PALEO-CHRISTMAS on tour!

The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas is going on the road! A five store tour from southern Springville all the way to northern Layton! I'll be doing in-store signings on the following dates:

Salt Lake City, The King's English 

Thursday, December 4th at 5:30-7

(Shannon and Dean Hale will be at this one! Bring your Rapunzel's Revenge for the ultra-rare TRIPLE SIGNED COPY!)

Orem, Barnes and Noble

Saturday, December 6th 1:00-4

Springville, The Art Museum

Saturday, December 13, 11:00

West Jordan, Barnes and Noble

Saturday, December 13, Afternoon and evening?

This one also features a bunch of Utah authors, including Dragon Slippers author Jessica Day George.

Layton, Barnes and Noble

Saturday, December 20, 1:00-4

Hope to see you there. And be thinking of your favorite dinosaur, I've been drawing them on the title page of signed copies. And choosing "T-Rex" is the easy way out. A six year old in Kayesville asked me for a Parasaurolophus. Beat that.

A little taste of Calamity Jack

You must think I spend all day thinking about Yellowbelly, considering my last few posts. Or maybe the Dinosaurs and their Night Before Christmas. In truth, the bulk of my working hours are spent in a book I can't post too much about; Calamity Jack, Rapunzel's Revenge Book the Second.

I smuggled this panel out of the factory for a sneak preview.

I'm about 3/4 finished with the ink drawings, and the color team are right behind me page for page. This particular holiday weekend, I'll be turning in the pencil sketch version of the cover. If the publisher allows it, I'll post the cover in progress

Yellowbelly and Thumbs

I was digging through some files yesterday and found my some of my earliest Yellowbelly and Plum thumbnail drawings. 

I don't think the publisher even saw these, I did a bigger, tighter set of sketches for them. But I enjoy the loose scribbliness of these early drawings. It's surprising how little really changed for the final artwork.

The Real Yellowbelly?

So what is Yellowbelly? The best answer I've heard was from a teacher who described him as a "Cheetah-beaver." I've always thought he had a little Totoro in him.

But get a load of this photo! Isn't he great? If we could just fatten him up and give him a teddy bear, I think we'd have our Yellowbelly.

Dinosaurs' Book Trailer

Score one for the dinosaurs! We have a book trailer!

The audio you hear is from the cd, both the Al Roker narration and the Allosaurus Chorus. Special thanks to the gang at Chronicle Books for putting this together! Wow!

Dinosaurs vs. Pirates: The Battle for the Night Before Christmas!

The same month Yellowbelly and Plum Go To School came out, Jane Yolen released How Do Dinosaurs Go To School. The Dinosaurs tromped all over us, that's a very popular, well-loved series.

Well, this year, I'm the one with the dinosaur themed picture book, The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas.

Now look what's happened:

Another epic showdown. Those pirates look pretty cute. Who do you think will win the Battle for the Night Before Christmas?

Let's break it down.

• Dinosaurs ruled the earth for millions of years. Pirates sailed the oceans for a few hundred years.
  
• Dinosaurs are displayed in museums all over the world. Pirates have their own ride at Disneyland.
• Dinosaurs say, "RWAAAAR!" Pirates say, "AAARGH!"
• Dinosaurs were covered in plates, armor, and spikes. Pirates were covered in tattoos, beards, and eye patches.
  

Hmm. No clear winner. Are you like me? Kinda wishing they could BOTH be in one book?

Post Halloween Post

First off, Princess Rapunzel vs. Four-armed Dracula. Who are these children?

And second, get a load of this AWESOME pumpkin! This comes courtesy of Little Red, from Little Red Reading Hood. Incredible!

Happy (day after) Halloween everybody!