Last month I visited with all the third graders at Maple Avenue School in Goffstown, NH. After a whole-class assembly, I ran smaller drawing workshops where I taught them how to draw tidepool animals: hermit crabs, lobster, starfish, etc. At some point, a few kids talked about having bearded dragons as pets and how cool they were. I told them they were on my list as a drawing sheet this year (unique pet theme!). It’s a complicated one, but hopefully this sheet finds the bearded dragon lovers out there!

For April vacation, my family and I traveled to Northern Ireland to see the Giant’s Causeway. Since I was a wee girl, I’ve loved the story of Finn McCool and always wanted to see this UNESCO world heritage site. It did not disappoint! We also loved exploring the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, our beautiful rental in Dunseverick Harbor, and a long drive down to Galway stopping in Derry, Donegal, with visits to Gleniff Horseshoe, Benbulben, the Cliffs of Moher, Doolin Cave, and the Pulnabrone Dolman in the Burren. This was my fourth trip to Ireland and I haven’t come close to seeing all of its beauty. I was so happy to share its magic with my teens.

KidsCon in Nashua this year was one of my very favorite events. It was such a busy day, and I loved chatting with fellow author/illustrators (Jennifer E. Morris, Norm Feuti, Chuck Dillon, Larry Daley, Dani Jones) and all the families. Several kids came over because I had just visited their schools. A kindergarten teacher mentioned sharing THE KING OF BOOKS at the start of the school year. I ran a dinosaur drawing workshop and just felt so comfortable even in a chaotic room at the end of a long day. If I talked with you there, thank you for making it such a wonderful day! I’ll be back in Portland at KidsCon in November.

Next weekend, I will be travelling to Stamford, CT for the NESCBWI Spring Conference. I’m excited to share two workshops on Saturday: Picture Book Process: From Your Lightbulb Moment to the Bookshelf and Creating Memorable Characters. Please come and say hello! The weekend ends with a mini book fair from 12:30-2:30.

I am returning to Maker Fest at the NH Children’s Museum on June 6th from 10-3pm in Dover, NH. I should be inside the museum this year, and will have some fun dinosaur drawing activities for kids.

Reading: A Kid Like Me by Norm Feuti. I loved this graphic novel about a boy moving into middle school and grappling with class differences and friendship challenges. Norm handles sensitive topics so astutely and with lots of humor and the level of detail to current problems that I think kids will notice and appreciate.

Watching: Margo Has Money Troubles. I listened to the audiobook last year and loved it. Nick Offerman is crushing it as Jinx. The show meanders a bit, and overall I enjoyed the book far more, but it’s still a fun watch.

Listening to: Luscious Jackson, Fever In Fever Out. Just taking it back to the 90’s and enjoying the nostalgia. Still a great album!