“Let’s,” I replied. In case you didn’t already know, you know now who keeps me in check. And busy.

There is much I want to share from the past couple months! Where to begin?

I’ll start with Hattiesburg, Mississippi…I was very fortunate to attend the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival (WOW, AMAZING!!!) where I received the Ezra Jack Keat’s New Illustrator’s Award and faced my biggest fear of speaking in public — one planned speech and one surprise-to-me-speech (gulp) in front of authors I admire ten-fold and hundreds of librarians. I think I did ok, but most importantly, I survived.

ALSO, I…

- drooled over Ezra Jack Keat’s original art. OMG!!!! I learned SO much in that hour of staring UP-close!

- am treasuring this book, a gift from my new friends in Hattiesburg. Deborah Pope also read a heartfelt letter from her father, Martin Pope, who was best friends with Ezra since they were kids. You can read Marin’s words here.

- toured the outrageous de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection (whoa–an impressive treasure!). the highlight was a 50ft + (?) long fabric collage mural by Esphyr Slobodkina!! I would love to create a huge mural someday and when I do, I’ll look to this for inspiration!

- was hosted by some lovely, lovely people (!!), and soaked up inspiration, wisdom and stories from extraordinary children’s book authors!

- scratched hashmarks of some 30-something times I was ‘hit’ by surprise from tidal waves of goosebumps during the talks. So much of Jane Yolen’s talk is still playing in my head. I’ve also got Jane’s  “The Alphabetics of Story” on my mind.

- geeked out with librarians :) and loved spending time with the other award winners!  Meg, Micha, and Nicola and I shared about art, writing, inspirations and motherhood.

- was beyond excited to meet Anita Silvey and hear her lecture on the history of the American Picture Book. I am hooked on her Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac!

Can you tell I had a wonderful time?! It was awesome having Patrick and Tulsi with me, too, and this photo reflects how grateful and energized, inspired and dreamy I felt (and still feel). Weeeeee!

I want to sing out a thank you song to so many people who have helped this book come alive, who believed in me and cheered me on, (and who supported me while I worked on it, creatively and physically!): my husband Patrick and Tulsi, my amazing editor and book guru Christy Ottaviano and my wonderful AD Patrick Collins and designer April Ward, my rockin’ agents Jo-Lynne Worley and Joanie Shoemaker, my Mom (who came to play with Baby T while I painted my heart out) and Dad (always my biggest fans), my sister Renee (!), Neeru Dhakal and my Sunshine School Family in Nepal, my book gal friends, and countless little friends across the oceans and at home who inspired this story. This is yours, too!

This is a description from the full press release:

“Fifty years ago, Ezra’s book The Snowy Day, which featured an African American child, broke the color barrier in mainstream children’s book publishing when it was embraced by families across racial, economic and ethnic lines,” said Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. “Like Ezra, this year’s Book Award winners have, in their own way, celebrated the similarities—and differences—of people whose life experiences are dramatically varied.

The Book Award was created to acknowledge and encourage budding children’s book authors and illustrators who impart Ezra Jack Keats’ values—the universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family and the multicultural nature of our world.”

I have been a fan of Ezra Jack Keats since I was young and dreaming of making children’s books! I really admire him as an illustrator and a person, and I am inspired by his books and mixed-media experimentations. Plus, we are both Polish! Hee. :) Thanks everyone for ALL your encouragement over the years and for letting me share this FUN news! I am playing “hard” to bring some new books to you.

And a big congrats to Meg Medina for winning the New Authors Medal! Patrick, Tulsi and I are looking forward to the ceremony on April 12 in Mississippi!

A few months ago, I shared my new picture book, Same, Same but Different, with my long-time client Karen Capp of Oopsy Daisy Fine art for Kids. She had an idea to host a craft to connect young artists with my book and my travel-inspired Oopsy Daisy art, while encouraging children to create art about our world — just as Elliot and Kailash share with each other in my book. In addition, Karen generously decided to make it a contest for kids and schools giving away several of my Oopsy Daisy canvases and signed copies of my books as prizes!

Children 12 and under are invited to submit their art for the random drawing. Parents and teachers, this art project can be a great conversation starter for learning more about geography and world cultures, or even starting a pen pal exchange. And Teachers, please note there is a special prize for the school with the most participants!

So, how to play? Look around you. What colors YOUR world? What do you love? What sounds do you hear? What makes your world unique from Elliot and Kailash’s and other kids around the world? Create your own art inspired by an imaginary or real pen pal, your travels or ideas about the people and cultures of our world. Draw, paint or collage a picture of your world, and share it with us. Please include a sentence explaining the child’s drawing. I posted the craft on Oopsy Daisy’s blog. The official contest guidelines and instructions are on their “Budding Artists Contest” page. It runs from today thru March 14th!

Your child’s art can be SIMPLE! A line drawing, simple shapes collaged to form a picture, watercolor or even finger painting for the toddlers. It could even be drawn words. It’s endless. :) Just have fun! I am excited to see your art and hear your thoughts! And please share with other parents, teachers, librarians, your children’s schools…

To start, Tulsi and I created a picture of “our” world. We are working on another picture of a little girl we are reading about who lives in a very different world than ours (how we imagine her to be). These are just two examples of endless approaches to this prompt.

by Tulsi Shaw and Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw Tulsi
In our world, 3 baby chicks are riding on their mama’s back or hiding under her wings. Little Red Rooster is singing, we are dancing outside in our garden, and the Milky Way shines right over our house.

To celebrate, I’m signing and sending two books out from here WAY back in May (sorry, I’m late with this). The names I drew are: Kati and Jenn, who I’ll be emailing. Yay! I hope you and your sweet wee ones enjoy the book. More Same, Same but Different giveaways are happening online from now until the end of the year so keep your eyes open. :) Illustration Friday is hosting the first one here but hurry — it ends this evening (Monday).

Thanks for all of your shared excitement and support everyone!

I am not embarrassed to say I had several moments of being emotionally overwhelmed during the night. It was dreamy! I got choked up when they played Tomi Ungerer‘s acceptance video for the Lifetime Achievement Award from his home in France (we are big fans of Mr. Ungerer’s Moon Man and Crictor and more). He is just as charming as his books! Ok, even more. :) Robert McCloskey (another book creator we love) also received the Lifetime Achievement Award, accepted by his daughters. Lane Smith, Kadir Nelson and Rosalyn Schanzer were award winners, too, and WELL deserved! What an honor to be included in this incredibly talented crowd! I was in awe, and of course humbled, and gratefully energized and inspired.

I did not have my camera, only my ipod, and I only managed to snap a handful of pieces. Still, I thought you’d enjoy these and wandering the artists’ websites. Top row: Melissa Sweet: Balloons Over Broadway, Carin Berger: The Green Mother Goose. 2nd Row: Oliver Jeffers: STUCK, William Joyce: The Man in the Moon, David Wiesner: ART&MAX, Calef Brown: His Shoes Were Far Too Tight, Tom Lichtenheld: Cloudette. Bottom Row: me :) from Same, Same but Different and yes, that is me on a subway — so different then the forest! Seeing original book art makes me want to create more books. And to experiment with medium, scale and even create some images with collage alone.

As you can imagine, I want to get ALL the books featured in the show for my library! Ha. Patrick would cut my credit card in half for sure! I did, however, purchase a few, and I am madly in love with them! I highly recommend these:  Melissa Sweet’s Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade, Lane Smith’s Grandpa Green, Maurice Sendak’s Bumble Ardy, and Jon Klassen‘s I Want My Hat Back. Really though, if you are interested, GO SEE THE SHOW! AND, check out the list of artists/books featured!

The show is up until the end of the year at the Society of Illustrators in NYC. I think the show is such a gift to the public — not only fellow illustrators, but to kids and parents. To view the book as the art it is, adds a whole new dimension and appreciation to the artist and art form!

My new picture book came out in stores yesterday! I am presently soaking in the hot springs on a much needed vacation en route to my first bookstore event.

I have events planned in Taos, Santa Fe, Durango, Boulder, Denver, Kansas City, Omaha, St. Louis and NYC, and I would LOVE to see you! Bring your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, little friends, or simply YOU.

If you’d like your very own copy and you live in one of these cities, I think it’s REALLY groovy to support your LOCAL, independent bookseller! :)

Come celebrate with me! Masala chai for all! And please spread the fun — Share with anyone you know who lives in these cities!!

Saturday, Sept 17, 10AM
MARIA’S BOOKSHOP, Durango, CO
A joint reading/signing with author Uma Krishnaswami!
Masala chai, curry puffs, and a craft for kids!
970-247-1438

Saturday, Sept 24, 11AM
TWIRL TOY STORE, TAOS, New Mexico
Reading/signing, craft for kids, masala chai and treats, and twirl-fun!
575-751-1402

Saturday, Oct 1, 11AM
BOULDER BOOKSTORE, Boulder, CO
Reading/signing, craft for kids and masala chai
303-447-2074

Saturday, Oct 1, 3PM
TATTERED COVER, (Highland Ranch Store) DENVER, CO
Reading/signing, craft for kids
303-470-7050

Sunday, Oct 9, 11 -11:30
4th Annual New Mexico WOMEN AUTHOR’s Book Festival
NM History Museum Campus, Santa Fe, NM

Tuesday, Oct 18, 6:30PM
Reading Reptile, Kansas City,MO

Saturday, Oct 22, 10am
The Bookworm (A joint event with the fabulous Laura Huliska-Beith!), Omaha, NE

Tuesday, Oct 25, 6:30PM
Kirkwood Public Library, St. Louis

Thursday, Oct 26 – Dec 29, Original Art Show at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrator’s, NYC

And, come visit my FB page for my art and events!

The countdown has begun! :) My next book will be in bookstores in just FIVE months — September 13th. And I just got the go-ahead to share the cover art and 3 interior spreads. WoooHOOOOOO!

The two boys become friends thru the mail…with their drawings and musings…and discover beautiful surprises in their “same, same but different” worlds.

You can pre-order it thru your local, independent bookstore or here with Powell’s Books (soon, i hope), or now on Amazon.com here.

I’ve mentioned before that this book has been an epic journey for me. Beautiful in every way. And epic in the way that journeys can take you to wild places in the world and in your heart that gift you with priceless “aha!” moments over and over. The idea for this book first sprouted when I jumped out of my safe, comfy creative-corporate existence and into the unknown, to the other side of the world, facing nearly all my fears head-on. And, also to simply experience ‘something else’ and to connect with little people. There’s a lot more to the story…wandering, love, another book, a baby, becoming a mother, and more…all nourishing food for the soul, and a book! Thanks to ALL my family and friends for their support with this one, and to you, for your patience. Hope you enjoy the visual glimpses…

OH! And with this countdown, I plan on posting all sorts of fun things about this book — PROCESS, Q&A on how to prepare and present your kid’s book for publishing, classroom skype visits, behind the scenes on the making of this book, a book trailer, and more — on the 13th of every month thru September 13th. I will be giving away 6 signed copies, one name chosen from comments on each of these posts. So stay tuned! And leave a comment below. Today’s comment question: WHERE in the world inspires you most, creatively, and how? (art, writing, cooking, music, fashion, etc.) Please share specifics … I’m working on a travel wish list and want to discover new lands!

I need your help. My publisher, Henry Holt, just sent ten copies of my book, My Travelin’ Eye, that I need to find homes for. Perfect timing for the holiday season! I’m looking for ten places to send them to: children’s hospitals who have libraries, a shelter or community center, special ed or art therapy programs, maybe your son or daughter’s ophthalmologist’s office, etc. Basically, a variety of places where a lot of kids are likely to discover and enjoy it. Please leave your suggestion in a comment below, and if a lot more than ten suggestions pile up, I’ll keep them for the future. Thanks!!

Connie Gotsch of the radio show Write On Four Corners here in the SW interviewed me last September about my first book, My Travelin’ Eye. It was finally broadcasted today! I was super nervous and had major morning sickness goin’ on when she called…so I was a bit clumsy with my words at first…but I think it turned out ok. Hope you enjoy it! And thanks, Connie, for having me on your show!

You can listen to the show by going to www.ksje.com — or click here to play the mp3.

I got the coolest belated first mother’s day gift in the mail last week : a one of a kind book entitled, “The Mom Book: Advice for Tulsi’s Mom”, written and illustrated by my niece Katie and her classmates. I was shocked! It’s the best thing to get home made presents, and this one goes down as one of the all time best for me. Last year I visited Truman Elementary in St. Louis. I read My Travelin’ Eye and talked with a few hundred aspiring author/illustrators about how I made my first book. It’s obvious that Katie’s then-Kindergarten-class is passionate about making books! Their words and pictures were sweet, unique, and made me giggle SO much. I know this book is going to help me be the best mom I can be to Tulsi! Thanks Mrs. Creech and all your students!

**ALL of the writing and illustrations are AWESOME. I just couldn’t scan them all in! I LOVED them all. Here are just some… Wouldn’t you agree they are very talented?! Click on image to zoom.