Searching for three drawings from Poppy

I’m trying to track down a few original drawings from Poppy, by Avi, so that they can be rescanned for a possible foreign edition of the book. The drawings, above, were auctioned off in the late ‘90s at fundraising auctions for Horizon Institute for Homeless Children in Boston (now Horizons for Homeless Children). It's a long-shot to look for them, I know, but in the age of the internet I don’t dismiss the long shot. If you happen to own or know the owner of any of the pieces pictured here, I’d be grateful if you’d be in touch. I’d like to borrow the drawings only long enough for the scanning, and would be glad to cover costs associated with shipping and, if necessary, reframing. Thank you!

Poppy on a list

It’s great to see Poppy, by Avi, in good company on a list of “100 Must-Reads For Kids 9-14,” from NPR’s Backseat Book Club. The full list is here. Thanks to the Backseat Book Club!

Buy this drawing

826NYC is a nonprofit organization here in Brooklyn, “dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.” More here. This month 826NYC is holding a fundraising auction, “The Tell Tale Art Auction.” The request was for spooky or Halloween-themed art. I went the owl route, digging into the archives (archives = piles) for a drawing of Mr. Ocax from Avi’s Poppy. Why not buy it? Or just check out the offerings from Dav Pilkey, Mo Willems, Lane Smith, Adam Rex, Fiona Robinson, Scott C., Sara Varon, Paul O. Zelinsky, Steven Weinberg, Peter Brown, Frank Viva, Brett Helquist, Tony DiTerlizzi, Daniel Salmieri, Dave Shannon, and everyone’s favorite, Many More. All on the auction site, here. (And a direct link to the piece above is here.)

A mouse for your summer reading

When I think of government agencies and rodents, I think first of NIMH. Now, happily, I can also think of the NEH: Poppy, by Avi (with my pencil illustrations), is on a Children’s Booklist for Summertime Reading compiled and just published by the National Endowment for the Humanities (with an assist from the American Library Association). 

From the NEH press release: “Organized by grade level, the NEH Summer Booklist offers suggestions of 238 books recommended for young readers.  The titles range from such classics as Madeline and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel to Fahrenheit 451 and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but also include newer works such as Coraline, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and The Book Thief.”

It’s a great list and I’m proud to see Poppy on it. Thank you to the NEH and the ALA!

The press release and complete list is here.

Turkish Delight

Yesterday this arrived in the mail: a paper bag, stapled shut, stamped, postmarked Turkey. The bag arrived in great shape, and got more roughed up by my walking around with it for an hour in the rain than it did in getting here from the shores of Eurasia. Inside were brand new Turkish editions of Ragweed and Poppy, by Avi. The publisher, Hayykitap, took their design cues from the American editions, and so these books are strikingly similar to their domestic kin. Inside, the paper is nice and the printing is good; the drawings have a nice pop to them. Thanks for the great job, Hayykitap!

At the library!

I’m excited to have my work included in a show opening this week at the Brooklyn Public Library, “Drawn in Brooklyn.” The show is curated by John Bemelmans Marciano and features the work of 34 children’s book illustrators who live in Brooklyn. (One of them is the talented Sergio Ruzzier, who put together a list of all the artists in the show, with links to their web sites, on his blog. I suppose I could do the same, but why reinvent the wheel? Sergio’s list is here. Grazie, Sergio.)

My contributions to show are original drawings and paintings from Ballet for Martha, Moonshot, Poppy’s Return, and The Hinky-Pink. Several of us with work in the show are also exhibiting process drawings in display cases in the library’s youth wing. In my case (so to speak) there’s a soup-to-nuts presentation on the making of The Racecar Alphabet: initial inspiration, sketches, storyboards, book dummies, revisions, original art, and a scale model Mercedes-Benz 300SL (1952). It’s an honor to have work up in the show. I hope you’ll be able to come by and see it! Exhibit details are here.

Avi/Poppy

Here’s a short discussion with Avi about the Poppy books — about the characters and how some of them came about, about the intersections between the stories and life, and about concluding the series. I may be biased, but I say it’s a good watch!

And a reminder: my earlier, shorter, and substantially less thoughtful video about the Poppy books is still available here.

Impressions of Ereth

Joe Sutphin left a comment after the last post: “I got a good look at [Poppy and Ereth] and it appears that you have developed a new technique not used in the other Poppy books for hairs and whiskers. it looks as if you did some scraping to the paper surface before the rendering to create white ruts, is that correct?” Good eye, Joe, and you’re exactly right. After my last foray into porcupine research I gained a new appreciation for just how bristly the guys are. They’ve got not just the famous quills, but also lots of unruly hairs of various shades sticking out this way and that. I was trying to get a little more of that into my drawings of Ereth, and on a whim I impressed a few lines into a drawing-in-progress with the pointy end of a clay carving tool. (I chose a clay carving tool because one was nearby.) The impressed line stayed white when I shaded over it, and I ended up with the effect you see above. I was wary of changing the look of Ereth and the drawings too much in this the last book, but this seemed subtle enough not to be disruptive, and I liked the effect, and the new technique also gave me something a little new and interesting to think about, and I liked that, too. Thanks for noticing and for the question, Joe!

Poppy and Ereth

Books finished months and months apart from each other can sometimes be brought together by their publishing schedules and so now, hot on the heels of Moonshot, comes Poppy and Ereth, by Avi, released today.

The Poppy Stories series concludes with this book, which is a bittersweet thing for me. The series has kept me working with Avi, which has been a pleasure and privilege. It has meant the chance to return to characters and settings I enjoy, and to illustrate stories that I always find engaging and rewarding. And, it has kept some variety alive and kicking in my portfolio; I love pen and ink and watercolor, but it’s pleasing, also, sometimes to settle in with a pencil and follow the details. (In a folder somewhere I have the drawings I did for editor Richard Jackson when we were talking about whether the illustrations for the first Poppy should be done in pen-and-ink or pencil. I tried both, and the pencil just felt a better fit for the tone and setting of the story. I couldn’t have imagined that that decision would stay with me the way it has.)

Now a small caveat: the drawings here hit some bumps on the way to the printer. The map in the beginning of the book does not look as it should. The cover art was altered, so that Ereth’s teeth, which should be orange — strange as it might seem, porcupines have lurid, unattractive, and very orange teeth — are now pearly white. None of this made me feel very good. E-mails were exchanged. Future printings and editions will fix these and other small problems, which I do appreciate. Meanwhile, I don't steer you away from this edition. You might even consider first edition Poppy and Ereths to be collector’s items. They might make a pretty good investment. Eh? Maybe? Check with your financial advisor before making bulk purchases.

So, Poppy and Ereth, out today. It has tooth enamel issues but is a good story and a fitting conclusion to a series that means a lot to me. I hope you’ll pick it up and that you enjoy the book!

ADDENDUM: To see the original cover art — and Ereth in all his orange-toothed glory — click here.

Done!

Here is the sprint to the finish line. If I had a good exhausted-collapse-at-the-finish-line drawing, I would show you that instead, but one makes do and in either case the news is the same: the 62 (sixty-two!) pencil drawings and 1 (one) map overlay that will appear in Avi’s Poppy and Ereth are finished and delivered unto HarperCollins Children’s Books. More about finishing this book — and this series — later. Right now, I’m beat!

Poppy’s Progress

Recent posts have been all about Moonshot and The Hinky-Pink, but the real action on the drawing board these days (and nights) continues to be Poppy and Ereth. Among the former cast members returning for this the final act is Bounder the fox, shown here both as sketch and as he’ll appear in the book. Click to enlarge.

Lost ARC

The final drawings for Avi's final Poppy book are now underway. Meanwhile, reviewers may already have copies of the book in their hands. This phenomenon is made possible by Advance Reader Copies, or ARCs, early versions of a book sent out with finished text but often with sketches in place of the final art. This is the usual way of things with the Poppy books and is a convenience to everyone involved, with the exception of the illustrator; Poppy ARCs have left a trail of reviews, stretching back over the years, with only this to say about the drawings in the series: “Final art not seen.” After all that work — ouch. Still, that's better than the time a student reviewer, working from an ARC, posted a review of Poppy’s Return on Amazon that reads, “I didn't like the pictures very much because they looked like a small kid drew them.” Double ouch.

Above: Poppy, airborne over Dimwood Forest, in sketch and final form. Click to enlarge. Explanation to come in the spring of 2009.

Thanks, Norfolk Academy

I had the pleasure last week of a school visit with Avi to Norfolk Academy, in Norfolk, VA. I had a good feeling about the place as soon as I walked in and saw a larger-than-life Poppy, complete with porcupine quill, and that was just the start; Norfolk did a great and generous job of organizing and hosting. Thanks for the visit go to the students, teachers, and administrators, and to lower school librarian Barbara Burns and Eric Wilson in particular!

Space Mouse (Inner Space)

I don’t think it’s giving away too much to say that some action in Avi’s forthcoming Poppy and Ereth will occur in a cave. A trip to Texas has given me a chance to research those scenes, and to revisit the site of a childhood trip, at Laubach Cave near Georgetown, Texas.

The caves were discovered in 1963 during drilling by the Texas Highway Department. The drill got about 40 feet deep into the ground — and then the bit fell off. A department geologist, the skinniest available, was lowered down the narrow hole into a vast cavern loaded with limestone formations and even some prehistoric remains. The caves were opened to the public as a commercial venture and, in an attempt to connect with the then consuming space race — another segue! — were given the name by which they are now best known, “Inner Space Caverns.”

The sign out front of the caverns, just off Exit 259 on I-35 today, still has that space-age feel. The set of lights inside that big black ball pulse on and off, and when you see the thing as you’re driving by, it lends your trip a strange malevolent Sputnik/Great of Eye of Sauron mood. But if the sign seems dated, the caves (truly dated) hold up. There are spectacular formations in them, and if you’re in the area it’s worth the visit.

More about the caverns at the Inner Space website, here.

Shake it, Ereth

Avi’s forthcoming Poppy and Ereth will be the fifth book that I’ve illustrated featuring Ereth the porcupine, so you might think that I know my way around the walking pincushions by now. The true professional, though, always aspires to a more perfect porcupine, and so this morning, thanks to the generosity of the staff at the Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn, I tagged along with camera in hand for their porcupine Brody’s morning stroll. Brody was a big change from last week’s stuffed animals; he is happily and emphatically far from the taxidermist. Anyway, I had a great visit and thank the Zoo for the chance to get up close and personal with a genuine moving and grooving Erethizon dorsatum. The day contributed much to my sense of how these fellows are put together and move and sit and stand—and one more thing, too. How to put this? Before meeting Brody, I knew from reading the Poppy stories that Ereth doesn’t smell great. I knew it, but I didn’t know it. I smelled through a glass, darkly. On this hot and muggy morning, I smelled face to face. Whooo!


Thanks again to the Prospect Park Zoo. And of course if you’re in the neighborhood, you can swing by and see Brody (and his mother) for yourself. They’re worth the trip! More on the zoo here.

A late edit to this post: If you enjoyed that look at Brody, another short video that gives a better look at Brody’s morning walk is posted by the zoo on YouTube here.

Rodent research redux

Here’s introducing one of a couple of big projects that I’m happy to be working on in the coming months, the drawings for the sixth (and final) book in Avi’s Poppy Stories series, Poppy and Ereth. Research got underway last week with a trip to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The visit provided useful material and also a full circle moment: years ago, before the idea of sequel or series was a glimmer in anyone’s eye, I visited the museum for help with the drawings for the book Poppy (no longer first in the series, but the first of the books published). On last week’s trip, I made a point of finding the great horned owl who gave aid to that book’s drawings of Mr. Ocax. It was a good visit, and a reminder that while Google image search will do for you some of the time, there’s no substitute for looking at the real thing, even when stuffed.

Back in the day, by the way, the sign over the door did not say Harvard Museum of Natural History. It bore the more cryptic and (therefore?) more satisfying name Museum of Comparative Zoology. Technically that name name still applies; the Harvard Museum of Natural History was invented in 1998 to serve as “the public face of three research museums,” one of them being the MCZ, but good luck to you if you try to find the words Museum of Comparative Zoology anywhere in the place. No big deal, I suppose, yet there’s something in the older, less expected name that I miss.

It's never too early

If you haven’t already read it, and if you enjoy slow, sinking feelings about the state of the culture, click your way on over to this story in the Gray Lady about product placement in books for eight-year olds. This at HarperCollins, home of the Poppy Stories, among, of course, many others. There’s one (1) book yet to go in that series, by the by—but no word yet on whether the mouse prefers Nike or Converse. (I’m pushing for Dr. Martens.)

For those who want deep background or are just morbidly curious about this sort of thing, this blog submits Alyssa Quart’s Branded as well worth reading. (This even if the sexed-up cover makes you feel like you're reading just the sort of thing the book is critiquing. Those of you interested in jacket design will notice that some editions of Branded flash navel, and some don't. I guess you order from Amazon or Powell's depending on how sexy you feel at the moment. Eh—I digress. Read the book.)