Cookie joins the book club...

Oh boy. Imagine my delight to discover that my book 'One Smart Cookie' made it into the Scholastic book club! I had no idea. And of course, the artist is always the last person to know anything in publishing... the absolute last. (An email would be far too troublesome to write, naturally).

So imagine my dumbfoundedness to open a letter from my publisher to find a fine fat four figure royalty check. Disbelief... total shock, followed by a suspicion that it couldn't possibly be for me. Oh no, I figured, it must be for some other artist and they got the bookkeeping wrong. Usually I find royalty statements to be confusing, I only glance briefly, despair and stuff them away.

So quickly I rifled through my business files, wondering how to write the letter with the about to be returned check. But I discovered in translating the inscrutable royalty figures, it turns out that Cookie became a Scholastic book club book a few months ago! Nothing could amaze me more.

So now I have to reevaluate my artistic accomplishments for the better as a bookmaker. Hopefully it's a verdict that might stick.

Thank you, Cookie!

'One Smart Cookie' movie trailer

A Book About Reading

One Smart Cookie is a book about reading.

The only really ironic thing is that the most prominent reader in this story happens to be a four legged pooch, by the name of Cookie.
Cookie's humans are two grade schoolers who don't particularly care for books.

Nash would much rather play his video games and Duffy would much rather be drawing pictures.

Altogether they make an interesting family... with the day being won by the art of reading.

From School Library Journal:

"The colorful and whimsical illustrations are quite good, reminiscent of the work of Diane deGroat and Marc Simont."

From Booklist:

"Quickly paced and high-spirited, the engaging story is illustrated by cheerful illustrations with bright colors, busy patterns, and lively details that offer plenty for nonreaders to look at while the story is read aloud."

Marc Simont... I can live with that!
It's nice when a reviewer likes your artwork enough to compare you to someone famous like Marc Simont. I did put a lot of effort into the pictures... as do all artists.

But I suppose this is as good a place as any to confess that I'm actually more of a cat person.

Do stay tuned for more behind the scenes stories about the groundbreaking volume known to the world simply as... "One Smart Cooke".