Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Unplugging for summer

I like you Internets, but not as much as I like August in New England with my family.

I'll be checking email periodically, but won't be on any social media throughout the duration of August. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

:)
JJK




Thank you, SCBWI!

Thank you to everyone out at the Society of Children's Books Writers & Illustrators International Conference in Los Angeles. You were a wonderful group of friends and a great audience. I'm glad that I didn't poke anybody's eye out with the paper airplane.

I cannot wait to see where people end up. When you put your all into your goal, it's never a question of "if", only a question of "when".




And of all the info in your SCBWI conference folder, please pay closest attention to this piece & team up with First Book. I'm proud to be a part of Authors and Illustrators in Action. You can sign up here: http://www.firstbook.org/get-involved/authors-in-action


Lunch Lady takes home 3 Kids' Comics Revolution Awards!

Lunch Lady took home multiple awards in the inaugural Kids' Comics Revolution Awards! I'm honored and humbled by everyone's enthusiasm. Awards voted on by the young readers themselves are always the best!

Lunch Lady won "Favorite Comic Book Hero," "Favorite Humor Graphic Novel" and "Best Hair in Comics." And how cool are these trophies?!


Check out the full list of winners here!


AND VIVA LA REVOLUTION!!!!

August on The Book Report with JJK

I'm about to go on a digital hiatus, but I will still be on the satellite radio airwaves! New episodes of The Book Report with JJK will air throughout August at its regular time, 5:40 pm ET / 2:40 pm PT on SiriusXM's Kids Place Live (channel 78) during The Absolutely Mindy Show!

Here's who you'll hear in the coming weeks:



August 7th: Patrick McDonnell talks about his comic strip Mutts and his award-winning picture books!


August 14: Tim Federle will chat up his broadway-dreams-come-true story, Better Nate Than Never!



August 21: Chris Raschka talks about his new book, Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle, and I geek-out about having read his books as an eager college student.



August 28: Christopher Healy storms the show with his books The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom and The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle!

Annie Was Warned now in paperback, just in time for 10th anniversary





Annie Was Warned is now available in a paperback edition! And believe it or not, the book celebrates ten years in print! 

The paperback edition posed a bit of a challenge. If you recall, there is a gatefold in the original hardcover edition. Gatefolds are expensive to print and therefore go against the whole point of having an affordable paperback. 


To translate Annie into paperback, the page layout changed a bit. That last page was no longer a single page and needed to become a double-page spread. 

The original hardcover edition.

With that, I needed to revisit some art. A fun challenge—recreate the exact same style and colors for something that you painted ten years ago so that it can fit in seamlessly with the original pages.



I'm proud of what I was able to accomplish. See how the ending flows with the brand-new art at your local bookshop or library!



The new paperback edition.


Friday, August 02, 2013

Summer Flashback: BookExpo

Thank you to everyone at BookExpo who stood in line to get their books scribbled and sketched in way back in May! I am humbled and honored by the outpouring of support that you all gave me!

And look! My head was on a stick. You know you've made it when. . .



And apparently my wife Gina and agent Rebecca coordinated their outfits for the occasion:



Here's a Krosoczka Fun Fact. I enjoyed this pedi-cab ride. Gina did not. . .





Summer Flashback: The Worcester Public Library

Thank you to my hometown library for hosting a launch party for Platypus Police Squad!

And guess who turned up. . .


My 1st grade teacher Mrs. Alisch! My sister Holly (pictured here) had her as a teacher, too. In fact, everybody in the Krosoczka family had her as a teacher over the years!


Also in attendance. . .


Mrs. Casey! Mrs. Casey gave me my first gig. She moderated the high school newspaper and hired me to be the cartoonist. And that role came at such a critical time in my life.


Thursday, August 01, 2013

Summer Flashback: The American Library Association's annual conference





Thank you to everyone in the League of Librarians who came out to hear us yuck it up at our panel: Krosoczka! Telgemeir! TenNapel! Comics Your Kids Love By Names You Can't Pronounce, Moderated by Jon Scieszka. It was standing room only and Raina, Doug, Jon and I had a very engaging discussion on comics, consonants and hilarity.

And of course a special thank you to those who used the official hashtag: #ScieszkaKrosoczkaTelgemeierandTenNapeltalkcomics. (Seriously, check the link, people used that hashtag!)

Here are some photos from the panel:





And of course, a big thank you to all who came to get signatures and sketches in their Lunch Lady and Platypus Police Squad books!





Also, it was great to see everyone at the Newbury/Caldecott Awards Banquet. You all clean up very well. Here I am with Knopf Publisher Nancy Hinkel and Newbery medalists Patricia McLaughlin and Cynthia Voigt.