first peas

here's poor Mr Griffin being fed his very first peas.

(CAUTION: this is a tale of bitter betrayal and dark parental badness and may be distressing for some viewers. Parental Guidance is advised.)

Here he is, first of all. Griffin. The innocent, trusting, beauteous child, look at him smiling up at us ...

How could he have known? How could he possibly have know?
How could he have had any idea what was at that very moment being prepared for him in the kitchen? What evil noxious poisons were being hatched by his own mother? And at that very moment, barreling down towards him?

... Only to have it thrust into his waiting mouth... a wicked GREEN (green I tell you!) foodstuff the like of which i have never in all my life tasted and never hope to taste ever after

maybe I can just hold them in here and then blow them out when they're not looking. or dribble them all out slowly from of the corners of my mouth

... horrid YUCK ick! why is my mother feeding me these. they're green. and i didn't ask for them. or expect them. or even know what they are. and i don't like them.

The question we at the FBAP (Friends of Babies Against Peas) are asking is: what did Griffin ever do to merit such cruel and unsual punishment? And wouldn't apple sauce have been more considerate?

Jago's illustrations

Here are some of my most favorite Jago illustrations from The Jesus Storybook Bible.

Check out more @ Jago's super cool portfolio.

scribble chairs

These aren't children's drawings. They're real-life, actual, sit on them chairs! Cool, eh? They're designed by Lucy Merchant, who lives in London, and they're made of steel rods.

Sort of looks like what chairs would be if you could just draw them into being. Like in the classic children's book, Harold and The Purple Crayon.

Hmm. And what about just speaking and having the whole universe appear? Or saying a word and stopping a storm?

exquisite corpses

exquisite corpses, as you probably know, is a game where the first person draws the head, folds the paper over (so that the second person can't see the head—only where the neck starts). The second person draws the torso and then folds that over, so that the third person drawing the legs can not see the torso or the head.

(exquisite corpses, so the blurb tells me, "was first created by the surrealists, André Breton, Max Ernst, Man Ray, Joan Miró, Yves Tanguy and others in the 1920s. Based on an old parlor game, it was played by several people, each of whom would write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold the paper to conceal what she/he had just written, and pass it on to the next player for his or her contribution. The technique got its name from the first sentence created: 'Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau' —”The exquisite corpse will drink the young wine”. The game was quickly adapted to drawing.")

anyway... my publisher, Schwartz & Wade Books, has created their own "exquisite corpses", working with their very own exquisite famous fabulous illustrators — including (of course) the exquisite famous fabulous Sue Heap, illustrator of HOW TO BE A BABY and HANDBAG FRIENDS! Some samples are shown here (other illustrators also shown here are: Barry Blitt, and G Brian Karas). I particularly enjoy those green hairy ballerina monster legs of Sue's!

Some of the other great artists involved include Barry Blitt, Christoph Niemann, Jerry Pinkney, Nancy Carpenter, Hanoch Piven, André Carrilho, Giselle Potter and several others.

They ran this promotion for librarians, and gave the original art away to be hung in schools throughout the country.

To check out the rest of them and have an exquisite giggle: click here!

Bible climbing bestseller list!

Look! Now we're climbing as well as moving and shaking! (See # 4)

(July list based on May sales)

Bible Moving and Shaking!

The Jesus Storybook Bible has just hit #26 on the MOVERS AND SHAKERS on amazon!

my favorite soccer star

The name on the back of his shirt is Pikachu.
And his team is the Crunches.
Watch him. He's going places.
I should know. He's my godson.

His other name is Tristan. And he is a man of many talents. As well as being an international man of mystery he is a wicked magician who goes by the name of "The Amazing Mr Flashman."

The Amazing Mr Flashman is a master illusionist famed for tricks he does close up--that you see with own two eyes and still have no single clue how he does them. Which of course is the very definition of a good magician. But extremely irritating to godmothers who had hoped to be quick enough to spot the Tricky Goings-On right in front of her very nose. But alas. This particular godmother is not nearly fast enough. Certainly no match for The Amazing Mr Flashman. 

But then, I wonder, who is?

radio interview "like a little child"

Wanted to let you know that Charles Morris at Haven Today is interviewing me on air June 24-26th about The Jesus Storybook Bible.

He's a lovely man and we had a blast. I think you'll enjoy the program. We're talking about the importance of reaching children where they are, how to best convey to children the Gospel in all its fullness, what makes this particular children's bible story book unique, what it was like writing the book. I will also be reading stories from the book every day for a week.

And they're offering the book free with a donation! What a deal. Quick don't miss out! Here's a link to their site where you can catch the inteview: Part 1 and Part 2.

I am also reading six stories from the book, and you can listen here:
The Story and The Song
A Giant Staircase to Heaven
Daniel and the Scary Sleepover
The Man who didn't have any Friends (none)
The Captain of the Storm
Washed with Tears

Here's what he said about the book: "This exquisitely illustrated collection of children's Bible stories are connected by a scarlet thread - every story whispers his name. Profound theological truths in storybook form, The Jesus Storybook Bible is nothing short of a masterpiece!" I told you he was lovely.