Finding my people in Philly
My ALA photo album
Making art can be solitary work.
I write and illustrate my books and send them out. About a year later, a box of author copies will appear. Occasionally, I’ll get emails with good news—when I’m lucky, a phone call with great news. But years passed and I’d never met the people I worked with in person. . .
Until. . .
I attended this year’s American Library Association convention! Suddenly, over the course of a weekend, I met everyone!
I was hanging out with my agent Erica Rand Silverman! I was catching a cab with my Simon & Schuster editor Celia Lee! I was having dinner with Tara Walker (my editor / publisher at Tundra)! I even got to wave a quick hello to Simon Boughton from Norton Young Readers, who gave me my first break in the picture book world.
Not only did I get to meet them in person for the first time, I got to meet hundreds of librarians and readers, not to mention other picture book makers!1 Thank you to everyone who stopped by my signings for Towed by Toad and Every Monday Mabel—it was so great to connect, even if it was a passing moment in a crowded convention.
One of things I wanted to say with Every Monday Mabel is that your people are out there. Even if you haven’t met them yet—they are out there! Being at ALA felt like being surrounded by my people—people who love books; people who are excited about writing and art; people who want to share their discoveries with others; and people who find socializing a just little exhausting and need to take a moment to recoup by sitting along the edge of the wall so they can read that new book they just picked up.
It was an overwhelming weekend in the best way possible.
Towed by Toad receives a Geisel Honor
I can’t forget the reason I was at ALA in the first place—Towed by Toad was one of the two books this year to receive the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor!2
Thank you to the Geisel committee! I’m honored that they recognized my book, which began as a play on words and grew into a rather personal story about self-care and learning to ask for help. I’m so happy that this book has resonated with so many people.
Also at the ALSC awards breakfast, my Pratt illustration professor Rudy Gutierrez received the Robert F. Sibert honor for his illustrations for Call me Roberto.3 It was so great to be able to share that moment with him.
And the night before, at the Caldecott / Newbery Awards, I got a chance to congratulate Yuko Shimizu on her Caldecott Honor for her illustrations for Up, Up, Ever Up.4 Back in my editorial illustration days in New York, I’d always run into Yuko at different magazine events. She always took the time to talk to me and offer advice and encouragement.
It was wonderful to see some familiar faces in the sea of new friends!
7 Picture Books to Beat Summer Boredom
Every Monday Mabel is one of the books featured in San Francisco Chronicle’s wonderful article, “Picture your child beating boredom, fostering creativity this summer,” written by
!Even if summer is mostly boring, for a certain type of kid, there is at least one exciting event guaranteed to happen every week: garbage day!
Every Monday, Mabel wakes up with giddy anticipation, eager to see “The best thing in the world!” She drags a chair down the hallway; past her older sister, mother and father — all of whom have varying opinions about Mabel’s interest — out the door, and waits patiently for the trash-tastic spectacle to begin.
It turns out, Mabel’s transportation admiration isn’t so strange after all. All around town, there are other kids, like her, watching with glee. With punchy text and vibrant art, it’s an enthusiastic tribute to a child’s passion.
Upcoming Events
Columbus Book Fair, July 12, 11am (book signing at Cover to Cover’s booth)
Cuyahoga Falls Public Library, July 14, 6pm
Quick Links
Get a sneak peek at what I have coming up and grab it for 25% off (offer ends 7/11).
Check out Travis Jonker’s ALA photo album (part 1 and part 2)
Thanks for reading!
-JQA
Too many to name them all, but you can spot Travis Jonker in the Tundra photos and Jess Yoon in the S&S photos
The other honoree this year is Fox vs. Fox by Corey R. Tabor, while the Geisel Award went to Vacation: Three and a Half Stories by Ame Dyckman and Mark Teague. Congrats Corey! Congrats, Ame and Mark!
written by Nathalie Alonso
written by Anita Yasuda
Looks like an incredible time! So nice to get a chance to celebrate in person once in a while when so much of this business is solitary.
So jealous! And so glad you found all your people. Priceless ❤️