Art Challenge Day 5 - Picture Book

"Let's Go, Daddy!" Day 1

"Let's Go, Daddy!" Day 2

"Let's Go, Daddy!" Day 3

"Let's Go, Daddy!" Day 4

Early sketches for "Let's Go, Daddy!" 

It's Day 5 of the 5-day Art Challenge! I was nominated by Gary Fabbri​ to start this challenge, where each participant shares 3 drawings/paintings each day for 5 days and also nominates a fellow artist each day to do the same. I invited my awesome friends Jason Hart​, Stephen Macquignon​, Peggy Collins​, and Lidija Paradinovic​ to share their amazing artwork. Today I'll nominate Jeremy Tankard​, because my son and I love reading Jeremy's books and we can't wait to get our hands on his newest title "Melvis and Elvis"!

Day 5:

This last art post features a picture book collaboration with my 2 year old son. He loves his books more than wagons, trucks, and even trains. So I've dusted off the old watercolours and we're going to share a new page daily for the entire month of February. Please feel free to follow along. :)

Art Challenge Day 2 - Rainbows

It's Day 2 of the 5-day Art Challenge! I was nominated by Gary Fabbri to start this challenge, where each participant shares 3 drawings/paintings each day for 5 days and also nominates a fellow artist each day to do the same. Yesterday I invited Jason Hart to share his awesome work. Today I'll nominate Stephen Macquignon, who's delightful watercolours won over Tomie dePaola himself. 


Day 2 - Last year I taught some classes at a wonderful non-profit organization called Story Planet and Intergalactic Travel Authority. They run workshops that encourage young people to create and tell their stories. One of my programs involved a dozen 10 year olds and 5 weeks to create 1 picture book! Here are some spreads in that book...

Art Challenge Day 1 - My Heroes

It's the 5-day Art Challenge! Yesterday, Gary Fabbri nominated me to start this challenge, where each participant shares 3 drawings/paintings each day for 5 days and also nominates a fellow artist each day to do the same. I met Gary at the New York SCBWI Winter Conference last year and his infectious optimism and talents won me over. We were inseparable all weekend, even after my country beat his country for GOLD in Mens Olympic Hockey.

Today, I would like to invite our good friend and talented artist Jason Hart to share his work. Jason's illustrations are thoughtful, meticulous, and full of humour, just like him.

Day 1:

Seems apropos to share 3 portraits of people that inspired me to become a picture book artist: Maurice Sendak, Mark Twain, and My Parents.

I love Sendak's Max and Twain's Tom Sawyer characters, because at that age I too was quite the troublemaker. I wasn't as sneaky per se, but let's just say trouble always found me.

Just like Max, I was always sent to my bedroom where I'd spend hours staring at the faux wood closet doors and drifting away on imaginary adventures.

Tom Sawyer's adventures are inspiring and I can envision Mark Twain's delight as he penned this iconic fence-painting scene. Hopefully you can envision this too (hint: look at the tree branches).

Last but not least, I owe everything to my parents. They worked really hard at multiple jobs to support my brothers and I. As a result, we didn't really see them until the end of the day. This made bedtime the best time of the day. Because bedtime meant story time and story time meant listening to my parents read us wonderful books. They shared so many fantastic western fairy tales and ancient Chinese fables. It warms my heart just thinking about this - those were truly special times.

Ninja Cowboy Bear presents: The Call of the Cowboy

Enjoy my entire picture book, Ninja Cowboy Bear presents: The Call of the Cowboy on YouTube here!

:: Top 28 Picture Books (+9 runners up) ::

Wow! Time certainly flies! It was a year ago that I created this little collection of my favourite picture books out of Lego. When I'm not reading these titles to my (now one year old) son, they sit proudly on his bookshelf.

The links below also contain some of my written thoughts on each book and why I love them so. Feel free to check them out on my Pinterest board, Flickr set, Tumblr account and/or Facebook page too!

2013 SCBWI Canada East Conference

I'm off to Montreal for the Annual SCBWI Canada East Conference! It's been a pretty hectic month with completing my pre-conference project, organizing and printing my portfolio, and preparing for an out of town trip while just getting all my regular work done.

Anyways I punched a pile of shiny new buttons to share with my new picture book friends. I've been chatting online with illustrators group, but it'll be nice to finally meet everyone in person and finally put some faces to names.

This is my first time attending a SCBWI Conference... wish me luck!

Ninja Cowboy Bear with Bookaboo & Anthony Calvillo - Aug.12

Never thought in a million years that when David and I first self-publishing our little picture book, "The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Ninja Cowboy Bear" could we imagine one day CFL legend Anthony Calvillo would be reading it to Bookaboo on CBC.

Our episode airs next Monday (August 12) at 10am.

Hope everyone can tune in :)

:: Lego Picture Book #37 ::

#Lego #PictureBooks Book #37 "The Sneetches" by Dr. Seuss

Some Sneetches have stars on their bellies while others don't. The Sneetches with stars feel superior and look down on the ones without. One day, an entrepreneur named Sylvester McMonkey McBean rolls into town with his amazing contraptions. He charges the Plain-Belly Sneetches a small fee to add a star on their belly. Soon everyone had stars on their bellies. Unhappy about this, the original Star-Belly Sneetches turn to McBean. He charges them even more money to remove their stars. This vicious cycle repeats many times until everyone's money is given to McBean who promptly rolls out of town. Leave it to master story-teller Dr. Seuss to weave a fantastic story that deals with prejudice and racism while doing so in stylish rhymes and his signature artwork.

:: Lego Picture Book #36 ::

Book #36 "It's a Book" by Lane Smith

Monkey is reading a book when tech-savvy donkey joins him. Not understanding what a book is, Donkey asks all sorts of annoying questions. Can the book tweet? Blog? Scroll? WiFi? Text? Monkey repeatedly answers "No, its a book." Donkey then takes the book and reads it for hours. There's a delightful double entendre at the end, that may or may not begin with the letters on Donkey's face above. This "Technology vs. Print" controversy story is cute, cheeky and has stellar art - as always! Check out the amazing book trailer!

:: Lego Picture Book #35 ::

Book #35 "Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World" by Mac Barnett & Dan Santat

A fantastic story about a young girl who wins 1st place at the science fair. Unfortunately her giant robot starts to rampage! Did I mention that the robot also has a superclaw, laser eye and the power to control dogs’ minds? Well, after many failed attempts to stop the ear-less, illiterate robot that can't feel pain, our hero hatches a new plan. This naturally involved creating a giant attack toad to combat the giant robot... Barnett's highly imaginative story is too much fun! And Santat's awesome artwork is chock full of so many delicious details like the brilliant frog montage and robot blue print end papers to name just two... TWO GIANT THUMBS UP!!

Check out the amazing book trailer!

:: Lego Picture Books #34 ::

Book #34 "George and Martha" by James Marshall

George and Martha are two best friends who happen to be hippos. They enjoy doing everything together and learn many valuable lessons from each other too! Important things like practical jokes can sometimes backfire and hiding soup in your loafers is not the best plan to spare the chef's feelings. Make no mistake that these deceptively simple stories and illustrations are masterpieces. James Marshall is a talented storyteller who possesses the gift of whittling great ideas to their basic core. The stories he shares are always warm, funny and sincere.

:: Lego Picture Books #33 ::

Book #33 "Around the World with Mouk" by Marc Boutavant

One early morning, an adorable bear named Mouk packs his things to travel around the world. His wild adventures take him to many beautiful cultures and different countries. During his exploration, Mouk meets many exotic animal friends along the way. This vibrant and colourful over-sized book is packed full of wonderful details on every page (reminiscent of the great Richard Scarry!) This book even includes two pages of reusable stickers - guaranteed hours of fun!

:: Lego Picture Books #32 ::

Book #32 "Along a Long Road" by Frank Viva

A man cycles around town along a shiny yellow path while enjoying all the beautiful scenery. This book is certainly is "about the journey and not the destination" - and what a sweet journey it is! The sparse text helps to highlight the abstract, sleek and stylish design. Possibly most impressive is the fact that this book was created as a single, continuous 35' long piece of art using Adobe Illustrator. Mind. Blown.

:: Lego Picture Books #31 ::

Book #31 "Pssst!" by @MrAdamRex
One day a young girl visits the zoo and has a series of strange conversations with the animals. Each animal requests for a seemingly random item. This curious list included things such as tires, paint, trash cans, flashlights, bicycle helmets, and corn. The baboon even gives the girl a bag of coins picked from the fountains to purchase everything for them. Hilarity ensues.

Adam Rex is a master picture book craftsman with a wicked sense of humour. He weaved a truly special story that starts and ends with, "Pssst!"

:: Lego Picture Books #30 ::

Book #30 "The Happy Hocky Family" by Lane Smith

Meet Mr. Hocky, Mrs. Hocky, Henry Hocky, Holly Hocky, Baby Hocky, and Newton (the dog). This lovable, quirky family enjoys a variety of family activities and they always remain positive. Even when things go wrong, everyone manages to stay happy! Written as an early reader book, the clever, subtle and deliciously sarcastic humour will have readers of all ages in stitches. Beautifully designed by Molly Leach, this book is printed on recycled brown paper to really give it a classic 40's feel.

:: Lego Picture Books #29 ::

Book #29 "My Name is Elizabeth!" by Annika Dunklee & Matt Forsythe

Elizabeth is a spunky and direct little girl. She has a great name that she absolutely loves. What drives her crazy are nicknames, so please don't call her Lizzy, Liz, Beth, or Betsy! One ordinary autumn day, Elizabeth discovers her power to change things once and for all. Both story and artwork are ridiculously cute. There is a beautiful interplay between the delightful text and gorgeous line-work. It's hard to believe that this was a picture book debut for both Dunklee & Forsythe - Can't wait to see what future projects they work on next!

:: Top 28 Picture Books #28 ::

Book #28 "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss

One rainy day, mom goes to run some errands, leaving Sally and her brother home alone. The kids are bored, but then a mischievous cat shows up! Cat and his buddies cause so much chaos that the house ends up in shambles. Will they clean up in time and, more importantly, will the kids tell mom the true story?

This classic tale has all the Seuss trademarks: rhyming ridiculousness for read-aloud fun accompanied by the good Dr.'s signature artwork.

This concludes February's Top 28 Picture Book list, but stay tuned for March's 31 Runner-ups!

:: Top 28 Picture Books #27 ::

Book #27 "The Gruffalo" by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler

A clever mouse defends himself from many would-be predators by outwitting them with a tall tale about a mythical beast, The Gruffalo! Ironically the mouse eventually runs into the gruesome Gruffalo and has to outwit him too! Written in iambic pentameter, this cute and clever "brains beating brawn" story also features whimsical cartoon artwork that will have the reader rooting for the underdog!

:: Top 28 Picture Books #26 ::

Book #26 "Grover's Own Alphabet" by Sal Murdocca

Grover literally bends over backwards to show us all the letters of the alphabet. He uses his own lovable furry blue body to contort into every single letter. A charming story with great vocabulary, fantastic artwork and beautiful design that will always hold a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf. Five year-old ME would have had this delightful Little Golden Book at #1 hands down. I still own my precious childhood copy which has endured many family outings, car rides and sick days.

:: Top 28 Picture Books #25 ::

Book #25 “Scaredy Squirrel” by Mélanie Watt

Scaredy Squirrel is scared of almost everything. As a result, this quirky squirrel owns detailed plans, emergency kits, graphs, lists, and even comparison charts to keep him safe. One day, Scaredy is forced to leave his nut tree and face the big unknown… with some surprising results! This charming book series teaches us about facing our fears, taking chances and discovering new things. It also features scarily cute, clean and stylish art.