Here are a few small things that could make your student's or artist's work go a little more smoothly. They are three items that I use in my studio and also with the students that I tutor. Kids do a lot of erasing and those pink erasers that dry out, ripping and marring the paper are so annoying! When I was kid my handwriting was terrible, so I was always erasing and rewriting - as I got more and more frustrated, the eraser would only contribute to the mess! Also, students sometimes avoid sharpening a pencil even when it would help their work, so having a dependable sharpener nearby can be a big help.

You can find these items in lots of places and quantities, the links below are for smaller quantities at Amazon.

Here are a few mushrooms, studies for an illustration in Mushroom Lullaby. The release date for Mushroom Lullaby is coming up: it arrives on the shelves on October 11, 2022.  The launch party will be held at Schuler Books on 28th Street at 11:00 on October 22. I'd love to see you there!

Speaking of Mushroom Lullaby, so far it has been reviewed twice, first from Kirkus who in a starred review called it "A mycological charmer."

Then it was reviewed in Publisher's Weekly, who also gave it a star and said, among other things, that "mushrooms provide an unconventional and earthy through line for this cozy bedtime book."

In other news, This is a Book of Shapes was on the shortlist for the Indiana Author Awards! As a native Hoosier, I was honored to be considered for this award.

I'll be giving a presentation to second and third graders at 12:30 at Jackson Reads! I am looking forward to meeting some readers in-person and also to seeing the Ella Sharp Museum, which includes an historical farmhouse, log school house and a beautiful planetarium. It will be fun!

Also, Mushroom Lullaby has been named a Junior Library Guild selection!

Here comes another book! This one is written with bedtime in mind - one of my favorite times to read a picture book. It is meant to quiet the room down while getting the young ones ready for sleep. It arrives October 11, from Candlewick Press.

Here is the blurb:
In gentle rhyme, this spare and whimsical picture book introduces little readers to all sorts of wonderful mushrooms: ones that grow up high and ones that never stay dry, ones that grow in a park and ones that glow in the dark, and even one made just for them! Who can resist climbing up the soft mushroom stair, curling up in a plush mushroom chair, and preparing to dream sweet mushroom dreams? The lulling narration and warm illustrations of this charmingly quirky book will have drowsy young ones settling into their own comfy beds, ready to drift off to sleep.

If you would like to pre-order it, you can do so at one of these sites:
IndieBound, Barnes and Noble, Target, or Amazon.

Estoy muy feliz ver las traducciones de Miel de Luna en Catalan y Español! Muchas gracias a Blackie Books y traductores Yannick Garcia y Rebeca González.

Translations of Wild Honey from the Moon are available in Spanish and Catalan! In the U.S. they can be purchased on Amazon:

Spanish here
Catalan here

Here are the ink and and the colored versions of a study I did for the book I am currently illustrating. I make these little squares to try out color combinations and different drawing techniques before I begin the final illustration. It saves me from frustration and having to redo an entire piece. I make them in squares so that I can post them on Instagram, which forces me to slow down and concentrate on the study. Otherwise I would dash off the study and rush into the finished illustration without having fully tried out my idea.  For this study I wanted to see how sepia and brown ink looked next to each other after the paint was applied.

The new book will come out in the fall of 2022, from Candlewick. I'll have more on that as the book gets finalized.

On Instagram I mostly post studies like these. You can follow me @kennethkraegel

This March I'll be speaking at the Michigan Reading Association's annual conference. I'll be leading a break-out session called Telling a Good Story with Words and Pictures on March 13, at 3PM. I am looking forward to meeting some literacy educators!

When I visit schools I talk about different things I consider when I am making an  illustration (composition). I have a new way of explaining some of these compositional components that I am excited to demonstrate in my session. I will also have a fun segment on how tension in a story makes us want to know what will happen next.

The pig here, does not have anything to do with the MRA conference, but I think she would probably enjoy it. Her name is Lola, well named by my wife's aunt, for whom drawing was made.

Here are a few more places where Shapes has showed up this year:
- The Chicago Public Library listed it as a Best Board Book of 2020.
- Reading Rockets put it on their Holiday Buying Guide 2020. 
- The School Library Journal blog A Fuse 8 Production listed it on a 2020 recommended board book list.
- And the Youth Services Book Review recommended it, calling it, "cute, stylish and original." Something no one has ever said about me, but I am glad they think that of my book.

Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

In the last post I mentioned my forthcoming chat with Nanny Miss Monique - it was a lot of fun! Check it out on Instagram @nannymissmonique.

In other good news, I have found a way to easily mix natural peanut butter. I really like the kind of peanut butter that is just ground peanuts and salt, but the one downside to this kind of peanut butter is that the oil rises to the top of the jar, so you have to mix it before you can use it and that is really messy. But if you turn the jar upside down on the shelf, gravity does the mixing for you, without the mess! Yes!