Party Animals Out Today!

It’s today! PARTY ANIMALS is officially out in the world—gotta say, I’m pretty proud of this one. PARTY ANIMALS is a hilarious, sweet tale of friendship and empathy written by Tara Lazar, of whom I’ve been a fan for a long time. This was a real labor of love and laughs for me, adding all the details and hidden jokes as I immersed myself in this crew of characters. I hope readers have as much fun with it as I did. Big shoutouts go to our wonderful editor, Sylvie Frank and fabulous art director, Joann Hill at Disney-Hyperion who really helped nudge me to all the right places.

Tara and I had the pleasure of giving the students of Parkview School in Milltown, NJ a sneak peek at PARTY ANIMALS last week. And guess what? They loved it! 😁

To purchase a copy for the party animal in your life, please visit your favorite indie bookstore or bookshop.org. Thanks for reading and celebrating with me! 🥳

PARTY ANIMALS—Now Available for Pre-Order!

At long last, I’m pleased to share the cover of Party Animals, the first of two new picture books by the wonderful Tara Lazar and me, to be published by Disney–Hyperion in March 2025. I had a blast with this book, immersing myself into the characters and their whacky, partying personalities. While the book won’t officially be out in the world until March 11th, you can pre-order a copy today from your favorite bookseller.

I’ve been a fan of Tara’s and her books for a long time. I feel so fortunate that the lovely folks at Disney–Hyperion thought of me for this motley crew. (Thank you Art Director, Joann Hill and Editor, Sylvie Frank!) This might be the funniest book I’ve done yet—it really hit a sweet spot.

Recently, Tara interviewed me about my process behind the scenes. We discussed my thinking about the characters, and shared a few surprise nuggets hidden in the art. To read more and for information about a givieaway(!) and information about Tara’s other books, click here.

In the meantime, party on! 🎉

It's a Book! Two New Books!

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My advance copies of YOU MAKE ME SNEEZE! and the paperback edition of YOU ARE NOT A CAT! arrived this week. Both books will officially be released on February 20th by Astra Young Readers.

Unboxing a year’s worth of hard work, seeing it glued and bound together as a book never gets old. I had the pleasure of sharing a sneak peek of YOU MAKE ME SNEEZE with some classrooms this week for World Read Aloud Day, and I’m happy to report: the jokes landed!

The lovely folks at Astra also created a very fun promotion for SNEEZE at this year’s ALA conference: tissue packs! They’ve sent me a bunch that I am looking forward to sharing with readers at some upcoming children’s book festivals this Spring and Fall. For more information on my appearance, scroll down this page to the Events section.

I also collaborated with Astra to create coloring pages based on a few of our favorite images from SNEEZE. Those are free for download here and on Astra’s website.

If you’d like to order a copy of one (or both) books, click here. ACHOO!

YOU MAKE ME SNEEZE Book Trailer!

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Acchoooooo!…I mean, Yippee! My book trailer for YOU MAKE ME SNEEZE! just went live! Feel free to watch and share. :^)

Written by Sharon G. Flake and illustrated by me, SNEEZE is the sequel to YOU ARE NOT A CAT! featuring the same kooky duo of Cat and Duck as they navigate the world and the hiccups (sneezes?) that friendship can bring. Written completely in dialogue, it’s perfect as a read aloud, and for kids who are starting to read on their own. YOU MAKE ME SNEEZE! is available for pre-order now, and will be out in February 2024.

If you’d like a sneak peek at some of the interior art, I’ve posted some images in the books section of my site.

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Speaking of YOU ARE NOT A CAT!, Astra Publishing House is also releasing a paperback edition to coincide with the publication of SNEEZE. And guess what? It’s also available for pre-order. Many thanks for my editor, Rebecca Davis and art director, Barbara Grzeslo and the whole team at Astra for bringing our book to life. And a special thanks goes to the amazing Sharon Flake for her wonderful, hilarious words!

Announcing: Party Animals!*

I’m thrilled to be illustrating two new picture books by the wonderful, Tara Lazar beginning with Party Animals, due out in Spring 2025 from Disney-Hyperion. I’ve been a fan of Tara and her books for a long time, so this is an honor. Not to mention I come from a long line of party animals, so the subject matter suits me perfectly!

[*Full disclosure: this announcement is a little late to this space. I’ve been busy drawing parties!]

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