Easter and Spring are on their way. What better way to celebrate than with a rabbit drawing sheet? Instead of fun facts, I’ve created two versions to draw, plus a reference for coloring them. Dutch rabbits are one of the most popular breeds of pet rabbit, continuing my theme of unusual pet drawing sheets. Hop to it, and share with your kids! *Reminder: my printables page has ALL of my drawing sheets.

I had a wonderful visit at Main Street School in Exeter, NH last week. First, I got to sign a huge pile of books at my local indie, Water Street Bookstore. Then, I gave two big assemblies. The older students helped read along to THE KING OF BOOKS for the first time and it went well! I also joined a few library classes to teach them how to draw axolotls, capybaras, pugs, and whatever they requested (except for the dalmation request, sorry that one was too stressful for me!) But the kid drawing were SO GOOD! This was actually my first school visit of the school year, and I was glad to get back into the swing of things. I have a few more lined up this spring. If you are interested in bringing me into your school, send me an email ([email protected]) and read more here.

I have a very busy spring with several types of events. Here’s the scoop for March:

Saturday March 14th: Molly’s Bookstore in Melrose, MA. Storytime with AJ Smith at 10:30am. A cat book and a tiger book! We’ll read, do a craft, and sign books.

Saturday March 21st: North Hampton Public Library Local Author Fair. 11-1pm North Hampton, NH. This is my town library! Check out all the other authors who will be there to chat and sign books.

Saturday March 28th: Spring Author Fair at the Exeter Public Library (Exeter, NH) from 10-2pm. Another cozy library author fair - learn more here.

I’ll also be at KidsCon in Nashua on April 12th and I am a presenter at the NESCBWI Spring Conference in May (Stamford, CT) - registration for that is this Sunday!

Also, I’m going to Ireland in late Spring. If you have any recommendations for the Giant’s Causeway area over to and including Galway - please drop them here! I’ve been to Ireland several times, but it’s been a long time AND I’ve never made it up to Northern Ireland before. Giant’s Causeway has been on my wish list since I was a kid reading stories about Finn McCool.

Almost five years ago, I started a monthly marketing event for illustrators. It’s called KidLitArtPostcard. On the first Thursday of each month, illustrators around the world share new art in the hopes of connecting with editors, agents, art directors - and each other. The axolotl illustration above was my share this month. This year, I’ve been thinking about how to improve the connection between publishers, and did some direct outreach. A few editors suggested reminding them about the event each month on that day. To simplify that request on my end, I created a second newsletter on Beehiiv: KidLitArtPostcard. On March 5th I sent out the first post and it seemed to be very well received. If you would also like a reminder about the event, you can subscribe here.

Watching: Imamu Room on YouTube. This was an old favorite that I had forgotten about until last week. I needed something quiet and soothing. Imamu is a Japanese woman raising a family in Canada. She shares her entire week of cooking in a way that you really have to watch to understand. She is ambitious and creative and very honest when things go wrong. I’m glad she is still sharing her life online for us to enjoy.

Reading: Nothing! I have a lovely TBR pile, but I picked up crocheting again and that sort of replaced my reading time for a bit. I had to make/remake two different hat patterns for Hank. I eventually gave up, because pug heads/necks are weird, but at least I got this one cute photo! I’m close to done with a colorful cowl, and will share if/when I finish it.

Listening to: Good Hang with Amy Poehler. I know I’m a little late to this great podcast, but it’s always a mood-lifter. I particularly loved the episodes with Carol Burnett, Jonathan Groff, and Rachel Dratch.

Happy Spring - thank you for reading! Feel free to reach out with any drawing sheet requests or other questions at [email protected]