Dazzling Dogs Release Recap

Frenz, I'm totally overwhelmed by the positive response - we packed Diesel Books! It was SRO! We also sold out of copies of A Dazzling Display of Dogs (but not to worry - if you want a copy, you can order one here).

For those of you who braved the rainy weather and [maybe even] came out with your kids on a Wednesday night - I thank you! I hope you had as much fun as we did. Thanks also to Tricycle Press (this is, sadly, one of the last books they will publish), Suki and Andy for the music, and Loriana and Carolee for helping out and setting up. Thanks to Betsy Franco for making the trip to Oakland, and to Diesel Books for being so accommodating. If you're in the Bay Area, go buy your books there! It's a great shop.

Here's a little video that Michael Zelner shot (thanks Michael!):

What's next for the book? Well, The Mutts are going to be recording these songs for real sometime soon. Betsy and I are going to be making a book trailer or two for the two books we've published together thus far. There are also rumblings about another collaboration. Stay tuned.

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A Dazzling Display of Dogs on shelves this week!

Friends to the Four-Pawed: my second picture book, A Dazzling Display of Dogs (written by Betsy Franco - yes, that Betsy Franco), has been released and is available at your local bookstore and online. We're super excited about it over here, and hope you'll get yourself a copy!

The book release party has been set for March 23, at Diesel Books here in Oakland. Andy and I will probably, as with the Curious Cats opening, embarrass ourselves in front of you. Just to let you know.

Here's a great review from School Library Journal:

Starred Review. Grade 1–5 - This follow-up to A Curious Collection of Cats (Tricycle, 2009) is dazzling indeed. Each of the 34 poems features a different animal, most of them engaged in true dog behavior. From farting in the car to wheezing and snoring while sleeping, these pups are funny and lovable even when they're being annoying. The verses and the book's design are beautifully matched. In "Emmett's Ode to His Tennis Ball," the text is enclosed in a circle held firmly in the dog's mouth. It begins, "Slobbery, sloppy, slimy, sphere—oh, tennis ball, I hold you dear…." Like the poems, the pictures are funny and dynamic. The pages are definitely full, yet careful use of color, typeface, and detail means they never look chaotic. A note says the pictures were started in pencil and then finished using monoprints and Adobe Photoshop. Overall, a delight for kids, their adults, and maybe even their beloved canine companions.—Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL

Sadly, 'A Dazzling Display of Dogs' is one of the last books that Tricycle press will publish. I am so grateful to my editor Abigail Samoun for making this book happen!

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Dog Dreams Release Party - You're Invited!

The Imprint of the SFCB is excited to announce the launch of Dog Dreams, an artist's board book written and illustrated by Michael Wertz. Dog Dreams imaginatively reveals the hopes, wishes, and ambitions of over a dozen dozing canines through playful imagery and rhyming text. The book is letterpress-printed in two colors on a Vandercook proof press on French Muscletone paper and is part of the Imprint's Small Plates series issued in 4" x 4" format, numbering 100 signed copies. Come join Michael and the Imprint crew in celebrating Dog Dreams' publication on Thursday July 29, 6-9 PM at the San Francisco Center for the Book. 300 De Haro Street (entrance on 16th Street), San Francisco CA 94103 | http://sfcb.org | 415.565.0545

Please bring your (leashed and friendly) dogs.

Can you make it? Say yes!

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Dog Dreams - the first print is done!

Dear Friends of the Four-Pawed, here's the first letterpressed print from Dog Dreams. I hope this is going to be a great little book - I'm excited!

The idea for Dog Dreams came to me while watching my (then new) dog Olive sleep on the couch next to me. She twitched, huffed, barked, and jerked her way through a series of (seemingly) very exciting dreams. I'm pretty sure she was dreaming the typical dog dreams: squirrels, cats, and ball. But who knows? Maybe she was dreaming of a trip to Paris - or of flying like a bumblebee. Maybe she was simply sitting for tea in the shade of her favorite tree. This book is an exploration of that idea - as well as a little taste (for kids) of what it might be like to be a grownup.

Please join us as we celebrate the release of Dog Dreams - one of the 2010 Small Plates editions published by the Imprint of the San Francisco Center for the Book.

Book release party: Thursday, July 29 from 6-9 pm. Bring your dogs. SFCB 300 DeHaro Street, San Francisco.

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singing/signing at kepler's books tomorrow!

Hi everyone! Andy and I will be doing another "singing" and signing of A Curious Collection of Cats tomorrow at Kepler's Bookstore in Menlo Park, California. Andy and I will be performing a few of the poems in the book (singing and playing uke), and author Betsy Franco will be doing a presentation about how the book was written. Should be a hoot! If you're in the area, come on over and say hi and get a book signed. Fun for kids (or for the eternally young).

What: 'Singing' for a Curious Collection of Cats

Where: Kepler's Books, Menlo Park 1010 El Camino Real Menlo Park CA, 94025 (650) 324-4321

When: 11:30 am, Sunday June 28

Here's a little video from Diesel Books in Oakland:

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A Curious Collection of Cats Launches!

(a hairball? no, not a hairball...) Friendlies,

we had such a marvelous time at the book launch for A Curious Collection of Cats. Many, many thanks to Diesel Books in Oakland, thanks to Abigail and Hayley at Tricycle, thanks to my sweetie who set three of the poems to music so we could sing 'em. There were about 60 people in attendance, and we sold out of books! If you want a book, call Diesel (510-653-9965). They are ordering more books (and doesn't it feel good to support the indie bookstore instead of the nameless behemoth bookstore?) and should have more copies soon.

For those of you who came to the Launch, thank you so much! If you couldn't make it, we're scheduling a few more "singings" for the book: Betsy Franco and I will be doing a talk and signing at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park on June 28th at 11:30. I am also scheduling a singing for San Francisco - stay tuned for that info!

In the meantime, here's some video my brother Tim took of us singing:

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The Long View : Art in Antarctica

My friend and amazing artist Michael Bartalos is taking part in a once-in-a-lifetime art project in Antarctica. Have a look see.

From the site: "Greetings and welcome to The Long View Project blog. My name is Michael Bartalos and I’m pleased to be designated the Academy’s first Affiliated Artist. I’ll soon be on my way to Antarctica on an exciting project at the crossroads of art and science, and you’re invited to follow along.

My ultimate objective is to create a very long piece of sculptural artwork using recycled materials from polar research facilities in order to raise international awareness of resource conservation and eco-preservation practices in Antarctica, and by extension, to promote and inspire sustainability worldwide. In the process, I expect to learn a whole lot about environmental issues, scientists’ lives on the ice, the history of polar exploration, and creativity’s role on the southern continent."

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