What do you do with poo from the zoo?

In addition to rhyming with it, you an use it to power the various animal houses. More kudos to the Cincinnati Zoo!!
This is Mona D'Andrea, and she would approve of this scheme. Mona's a smart and idealistic twelve year old gardener, with big plans to change the world (once she's done changing her family.) Mona starred in a short story I wrote in college and has now traveled to my sketchbook. I expect her to keep checking in with me from time to time, especially if I get back to writing one of these days.

Illustration Friday: PLAIN

This topic made me think of a book I loved as a kid, Sarah, Plain and Tall. Sadly, I haven't read it in years, but I pieced together this illustration from my scattered memories. Happy Martin Luther King Day to you all!

King

Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 15, 1929- April 4, 1968

An interesting examination of Dr. King's legacy and what it's perceived as today.

West Wing scribbles

If you're going to laze on the couch on a Thursday night, watching your favorite TV show on DVD, you might as well do it with a pencil and sketchbook in hand, right?
For the uninitiated, these are characters from The West Wing. I had particular fun, as you can see, with Toby (the floating scowl in the center of the page.) He has a wonderfully expressive face. Also, in case anyone's wondering-- that's Margaret next to Josh, not CJ. It's CJ's eye in the bottom corner. I hope the rest are identifiable to those who know the show (despite the fact that Sam looks like a woman). Cheers! Happy Friday!

Iiiiiit's Caldecott and Newbery time!

The American Library Association recently announced the winners of their various prizes (including the well-known ones mentioned above, and others including the Michael Printz, Coretta Scott King, and Pura Belpre awards) for children's literature.

I've not read (or for that matter, HEARD of!) any of the Newbery-cited books, but will remedy that shortly, I hope. Library, here I come!

I HAVE read the Caldecott winner, the delightful The Invention of Hugo Cabret-- thanks to a Christmas-day lending from my aunt Lisa and cousin Emma. I think it took me about a day and a half to get through, and is really worth looking at as a unique storytelling exercise. Part chapter book, part graphic novel, part animated flipbook, part homage to movies... I don't know, hard to categorize, but easy to enjoy.

I've also read one of the Caldecott honor books, Henry's Freedom Box-- the true story of an enslaved man, Henry "Box" Brown, who literally mailed himself to freedom. At the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center here in Cincinnati (where I used to work) there's a special corner featuring Henry's story, including a box kids can crawl in to see how cramped his journey was. Illustrator Kadir Nelson is fairly new to me, but I've loved all of his books I've come across.

Any thoughts on the winners? Any surprises?

Pizza adventures

If this boy looks as maniacal to you as he does to me, it's only because he's so CRAZY about well-made pizza.

I've made a fair few pizzas in my thumb-sized kitchen in the last few months (below: an early attempt). I've decided that it's hard to go wrong with the toppings (maniac boy's choice: mushrooms, black olives, red onions, and goat cheese, along with the traditional mozzarella.) The sticking point for me as a pizza chef is the crust.

Does anyone reading this know Dewey's Pizza? If you're in Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland, or St. Louis, you really should. It's the best EVER. And its crust is exquisite... so indescribably good that I can't even decide what words to put in Google alongside "recipe" and "pizza crust" and "good." Thin, but soft. Light and fluffy, with plenty of air pockets. Chewy and almost pastry-like. OH MY GOODNESS. I want to make it at home so badly but can't find a good recipe.

So... if you're reading this and think you might have the pizza dough recipe that I'm looking for, despite my inability to put words to my desire (or if you just want to share a good one) leave a comment, or email me. I may have to come up with some kind of reward for a truly amazing recipe...

Illustration Friday: STITCH

Happy 2008, a few weeks in. This year will be what we make it-- so let's pay attention and stitch together something beautiful.