Ebbets Eulogy

A new image commissioned for the cover of Books and Culture Magazine about our national pastime. Specifically, it is about the loss of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the impact baseball teams have on the identity of communities. The images feels a bit like a throw back for me (with apologies to N.C. Wyeth) but it should look good on the cover.
I'll post the final image in place with text when it comes out.

India Sudoku

One of students was in India over the winter break and found my old Will Shorts Sudoku book floating around a local bookstore. She sent me this picture in a poorly disguised attempt to get on my blog. Thanks for sending Vidhya!

This Week in the Sketchbook

Caldecott Buzz

The ALA Youth Media Awards are coming up next week and it has been fun to track the conversation on book blogs and librarian forums. The conventional wisdom is that Jerry Pinkney's incredible "Lion and the Mouse" will win- as virtually no argument can be made against it. But, at least a few commentators have given John Brown: His Fight for Freedom a fighting chance, so to speak. Read this review at School Library Journal:


"John Brown: His Fight for Freedom by John Hendrix
I think I'm just getting punchy and playing devil's advocate at this point. But how wild would it be if this won? I mean, there's no denying that it's entirely original. You won't find anything else like it on the market today. If the Caldecott committee has a couple nuts on it who are dedicated to the idea of wholly original storytelling, this book may have a fighting chance. It would certainly make for a lot of interesting discussions around the country. Just sayin'."


Here's to a couple of "nuts"! (though I'm not sure if the reference is anatomical or metaphorical)

Regardless of whether the jacket gets a gold sticker or not, having so many people include my little book in the conversation about outstanding books of 2009 has been a dream come true. Let's cross our fingers, perhaps John Brown has one last ride left in him!