Ready or Not!

I worked on a book last January for Viking that was written by Jill Abramson and Jane O'Connor. Jill is the Executive Editor of the New York Times and her sister is the author of many children's books, including the Fancy Nancy Books. Ready or Not, Here Comes Scout! is about Jill's puppy, a goofy and over-eager, cream-colored Golden Retriever and her adventures at the dog park.

I go to the dog park every day. I have my own goofy, over-eager Airedale Terrier named Mack, who demands time with his dog buddies, so the book seemed like a perfect fit for me. The hard part was that it was on a fast track to get published and ride the coat-tails of Jill's adult book called Puppy Diaries, that had just been released. 

Now that the book is out and on the book shelves, I have forgotten all the late nights and panic to make the publisher's deadlines. But, I have not forgotten Scout. I am currently working on two new books about Scout. Written by Jill and Jane, they are Level Two readers for Penguin. 

©Deborah Melmon

It's fun to work on books that are a series. Obvisously, because the character is already worked out, it is much easier and quicker to get started. And a second book gives you a chance to get better. I feel like we're just hitting our stride!

A Doggy Christmas

Here is some art I made for my girlfriends in Bible study. We each have a dog and I was inspired one day by a doodle I had done of Kassie the Collie when she was visiting at my house.

Well, one thing led to another and I used the characters I drew of each of the dogs and created a repeat pattern for gift wrap and gave each dog a toy wrapped in the paper this week for Christmas. The dogs loved it! :)

The wrap was quick and dirty and not particulary Christmassy, but with the characters on separate layers and the wonders of photoshop, I decided to group them together in a Christmas card.

My dog is the Airedale named Mack. He came to me as a rescue in June. I drove up to Oregon from the Bay Area to pick him up, trusting the rescue group who told me he was a really good dog. Here is a picture of what he looked liked when I first saw him. Oh, he was skinny! We took two days to drive home and he slept the entire way he was so exhausted from running as a stray for who knows how long.

Well, here he is today! He has gained 15 pounds and grew in some hair on his legs.

In November we had a new Petco move into our neighborhood and they had a photo shoot special where you could get your dog photographed against a white screen. He is still a puppy and gets very excited if a blade of grass moves, so it wasn't easy to get him to sit for a portrait.

The photographer was sooooo patient and managed to get six great shots of him. Several had to be cropped because I was in the shot holding his rear end down so he wouldn't move. Isn't he cute? What a great dog he has turned out to be.

I dedicate this post:

to dogs..

..because life wouldn't be the same without them.

-in case you are wondering who

the little girl with the

princess Leia hairstyle and stylish orthopedic boots is..

yep, i'ts me.-

Dogs on the Brain

I've been collecting picture books for years. A majority of the books I own have stories that revolve around some kind of animal since this is my most favorite subject matter! This month I'm illustrating a chapter book for Viking about a dog. A mutt really with about six or seven different breeds all mixed up in his motley pedigree. So with dogs on my brain, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite dog books that have been sitting on my bookshelves for years.

Dee Dee, Ol' Ed and Butch used to be Carey's three ordinary, lovable dogs until one day during a solar eclipse his dogs turned into three rather strange people living in his house. Written by Merrill Markoe (former writer for Late Night with David Letterman) and illustrated by Eric Brace who has illustrated many picture books, The Day My Dogs Became Guys still holds up for me even though it was first published in 1999. The stylized dogs and illustrations are hysterical.

Gina Perry's post yesterday about teeny tiny books reminded me of my copy of Babette Cole's Dogs, which is a little pop-up book that is 3-1/2 inches wide. I have this book on display on my shelf. I just love Cole's crazy, quirky style. This book was published in 1995 and although it only has five spreads, it's one of my all time favorites.

And, of course, Babette Cole did Dr. Dog, which I just could not put down when I bought my first copy. When Dr. Dog's entire human family falls sick, this pet beagle saves the day, curing them of head lice, pinworms, and even a case of too much gas....kids love this stuff!

I Want a Dog is one of my latest purchases. I was immediately drawn to it because of the cover. I love the portraits of all these dogs and their cool backgrounds. An adorable story by Austrian artist and school teacher, Helga Bansch, this story has a great solution to the dilemma of wanting a dog, but living in an apartment that is too small for one.

And I'm sure most of you know about Mark Teague and his loyal and misunderstood character "Ike" LaRue. One of my all time favorite illustrators, Mark Teague is also the illustrator of How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?

And finally Chester, by Ayano Imai, a young Japanese artist, is just exquisite with it's soft pallete, eye-catching compositions and attention to detail. This is a sweet story about a dog who finds that his family has forgotten him with their busy lives and sets out to find himself a new home. You can flip through the pages of this entire book on minedition. Have a great weekend everyone! Woof!