Saturday, May 31, 2014

Want to buy our house?

It has come to that time for our family to move into a bigger house as our family grows. (No, no third kid just yet...) So...looking to move to Northampton, MA? Want to buy our house?

It won't be on the market until June 10th, but if you want to make a jump on it, our realtor is Craig Della Penna and he is at 413-575-2277

We did everything to update this turn-of-the-century house to make it our home. We maintained all of the integrity of the original hard-wood detailing and floors, and updated electricity, plumbing, renovated the bathroom and kitchen to bring them to modern tastes and standards. Tile floors, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances—all top-notch. Also, we brought electricity, cable, telephone and the gas line to a one-car garage and transformed it into a working artist's studio/home office. 

3 bedrooms, 1 & 1/2 baths. We fenced in the large yard, added a storage shed. We are a 1/3 mile walk to downtown Florence (Miss Florence Diner!) and a 1/3 mile walk to Look Park. We're around the corner from the bike path. We're going to miss this place!

(And to our local pals, we are looking to love locally, you aren't getting rid of us!)

Also—two lavishly painted murals by yours truly in two of the bedrooms! 

There will be more photos of the interior soon, but in the meantime, this is the exterior. 

(This photo is for potential buyers, not potential stalkers. So potential stalkers, please look away...)




Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Check out the book trailer for Comics Squad: Recess!

Here is the book trailer for the new comics anthology that I edited with Jenni Holm and Matt Holm. We couldn't be prouder of this line up!


On bookshelves July 8th!



Tuesday, May 20, 2014

People We Meet: Unforgettable Conversations

Honored doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about being included in this compilation. "People We Meet: Unforgettable Conversations" is a double-CD compilation curated by NPR's correspondents. It's on sale now, also available as download, and sales benefit National Public Radio.



Monday, May 19, 2014

Vote in the Kids' Comics Revolution Awards!




I'm honored to have Lunch Lady and the Video Game Villain up for a KCR Award in the Favorite Graphic Novel (Humor) category!

Last year, Lunch Lady was lucky enough to take home a few trophies, including Best Hair!

Kids! You can cast your votes right here: http://comicsaregreat.com/category/kidscomicsrevolution



Friday, May 16, 2014

My favorite thing about Zita the Spacegirl is...

…that she is a girl who kicks alien butt! We simply will never have enough female heroes in comics. It's something that our girls—and our boys—need to see. And bonus points that she has a realistic body and is modestly dressed.

Congratulations to Ben Hatke on The Return of Zita the Spacegirl, the final space-adventure comic for our heroine.

Here is a piece of fan art that I made of Zita. Go Ben!


Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Info on my visits for the 2014-2015 School Year


Hi, everyone!

For many years, my wonderful wife, Gina, has very graciously handled all of the correspondence and logistics for my school visits. After much consideration, we decided that her time would be best spent focusing on our two daughters, because let me tell you—they sure keep her busy! Plus, the requests for my speaking engagements have been pouring in at a very high volume these past few years. Gina has loved working with all of you, and I appreciate all of the positive feedback that you've given her over the years. Moving forward, we've hired a great School Visit Coordinator in Sylvia Peterson. We found her through the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book, as she was working with their development team, and we couldn't be happier that we found her. She's top-notch! Sylvia can be reached at schoolvisits@studiojjk.com.

Photo by Strinni Studio Photography


Another reason why I am writing today is to tell you about how we are reconfiguring how we schedule my visits. In the past, I have accepted all invitations and went whenever a school needed me. While I have loved visiting every single school that has had me, but as you can imagine that has led to a very frantic schedule—for my writing, but more importantly for my family. Going forward, I will now be selecting one week per month that I can be away from home, with other slots left open for local visits. Below, you will find where I have a few visits locked down. If you are near one of these towns and would like to have me speak at your school, please do get in touch with Sylvia and she can help coordinate efforts for you to add on to these trips. For local visits, please contact Sylvia and she will be more than happy to find a time that may work. (I consider anything within a 2 hour driving distance from Northampton, MA as local.)


Platypus Police Squad: The Ostrich Conspiracy is on bookshelves!



Hope to see you at a book reading!


May 9, 4 PM- Dedham, MA- Blue Bunny Bookshop

May 12, Platypus Police Squad 2 Virtual Book Talk!

May 28, 5 PM- New York, NY- BookExpo, American Booksellers Foundation of Free Expression Auction

May 29,  9:30 AM - BookExpo signing for Platypus Police Squad 2

June 4, 4 PM Cambridge, MA- Platypus Police Squad 2 Launch Event- Cambridge Public Library (Book sales by Porter Square Books.)

June 5, 10 AM- Washington, D.C.- Library of Congress - "A Library of Congress Books and Beyond for Young People Program on Reluctant Readers"

July 15, Boston, MA- School Nutrition Association Annual National Conference- SNA ANC

July 16, Findlay, OH- Mazza Museum Summer Conference- Conference Information

Saturday, May 03, 2014

Thank you for making School Lunch Hero Day such a smashing success!


Thank you, everyone, for making School Lunch Hero Day such a spectacular success! In just about every state, kids celebrated their lunch staff and feted them with flowers, balloons and cards. Even governors, senators and the USDA got involved! A special thank you to the AASL, IRA, NEA, The Book It program and Family Fun magazine for all of the shout-outs. And a huge thank you to The School Nutrition Association and Random House Children's Books for being such great partners in the day, and to First Book for the book distribution to PG County Elementary in Maryland!

The Washington Post wrote a great wrap-up of SLHD festivities. Read all about it here!

Check out a sampling of what happened by viewing the Twitter feed for #SchoolLunchHeroDay: http://twitter.com/search?q=%23SchoolLunchHeroDay&s=tyah

(I also retweeted many of the posts to my own Twitter feed — twitter.com/studiojjk)

Also, my trusty studio assistant, Austin, catalogued some photos on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/studiojjk/school-lunch-hero-day 

If you have more photos to add to the SLHD Pinterest board, please send them to me at props@studiojjk.com. Thanks!!

School Lunch Hero Day will always happen the first Friday of May. We'll do it up again on May 1, 2015!