Tuesday, November 13th, 2012
Come to the Last DRAGON Event
This Saturday at Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis
The dragon events are quickly coming to an end. I've been waking up dragons in schools, libraries and bookstores in seven states. This Saturday is the last event on the tour. Signed books make the BEST holiday gifts. This is your chance to get signed books for the children in your life.
Come by Wild Rumpus this Saturday. If you get there by 1:00pm, you can check out some serious DRAGON fun! I'll be reading Waking Dragons, doing a drawing demonstration and I might even bring a trick or two. Come by and say hello!
Saturday, November 17th
1:00pm
Wild Rumpus Books
2720 West 43rd Street
Minneapolis, MN 55410
612-920-5005
See you Saturday!
Monday, November 5th, 2012
Derek and the DRAGONS
in Ames, Iowa
this Saturday, November 10th!
I'm bringing the dragons home to Ames, Iowa! Come for some Dragony fun this Saturday! I'll be reading my new book Waking Dragons and doing a drawing demonstration at the Iowa State University Book Store (in the Memorial Union) at 10:30am. And I'll be at the Ames Public Library at 2:00pm that afternoon. This will be the last event in the auditorium at the Ames Public Library for a while. They're closing their doors soon for extensive renovations. Please come by and say hello!
Saturday, November 10th
10:30am
Iowa State University Bookstore
(Memorial Union)
515-294-5684
2:00pm
Ames Public Library
515 Douglas Ave.
515-239-5656
See you Saturday!
Wednesday, October 31st, 2012
The WAKING DRAGONS Tour
is Coming to Red Balloon Bookshop
this Saturday, November 3rd!
I've traveled with these dragons far and wide. And I'm bringing them back to the Twin Cities this Saturday, November 3rd for a very special book launch party. Everybody's invited! It begins at 10:15am- the fabulous Sara Waters (an amazing storyteller) will be doing a fun storytime with some of my earlier books and then at 10:30am I will present my new book Waking Dragons! I will be reading, drawing and visiting with dragon enthusiasts of all ages. So bring your young readers by for a fun morning:
Saturday, November 3rd
10:15am- A special storytime with Sara Waters
10:30am- Derek presents Waking Dragons!
Red Balloon Bookshop
891 Grand Avenue
St. Paul, MN
651-224-8320
See you Saturday!
Tuesday, October 16th, 2012
The WAKING DRAGONS Book Tour
I'm taking these dragons on the road (and hoping their fire breath will make it through security okay)! Over the coming weeks, I'll be in bookstores, libraries and schools in Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa speaking about my brand new book Waking Dragons.
I'm counting on your to help get the word out!
If you live in or near one of these cities, I would love to meet you and your young readers. If you don't have young readers, come anyway. We're going to have a lot of DRAGON fun.
These are the events that are open to the public...
October 20th
Books by the Banks Book Festival
Duke Energy Center
Cincinnati, OH
October 22nd
4:30pm
Left Bank Books
399 North Euclid
St. Louis, MO
October 24th
7pm
Fundamentals Parent Teacher Bookstore
25 West Winter Street
Delaware, OH
October 25th
7pm
Anderson's Bookstore
123 West Jefferson Avenue
Naperville, IL
October 26th
4pm
Boswell's Bookstore
2559 N. Downer Ave.
Milwaukee, WI
October 29th
7pm
Ann Arbor District Library
Malletts Creek
Ann Arbor, MI
October 30th
6:30pm
Nicola's Bookstore
Westgate Shopping Center
2513 Jackson Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI
November 3rd
10:30am
(Come at 10:15am for a special early storytime with
Sara Waters featuring Derek's other books)
Red Balloon Bookshop
891 Grand Ave.
St. Paul, MN
November 10th
10:30am - ISU Book Store (Memorial Union)
2:00pm - Ames Public Library
Ames, IA
November 17th
1:00pm
Wild Rumpus Books
2720 West 43rd Street
Minneapolis, MN
See you soon!
Friday, October 12th, 2012
Fun with Dragons...
The Dragon Countdown has Begun,
Another Dragony Review,
and a Downloadable Activity Sheet
Waking Dragons comes out in a little more than a week! The BIG Dragony Book Tour begins at the Books by the Banks Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday, October 20th. I'll look forward to seeing you young budding knights and dragon-wakers there. The rest of the schedule is coming sooner than soon!
In other Dragon news, we received another fun review this week. Many thanks to the folks at Booklist, here's a little gem from their writeup...
"...this delightful offering interweaves fun fantasy and familiar getting-ready routines in an entertaining, enjoyable read that’s great for budding knights, dragon buffs, and caregivers alike."
To read the full review, please click HERE.
And we have a Waking Dragons activity sheet! These are great for your up-and-coming artists, or if you're having an in-store, library or school event. Download it, print it and engage your young reader in the world of Waking Dragons! Just click the words DRAGON FUN (or on the picture above).
Friday, October 5th, 2012
The Dragon Reviews
My apprentice, Louie, is SO excited that Waking Dragons will be published soon! There are a few critics that are excited, too. Here's what the critics are saying about Waking Dragons...
From Publishers Weekly
" ...With cinematic framing, sculptural shapes, a strong sense of physical comedy, and a fittingly medieval palette of saturated jewel tones, Anderson (the Little Quack series) portrays his horned dragons as hulking slugabeds who morph into surprisingly nimble winged beasts. The young knight scampers around their massive bodies like a practiced mountain climber, willing to risk getting stomped for the reward of having the ultimate lift to Knight School."
From School Library Journal
"What a treat when Yolen employs her fantasy-writing talents for the younger set... Anderson’s familiar golden-washed cartoon paintings embellish the humor. Details like a fire extinguisher labeled “In case of dragon breath,” as well as the dragons’ flying goggles, mean this story’s popularity will spread like fire."
From Kirkus Reviews
"Yolen... keeps the energetic beat throughout. Anderson’s bright acrylic illustrations round out the spare text with many added details and guffaws. Morning-routine stories abound, but for the very young this one bounces with exuberance."
I didn't even have to bribe them! To read the full reviews, click HERE.
Waking Dragons will be in stores October 23rd.
Friday, September 28th, 2012
The Art of Finishing
"To begin is the most important part of any achievement."
I'm not going to disagree with the great philosopher. He's right, beginning is very important. You can't accomplish anything if you don't begin. But there's a little more to achievement than that.
I ran into an old acquaintance recently. He's a guy I've never known well, but we always talk about art when we run into one another. Though I've never seen his artwork, he told me once that he paints. When I saw him, I asked how his painting was coming and he said he still hadn't finished anything. It's always puzzling to me when I hear an artist say that they don't finish their work. If you're an artist, a writer or a creator of anything, you have to begin. Beginning is a great act of courage. It's proclaiming to the muses that you've heard their song. You are undertaking the ultimate act of the human spirit... creation. You are an artist intent on making something. Whether or not you show your work to anyone is up to you. But one thing is absolutely crucial- you have to finish it.
What would it be like if you were listening to a song on the radio and it just stopped without any ending whatsoever because the musician didn't know how to end it? Or what if the architect that was designing your house didn't know what the back should look like so he left it off completely? What if you were reading a novel and the final pages were left blank because the author didn't know how to complete it? This doesn't happen because musicians, architects and authors have cleared hurdles. They've written songs that didn't work, made plans for homes that couldn't be built and finished stories that were unreadable. And they learned from every one of them. It's part of developing your craft. You're a creator. If you're going to be bold enough to undertake this journey, you have to summon the courage to finish the work. Maybe you'll get it wrong. It's okay if you do, it's part of creating. You'll learn from it and you'll do better on your next attempt. But until you've both begun and finished a lot of bad art, you'll never become good at creating it.
Friday, September 21st, 2012
Breakfast with Dragons!
Plus... There will be a DRAGON Book Tour!
And the First Review!
I just returned from the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association conference in Denver, Colorado. I spoke to an audience of bright-eyed booksellers at the Children's Book Breakfast on Thursday morning. We had a great time discussing knights, the proper way to wake dragons and creativity.
Get ready, dragon friends- I will be hitting the road in October to read, draw and talk about my new book Waking Dragons. Book events are always so much fun- they're a chance to meet and chat with young readers out in the world. I'll have more details about specific times and locations very soon, but here's the list of cities I'll be visiting in late October and early November...
Cincinnati, OH
Delaware, OH
St. Louis, MO
Naperville, IL
Ann Arbor, MI
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis, MN
Ames, IA
And-- Here's a little taste of School Library Journal's review of Waking Dragons...
"What a treat when Yolen employs her fantasy-writing talents for the
younger set... Anderson’s familiar golden-washed cartoon paintings
embellish the humor. Details like a fire extinguisher labeled 'In case
of dragon breath,' as well as the dragons’ flying goggles,
mean this story’s popularity will spread like fire."
Friday, September 14th, 2012
The First Dragon Book!
I received a very special package from my publisher last week. As you've probably guessed, it takes a long time to make a book. It takes countless hours in the studio- both at the drawing table and easel. It takes sketching and scribbling, and getting things wrong before I get them right. It takes obstacles, fussing, fretting and breakthroughs on a weekly, if not daily basis. It takes thousands of little decisions about story, characters, details and color. And when it's all finished, a day comes when I get to see all of that hard work collected, printed and bound in one book.
That finished book is always a surprise. It doesn't matter that I've seen it every step of the way. After finishing the paintings and sending them to my publisher, I get to see the layouts and design work the art director brings to it. I get to see the rounds of proofs while we're correcting color for print. I get to see the "F&G" (short for "fold and gather" which is a printed, unbound book). But there's nothing quite like holding a finished, bound book for the first time. There's something about seeing everything together in one perfect package and feeling the weight of it in your hands that makes all those months of work worth it. Waking Dragons came out beautifully. I can't wait to share it with our young readers out in the world.
