Kid Baltimore | Family Activities with Children in Baltimore, Maryland

Walter Wick: Games, Gizmos and Toys in the Attic

WHEN: Sept 19, 2010 - Jan 2, 2011

WHERE: Walters Art Museum

ADMISSION: $10 Adults, $8 Seniors, $6 Students/young adults (18–25), FREE for 17 and under, FREE for Members

On a Scary Scary Shelf from Can You See What I See? On A Scary Scary Night, 2007, pigmented inkjet photograph, © 2007 Walter Wick

Walter Wick is the co-creator of the I Spy series, and therefore, gets my automatic vote for exhibits to go see this month. My kids have spent countless hours pouring over those books, and games. His new show at the Walters Art Museum will be top on our list.

And, a bit of trivia for Baltimoreans – Wick was directly inspired by the Walters' own Chamber of Wonders gallery for his recent book, Can You See What I See on a Scary, Scary Night?. 55 large scale photos will be on display, as well as some of the actual models that Wick uses to create his photo-illustrations. I'm guessing we will be there for hours, and hours, and hours, finding every last item that Walter Wick has hidden in his images. That could take about a million years. See you there!

410-547-9000

The Walters Art Museum
600 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201

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My New Book!

When Skinner House contacted me to illustrate A Child's Book of Animal Poems and Blessings, I couldn't resist. 32 pages of animal pictures? Sure!

The publisher's description:

These poems, prayers and blessings about our animal brethren are drawn from around the world and throughout history. Speaks to a child’s sense of connection with the animal kingdom. By turns amusing and reverential, Blanchard weaves together a collection that inspires gratitude and joy for a world rich in diversity and wonder. Sources include the Bible, African and Native American cultures, Lewis Carroll, William Wordsworth and Christina Rosetti. Full-color illustrations by Joyce Hesselberth. Ages 5-7.

And while this project was months in the making, it flew by incredibly fast. Here are a few of my favorite spreads:

 

It is available on Amazon.

Children's Books by Mark Rosenthal

Illustrator Marc Rosenthal stopped by our studio recently. Dave and I had a few moments to visit with him and his wife, designer Eileen Rosenthal, before they headed back home to Massachusetts. Marc is an editorial illustrator who has added children's book illustration to his repertoire. Marc's work is beautiful, with a retro feel, but very distinctively his own.

A few weeks later, a package arrived in the mail: a signed print, and three of his amazing children's books. Our son has adopted the books as his new favorites, and that's just fine with me. I am happy to look at the illustrations all day long. Our daughter had memorized Archie and the Pirates by about day three. Now she "reads" it to me. I love the opening pirate scene.

© Marc Rosenthal

Some other books Marc Rosenthal has illustrated are: Dig!, Phooey! and First, Second.

Puzzlehead by James Yang

© 2009 James Yang

I found a lovely surprise in my mailbox recently – James Yang's latest picture book, Puzzlehead. James is a fellow illustrator and friend of mine whose work is regularly seen in Newsweek, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The hero of the story, Puzzlehead, can't quite figure out where he fits in the world, but with his friends, he eventually finds his way. I love how this book makes modern so friendly. And since it's been requested for bedtime several nights in a row, I can say with some confidence that the kids love it as much as I do.

You can order a copy in the Kid Baltimore Store, along with other James Yang's books, Joey and Jet, Joey and Jet in Space and Build It Up and Knock It Down .

Book Signing at the Red Canoe - Illustrator, Susan Detwiler

© Susan Detwiler and Sylvan Dell

When: Saturday, March 28th, 2009 at 3pm

I had the pleasure of meeting fellow illustrator Susan Detwiler a few years ago at a writing and illustration conference. I fell in love with her pencil sketches of the city mouse and country mouse, an unpublished series, and I am so happy to see that she recently had a book published with author Scotti Cohn, One Wolf Howls (Sylvan Dell). One Wolf Howls is a picture book written in verse by Scotti Cohn. It counts from one to ten, as it follows wolf activities through the year.

Susan took the time to share some of her sketches and describe her process.

"My Illustration process starts with reading the manuscript and getting an image in my mind from the words and the feeling they evoke. Next, I collect references, such as photos from books, magazines, and the web to use as I sketch. My first sketch is very small and rough (top), and is called a thumbnail sketch because of the size. I put all the thumbnail sketches on one page so that I can see the whole book at once, and imagine how they will work together. After that I make a more polished sketch in pencil (middle). I scan it and print it and add color. The color rough is sent to the editor for approval. The final illustration (bottom) is done in watercolor on Strathmore cold press illustration board at full size or larger.

Susan will be at the Red Canoe Bookstore on Saturday, March 28, 2009, 3pm to sign books, so stop by!

410-444-4440

Red Canoe Bookstore Café
4337 Harford Road
Baltimore, MD 21214

Sergio Makes A Splash!

On a recent trip to New York, my husband and I were lucky enough to spend some time with fellow illustrator/designer Edel Rodriguez. His new book Sergio Makes a Splash just hit bookstore shelves this spring. First, let me say that I am totally in love with the idea of a penguin wearing water wings and snorkel gear, but I also absolutely love Edel's bold color palette and woodblock textures.