NESCBWI 2013 Conference Recap

I presented a workshop at the NESCBWI Regional Conference this past Saturday, moderating a panel of art directors during an anonymous illustrator's critique. The following gifs serve both as my recap and commentary of my Conference experience.

When I met my amazing panel of art directors:

Finishing my workshop with only a few snags and having no one come at me with pitchforks and torches afterwards:

When I got to the Conference bookstore:

When I saw so many illustrator friends at the Portfolio Showcase:

This year my longtime friend Matthew Althof joined me for his first conference ever. By the end of the day we were both like this:

See you at the hotel bar!

Adelita and the Veggie Cousins Fan Art

These adorable drawings arrived in the mail recently: 

It took me awhile to tell what these were (my first guess was pickles), but then I recognized them with delight: calabacitas! Calabacitas are a type of squash and prominently featured in Adelita and the Veggie Cousins / Adelita y las primas verduritas. I gifted these two artists, nephews of my very good friend, with a copy of the book when I met them during a fabulous vacation in New Hampshire last summer. Both their Dad and their Uncle Matt were painted into the book as children, thanks to some great photographic reference loaned from the family.

Getting fan art, letters, and notes from kids is the best part of this job! Thank you, Alex and Eliot, for bringing a smile to my face! 

Live: My Post for Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros Blog Hop

I hope you've all been reading and commenting along with the Latinas 4 Latino Lit Día Blog Hop!

Head on over to Growing Up Blackxican to read my entry in this series: Encouraging Early Childhood Literacy in the Latino Household, where I relate the vital role my multicultural parents had in the development of my love of reading, books, and eventual career as a children's book illustrator.

Comment to enter the amazing Grand Giveaway of more than 30 Latino children's books for your school or library. Thanks and happy reading!