Week in Review

photo by ethan turpinJanuary is almost over! Life in publishing is like driving on the autobahn.  There really isn't time to look back the way things are moving these days, so I thought I'd take this precious morning to recap this past week's top ten  eleven happenings before I dive back in.

1. "Izzy's Ukulele Adventure" has had over 200 downloads in the past week on the iBookstore.   It is available for FREE for a limited time.  Please review and rate!
2. I received this quote about my book, "All the Things I Can Do" from a teacher (and childhood friend!) in San Diego, "I read your book to my Kindergarten students last year and they loved it. I moved schools this year, and of course I brought the book with me. I read it to my new Kindergarten students, and they loved it as well. We continued by writing about "all the things we could do" they came up with some of their own ideas too, then they illustrated their sentences. They LOVE your illustrations. The book appeals equally to both boys and girls, and to students with varying interests." - Courtney Hatcher
3. Apple announced the release of iBooks Author, a user-friendly software for creating interactive-multi-touch-ebooks.  The flood gates are officially open!
4. I will be hosting a closing reception for my solo art show in Santa Barbara on Sunday, January 29th.  A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the McKinley Elementary School ICAN Art Program.  ICAN's mission is to bring high quality arts programs to children in Santa Barbara County, particularly those least likely to receive them.  Get the full scoop here.  The art teacher at McKinley Elementary School, Ms. Angela Lang, posted a blog about the show and my previous work with the students here.
5. I hope everyone enjoyed the coloring page of the week, which is still available to download on my flickr site.  Check back every Friday for a new coloring page (weekend fun for the kiddos)!
6. Check out the list of inspirational children's illustrators/writers that I met at the SCBWI LA Conference in 2010.
7. Breadcrumb Books, a e-pub company specializing in children's books that Mike Gordon and I launched in the Spring of 2011, won the first ever QED seal of approval from Digital Book World! 
8. I am working on a new book due out this Spring.  More details TBA.
Image by Ronald Searle
9. I've been delighted work of Ronald Searle, one of U.K.'s most beloved cartoonists who passed away recently.  I highly recommend Les Très Riches Heures De Mrs Mole, published just three months before he died, the Searle shares the 47 drawings he made for his wife, Monica Searle, as she was treated for a rare form cancer over a five-year period in the early 1970s.  She survived, and the intimate drawings stand as a moving testimony to love and hope.
10. I am addicted to 30 Rock (six years late to the punch...thank you Netflix streaming).  Tina Fey is officially my current hero. 
11. Here are a few sketches I made from this past week:

Yours Truly,

Mollycules 2.0