Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Zoe Marie Krosoczka


On December 13th at 4:54 AM, the world stood still and time stopped. G and I welcomed our first child into this world. Zoe Marie is a beautiful, healthy and happy baby girl. Both baby and mommy are doing extraordinarily well. There are no words to fully communicate the joy, the pride and the sense of awe I have for the whole experience.

I can only imagine the affect that young Zoe will have on my work. I'll have a front row seat to the wonderment of experiencing the world for the first time.

For those of you who are curious how Ralph is adjusting, he is also doing very well. The doctors gave us some articles of Zoe's for him to sniff before we introduced the two. Ralph is already very protective of his little sister and has taken to kissing her little toes.

I hope that everyone enjoys the holiday season. I know I will, sleep deprived and all! I'll be signing off now to focus on my young family and will see you in two thousand and nine. Thank you to all who help me make this dream of book making a continued reality. And thank you to everyone who has sent an email, a voice mail, a text message, a Facebook wall post, a fax or a carrier pigeon with your well wishes for our Zoe.

Happy Holidays!
-Jarrett

Friday, December 12, 2008

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

speaking of adaptations

Speaking of adaptations -- are you excited to see the movie version of The Tale of Despereaux? It arrives in theaters next week. I cannot wait!



I also encourage you to check out the deluxe version of the book, which was handsomely illustrated in full color by Timothy Basil Ering.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

two links of interest

I always check in to Drawn.ca for a good dose of visual inspiration. The site is fantastic.

Recently, they posted two links that deal with two author/illustrators. Both artists are incredibly talented and I have great admiration for their work.

Check out a video of Shaun Tan and get a great sneak peak at the adaptation that he's working on here.

And check out some stills from Oliver Jeffer's Lost and Found adaptation here.
(While you're there, click on the 'films' section and check out Studio aka's other fun projects.)

Monday, December 08, 2008

Party in Miami

A mother-son book club in Miami just shared these great photos of their book club meeting with Punk Farm. They read the book, listened to the Punk Farm music, discussed the story and then made their own instruments and had band practice!

Check out these great pictures:






Thank you to Danielle Joseph for sharing all of this info. Not only does she put together way cool book club meetings, she's also a writer and is expecting her first YA novel to be published in May '09. Congratulations, Danielle! Check out her website here.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

and now Slug with an important message...

Librarian D'Etta Broam of Lexington, SC shared this great picture with me. Mrs. Mahoney's 3rd graders used Slug as their inspiration for their "Red Ribbon Week" door.

Very, very cool. And I couldn't agree more!

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Where the Wild Things Are

My pal Galen recently sent me a link to an interview with Spike Jonze on Ain't it Cool News. As you may know, Mr. Jonze is directing a Dave Edgars penned script adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. The pairing of these two creative geniuses for such a classic book makes me just giddy. And every time a new still from the film gets released, I get only giddier.

How cool does this look?!

Friday, December 05, 2008

a drawing from TJ

TJ is an incredibly talented young artist from Woodstock, VA. His mother was kind enough to e-mail this drawing he made of Punk Farm.

Great work, TJ!


If you have any drawings, I would love to see them. They can be
emailed to me via props@studiojjk.com or mailed to:
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
PO Box 60155
Florence, MA 01062

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

drawings from kids

It's been quite some time since I posted drawings sent in from kids. (Book deadlines sure have kept me busy these days.) Just the other day, though, a large envelope came in the mail with some great drawings by the 3rd graders at Pomfret Community School in Pomfret, CT. I wish I could scan them ALL and post them here, but here is a great sampling of what they sent in.








If you have any drawings, I would love to see them. They can be
emailed to me via props@studiojjk.com or mailed to:
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
PO Box 60155
Florence, MA 01062

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

WGBY Bookfair video


A few weeks back, I had the honor of helping WGBY with their Book Fair at Barnes and Noble. When shoppers picked up books, a percentage of their purchases went to help fund the good work that WGBY does in bringing PBS to Western New England. Now that the Book Fair has come and gone, WGBY produced this nifty video to thank their patrons.



I'll certainly be back to help in 2009!

Monday, December 01, 2008

Friday, November 28, 2008

Chillin' with Santa

This Saturday at 11 AM, I'll be at the Cup and Top Cafe in Florence, Ma (It's my local coffee haunt) to read, draw and sign. The walls will also be adorned with Punk Farm prints and the original paintings of the Punk Farm groupies from PunkFarmSpace.com. What's that you say? You need more incentive? Well the jolly fat man himself, Santa Claus, will be the star of his own parade in Florence Center at 10 AM. 

I will be adding this to the list of things I never thought I would do in my life. I once opened for Barney. Now I'll be closing for Santa.

Holly, Jolly!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Funny kid story

Librarian Terri of Lexington, SC recently wrote in with this funny kid story. She happily agreed to let me post the story here. Enjoy!


--------------------------------
A second grader just came to the library with her class and immediately asked for a book about Tchaikovsky. I located our biography and tried to hand it to her, but received a blank stare in return. I asked "Didn't you want a book about Tchaikovsky?" And she replied, "I wanted Punk Farm". (What???) I found "Punk Farm" for her and told her I was confused about what "Punk Farm" and Tchaikovsky had in common and she replied, you know, that author who came for Family Reading Night, Jarrett Tchaikovsky."

Monday, November 24, 2008

Another group photo

The group photo of all the local authors and illustrators (who also turned up for the opening) is now available on the R. Michelson Gallery website.

Check it out here. And see if you recognize any names or faces!

Group photo from gallery opening

Ah ha! I have found the group photo! The R. Michelson Gallery hired photographer Seth Kaye to document the event and he has posted some pictures over at his blog. Here is a picture of all of the artists who were both in the show and present at the opening reception.

Front row: Ruth Sanderson, Dianne deGroat, Kathy Brown, Jane Dyer, Mordicai Gerstein, Barry Moser, Rebecca Guay.
Back row: Tony DiTerlizzi, Rich Michelson, Scott Fischer, Me, Mo Willems.

And the picture with ALL of the local authors and illustrators is about 3 times that size! What a neighborhood!!!


Check out all of Seth's pictures over at his blog.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Japanese edition of Punk Farm

Copies of the Japanese edition have finally come in. And they look so cool!

Oddly enough, they include the English character of "J" for my middle initial, but use Japanese characters for the rest of my name. And to be honest - I don't know what anything says in the book. I think that's pretty neat. I would love to know what the literal translation is. Perhaps someday I will meet someone who speaks Japanese and at that moment, I will have the book on me at the time!

Enjoy this little peak at the book.





Friday, November 21, 2008

the R. Michelson show

If you missed the opening of the R. Michelson's annual children's illustrations show last Sunday, you missed quite the party. A majority of the artists in the show were present and even more artists and authors stopped by. And there were a ton - as evidenced by the amount of people who posed for the group photo. As soon as I spot a copy of that photo floating around on the Internet, I'll be sure to post it here.

Here are a few of my photos from the festivities. And if you are going to be near Northampton, do stop by the gallery to see the work in person!



Richard Michelson addresses the crowd.


Norton Juster receives an award for his
dedication to the Reader to Reader program.



Scott Fischer's coordination skills rival his drawing skills
(and his drawing skills are mad good, yo.)



Also, our good neighebors from the Great White North were in town. Mark and Andrea (and their lovely daughters) of the Just One More Book podcast were in town to take it all in and record hours upon hours of audio for their show. That will be up at some point on their site, but in the meantime, check out their Flickr page here.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

This American Life in concert

Every week he brings you a theme. Then he brings you a variety of stories based on that theme. This week. Ira Glass comes to Northampton, MA.

And we got to sit in the 2nd row.

It was awesome.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Holy SCBWI Moly


Looks like I'll be opening the SCBWI 2009 Winter Conference in NYC. If you are attending, I promise not to disappoint.

I may even have a few surprises.

Check out the lineup here!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Dinner Theater or Dinner Theatre (it was a classy event)

I've seen many cool things on my school visits, but I've never had a dinner theater. On a recent trip to Virginia, the 1st graders at Ashby Lee Elementary put together an amazing spectacle of drama, humor and rock. There were sets, props and costumes. Local dignitaries were invited to dine on Baghead, Punk Farm and Slug themed foods, while mini productions based on my books unfolded from every corner of the room. I had a tear in my eye, it was very moving - and hilarious. Some of those kids have bright futures in Hollywood.

They even made me wear a crown and a sash. I can't say I've ever worn a sash before. Here I am practicing my wave.

upcoming local events

Hey there blog readers, I have a few local events coming up that you might be interested in.

On Saturday (Nov 15) I'll be at Barnes & Noble in Holyoke, MA @ 11AM in support of WGBY (Western New England's PBS). Check out their Book Fair website.

On Sunday (Nov 16) I'll be at the opening reception of the R. Michelson's annual illustration show. There will be a slew of illustrator pals showing and an even greater slew of author and illustrator pals in attendance. That goes down @ 4PM.

Next Thursday (Nov 20) I'll be giving a slideshow on the creation of Punk Farm at the Vevins Memorial Library in Methuen, MA @ 5:30.

Next Saturday (Nov 22) I'll be reading & signing at the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, MA @ 11 AM. This is a GREAT indie shop and it will be my first event with them. I'm very excited!

In two Saturdays from now (Nov 29) I'll be reading & signing at my local coffee haunt - the Cup and Top Cafe. Great coffee, great play space for kids and they always have great art on the walls! And in Dec/Jan, they'll have some of my work on the walls.

See you around!

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

big decision ahead for new president

The election is over! Now, I'm not one to get political on this here blog - but if you watched last night's historical and inspirational speech by President-elect Obama, you heard him make a promise. It was a promise to his daughters, Malia and Sasha, that they could now get a puppy. I'm going to stick to my ideals of not voicing my political opinions in this arena, but Ralph has no such qualms.


Ralph Macchio is officially throwing his support behind the pug breed for first pet.





Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Happy Election Day

Happy Election Day!

I voted. If you're older than 18, I hope you did, too!

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Ralph Macchio - Halloween week BONUS!

Day 6: MULLET!!!!
Sure, Halloween was yesterday, but there
really never is a bad time to rock the mullet.
Today, Ralph will be enjoying his Halloween treats
and playing some Guitar Hero. PARTY ON!


Friday, October 31, 2008

Ralph Macchio - Halloween week

Day 5: Vampire!
Happy Halloween! Ralph has decided to go for
something a little scary this year. He's spending the
day re-reading Bunnicula and if there is time,
he'll revisit Twilight as well.


Thursday, October 30, 2008

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Ralp Macchio - Halloween week

Day 3: Dragon
(Ralph has been really enjoying
Tony DiTerlizzi's Kenny and the Dragon!)


Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Monday, October 27, 2008

Ralph Macchio - Halloween week

I've been so caught up with deadlines, I've neglected to post photos of Ralph Macchio. (Our pug, not the actor.) Well, Ralph has been getting into the spirit of the Halloween season - he's been parading around in different costumes, getting a feel for them, trying to decide which one will be most perfect for Trick-or-Treating in, etc. In honor of Ralph's love for Halloween, I give you a week chuck-full of Ralph.


Day 1: Chicken







Announcement


I am very proud to announce that my original works will now be represented by the R. Michelson Gallery in Northampton, MA. The R. Michelson is one of the country's preeminent dealers in original works from children's books. The annual illustration show is launching next month and if you are nearby, consider coming to the opening reception on November 16th, from 4PM to 6PM. The R. Michelson hasn't added new artists to the roster in quite a few years and this year's freshman class will include Chris Raschka, Mo Willems, Raul Colon, Ron Mazellan and myself. Already hanging on the walls of the gallery are works by the likes of Tony DiTerlizzi, Scott Fischer, Ruth Sanderson, Jane Dyer, Diane deGroat and Mordicai Gerstein - to name just a few. And also originals from my two childhood favorites (and adulthood favorites) - Maurice Sendak and Dr. Suess. Check out the full roster here.

If you are looking to purchase original works, please contact the R. Michelson Gallery directly.

Rock on!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Virtual Book Tour


Hey there readers-

You may have noticed from my events schedule that I'm staying pretty close to home this fall. Because I have been getting requests for signed books from proud grandparents, book aunts and general book lovers, I'm offering up a "Virtual Book Tour". If you are looking to get some of your holiday shopping done early, this is your chance.

Please visit www.studiojjk.com/virtualbooktour.html to order a signed and personalized book. This page will be up until the end of November. Once the site is down, I won't be able to sign books before the holidays.

All my best,
Jarrett

Thursday, October 23, 2008

I recently received....

Very exciting news - I recently received, in the mail - an ARC.

No, not that kind of arc...it's what we in the publishing biz call an Advanced Reader's Copy. It's the book all abound up for reviewers, buyers and the like to read. It's not exactly how the book will look when it's pub'd, but it's pretty close. It gives information on what the publisher plans on doing for the book when it comes out - and there are some pretty exciting plans in the works! What is this book you ask? Well, some of you may have heard me talk about this book project here and there, but it's the first book in my graphic novel series. The series is called LUNCH LADY and the first book is called LUNCH LADY AND THE CYBORG SUBSTITUTE. The 2nd book in the series will pub on the same day as the 1st book - on July 28, 2009.

So what does this new book look like? Something like this:

What's that you say? It's a bit of a tease, you really can't see too much of it? AH HA! That's the point my friends, it's too early to show you more. BUT - the cover for book #1 has been floating around the Internet for some time now on various on-line book retailer websites. Because that has been out there, I will post it here.


More in due time...