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Looking for a stocking stuffer or a Hanukkah gift? Our backpack pulls (new this year) might be right up your alley.
Plenty of fun literary characters with bright colors and personality plus!
If you are using with a stocking, you can set them up to peek out the top, or use the clip to hang it from the stocking hook.
Cute!
Perhaps you have read the wildly popular Z is for Moose. Or maybe you know Caldecott award-winning Paul O. Zelinsky from some of his other beautifully illustrated books.
However you know him, we think he's great and were happy to hear his answers to our questions as this week's ILLUSTRATOR of the WEEK!
Plus, be sure to check out an interesting graphic following the interview, a copy of some of the drawings Paul supplied to us during the fine-tuning of the doll. Paul provided us with fabulous input and specific direction in making sure the doll lived up to the bold personality of Moose from Z is for Moose. We are all quite happy with the end result!
Do you think being an illustrator of children's books helps keep you young at heart?
I hope it does, but I really think that it was a failure to grow up completely (heart and head) that led me to illustrating children's books, and it's still the case.
Kids, librarians and teachers think you’re swell. [Funny, that's exactly what I think of teachers, librarians, and kids! -Paul] Do you have any tips for kids who love to draw?
To kids who love to draw:
Draw!
Try out different art supplies.
If you read a book or hear a story with no pictures, how about making a drawing of a scene from it?
Draw things that don't make sense. If you like to draw airplanes and not people, draw people with wings and jet engines. If you like to draw people and not dinosaurs, draw dinosaurs wearing the clothes you have on. Whatever you're thinking of, think of something else.
Try not to draw in your actual books, except maybe your notebooks. Don't draw in library books.
...and for teachers and librarians who love to see them read?
To teachers and librarians who love to see kids read:
Thank you thank you thank you! You are bridge-builders. Without you, the kids and the right books would not connect.
I don't have tips for you, except for the tipping of my hat.
What makes you happy? Any advice about living life with a bang?
I'm happy when I'm amused, and when I'm with the people I love. I'm happiest when I am with the people I love and we are amusing each other. I'm not sure I want to live life with a bang.
We love whimsy. Do you have a favorite silly word or onomatopoeia?
I love the word Zyzzogeton because it is the last word in my dictionary. It's the real name of a little leaf-hopping insect from South America, and I hope to meet one someday. You can imagine why I have a liking for things starting with Z. It's one of the reasons I love being the illustrator of Z is for Moose.
Many thanks for your time! We're so very happy that you do what you do.
You're welcome, and thank you back!
- Paul
[ CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE ]
Our Z is for Moose doll is brand new and already a hit!
Here's a chance to get one as a holiday gift with free gift wrap and 30% off.
We are happy to continue our ILLUSTRATOR OF THE WEEK series with the creator of the popular LLAMA LLAMA books, Anna Dewdney.
Do you think being an illustrator of children's books helps keep you young at heart?
I would imagine that writing and illustrating children's books keeps me in touch with "my inner child." I've never really been that far away from her, anyway! And spending as much time as I do with Llama Llama, who is a "real" little boy to me, keeps me very aware of what it is like to be a child.
Kids, librarians and teachers think you’re swell. Do you have any tips for kids who love to draw?
My tips for kids who like to draw are:
1. Keep doing it! Like anything else, you get better with practice.
2. Don't worry too much about doing things a certain way…there are lots of different ways to become a good artist, and you will find your own.
...and for teachers and librarians who love to see them read?
My tips for teachers and librarians:
1. Model good reading habits!
2. Have fun reading out loud! Get crazy!
What makes you happy?
What makes me happy are the things that have ALWAYS made me happy: drawing, making up stories, and being alone in my room. I also love spending time in the woods with my dogs. Of course, I adore the opportunities that I get to see my children on school vacations.
We love whimsy… do you have a favorite silly word or onomatopoeia?
Cattywampus. What a fantastic word.
Thank you, Anna! We appreciate your time!
It's a new week with a brand new MerryMakers Pick of the Week offer...
With over ten Llama Llama books by Anna Dewdney in print, including the hugely popular Llama Llama Red Pajama, the holiday-themed Llama Llama Holiday Drama, and the new Llama Llama Time to Share, Llama Llama is one of the most-loved characters of all time.
If there's a Llama lover in your life, now's the time to order!
If you checked our blog earlier, you may have noticed our current Pick of the Week, the super cute and huggable Rocket doll. If you know Rocket from one of the bestselling books How Rocket Learned to Read or Rocket Writes a Story, then you are probably a fan of author/illustrator Tad Hills.
The beloved Duck & Goose books (also a MerryMakers doll set), are also written and illustrated by Tad. Obviously he has talent galore, and is a great guy to boot!
Tad is our first featured ILLUSTRATOR OF THE WEEK and has graciously answered some of our questions.
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Do you think being an illustrator of children's books helps keep you young at heart?
Although my characters are animals – Duck, Goose, various other birds and a dog named Rocket – they really are kids. It's my job to make them talk and behave as children do. When I write a book I spend a lot of time with these guys. Basically I have a bunch of feathered and furry kids running around and chatting inside my head. That forces me to think like a kid again.
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Many thanks, Tad! We appreciate your time, and have a feeling that today we will go around inserting the word euphemism into conversation and smiling when we think about your Irish Wolfhound dream!
We are certainly in the holiday spirit here at MerryMakers and are thrilled about our first PICK OF THE WEEK... furry and wonderful ROCKET...
Fan of the New York Times bestseller How Rocket Learned to Read by the talented Tad Hills? Discovered the wonderful new book, Rocket Writes a Story, also a bestseller and a starred selection by Kirkus Reviews?
If so, you may already be in love with Rocket like we are!
Order our Rocket doll, or the doll and book set (with the book How Rocket Learned to Read), on the MerryMakers site between November 12th and November 18th and enter the code ROCKET to get 30% off your order and free gift wrap for this current pick of the week.
Very sweet and very popular!
Excited to announce some special news today!
It's the perfect opportunity to scoop up those dolls you've been thinking about for holiday gifts (or for yourself)!
Choose what you like, add the items to your shopping cart at www.merrymakersinc.com and be sure to add in the code FRIEND12 for 30% off sitewide.
Have fun and feel free to spread the word!
Did you know that it's Picture Book Month? Celebrate by reading a picture book with someone you love.
Also check out the Picture Book Month website for loads of great posts and resources. Every day in November there's a new post from a picture book champion explaining why he/she thinks picture books are important.
Big high fives for all of the folks involved in coordinating this event. You can find out more about them here.
As they say on the site, "Join the celebration and party with a picture book!"
:)