New picture, finally.

Wow. Even I've been finding my blog boring lately. No pictures. So here's one:

It's the color rough (Rough. I can't emphasize that enough.) of the cover to my next book of monster stories, Frankenstein Takes the Cake. Which I'm still working on, and which will be out in the fall of next year.

Politics and Prose

Last minute alert–I will be at Politics and Prose in Washington, DC on Wednesday, November 14th, at 10:30. Whilst there I'll be discussing my policy of interest rate reduction to instigate long-term economic growth.

Naw, I'll be signing kids' books.

Attention Wilmington and New York:

I will be at the Barnes & Noble in Wilmington, DE at 7PM on Thursday, November 8th to talk about my new picture book, Pssst!.
And I will be at Books of Wonder in Manhattan from 12 to 2 PM this Saturday. And I'll be joined by Jon Scieszka, Lane Smith, Laurie Keller, S. D. Schindler, Alyssa Satin Capucilli, Henry Cole, and Amy Schwartz! Or they'll be joined by me. Or whatever.

Anyway, if either city wants me to keep out, now's the time to say something.

An Introduction–

How cool is this? Here's a transcript of an introduction written by 6th grader Brooks Gonzales, which he read before I took the stage at a reading this past weekend in Austin, TX:

In my study of Adam Rex
I had to read a lot of text.
Adam Rex, he likes to rhyme
With puns and limericks from
Time to time.

In his book titled Pssst,
It's not your ordinary zoo.
You will meet cunning and
Clever animals all the way
Through.
They convince a little girl
To do their bidding.
And when you read the end
You'll say
You've got to be kidding!

In his book, Tree Ring Circus,
One thing you will agree
Is that it isn't about a circus
But more about a tree.
His attention to detail
Is clever it's true
If you read through it fast
You won't have a clue.

His most notable book
Frankenstein Makes a
Sandwich,
Would appeal to anyone
Who likes monsters, It's a
Small World, and a whole
Lot of fun.

He is hip this man, named
Adam Rex
Including pop culture in
The fine print of his text.

While reading the book
Some things that I noticed
Was that Latin dance, the Yeti,
And Phantom of the Opera were
Of focus.

His books show detail, humor and wit
And when you start one
You won't want to quit!

Thanks, Brooks, for the best introduction I've ever been given.

Sorry to be one of THOSE people...

...but I feel compelled to spread this around. I watch it about once a week, whenever I need a punch of happy. I feel if everyone on Earth were to see this we would all come together in a spirit of togetherness or whatever.

Happy Dia de los Muertos!

Austin area readers–come see me this weekend at the Texas Book Festival!

Happy Halloween!

An interior illustration from The True Meaning of Smekday.

Whoops–Halloween Event!

I'm posting this much later than I should, but I'll be reading, signing, and drawing pictures on Halloween at noon at the Please Touch Museum here in Philadelphia. Are you a kid? Do you know a kid? Then you should maybe come see me.

Halloween @ Noon
Please Touch Museum
210 North 21st Street
Phiadelphia

Radnor!

Thanks to the kids at Radnor MIddle School for being a great audience when I visited recently, and for making this banner! I hope they all have a Happy Smekday.

The Toy Pad

Just a note to tell readers in Pennsylvania that I'll be at THE TOY PAD at 826 East Baltimore Pike in Kennett Square this Staurday, the 27th, at about 11AM. I'll draw, maybe read, and sign books. Come see me!

Special Request

Diantres has asked if I could post a decent-sized image of a card of mine in the most recent Magic: The Gathering epansion, Lorwyn. It's called "Horde of Notions," apparently. When I was working on it, it was called "Teeming Host."
Here you go, Diantres:

Another Star!

The True Meaning of Smekday has earned a starred review from Publisher's Weekly, which writes, "Who knew the end of the world could be so hilarious?...Parallels between the Boov and European settlers and their treatment of Native Americans deepen the impact of the story, but the author goes well beyond delivering a single political message. Incorporating dozens of his weird and wonderful illustrations and fruitfully manipulating the narrative structure, Rex skewers any number of subjects, from Disney World to various fleeting fads."
I've also just learned that The True Meaning of Smekday is one of the New York Public Library Best Books of 2007! Hooha!

Character In Search of a Story #8

CHRYSANTHEMITCH

Chicken Nugget Lemon Tooty

The kids over at Chicken Nugget Lemon Tooty have posted some fan art inspired by my books, and it's just like getting a big box full of candy. Issac (9), Grace (7), and Lily (4) are amazing illustrators already, and will possibly rule the world in ten or fifteen years.

Elephant in a Tree by Lily (from Tree Ring Circus)

Clown Watching a Boov by Gracie (from Tree Ring Circus and The True Meaning of Smekday)

The Narwhal Gets a Turn on the Zoomobile by Isaac (from Pssst!)
It's no wonder the kids are good, I suppose. Check out their Dad.

Come On Feel The Illinoise!

Apologies to Sufjan Stevens for stealing his title.
I had a great visit to the Chicago area last week, thanks to Anderson's Books in Naperville. They set up two of the best school visits I've ever done (to the Crone and Scullen Middle Schools), and also had me to their store for an evening visit with customers and two elementary school classes. Below are pictures of just some of the great people I met, sorry i can't post all of them. That's me with Amy Timberake (author of The Dirty Cowboy and That Girl Lucy Moon) in the upper right.

Thanks also to the GLBA, which is not, as I found out, a support group for altenative lifestyles, but rather the Great Lakes Bookseller's Association.

The True Meaning of Website

I've just launched the official website for my book, The True Meaning of Smekday. It has a puppet show and everything. I would be honored if you visited. Thank you.

Role Models

Possible new feature around here. Portraits of some of the people who've inspired me to make the kind of books I make.

JON SCIESZKA
Around 1990 I was working in a bookstore, and saw some of the antastic picture books that were being produced at the time. Picture books unlike those I'd read when I was a kid. One of them was The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith. They of course followed this up with The Stinky Cheese Man. It wasn't hard to see myself making picture books after that.

The 2008 Model T Ford

A recent article on The Onion's website got me wondering what it might look like if Ford reintroduced the Model T in a "new Beetle" sort of way. Or in the way they redesigned their own Mustang to make it both modern and reminiscient of its muscle car glory days. In other words, what would the Model T look like if it had never gone out of production, and had instead been updated year after year? Probably nothing like this:

Drawing mech and tech isn't really my strong suit. Anyone else out there have any ideas? If so, post it on your own blogs or whatever and link back here.

Ask Not For Whom My Horn Toots...It Toots for Me.

Just a random news and self-congratulatory roundup.
My latest picture book, Pssst! has thus far recived TWO STARRED REVIEWS from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. Kirkus says it's "[A] gleefully postmodern romp." PW admires my "astringent attitude and a refreshing brake on the cuteness," and calls Pssst! "[a] very funny excursion."
Also, an ALERT TO CHICAGO AREA READERS. I'll be appearing at the Naperville Anderson's at 7PM on September 27th. I'll read, sign, possibly do a little soft shoe, and MOVE OBJECTS WITH NOTHING BUT MY MIND, ARM, AND HAND. I'll also be signing books at the Great Lakes Booksellers Association Trade Show on September 28th.

CONTEST WINNER! Character In Search of a Story #7

Here's the winner of our contest:

AMBIGUGUS, The Remarkably Unmemorable Man, suggested by Jon Harmon
Okay, here's what I was thinking (and if you need to read this section, then I have failed you, reader. I am sorry). I was originally thinking of giving him no features at all, like the old Dick Tracy character, The Blank. Of course, it bothered me that if any of us really saw a featureless man, he would be the most remarkably memorable man we'd ever encountered. So, apart from making his features a little indistinct, I decided to put him in front of three mirrors, each of which is reflecting something entirely different. He's unmemorable because, each time you look at him, he appears as a completely new person or thing.
Ta da.
Thanks to everyone who submitted a name or voted for one! And thanks to Cyril for putting the idea of reflections in my head.

CONTEST! Wooo!

See post below. Thank you.

Character in Search of a Story #6 and CONTEST!

UPDATE!–I've joined with Ironic Sans to hold a contest–a contest to name the next Character in Search of a Story. Click HERE for details. The winner recives the original art!

BIG FLOPPY KITTY
Look at that cat! That's a barn next to him! That's a cow! He's HUGE! What a big, floppy kitty.
I'm really ripping off Totoro on this one.
Here's the last C.S.S..

The Impossible Interview

The good women at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast have been ridiculously generous to me this week. Yesterday they reviewed my new picture book and novel, and today they posted an interview so nice I may seriously take a vow of silence now so I don't ruin it. Thanks Jules and Eisha!

Last Night I Dreamt I Sold a Cartoon to the New Yorker

And this was it.

Marvel Sketch Cards

This was fun. The Upper Deck Company is putting out a new Marvel Masterpieces collectible card set, and some packs will include one-of-a-kind sketch cards, featuring original drawings by comics industry artists. Calling me a comics industry artist is a bit of a stretch, but I agreed to sketch on 10 blanks. Here are 9 of them:

9 because it makes a rectangle, and 9 because my 10th card (Captain America) kind of sucked.
I hope someone gives me a good excuse to do a painting of Modok some day.