Fantastic Scholastic!

Most of you know I’ve been dithering around with “Ozzie and the Art Contest,” getting the sketches just right before diving into the final color art. I figured I had time. I vaguely remembered the contract I signed last January said my final art was due in “the fall.” So, when I got an offer to do some work for SCHOLASTIC, I said “hell, yes!” and then thought I should probably re-read the specifics of my Ozzie deadline. As I write this, the central story of “Ozzie” is hitting me in the head like a two by four: Ozzie fails to read the instructions carefully and pays a price. I think there’s a lesson in here somewhere, but I’m too excited to figure it out. I’ve been hired by Scholastic to illustrate TEN early reader books. This is a continuation of the wonderful Bob Books series by Lynn Maslen Kertell, first published in 1976. So, in addition to working on Ozzie, I’m working on 100 Bob Book illustrations, the first of which, due to a typo, was due a few days before I took the job. Somehow we figured that out.