Do you wonder why I’d draw a Leopard in a Leotard Laughing while reading Limericks?
It was for the CANSCAIP poster.
Twenty-six children’s book illustrators each did one of the letters of the alphabet and donated it for this wonderful poster. It’s printed on both sides—perfect for schools and libraries. And inexpensive! You can get the [...]

I like rereading letters I’ve received from kids. I came across a neat one from Jason G. in grade 3. He thought there should be OGRE HOCKEY, with the coach yelling, “Go, ogres, go!”and huge green hockey gloves.
I hope you’ll do an illustration of the ogre hockey team. I think it would make a [...]

First, I’d like to send a message to my friend Wendy in Powell River that a great big thick juicy personal letter is on its way to her, XPressPost!
Second, I’d like to tell you about yesterday when I went to visit Whitney Public School. After I’d done my readings (with two excellent bunches of [...]

You know what that is, up there?
That’s one of the answers I got when I asked teachers at a conference to write down the sound that velcro makes.
This isn’t that different from writing down the sound that a cat or cow or duck makes, is it? (See the last What’s New? entry.) Except that [...]

My cat Molly is particulary whiny this morning. MEOW is what I hear her say. That’s what bothersome cats are saying all over the world this morning—same sound, just about (depending on whether they want crunchies, stroking, or company).
But just because we spell it “meow” in English doesn’t mean that’s the only way [...]

Working on the Ideas for Activities with Cabbagehead page, I found some poems from teacher-librarian Mrs. Condotta at Pope John Paul II School in Bolton (I was there in the Spring). The kids there used “cabbagehead” as a springboard and wrote their own poems, for instance…
WATERMELON HEAD
I need a brain that’s unique.
[...]

Here it is, Monday again. The mornings are quite chilly now, aren’t they? Should we be looking for the boots and scarves and mitts we put away (somewhere) last Spring? What if they’re hiding, because they don’t want to go out in the rain and sleet and snow again?
I’m off to Unionville Public School this [...]

Once I wrote a first line for a poem that went like this:
The sky was the color of staples…
just because the flat, lifeless gray of staples seemed the only way to describe the cold gray sky. That’s what it’s like this morning. Which makes me want to ask you… what other ways could you describe [...]

Sometimes when I have extra time during a school visit, I get to talk to the students about other things besides writing, illustrating and books.
One of the main questions I like to ask them is if they think a mean kid automatically turns into a mean grownup.
Their answer is almost always “Oh no. The kid [...]

Thanksgiving Weekend here. The very air is scented with turkey and pumpkin pie.
Here is a very funny site about cat toys and dog toys called The Terrible Nasty Scaries.
Most of the pictures throughout this website are from my books, some were done just for the site, and many of the delightful drawings were done by [...]