Monday, September 30, 2019

Hey, Kiddo Webcast


Tell your friends -- on Wednesday, I will host two free webcasts for HEY, KIDDO. I'll talk about my creative process and then take questions live:



Also, look for info in the above link on how you can get signed books from my local indie!

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Happy Birthday, Batman!


Reading Batman comics got me excited to read, which got excited to write, which got me excited to draw. And imaginative play with those childhood action figures was an entry into storytelling.
Happy 80th, Bats!

One Book, One Region


Nearly a thousand people came out last week. Unbelievable. Thank you to everyone who helped put together the One Book One Region event at Connecticut College!

Remembering the Past


‪This was my walk to school for grades K-8. I visited my old school, Gates Lane, and when I walked to get a coffee, I did the reverse of my daily childhood routine. ‬


Never forget where you came from or how you got to where you are. I stopped by to pay my respects to family members’ final resting places today.

A Better Future

Thank you for having me, DA Early. And to the entire team at the Worcester County Opioid Task Force—you are doing such important work. Let’s not give up hope for a better future for those we love.








The Krosoczka Pumpkin Class of 2019


It is full-on pumpkin season here! Follow along on Instagram, where I’ll be posting a daily pumpkin between now and Halloween. Find me @studiojjk or follow #krosofamilypumpkins over on Insta.

Swipe over on the posts to watch time-lapse videos!





Gotta look for beautiful imperfections before you start to paint! I made the eyes more realistic to give this one a more unsettling vibe.



Thursday, September 19, 2019

Brand New Jedi Academy!




Christina Starspeeder takes the next steps to becoming a full-fledged Jedi in ATTACK OF THE FURBALL, the latest in the Jedi Academy series. Super fun to collaborate with Amy Ignatow on these books!

Now & Then


After having several top-secret meetings over the past year, Grace Lin and I can finally announce that we are co-curating an exhibit at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art!
Now & Then: Contemporary Illustrators and their Childhood Art
December 14, 2019 - May 10, 2020

Audiobook Update


‪We are in the final stages of production for the HEY, KIDDO audiobook. We needed the sound of a Nintendo cartridge getting placed into the console. So also making an appearance: my old Nintendo!‬



It’s a testament to how much work the pictures do to tell the story. When adapting HEY, KIDDO for audiobook, we did an audit of all the story elements being told with the illustrations, and I then wrote a significant amount of text to expand the narration. After listening to the first pass, there were still story details missing, and I wrote an additional 25 passages, which were recorded this week.




‪The “character” of Jarrett was split between three performers for the Hey, Kiddo audiobook. Zoe voiced Kid Jarrett, Jaiden voiced Tween Jarrett, and I voiced Teen Jarrett. Since I also voiced Narrator Jarrett, we needed to differentiate the sound of the narration from the dialogue. So I performed Teen Jarrett with my Wustah accent when delivahring my lines, and the pitch of the recording was increased to make me sound younger. ‬
All looks as though the audiobook will launch at the end of October. Stay tuned...

One Book, One Region


Nearly a thousand people came out Tuesday night. Unbelievable. Thank you to everyone who helped put together the One Book One Region event at Connecticut College!

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Hey, Kiddo Audiobook


‪Listening to the first pass on the final chapters of the HEY, KIDDO audiobook. The production quality that Scholastic Audio is putting into this production is astounding!‬

Hand-Painted Classroom



This is astounding.
Honored beyond words that students will have the spines of our books on their lockers.

At the Library of Congress


A single photo, even if taken in panorama, will never adequately portray the magnificence that is The Library of Congress. It’s physical beauty, however, is minuscule compared to the magnitude of its importance as a cultural institution. I will never take for granted any of the time that I get to spend in this building.



Cartoonists gawking at the fancy ceiling and fancy floor at the Library of Congress.
With Gale Galligan and Raina Telgemeier at The Library of Congress.


G and me outside of The Library of Congress ahead of the National Book Award Gala. Everything is better with her by my side.



Wednesday, September 04, 2019

PBS Books - Live Interview

In which I discuss writing memoir and the complicated struggles of my mother’s addiction: