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‘Home in the Woods’: Free Coloring Sheets

September 12, 2020

Downloadable coloring sheets for you and your kids or students to color! (Click on the following download links to print quality PDF files): This page is my encouragement to create a family portrait of your own: Buy a copy of ‘Home in the Woods’ here:

Autumn—Process

September 11, 2020

When drawing certain things over and over, I’ve found it helpful to make a crude model that I can capture at different angles and light it to show where shadows will fall. I made this little paper model of the shack for my story ‘Home In The Woods’: For the scene marking the arrival of autumn, I was able to find the right lighting and angle for that composition. I…

Write to Marvel

September 11, 2020

I’m inviting kids and readers of ‘HOME IN THE WOODS’ to send a letter or drawing to the real Marvel! Marvel is 94 years old at the time of this writing in 2020. She was a 5th grade school teacher for many years, and she had a big influence on instilling in me a love for picture books as a child. She would love to hear from you if you…

Learn. Grow. Support Black Lives.

July 16, 2020

What heart-breaking times. I pass these murals daily in my Minneapolis neighborhood (on plywood coverings on local businesses lost during the Covid19 shutdown): As a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, I join them in putting out the call: “The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators stands together with the African-American community in our unequivocal stance against racial inequity and prejudice. We deplore the legacy…