Bubble Bath Pirates—10 years later

An early sketch for the jacket.

It's wild to think, but Bubble Bath Pirates! celebrates its 10th year in print today.

The book was inspired by a visit I paid to my sister Lynn's house. Her two youngest boys, Matthew and Griffin, were acting a bit hyper as she was trying to shuffle them off to the bath. My nephews, then six and four years old, had these pirate costumes strewn across the couch, as it was just a few weeks past Halloween.  I went home and immediately started sketching the characters and drafting the story.

Here I am with Matt and Griff around 2002. 

And at a wedding in the summer of 2012. They're a bit bigger, right?  I'm so proud of what they both have achieved already! Matt is a freshman in college and Griff is studying the culinary arts in high school.

And here are a few shots of their youth immortalized in print:

You can learn more about how I wrote Bubble Bath Pirates! in this excerpt from my sketchbook, Monkey Boy to Lunch Lady.