Digital materials for children

After completing two semesters of my MA in children's literature at UBC, I've finally decided to do my thesis on digital materials for children. Every conference you go to these days includes workshops on the new electronic face of publishing, so it's hard to miss this subject. I've become particularly interested in picture book apps for platforms like the ipad.

If you haven't had the opportunity to play with picture book apps, you can seach under picture books apps on youtube and there are a lot of very short wonderful demos. I think I expected picture book apps to be gimmicky, but Heart and the Bottle, especially, seems to me a very natural extension of illustration and what I'm trying to do as an illustrator anyway, e.g., make stars sparkle, waves rock, characters do doubletakes and travel on and off the page.

I'm thinking of trying to turn some of my picture books that have gone out of print into apps, so was thrilled to find a wonderful easy-to-understand slideshow on how a picture book app is made posted by generous team that created Timo and the Magical Book.

There has also been a lot of buzz about electronic self-publishing. Here's one such project: it's by three authors and isn't being released in print form but as three simultaneous digital applications: a daily comic, an app and a game. Their theme song is very good.

I found about this last one on the amazing Canadian illustration, animation and design blog Drawn. You'll find lots of posts on children's book illustration and animation there. For instance, I learned about the extremely appealing children's music and animation by indie band They Might be Giants there.

Mister Got to Go at the Sylvia Hotel

The lovely Janine Fitkall and her wonderful students came for a day at the beach and a reading at the Sylvia of the yet-to-find-a-publisher Mister Got to Go, Where Are You? by Lois Simmie. The heritage hotel is the setting for the Mister Got to Go books. Plaudits to owner Jill Davies and manager Ross Dyck for their support of these Vancouver picture books. They hosted the presentation and even made the children delicious and very cute Mr. Got to Go sugar cookies. It was an exceptional way to spend a beautiful spring day.

A little Masterpiece

This book trailer for Lemony Snickett's and Maira Kalman's "13 words" is pure genius all by itself.

I've chosen digital materials for children as my thesis subject and am hoping to create my own app using one of my books.

Blair School chooses Fred and Pete

Blagons: The Blair Book Dragons: Blair's Chocolate Lily Picture Book Award Winner!: "After weeks of reading and discussing the Chocolate Lily Picture Book Award nominees with all the primary classes, we did our big vote this ..."

Fred and Pete shortlisted!

I am thrilled that Fred and Pete at the Beach has been shortlisted for two children's choice awards:

The Chocolate Lily

And Saskatchewan's Shining Willow Award. Anyone can post comments and rate Fred and Pete on the Shining Willow website.

For videos, colouring pages and word puzzles, check out the Fred and Pete blog. Here's a picture of the clickable archive you'll find on the Fred and Pete Blog.

My book Mr. Got to Go and Arnie by Lois Simmie won the Shining Willow in 2003 which was pretty darn thrilling!

A wonderful school visit

My first year in the Children's Literature program at UBC has been brightened by invitations to present at schools. For me it's a real thrill to do quick portraits of children when demonstrating drawing and painting. Here's a lovely display that Judy Fung, teacher librarian par excellence, put up after my presentations at her school.

Teacher librarians are the cornerstone of literacy in our society. It is essential that the government restores funding so that every school can again have a full-time teacher librarian.

Books cancelled

It's been a tough year: one of financial and health struggles, sobering realizations and transitions.

My Bully by Laura Langston has been cancelled by Fitzhenry and Whiteside. Last year the company fired its publisher and editor and hired new people who decided My Bully wasn't the right book for them. It had been a massive project for me and the final line drawings and text and layout design completed when the book was put on hold and finally dropped.

I did manage to finish Fred and Pete at the Beach, I want to Go to the Moon, and Somebody cared for a Flower in the last year and a half. I spent the last 6 months on the latter two, as well as working hard on developing the 3rd Mister Got to Go. I had to borrow

money to keep going because the advances were so low or delayed in coming. At the end of six months, I ended up in emergency with an inflamed neck disk from hunching over art and the computer, plus the stress of the deadlines, no money and Emma's kidney failure. My doctor and my physiotherapist said there was no way I could go back to working like I had been in order to complete Mister Got to Go Where Are You? by Sept 15, 2010. When I phoned Orca to tell them I couldn't finish by the deadline and wouldn't know for a month when my back would allow me to resume working, they cancelled the book. It's too bad - the roughs had just been approved. I think it was Lois Simmie's best Got to Go story. What's also hard is that Orca wants their advance back.

I started to realize last fall that I couldn't go on trying to complete illustrations to deadlines that were too demanding for me while not earning nearly enough to live on. So after some exploration, I've decided to go back to school and do a Masters of Children's Literature at UBC with the hope that I will be able to find a faculty position at a college. MACL at UBC has been very welcoming to me which has been such a pleasant surprise. I start this September.

So, fingers crossed.