Wow, what an amazing start to 2019! First, I found out that I was made an Official Selection for the 2019 Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition in the strangest way. I was sitting in a restaurant looking briefly at my phone when I realized I had four new Instagram followers — all of which were from Italy! How strange. It took me a second to put two and two together, but I realized that perhaps there was a connection to the BCBF Illustrators Exhibition. Sure enough, when I checked the website, I was listed as an Official Selection! I was absolutely ecstatic!

It really is such an incredible honour when you think about the odds of being in the show — 76 artists chosen from 2901 entries from around the world.

It’s my second time in the Exhibition. Jack and I were also in the show in 2013. Check out our blog post on our trip to Italy here.

Just today, advance copies of Great Job, Mom! and Great Job, Dad! arrived on my doorstep. They look terrific, and I couldn’t be more pleased about the great job (pun intended!) that the editorial and design team did at Tundra Books!

Last but not least, I’ll be down at the American Library Association’s mid-winter conference in Seattle from January 25 to 27. I’ll be signing copies of my new books shortly after the doors open on Friday afternoon, so see you then! Check out the whole Tundra lineup below!