The Dancing Shoeshine Boy

My first Korean book is out now! Before BIRD, I worked on a picture book for Tantani Media in Seoul, Korea. The book was scheduled to debut two years ago. At one point I didn’t think it would see the light of day, but it is alive and well at Tantani. I’m not sure how … Read more

Brinton Turkle

So, I came across this wonderful book called THE BOY WHO DIDN’T BELIEVE IN SPRING. It is written by Lucille Clifton, and illustrated by Brinton Turkle. Brinton Turkle was born 15 August 1915, in Alliance, Ohio, the son of Edgar Harold (a funeral director) and Ada (Cassaday) Turkle. He attended Carnegie Institute of Technology (now … Read more

Procrastination throwback

Here’s one of my all time fav. pics from an old sketchbook. It’s an experiment in charcoal, pencil, gouache, and gel pen. I eventually want to do more with this type of playfulness. Charcoal is so expressive. I also like what happened here with color and texture. Especially with her GIANT hair! Okay, back to … Read more

Read and Rise

Last year I did work for Scholastic’s Read and Rise e-zine. After many months of patient waiting I finally got word that the magazine is up and running! You can check out AMINAH LOVES ART in issue number 2. While you’re there, make sure you see other wonderful stories and illustrations by many talented artists. … Read more

Booklist Reviews BIRD

Check out the Nov. 1st issue of Booklist to see a lovely review of BIRD 🙂 “In this beautiful picture book for older readers, Elliott and Strickland tell a moving story in spare free verse and clear mixed-media pictures of an African American boy who loves to draw. At first Bird’s mentor is his older … Read more

Congratulations Bean!

I’d like to send a special congratulations out to our good friend, Jonathan Bean for being chosen as this year’s Boston Globe-Horn Book award winner for his picture book, AT NIGHT. You can hear his acceptance speech here.