Click image for larger view.

Todd Lockwood Step-By-Step

All art students everywhere should have a look at this step-by-step progression of a book cover by Todd Lockwood. His isn't the only way to paint, or even the only way to paint digitally, but what's most important here is seeing how much work and thought goes into this cover before he starts the finished painting.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
(Thanks to Irene Gallo for the links)

Nebula Interview

There's a nice interview with me over at the Nebula Awards Website Blog Thing. My novel, The True Meaning of Smekday, was nominated this past year for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (sort of the YA Nebula), but of course lost to the last Potter book.
If you like the interview, maybe leave them a comment.

Mustaches For Kids–Final Update

Together you and my mustache raised $1,120 for underfunded classrooms. But like another seasonal tradition, my mustache has waved goodbye, sayin' "Don't you cry, I'll be back again some day."
Special thanks to Ellen Greene, Ms. Deborah Bass, Mr. Mac Barnett, and Scott Rex.

Mustaches For Kids–Final Stretch

The Mustaches for Kids donor drive ends on the 13th...and I'm just overwhelmed by the results. My personal donors have at this point raised over a thousand dollars for underfunded classrooms. One of them stipulated that their pledge was contingent on my promise to do this every year. So you're going to have to put up with this again next November.
Anyway, I would have felt remiss if I didn't make one last plea. The donor sidebar is on the right. After the weekend I'll post a full mustache retrospective, and then I'll stop talking about it for eleven months.
Thanks to past donors and to Ms. Melinda Millington, Mr. Phillip Hilliker, Ms. Reiko Nakajima, Katy Kelly, Jon Scieszka, Angus Yuen-Killick, Mr. Steven Malk, Mr. Matt Phelan, Mr. David Adamson, Dawn Murin, Mark Susson, and Alicia Neal.

Whale Finish

Here's the finished painting of that sketch I posted last week. You may notice that I fixed a few drawing issues in the final–I'd done a pretty lousy job blocking in some of the houses in the background, and I think I had several horizon lines in play. I'm sure there are plenty more drawing mistakes where those came from, but I fixed a few of them, at least.

This is Photoshop and Wacom. No traditional painting in this book, though I'll be back to traditional materials with the following one.
Here are a couple details, including a bunch of cats that weren't in the sketch, but which I added at the suggestion of a friend of mine. I think it was Cyril.

As usual, click for larger views.

And Now, a Whale on a Skateboard

Wow, apparently I wore out my welcome with the mustache updates. Got a couple of snarky comments on the last one. Perhaps I'll continue to quietly try to raise funds through the sidebar, and stop talking about mustaches and needy schoolkids so much.

You'll have to take my word for it that this whale is on a skateboard, I suppose, since you can't see it under him in this drawing. But this is the sketch of the cover of my next picture book, Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem, written by Mac Barnett. In a few days I'll post the finished painting.
As always, click to see it larger.

Mustaches For Kids Update #3

To my regular readers, I apologize. There have probably been a lot more mustache-related posts recently than you'd come to expect. Sure, you read someone's blog, you're probably thinking, you expect a few mustache posts. But shut up already. I understand. If you can just bear with me a little longer, I promise to soon show pictures of blue whales on skateboards.
In the meantime, won't you consider donating ten dollars through the DonorsChoose sidebar on the right? You'll be helping underfunded school teachers to buy things like books and frogs.
Special thanks to new donors Dan Santat, Chelle Jenkins, green froggie, and Mrs. Elizabeth Haltom.

Anyone else notice I haven't posted much art lately?

Unless you count the performance hair art that is my mustache. Here's a cover painting I did for Irene Gallo over at Tor a couple years ago, for a book titled Hawkspar.

Mustaches For Kids Update 2

Mustache growth continues apace as the Mustaches For Kids Challenge nears its halfway point. I have so far stayed my hand and ignored my razor, knowing that generous donations from readers of this blog have helped to fully fund three projects in underprivileged classrooms. Please give a little if you can.
Thanks again to my former donors, and to my folks. You are the wind beneath my mustache.

John Hodgman

Weeks ago I discovered that I'd be presenting my new book at Politics & Prose in DC on the same day that John Hodgman would be presenting his (More Information Than You Require, in stores now), albeit eight hours apart. I didn't have eight hours to kill, but I did elect to leave Mr. Hodgman a signed copy of my book, featuring a mole-man sketch. I flattered myself that it might be the sort of kids' book he'd like, or I hoped so.
Today, via my Aunt and Uncle Papenfuss, I learned that Hodgman had reviewed Frankenstein Takes the Cake in The Week magazine. The review can be read here.
And above you can see my hastily drawn caricature of Hodgman, sketched in my sketchbook and held up to my laptop's iSight camera.

New Shirt in my Shop

Begin advertisement:

Available in my shop. It need not be on this style of shirt, or in a child size. All my shirts are customizable.
Advertisement ends.

Mustaches For Kids Update 1

Well, look at that. I think my mustache is...is really...it's...
Oh God, who am I kidding. Look at it. It's like I can see my future, and my future is Freddie Mercury. I mean...I mean MY GOD!
Please help me resist the temptation to shave by donating now to help underfunded schoolkids. Do you have a spare ten dollars? They could use ten dollars.
Big thanks to donors Kim Baker, Stephen Wood, Jason Michels, Israel Sanchez, Bernie and Laurie Thompson (in honor of Connor Thompson), and Douglas Florian.

Smeksbury

A while ago, while preparing material to put on the National Time Capsule Project site (aka The True Meaning of Smekday website), I sketched out this fake Doonesbury strip. The idea was that this was an installment of Doonesbury that actually appeared in newspapers at the time of the alien invasion that takes place in my book. I wrote to Gary Trudeau, asking for permission, never got a response, so I never inked this thing or posted it on the site. I forgot about it for a while. Then I remembered it after re-watching Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas recently.

So if Trudeau's people want to send me a cease-and-desist letter, now's the time. If I don't hear anything, maybe I'll ink it and put it on the Smekday site in time for the book's paperback release in May.

Mustaches For Kids

Here's a picture of me, taken today. You're probably thinking, Look at that Adam Rex. What a big mustache he doesn't have.
Well, in keeping with the rules laid down by international fundraising group Mustaches for Kids, I will spend the next 30 days growing a mustache, possibly a very bad mustache, and enduring the public ridicule and haunting personal doubt that follows. To stay strong I need your pledges–any dollar amount will help–and you'll feel good knowing that your donation is going to help underfunded classrooms.
I promise to keep checking in with mustache progress shots twice a week, if you promise to pledge. You can go to my pledge page HERE, or through the sidebar on the right.
And I know I'm asking for money again pretty soon after that 5K I ran. Sorry about that, I didn't plan it this way.

Hmm.

There's an interesting experiment going on at genderanalyzer.com. They claim their AI can analyze a blog's language to determine if it was written by a man or a woman. They think I'm a woman.

So I'm going to see if this post makes any difference, football beer boobies football.

FOLLOWEEN

No ghosts are seen on Halloween,
except for kids in sheets.
No zombies ring for anything
apart from tricks or treats.
Though people say today’s the day
when bogeymen come out to play,
November 1st is when the worst
of monsters hit the streets.

And in disguise the dead arise
to sell us magazines.
In ties and slacks they hand out tracts
as fine, upstanding teens.
Just like the kids the night before
these horrors go from door to door
with vacuums, mops, or other props,
and boring sales routines.

It might feel mean on Folloween
to just ignore your door.
“A Girl Scout troop is on my stoop,”
you’ll mutter. “Nothing more.”
You want a snack so bad it hurts,
but trust me–those are ghouls in skirts.
With that in mind you’ll find
you’re not so hungry anymore.



From Frankenstein Takes the Cake, in stores now.

TRICK

“We’re not supposed to trick or treat the houses with no lights on,” said Jack.

“Can’t hurt to check,” Sophie answered. She readied her sack and rang the doorbell again.

The door was opened by a man dressed all in black. Like a ninja. He had a sack, too.

“Trick or Treat!” the kids sang.

“Oh, right,” the man said. “I forgot. Let me see.” He rummaged through his sack. “Here. A pretty brooch for the Little Mermaid, and a golden candlestick for the vampire.”

“Wow. Thanks,” said Sophie, looking at her new brooch. “We thought maybe nobody was home.”

“Nobody is,” the man replied, and he ran off down the street with his sack of treats.

Not Safe for Kids, Possibly Not for Work Either.

If you're here looking for Haiku Contest results, kindly skip to the next post.

A while back I made a little video about the Hulk's singing career and posted it here, and on YouTube, and on Funny or Die. Then a spectacular amount of nothing happened for five months. Now, suddenly, this video is being reposted all over the place, and apparently it was mentioned last night on cable network G4. If you don't want to watch the whole thing, Hulk coverage starts about 5:50. And again, this isn't a program for young kids:

Given that no one was paying any attention to this video before my friend Irene Gallo posted it over at TOR.com a few days ago, I think it's safe to blame her. Thanks, Irene!
Here's the uncut Hulk at the Tropicana, 1965, in case you missed it.

WINNERS!

What a great bunch of kaiju haiku I got. Go read 'em if you don't believe me. There were more than 180 entries, but there can be only one GRAND PRIZE WINNER. Oh wait, no, there's two:

That kaiku was written by Lily, age 5. This next one is by Anna, age 12:

I got such a wide age range of kids that I thought I should have a GRAND PRIZE for both a 3-8 category and a 9-13 category, and those are they. My attractive celebrity judges also selected three runners up. In no particular order...

by Veronica, age 9:
Cerberus is sad
he wants a ball, a bone, and
someone to play with

by Trevor, age 4:
Dad, I know what the
important thing about horned
monsters is: the horns

by Jack, age 3 1/2:
I love aliens.
One, two, three, four, five of them,
flying in spaceships.

The GRAND PRIZE winners will receive the original art posted above, a signed copy of Frankenstein Takes the Cake, and a lunchbox filed with mysterious things. Runners-up will receive books with their haiku drawn on the title page. I probably won't send anything out until November, as I'm about to leave for North Carolina for a bit. I need Jack and Veronica's parents or guardian to email me so I can get an address to which I can send your books. I think I can reach everyone else through the email addresses posted on their profiles or blogs.
I think that's it.

Off to North Carolina

I'm proud to report that I leave soon for Winston-Salem, where I'll be receiving the North Carolina Book Award for Frankenstein Takes the Cake.  

Anyone in the Raleigh area?  I'll be appearing at Quail Ridge Books from 3-5 PM on November 1st, which readers of my book Frankenstein Takes the Cake will recognize as Folloween.

Regardless, check back here tomorrow for the winners of the KAIJU HAIKU CONTEST.

May I interest you in another contest?

You haiku writers need another outlet for your Halloween-flavored creativity.  Get thee to Brian Biggs's blog, where he needs your help naming and describing his Ten Trick Or Treaters.

And then check back here this Wednesday, the 29th, for the winners of the Kaiju Haiku Contest!

NO HAIKU CONTEST RESULTS YET. However,

I will be appearing at Politics and Prose this Thursday, the 23rd, from 10:30 to 11:30 in the morning.  Afterward, why not have lunch in their café, take a long nap in the Travel section, and await John Hodgman's apearance at 7PM?

More on the contest soon.

Headless Horseman Here.

The sympathetic people at Tor.com have agreed to reprint one of my blog posts here, and I thank them.  Of course, I'm opening myself up to the usual sorts of thoughtless comments in the comment section, so I could use a little support.

Thanks, 

H.H.

The Contest is Closed.

We are no longer accepting new haikus for the competition. Any haikus posted after this note will be ineligible for prize consideration and will be displayed solely for the betterment of mankind in general.
Thanks for all your excellent submissions. I'll have news soon.

Mystery Judges Revealed

You may have noticed we're having a Kaiju Haiku Contest right now, and I am pleased to announce the contest's celebrity judges:

Jarrett J. Krosoczka!  You may know Jarrett 

from his book Punk Farm, or from his latest, 

Punk Farm On Tour.

Lisa Yee!  You may know Lisa's 

Millicent Min, Girl Genius or 

So Totally Emily Ebers.

Finally, Lane Smith!  

You may know his book, 

John, Paul, George, and Ben, 

or his latest, Madam President.

There's just a few days left to get in your entries.  I'll take them through Friday, October 17th.

Go check out the contest!

What terrible formatting.  I can't seem to get it right.

You've won this time, Billy Collins...

This is a little sad. My latest book, Frankenstein Takes the Cake, was reviewed in the New York Times Review of Books yesterday.  Not the sad part yet.  Wait for it.  Sales of Frankenstein received a small bump, insomuch as I could tell from the Amazon sales ranking (this is also not meant to be the sad part, though you may each of you appraise for yourself the existential sadness of checking one's own Amazon sales ranking).  While I was checking the progress of this ranking, my wife noticed that among books, specifically literature and fiction, specifically poetry, specifically United States poetry, specifically 20th century United States poetry, Frankenstein was currently the #2 seller.  Mine was the number two bestselling 20th century United States poetry book on Amazon.

There it is, right beneath former Poet Laureate of the United States Billy Collins.

Of course, the really funny (and also sad) thing here, is that my book wasn't even published in the 20th century.  But then neither were the books before it or after it.  That's Amazon for you.

Race for Hope

With everyone madly haikuing for the contest I mentioned in my previous post, I thought I'd try to grab your attention for a moment about a 5K run for brain tumor research in which I'll be participating on November 2nd.

Any small donation would be great.  If you're able, Go here, and click on "Donate Now."

Thanks.

CONTEST! Haiku!

Those are a couple of Kaiju Haikus from my latest book, Frankenstein Takes the Cake. "Kaiju" means "strange beast" or "monster" in Japanese. A haiku (and I realize most of you know this already) is a kind of Japanese poem that usually has five syllables, then seven syllables, then five. Here's a not very good haiku that explains what a haiku is:

First, five syllables,
and then seven syllables,
and then five again.

This is all a very simple explanation of haiku, but I bring it up because I'm having a CONTEST! A KAIJU HAIKU CONTEST!
-Submit your best haiku about monsters in the comments. You can also email them here, if you prefer, and I'll post them. It doesn't have to be about a Japanese monster, it can be about any monster or monsters. Even one you made up yourself.
-It DOES have to be 5/7/5, like the examples above.
-You must include your age. The grand prize will go to a kid, but adults can win as well.
-I'll delete any entries I consider inappropriate.
-I'll take haiku entries through creepy Friday the 17th.
-Afterward, the winner will be selected by celebrity judges. I'll announce who these people are soon.

GRAND PRIZE: The kid who wrote the winning entry will receive an illustration of their haiku, drawn by me. It will be on fancy art paper and suitable for framing. This kid will also receive a signed copy of Frankenstein Takes the Cake, a set of Frankenstein wedding bubbles, and a Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich lunchbox filled with weird things.

THREE RUNNERS-UP, of any age, will each receive a signed copy of Frankenstein Takes the Cake with his or her haiku illustrated on the title page.

Teachers! Want to submit the entries of your entire class at once? Post them all together in one comment, or email them to me and I'll do it.

Enter Now! Enter often!

I Only Steal From the Best

I love making up names for imaginary products and businesses and putting them in my books. MicrocosMart. The Wall Street Taco Exchange. Noda, the Soda Substitute. All of these appeared in my novel The True Meaning of Smekday, and one even appeared in Pssst!
Smekday also has a passing mention of a foodstuff called TUB! that comes with its own spoon. Last night I was watching an old Simpsons and noticed something in the following clip:

Is it a coincidence? Did I steal it without realizing? Dang.

Elkins Park Appearance

Just another note to say I'll be at the Elkins Park Library (in the Philadelphia Area) this Monday evening (the 6th) from 7PM to 8:30. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! Although it will almost certainly be a lot of reading and signing.

Right Back Atcha, Chicken Nugget Lemon Tooty.

No, I wasn't hit on the head while typing that title. This blog has been hearted by the kids over at Chicken Nugget Lemon Tooty, a blog of drawings by Issac, Grace, and Lily Zenz. They're always on my sidebar, but maybe you haven't visited in a while? Don't you want to see the best cut paper Jawa ever made?

NYC Books of Wonder

Just a note to ask all you New Yorkers (yes, all of you. Even the ones in the back) to come see me at Books of Wonder in Manhattan this Sunday (the 5th) from 1-3. And if you don't much care for me there will also be Jules Feiffer, Lane Smith, Kate Feiffer, Nick Bruel, and Diane Goode! Do you know how many Caldecotts there are in that group? I don't either, but it's a lot.

Character in Search of a Story #10

Haven't done one of these in a while.

CUMULONUMBSKULL
Drawn during jury duty!
Check out the other Characters.

Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Step Mother!

That would be a song title in the headline, there. And before you write to correct me–yes, I know that song is about Decatur, Illinois, and that I just got back from Decatur, Georgia. But I had it stuck in my head the whole weekend, all the same.
Thanks to the greater Atlanta area for being so awesome. I had a great time at the Decatur Book Festival.
Tony Diterlizzi caught this picture of me on stage during one of my presentations. I'd just finished a drawing based on audience suggestions, which this time turned out to be "puppy" and "cheerleading outfit."

Later, Tony and I got reacquainted at The Little Shop of Stories.

I experienced this phenomenon at least three times over the weekend: an untouched funnel cake, presumably purchased and then just left somewhere. On the edge of a trash can, on the base of a lamppost...this one was sitting conspicuously in the middle of a sidewalk as the festival came to an end.

I considered eating it, but thought it might be a trap.

Oh, By the Way...

If you're in the Decatur/Atlanta, GA area, please come see me at the Decatur Book Festival this weekend. I'll be reading and signing and trying not to feel outclassed by all the other authors there.

New Glasses

In her classes, without glasses, she could barely see the board.
With her specs she checks the teachers, sees their frightened, frozen features...

Oh. So that's why, when she raised her hand, Medusa was ignored.

From Frankenstein Takes the Cake, in stores now.

A Message From Adam Rex

We The Robots

Are you reading Chris Harding's We the Robots yet? Why not? Are you dumb?

NOTE: Not for young children.

Amazon.com–eerily insightful, or really stupid?

Lately I've noticed that the Amazon page for my new book includes this claim:

To be clear, Amazon is willing to offer you a special deal if you buy them together. My funny rhyming kid's book about monsters and their problems, and Alan Moore's dense, dystopian graphic novel about doomsday anxiety and the nature of heroism.

This is hardly the first time Amazon has surprised me with the odd bit of non sequitur. They've always had a sort of free-associative, Dadaist organizational structure there. One might have expected that Frankenstein Takes the Cake would be "better together" with Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, its companion book, but...the thing is, I LOVE Watchmen. I've probably read it twenty times. I've finally sort of gently bullied my wife into reading it, in anticipation of the upcoming movie. Is Amazon being absurdly random about their pairings...or are they looking deeply into the souls of each and every one of us? Does Frankenstein Takes the Cake and Watchmen share some unexpected connection, like the one people are always trying to tell you exists between Pink Floyd and The Wizard of OZ?

When the audiobook of Frankenstein and the DVD of Watchmen come out, I'm totally playing them at the same time.

SCBWI Summer Conference

I was asked to be a member of the faculty of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Summer Conference that took place in LA a week ago. I had a really good time, and met all kinds of great people, and saw some great folks I don't get to see often enough. But I never bring a camera to these sorts of things, so the picture that Lisa Yee sent me of the two of us together will have to do. Please understand that I have my arm around Lisa here, but in a larger sense also have my arm around all the good people of the SCBWI, and around LA in general.
Read a much better wrap-up of the conference on Lisa's blog.

I also got to play with Lisa's Peepy:

BOOK! Shirt!

New product in the shop, for those who asked.

Headless HowTo

Jules over at the blog Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast just posted a loose sort of step-by-step of how I created this image from my new book, Frankenstein Takes the Cake. Why don't you pop over for a look?

Link

Headless Horseblog

Another image from Frankenstein Takes the Cake, in stores now. This is from the Headless Horseman's blog, Off the Top of My Head.

SHOP!

Folks have already been noticing the links to my NEW SHOP at right, or on my home page. There you'll find t-shirts, a bumper sticker, and the poster shown above. I just got a copy of it in the mail today, and I couldn't be happier with the quality.
I hope you'll have a look around, and maybe suggest other designs in which you might be interested.

The Best Man of Frankenstein Makes a Trip to the Buffet

Another one from the new book, Frankenstein Takes the Cake.

I've been getting reports from people who've already found the book on shelves, and Amazon is already shipping it, so I'm going to go ahead and say AVAILABLE NOW! NOW! There.
In keeping with the monster spirit, I recently purchased myself a Monstera Deliciosa, or Monster fruit. Here's a picture of it. These things are delicious. They taste like banana Sprite. But I can't eat this one until the scales fall off or it'll be poisonous. MMMMMMMonstera!

More Advertising...

...from Frankenstein Takes the Cake, in stores this September.

Witch Weight-Loss Program

...and with only one bucket of water a day!

From Frankenstein Takes the Cake, in stores this September.

Frankenstein Takes the Cake

I think it's about time to start previewing stuff from my September book, Frankenstein Takes the Cake. Details about it have already been trickling onto the web, including some nice reviews here and here.
So this blog is far from the only place where you can see the finished cover, but first thing's first. I also posted a color sketch of same previously. Oh, and happy 4th, if you're American.

BEA Memories

'Bout time I posted some pictures from my visit to Book Expo last month in LA. This was hands down the most fun I've ever had at a signing. No offense to the guy last year in the gorilla suit.

I include the first photo, in which I am relaxing in a rotating restaurant/bar with the Gorgeous Ladies of Harcourt (GLOH), only to document that I'm drinking something called a Gummitini that has actual Gummi bears drowned at the bottom, silently evanescing in their boozy grave.

The remaining photos document the signing itself, at which Frankenstein and his Bride renewed their vows and had cake. It was all, of course, to commemorate the debut of my new book, Frankenstein Takes the Cake, which will be in stores in September.

Stickyfish Explained

I received a really amazing email about a month ago from one Tom Speers. Speers bought a copy of The True Meaning of Smekday recently, liked it, and passed it around his office. These photos are from this office, where Tom says some Boov and Smekday-related, non HR-approved materials have been appearing lately, wrenching old Dilbert cartoons free of their pushpins and subverting the natural order of things.
One of the photos shows Tom's own rules for Stickyfish, a sport I only mentioned in passing in my book:

STICKYFISH
The Game Of Boov Champions

Stickyfish is the most popular of Boovish games.

It is played by teams of thirty-six Boov. The total number of teams playing in any one game is determined by the Referee (known as the Eeeurrrp), who drops a nine-sided cube (known as the Zoool) in the middle of the playing field when no one is watching. The number which comes up on the Zoool (One through Nine) determines the number of Stickyfish teams which will play -- unless the number is Zero, in which case all nine potential teams declare themselves victorious and everyone goes for pizza. If the number One comes up, all nine potential teams are declared to have lost, and everyone goes for pizza.

The goal is to carry the Stickyfish (known as The Stickyfish) across the goal line of any opposing team, during Nine periods of play (known collectively as Krooom), lasting approximately twelve minutes each, with a break after the Fifth Kroo. Each time the Stickyfish crosses a goal line counts as One Point. Having three or more teams on the field results in spirited games and multiple scores; the winner, naturally, is the team who scores the highest number of points.

The break period is sometimes referred to as "The Fifth Krooo Arglbargl", as during this pause, individual Stickyfish team members congregate, hold conversations and discussions about world events, take photos, trade Boovish Stickyfish player cards, consult the Touching Tree Oracle, order snacks, and so forth; the noise resulting from these activities sounds like "Argle-bargle Argle-bargle".

The Stickyfish is an actual Boovish fish, approximately 24 to 36 inches in length, capable of holding it's breath for up to four hours. It spends the "The Fifth Krooo Arglbargl" resting in a tub of partially desalinated Gatorade. During the game, there are few written rules governing how a team may carry the Stickyfish across an opponent's goal line, except that tradition dictates it must be physically carried by a member of a team -- it cannot be tossed, thrown, launched, de-materialized or teleported.

While the Boov sometimes prefer a direct approach, there is plentiful opportunity in Stickyfish for subterfuge and misdirection -- ranging from shouting, "Hey! You are to be looking up there!" to distract an opposing player, all the way to full musical theatre productions, or attempts to sell an entire opposing team on the idea of term life insurance.

One team, the legendary BIGFIELD FIGHTING KOOBISH used the insurance sales tactic so well with a rival team that they scored repeated goals by carrying the Stickyfish across the goal, backing up, then crossing again, while the other team was busy filling out medical history forms . The final score was 691 To 0, a score never since equalled in Stickyfish league play.

It should be noted that Stickyfish Day is now an official Candian holiday.

You're Cordially Invited...

...to the wedding of Frankenstein and his Bride. Where? Book Expo America 2008, at the Harcourt Children's Books booth (#1400). When? This Friday, May 30th, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Will there be cake? THERE WILL BE CAKE.

I will also be signing my new picture book, Frankenstein Takes the Cake.