Monday, October 28, 2013

Lancaster, MA on Tuesday at 7 p.m.!


If you live near Lancaster, MA you should stop by the Thayer Memorial Library tomorrow night at 7 p.m.! I will be giving a presentation on my books, and picking up the Chandler Reward of Merit. It's an honor to be recognized, especially giving the award's description. From the Thayer Memorial Library's website:

This reward recognizes Krosockzka  for his work as an author and illustrator of books that entertain and encourage young readers to follow their dreams and tackle problems with imagination and humor.


This award was put on a 21-year hiatus, but was recently reinstated in celebration of the library's 150th anniversary. I was in awe to learn of the past recipients, which include Ed Emberly, Jane Yolen and Maurice Sendak.

Read more about the event in this great article from The Item.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Lunch Lady has a READ poster!

I was incredibly honored to have been asked to design a READ poster for the American Library Association. This iconic series of posters has been adorning library walls for years, and I'm proud to be a part of that tradition.

If you would like to order a copy of this poster (or the matching bookmarks) for your library or classroom, please visit this website: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=10803

Feed your imagination!



Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The RI Festival of Children's Books is THIS Saturday!



Hey Rhode Islanders—The RI Festival of Children's Books is THIS Saturday!

I'll join Avi, Sharon Creech, Adam Gidwitz, Daniel Handler, Laurie KellerKate MessnerDan Santat, Chris Van Allsburg and more for an epic day of epicness!

Learn more on the Fest's official website!

The last time I attended the RI Festival of Children's Books was 2006. Back then, I brought my girlfriend, Gina.


This year, I will bring my wife, Gina, and our two daughters. No word yet on Curious George...we've drifted apart in the ensuing years.

We hope to see you on Saturday!

A Splendiferous Afternoon of Roald Dahl

I am ecstatic to announce that I will be hosting "A Splendiferous Afternoon of Roald Dahl" on December 8th! The event will benefit First Book Manhattan and will take place at Symphony Space on Broadway in New York City. (It's my Broadway debut!) Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan and a cavalcade of celebrities will read from Dahl's works, the cast of Matilda on Broadway will perform and there will be a special appearance by Luke Kelly, Roald Dahl's grandson.

It's a 756-seat venue, but tickets are nearly sold out! If you would like to get your hand on a golden ticket*, check out the official webpage!

I'm so excited about this shindig, that I created my own little piece of James and the Giant Peach fan art. I have such fond memories of the book, and even have my childhood copy sitting on my bookshelf here in the studio!





*Tickets are not actually golden in color.

Attention schools in San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles

If you are a school in San Francisco, Phoenix or Los Angeles, I may be able to get to your school in early 2014! My publisher will be sending me to a few west coast stores for my new books. Schools will not be responsible for air travel, hotel or any travel expenses, but would be responsible for my honorarium. I would only ask that you use the bookstores that my publisher is setting me up with.





Here are the dates when I'll be in town:

San Francisco, CA - February 8th

Phoenix or Scottsdale, AZ - March 17 or 18

Los Angeles, CA on April 14 and/or 15.


If you are interested, please email my School Visits Manager, Gina Krosoczka, at gina at studiojjk dot com. (If you're wondering about the relation, Gina is my wife!) :)

I hope everyone is having a great day!
:)
JJK

Thank You, Jane!

Thank You, Jane Yolen!!!





All of us in the Krosoczka house are so honored by the dedication in the latest How Do Dinosaurs book. The girls are especially tickled!

We Art Boston - bidding is now live!

When Boston-based illustrator Joe McKendry contacted me over the summer to invite me to contribute to the We Art Boston fund raiser, I didn't even need to think about it, I was in. As one who has ties to Boston, the tragic events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon were especially gut wrenching. And the We Art Boston fund raiser would be rallying children's book illustrators to raise money for the trauma unit at Boston Children's Hospital. I donated a piece from Lunch Lady and the Field Trip Fiasco and created a little Monkey Boy piece as well. 




Bidding is now live! 



BID NOW!

BID NOW!
But Joe also had a unique idea that transcended your typical charity auction. He would pass around a piece of water color paper from artist to artist, each illustrator would take on a different letter in "We Art Boston." Matt Tavares had the piece before me. His perfectly rendered baseball, complete with a faux-Ted-Williams autograph, was rather intimidating!




I thought about what Boston landmark might mean something to me. I had "S" and my mind drifted to the New England Aquarium. I have such fond memories of going as a child, and I've spent many hours there researching sea life for my upcoming picture book, Peanut Butter and Jellyfish. (Not to mention a book that used to be called Penguin Police Squad. . .)


While previously, the art had been shipped from artist to artist, I had promised Joe I would get the rest of the letters finished in my local area, where many children's book illustrators reside. I knew that Eric Carle was in town, and as luck would have it I stopped by his studio and caught him there. He was of course happy and eager to contribute. Here are a few shots taken by my friend Motoko, who works at his studio. 






We were getting closer! Next up was Grace Lin. Here we are passing the baton/mailing tube!


After Grace added her creative multi-layered Boston trinbute (a Boston Terrier, Boston's Chinatown) the "N" was polished off by Tony DiTerlizzi.

Here's what it looked like on Tony's desk:


And the finished piece!



Now, you could OWN that piece! Seriously, a piece with so many artists involved could be on your wall. . . if you are the highest bidder. BID HERE NOW!!!

Hopefully this piece goes for a pretty penny. And if it is out of your price range, you could buy a print of this unique piece. And again, all proceeds go to the trauma unit at Boston Children's Hospital! BUY THE PRINT HERE!

And read all about it in The Boston Globe!

Wednesday, October 09, 2013

In Case You Were Wondering...

This is what art from 10 Lunch Lady graphic novels looks like.


two events at RISD this weekend

I am thrilled to be returning to the RISD campus this weekend for a few fantastic events during the RISD by Design weekend.

On Friday evening, I'll be giving the keynote kick-off for the Mindshare lecture series. At 6:30 p.m., I will deliver a talk called "How to Make It Once You've Made It" in which I'll retrace my steps from the Illustration Studies Building to where I am now. More info on that is here.

On Saturday at 2 p.m., I will join fellow literati RISD alum Marcellus Hall  and Jen Corace for a fun family event called RISD READS.  All of the info that you need on this event is here.