• BIG news,  my books

    Little Hoo Goes to School is out in hardback!

    Little-Hoo-Goes-To-School-Hardback-1

    My second hardback is out and I’m so excited!

    I’ve always wanted to create hardback books ever since I was a little girl. That was my dream: to be an artist or an author and it came true! Not that I’m crazy successful at it or anything but it really is funny how you can set your sights on something when you are little and it will stick with you better than goals you set out to accomplish when you were in high school or college. (I kinda made a detour through journalism, which funny enough helps me with my blog-content creation.)

    So anyway, yes Little Hoo Goes to School is available in hardback for schools and libraries and my blog readers who know where to go: MY SHOP on Etsy! Yes, I will be shipping them out personally so that means I can autograph your book or stick a little greeting in your package if you like!

    You can also buy the paperback and e-book version on amazon.

    Little-Hoo-Goes-To-School-Hardback-3

    Pretty cool, right? I love a hardback book. They just feel better in your hands. They are a bit more pricey but if you are a collector of books or you have kids who like to chew on books (cough cough) you’ll see the value. If not, kindle it! :)

    Please tell all your friends who might have school-aged kids going to school for the first time or teachers or librarians or grandmas who like to buy books…etc etc..whatever. Tell everyone!

    Little-Hoo-Goes-To-School-Hardback-2

    Like all my Little Hoo books, Little Hoo is anxious. This time he’s anxious about going to school. He worries about making friends and that his teacher might be scary. He worries that he’ll miss his mom and his stuffed owl. He even worries that he might get hungry! (You’ll have to make a point of noticing him missing an egg salad pickle sandwich.)

    If you have an anxious kid at home you know the story. I really hope it helps anxious kids because as you know, they are close to my heart. I was a super anxious kid myself and still suffer from it pretty badly from time to time but making books like this makes me happy. Hope you like it too!

  • my books

    What’s New in Book News!

    I am attempting to post here every Tuesday and Thursday (big goals!) as part of my new “time-blocking” management system that I’m setting up for myself and I’ve scheduled a book update! This is something I should do every month, providing I’m doing anything new on the book front, which I usually am. I am a book-making queen these days.

    Little-Hoo-Goes-To-School-Hardbacks

    The big news is Little Hoo Goes to School is coming out in hardback in August! I’ll have more details on how you can buy those soon. I have a few in my office and they are sooooo nice! They cost a little more but if you are like me and don’t really like those floppy soft covers, then you won’t mind paying a little more. I think they are going to be $20 or so but there will be promotions now and then that you can take advantage of. I will keep you posted when promotions are running so stay tuned.

    Little-Hoo-School-Anxiety

    Like all my Little Hoo books, this book is about dealing with anxiety. Little Hoo is anxious about his first day of school. That’s a subject Bug and I know all too well. I am so glad that Bug seems to have outgrown her anxiety now that she’s a big fat tweenager graduating from sixth grade but I know she still experiences it. Especially now that middle school is looming on the horizon. I’m really excited for her to go into middle school. We attended an orientation there a month or so ago and it seems like so much fun! They have clubs for everything and lots of free time to explore and socialize. I kinda wish I could go back to middle school. I know that clubs and free time are not always “fun” to anxious kids but she’ll get the hang of it.

    Little-Hoo-School-Frustration

    I thought I’d include my favorite illustration from this book. This is what Little Hoo imagines school (kindergarten or preschool) will be like. Graphs and squiggles and algebra in Kindergarten! Gah! He is of course wrong and the rest of the book shows him having a blast with his friends and learning in a fun way.

    Little-Hoo-Has-the-Flu

    The next book I want to share about it “Little Hoo Gets the Flu.” This is super relevant to me right now since I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck with some cold virus that’s going around. I am on day two of working from the couch by the fireplace in my pajamas. This one really took me down. I am coughing up acid-mucus and praying that it will go away as quickly as it came on. Good thing you can’t catch my germs from this page.

    Little-Hoo-Has-the-Flu-sneeze

    Poor Little Hoo. He and I both have an intimate relationship with a box of tissues. This book should come out sometime in Spring! I’ll keep you posted on that.

    Kat

    Next up: EASY READERS! I am working on a bunch of these. They are very very simple eight page books with simple sentences where only one word changes. This one is about Kat, a girl who likes to wear funky clothes (possibly inspired by Bug).  So basically it goes something like “Kat wears glasses. Kat wears pants. Kat wears gloves.” etc etc…

    Kat-Wears-Funky-Clothes

    They are really fun and simple to make so I think I will make them in six-packs. Teachers make sure you check back for promotions on this when they come out in Spring.  Of course I will post about them more as they get closer.

    Cody-Eats-Everything

    I’m also working on a few easy readers called Cody Eats and Cody Eats Everything. Because he does!!

    Cody-Eats-Dog-Food

    Cody eats dog food. Cody eats cat food.. you get the gist. And yes, I even included an illustration of Cody eating POOP! Because he does and I do go there. (Ugh! Gross! Gross!) I did illustrate books about snot and slime after all so it’s not really surprising. Parents and teachers hate me. Kids love me.

    CodyEatsCatFood

    And that’s that! Look for Cody and Kat books coming out in Spring!