Reading & work… reading & work…

It's been a pretty hectic week… I'm working on several rather large illustrated map projects – which I love, but they seem to be all-time-consuming, leaving with very little energy to check in here and often as I'd like. That and I've been going through an "I-hate-everything-I-draw period" which is always frustrating.

But in the meantime, I've still been reading plenty of picture books, more than 10 this past week.

• DANNY AND THE DINOSAUR – Syd Hoff  *from Steven Malk's list (LASCBWI12)
• THE PHILHARMONIC GETS DRESSED – Karla Kuskin / Marc Simont *from Steven Malk's list (LASCBWI12)
• THE SNOWMAN – Raymond Briggs Classic, what more can be said? *from Steven Malk's list.
• CHRYSANTHEMUM – Kevin Henkes *from Steven Malk's list (LASCBWI12)
• I'LL FIX ANTHONY – Judith Viorst / Arnold Lobel *from Steven Malk's list (LASCBWI12)
• MISS NELSON IS MISSING – Harry G. Allard Jr. / James Marshall *from Steven Malk's list (LASCBWI12)
• TED – Tony DiTerlizzi 
• WILD ABOUT BOOKS – Judy Sierra / Marc Brown 
• BADGER'S FANCY MEAL – Kieko Kasza 
• THE DOG THAT CRIED WOLF – Kieko Kasza 
• SCAREDY SQUIRREL – Melanie Watt 
• TOOT & PUDDLE, A PRESENT FOR TOOT – Holly Hobbie *from Steven Malk's list (LASCBWI12)
• WHAT NEWT COULD DO FOR TUTLE – Jonathan London / Louise Voce 

• GERALDINE, THE MUSIC MOUSE – Leo Lionni
• IN THE RABBIT GARDEN – Leo Lionni 
• THEODORE AND THE TALKING MUSHROOM – Leo Lionni 
• THE ALPHABET TREE – Leo Lionni 
• INCH BY INCH – Leo Lionni 
• LITTLE BLUE AND LITTLE YELLOW – Leo Lionni 
• CYRUS THE UNSINKABLE SEA SERPENT - Bill Peet *I am a long time, huge, Bill Peet fan from childhood. Every time we went to a book store I looked for a new Bill Peet book. *from Steven Malk's list.
• CHESTER'S MASTERPIECE – Melanie Watt 
• AUGUSTINE – Melanie Watt 

*I'm in the middle of one of my first official responsibilities as SCBWI-NM's Illustrator Coordinator: organizing a 2013 Illustrator's Day event for our region. Patti Ann Harris, from Little Brown and Company Books for Young Readers, has graciously agreed to come visit us in NM next year and we're currently planning the event together. As part of this process, I've been reading up on some of Patti Ann's other SCBWI appearances – including the big SCBWI Winter conference in New York, beautifully recapped by my friend Leeza Hernandez here, and SCBWI-Austin, as well as some of the books she's worked on:

• SUBSTITUTE CREACHER – Chris Gall 
• SHARK VS. TRAIN – Chris Barton / TomLichtenheld 
• DAVE THE POTTER – Laban Carrick Hill / Bryan Collier 
• WHEN BOB MET WOODY – Gary Golio / Marc Burckhardt 

*Books I already own/have read, that are also part of Patti Ann's list:
ME… JANE – Patrick
DINOTRUX – Chris Gall