jules from Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast has a nice review of Before John was a Jazz Giant and a couple of other new picture book biographies here. Thanks Jules!

Poet Slave of Cuba Wins the Pura Belpre Award at ALA!

I'm a bit late getting around to announcing this but if you don't already know about two weeks ago the ALA announced its annual award winners and Poet Slave of Cuba was among them. Poet Slave won the Pura Belpre Award for writing. Here's a quote from the ALA website about the award - "The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth." While the award acknowledges the book as a whole it is really for the author Margarita Engle. Congrats Margarita!
You can see a list of all of the award winners here.
Congrats to everyone including friends Mo Willems, Gregory Christie, and Brian Selznick.