Auction item #3: PAGE 39 FROM LUNCH LADY AND THE SUMMER CAMP SHAKEDOWN

The auction goes live on Monday at www.studiojjk.com/joeandshirlscholarship.html!


The Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarship Fund at the Worcester Art Museum provides tuition to needy children who are in unique familial situations.

Auction item #2: HAND PAINTED GOAT VINYL FIGURE

The auction goes live on Monday at www.studiojjk.com/joeandshirlscholarship.html!


The Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarship Fund at the Worcester Art Museum provides tuition to needy children who are in unique familial situations.

Auction item #1: BE IN A LUNCH LADY BOOK

The auction goes live on Monday at www.studiojjk.com/joeandshirlscholarship.html!

The Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarship Fund at the Worcester Art Museum provides tuition to needy children who are in unique familial situations.

Sketchbook Saturday

character sketches for the League of Librarians—2006

Originally, the metaphysical literary characters that the League manifested weren't from children's books.

The Joe and Shirl Scholarship -- inaugural auction coming up!

The inaugural auction to support the Joe and Shirl Scholarship is coming up! On Cyber-Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, the auction goes live at www.studiojjk.com/joeandshirlscholarship.html. The Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarship Fund at the Worcester Art Museum provides tuition to needy children who are in unique familial situations. To learn more, visit the above website, or watch this short video I made explaining why I'm doing this.


Happy bidding!

Drawings from Kids

Look at these great drawings that the very talented Lindy sent in! Keep up the great work, Lindy!

Do you have a note or a drawing that you'd like to share? I would love to see them!
They can be emailed to me via props@studiojjk.com or mailed to:
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
PO Box 60155
Florence, MA 01062

Sketchbook Saturday

sketches of Lunch Lady's gadgets—2004

Funny Kid Quote

A Kindergartner was getting settled into the idea of an assembly and when she saw me walk to the front of the group, her jaw dropped and she called out, "Excuse me, are you real?"

Lunch Lady costume by a young reader

Check out the dedication from this young reader! A.Y.'s mother wrote in to let me know that her 3rd grader wasn't just an avid fan of Lunch Lady who dresses up as her for Halloween, but A. Y. has also petitioned her local library to pick up all of the books in the series! Look out for a special something in the mail from us at the Studio (for you and your library)!

And notice the awesomeness in the homemade LL gadgets! That's a Fancy Ketchup Packet Laser there, as well as a Spork Phone and a Mustard Grappling Hook! Apple Saucy!

Connecticut Children's Book Fair—this weekend (I'm on Sunday)

The Connecticut Children's Book Fair is this weekend and I'll be there on Sunday. It all goes down on the UConn campus in Storrs. (And lookit! They asked me to provide the art for this year's logo. Such an honor!)

Here's my schedule:


Presentation 11:30 am
Autographings: 10:00 am – 11:00 am & 12:15 pm – 1:15 pm

Rome Commons Ballroom
Rome Hall, South Campus Complex
University of Connecticut, Storrs

The Little d Literary Award

I am beyond honored to have had Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute awarded the Little d Literary Award. This award is voted on by a committee that consists of librarians and kids in the Upper Hudson Library system and recognizes humorous works. This is also such a special recognition because it was created in honor of Denise McCoy, a passionate advocate of children's literature. This is from the Little d's website:

The award was established to honor the beloved local independent bookstore owner Denise (denise) McCoy who preferred to spell her name with a little “d” hence the award title. Denise was a strong advocate for children’s literacy and more than one third of her shop was allocated to children’s books. Denise was also involved in the literary portion of the 15-Love Program, the Book Power Club and is fondly remembered for her inspired readings to the children, particularly humorous books, which she adored, having an incredible sense of humor herself. Denise passed away suddenly in 2003. The Little d Award commemorates denise’s legacy for improving children’s literacy along with her fine humor.

I'll be in Albany, NY on Wednesday, November 10th for some activities surrounding the award.

At 11AM, I'll be signing books at The Little Bookhouse.

And then from 6-8PM, I will be receiving the award at the Fort Orange Club. (This is a ticketed event, which benefits the  Denise McCoy Scholarship Fund and literacy programs throughout the Upper Hudson area. Tickets can be purchased at the door.)

Sketchbook Saturday

sketches of Lunch Lady's scooter—2004

Drawings from Kids

Looks like Mrs. Peterson has her hands full!

Do you have a note or a drawing that you'd like to share? I would love to see them!
They can be emailed to me via props@studiojjk.com or mailed to:
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
PO Box 60155
Florence, MA 01062

Annual Illustration Show at R.Michelson Galleries THIS Sunday 4-6PM

This Sunday is the 21st annual Illustration Show at the R. Michelson Galleries, here in Northampton, MA. Come on by the gallery from 4-6PM to rub elbows with all of the local artists. More information is here: http://www.rmichelson.com/Childrens-Book-Illustrators.html.

And check out the window display! Never thought I'd share window space with Spock!

PF Halloween in Ohio

These preschool teachers in Dublin, OH really threw themselves into the story and hosted a pajama-Halloween literacy night with Punk Farm. Rock on!

A Music Blog and a Book Blog

Punk Farm and Lunch Lady get some love from two new blogs.

Check out The Music Minis for a Punk Farm review.

And check out Picture Literacy for an interview about Lunch Lady.



Thanks guys! And happy blogging!

Halloween costumes

Nothing thrills me more than hearing that people have chosen one of my characters as the basis for their Halloween costumes. Recently, I received two awesome pictures of great educators bringing my characters to life. Check them out:

Jennifer and her aide serve up some justice at their library in Texas.

Brian has a very big, brown bag idea in Washington.

Pumpkins by Night

Happy Halloween!

Sketchbook Saturday

Boiler Room sketches—2004

Pumpkins by Day

LL in LA Times' Reading by 9

I am honored to have had Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute featured in the LA Times' "Reading by 9" supplement.  The supplement came with last week's paper, but you can download a PDF of the 2010-2011 Reading by 9 here.

This is a great resource for parents and educators and is available in Spanish and English. 

Funny Kid Quote

On a recent school visit, the hosting librarian was settling the crowd down and asked the kids what the three big rules for being a good audience were.

The first kid to be called upon said, "Don't yell at the author."

Always something I appreciate!

Sketchbook Saturday

Plotting out the climactic bunny battle in LL3—2007

Arizona book signing—Changing Hands in Tempe, AZ—10/25 @ 5PM

I'll be signing copies of my books at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, AZ this coming Monday, 10/25, at 5PM. If you can't make it, but want to order an autographed copy, call the store at 480.730.0205 to place your order. The store is located at 6428 S McClintock Dr. See yah there!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is a season in our house. No sooner are the white pants and shoes put away after Labor Day are we breaking out the orange and black storage bins. We go all out, my neighbors even call me the Clark Griswald of Halloween. Needless to say, I've been looking forward to creating the Halloween themed art for Target House's October Carnival at St. Jude Children's Hospital.

Hope your October is spook-tacular!

 

Sketchbook Saturday

Terrence character sketch—2006

Annie Was Warned fan video

In case you missed this video a few years back, here's a super-awesome vid from Holland Hall Primary School in Tulsa. The kids did a superb job of staging Annie Was Warned! The costumes! The sets! The acting! BRAVO!

Boston, this Saturday

I'll be in Boston this Saturday, October 16th, for the Boston Book Festival. At 10 AM, at the Trinity Church Forum, I'll join fellow artists Alexis Frederick-Frost, Aaron Renier,  and Jef Czekaj for a fun panel/improv draw-fest hosted by Robin Brenner.

Trinity Church is located on the eastern corner of Copley Square just opposite the John Hancock Tower.

See you there!

Sketchbook Saturday

Hector character study—2006

Annie Was Warned reading

Last spring, I visited my Texan friends down in the Cy-Fair district. They shot a video of me reading one of my books for their video reading program, which airs online and on their district's cable channel. They held on to the video for October because I read Annie Was Warned. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Drawings from Kids

Looks like I need to step up my game! I am amazed that this young author has already written 100 books. And the Runaway Popsicles sounds brilliant. Well done!

Do you have a note or a drawing that you'd like to share? I would love to see them!
They can be emailed to me via props@studiojjk.com or mailed to:
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
PO Box 60155
Florence, MA 01062

Sketchbook Saturday

Dee character study—2006