Just an update on what I’ve been working on:

First off, I am very excited to announce that I have a middle grade/YA novel coming out with Candlewick Press in April called SWIM THAT ROCK. It is a coming of age story that takes place in the shellfishing community in Rhode Island. Co-written with my friend of 35 years, and actually the captain of the shellfishing boat I worked on as a child, this is one of the most exciting projects I’ve worked on…ever!

I sent off an early version to Rick Riordan and ask him to give it a read. Here is what he wrote for a blurb for the cover.

“Swim That Rock is a rare catch: a brilliantly crafted, heartwarming story of friendship and family; also a page-turner full of storms, mystery, danger, mobsters and even the odd pirate. Like the New England ‘quahoggers’ in their novel, John Rocco and Jay Primiano know how to bring the nets in full. Humor, adventure, wonderful characters, stakes that matter, and a setting so lovingly described you can taste the salt in the air — Swim That Rock is a savory feast.”

Next up is a book on Greek Mythology written by Rick Riordan. This is a HUGE book (about 400 pages) with over 60 paintings.  Here is a sneak peak at one of the paintings.

And lastly I have been working on a picture book about my childhood experience in the Blizzard of 1978. It hit Rhode Island with about 40 inches of snow and we were snowbound in our homes for almost 9 days.  This will be a companion book to Blackout. This cover is not final yet.

Looking forward to 2014!

In stores this September, my new picture book, written by Jason Carter Eaton and published by Candlewick, has received a track full of wonderful reviews.

Here they are in there entirety.

Kirkus (starred review)

Train and pet enthusiasts alike will delight in this rollicking story about selecting, naming, soothing and caring for a full-sized locomotive.

The information in this “guidebook” is conveyed by a young expert clad in safari shorts, boots and pith helmet, with binoculars strung around his neck; an enormous freight train sits patiently on the other end of his leash. Friends demonstrate what’s involved in pet ownership: A blonde girl with pink fairy wings paints hearts and stars on passenger train “Sparkles,” while an African-American boy observes the dirt a train can track into the house. The recommended method to attract a pet train plays perfectly to kid logic: The tracker awakens early, hiding behind a desert cactus while the engines play. He arouses his subject’s interest with smoke signals, then proceeds to offer lumps of coal, compliments and encouraging “chugga-chuggas.” Rocco’s graphite, digitally colored compositions are a successful blend of striking, painterly spreads (the hero as engineer, speeding through the moonlit night) and humorous cameos. Eaton’s deadpan text allows maximum artistic freedom: “Start with a simple trick…” shows the engine rolling over; “then move on to something a bit harder” depicts Fido jumping through a flaming ring.
With believable expressiveness in the characterizations of the trains and a scale perfect for groups, this affectionate sendup communicates all the exasperation, responsibility and rewards of having a pet. (Picture book. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Styled as a get-to-know-your-pet guide, this manual teaches “everything you need to know to choose, track, and train your very own pet train.” Intricately detailed, digitally colored graphite illustrations picture boys and girls selecting between vintage iron horses and sleek diesel designs. Rocco (Blackout) styles the trains’ headlamps and windshields as friendly eyes and contrasts the engines’ bulk against their tiny doting masters. Wearing a pith helmet and desert gear, a boy narrator lures a steam train with lumps of coal and a “Chugga-chugga, chugga-chugga!” He knows he’s in luck when he hears an answering “Choo-choo!” Eaton (The Day My Runny Nose Ran Away) recommends train names from the ordinary to the hilarious (Nathan, Smokey, and Captain Foofamaloo) and suggests activities and tricks. “How will you know if the train you caught is the one? Don’t worry. You’ll know,” he writes, as a girl in red braids walks slowly along, whistling innocently, as a giant engine peers over a hill. An immersive experience for junior rail fans. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Victoria Sanders & Associates. Illustrator’s agent: Rob Weisbach Creative Management. (Sept.)

School Library Journal (starred review)

PreS-Gr 1–From Thomas the Tank Engine to The Little Engine That Could, kids love personified trains, so it’s not such a huge chug forward to imagine one as a pet. But how do you select, train, and care for your pet engine? Written as a guidebook for new owners, this amusing title incorporates language usually associated with pet ownership and child rearing. “It’s only natural that you’ll want to take home all the trains, but don’t just grab the first one you see. Take your time and choose one that’s right for you.” Juxtaposing sensible tips with the absurdity of a huge pet locomotive creates a text that is at once believable and preposterous. “A warm bath can help calm a nervous train…and few trains can resist a good read-aloud.” But what really makes this concept roar down the track are the entrancing digitally colored illustrations that perfectly capture the expressiveness and playfulness of the pet trains. Whether illustrating the new pet going for a “walk,” performing a trick, or enjoying a playdate with other pet vehicles, the artist has so cleverly incorporated facial features onto the various engines that their distinct personalities shine through, as does the obvious affection children feel for their new pets. Additionally, the large-scale, saturated colors, and comic details of these pictures give young readers a boxcar full to look at and appreciate. From the appealing cover to the final moonlit scene of a boy and his pet steam engine happily chugging down the track, this book is sure to be popular with train and pet lovers alike. –Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library

Booklist (starred review)

As it turns out, a train is not so very different from a dog—at least in the way you train it. Our young narrator, outfitted in pith helmet and kakis, sets the tone: “So you a pet train? Well, of course you do!” He begins at the beginning, showing readers how to find trains (“early steam engines pretty much just sit in a museum”); how to capture a train (smoke signals seem to be the best method); and what to name it (a gallery of pictures shows Smokey and Sir Chugsalot, et.al.) Once a train gets home, it can be soothed by reading aloud and sent to sleepy town by listening to clickity-clack music. And oh, the fun to be had as you teach your new train to fetch or rollover. Eaton’s tongue-in-cheek—and eminently enjoyable text—is matched by Rocco’s smooth and sleek artwork laced with whimsy. A simple sentence like “How does it feel about tunnels and bridges?” results in a cleverly angled spread of a boy pulling his nervous train over a wooden bridge. Despite the human (or is it canine?) sensibility with which the trains are invested, they also seem like real mechanical objects, sturdy, strong, and powerful. Often, they’re set against serene skies with blues and golds that could have come from the brush of Maxwell Parrish. This will get kids rolling.  — Ilene Cooper

The cover for House of Hades, fourth installment of the Bestselling series, Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan has finally been revealed. Rick and I had a long discussion about this one, and when he sent me the manuscript I knew this cover would have to be the “Percabeth” cover. I can’t say much more about it, as you have to read it yourself, but please enjoy some art in the meantime. Below is the full cover that will wrap around the jacket, and also you can see the interior painting for a very special edition of the House of Hades that will be released sometime in October as well.

Big hair is coming to town. Here are the dates, times and locations of my upcoming Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom book tour!  I hope to see you at one of these events.  And if you want a signed copy and can’t make it to the event, I will be sure to sign extras at each store so they should have them in stock afterwards.

Wed May 15- -Children’s Book World, Los Angeles CA  10:30 am (school event)

Tues May 21– Barnes & Noble,  Glendale CA   6:30 pm

Wed May 22– Vroman’s Bookshop, Pasadena CA  10:30am

Thurs May 23- -Blue Willow Bookstore, Houston TX  5:00pm

Friday May 24- -Mills Elementary School, Austin TX  9:00 am (school event)

Friday May 24- -Twig Bookshop, San Antonio TX  5:00pm

Tues May 28– St. Louis County Library, St. Louis, MO  7:00pm

Wed May 29- -Children’s Book World, Haverford PA  (contact store for time)

Thur May 30- -Book Expo America, Javits Center, NYC  3:00pm  (in the autograph area)

Friday May 31- -Book Expo America, Javits Center, NYC  9:30pm  (I will be signing copies of How to Train A Train)

Saturday June 1– Books of Wonder, NYC 12:00-2pm

Sunday June 2- -PowerHouse Arena, DUMBO Brooklyn, NY  4:00pm-

Monday June 3– Clinton Book Shop, Clinton NJ  4:00pm

Tues June 4- -Anderson’s Bookshop, Downers Grove IL  7:00pm

Wed June 5 OR Thursday June 6- -Hicklebees, 4pm (Check with the store to see which day)

Friday June 7- Books Inc, Alameda CA 4:30pm

Saturday June 8- The Reading Bug, San Carlos CA (school event)

Hope to see you in my travels!

I just found out, my brand new book SUPER HAIR-O and the Barber of Doom will be published in Spain in two languages; spanish and catalan.  So with that exciting news I had to also post that my book, BLACKOUT has officially been published in  eight languages!  I have examples of seven, as the French edition was sitting on my doorstep this morning.  It has been published in Korean, Spanish, French, Catalan, Japanese, Chinese and English.  I forget what the eighth language was (Cantonese?) but I imagine I will get another surprise package on my doorstep.

One illustration annual that I collect is the Spectrum illustration annual of Fantastic Art.  People have told me to enter for years, and I’ve usually resisted entering contests.  I’ve only entered a handful over the years. Once or twice to Society of Illustrators without success. Once to 3×3 with success, and once to Society of Illustrators Los Angeles ( a silver medal in Children’s Book illustration). Well, I finally decided that many of the illustrators that I really like were finding there way into Spectrum, so I decided it was time I threw my hat into the ring. The result was that this piece, originally created for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators magazine cover, was accepted into Spectrum 20.  I am very happy about it.

The Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association has bestowed a Golden Archer Award on Blackout.  This award is voted on by students so it is extra special to me. I won for the “Primary” category, and Jeff Kinney won for the “Intermediate” and Suzanne Collins for the “middle/Jr High School” category.  Some past winners in the “Primary” Category include: Chris Van Allsburg, Mo Willems, Melanie Watt and David Shannon.

THANKS TO ALL THE KIDS FROM WISCONSIN WHO VOTED!

I have just uploaded a bunch of new art to Imagekind. Imagekind is a great place to get the very best quality art prints. They print everything on museum quality paper with archival inks, just like I do in my own studio. The prices are very reasonable and you can choose from hundreds of matting and framing options if you would like.

When creating the poster for the Princeton Children’s book festival, I decided to draw the elements separately and then combine them in the computer and add the color underneath.

Here is the final painting. And below are the separate elements that were drawn in pencil.

Here is the final composited drawing…

And finally, here is the digital color that was painted underneath the graphite drawings.

Here is the poster I designed for the Princeton Children’s Book Festival using characters from my upcoming release SUPER HAIR-O and the Barber of Doom.

Here is a test painting for a book that I am working on right now.  Just trying to figure out the right approach for this one. I created this with pencil, watercolor and digital.   I’ve never done a winter book, and this one is called BLIZZARD.  It’s about my experience as a kid in the Blizzard of 78′  that rocked New England.  We were hit with 48″ in 24 hours and the entire state of Rhode Island shut down for 9 days.  More to come on this one as it moves forward. 

This is a character study for a book I have in development. It was drawn in pencil on bristol paper. The color was added digitally.

November of last year, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, 300 Appalachian Power Employees in West VA. read my book Blackout to over 400 schools and donated a copy to their libraries.

In Maine yesterday, Central Maine Power donated copies of Blackout to over 600 schools in its service territory.

I find wonderful irony in this.  I also love that all of these schools will have copies of my book.

Okay Con Edison, the gauntlet has been thrown. 

To get ready for their upcoming AFC championship game against the Ravens, Patriots running back, Stevan Ridley decides to read my book BLACKOUT to children.

Okay, those of you who know me well, know that I am huge Patriots fan. Growing up in Rhode Island you don’t have much of a choice. So when I found this picture of Patriot Stevan Ridley reading one of my books during a charity event I was thrilled. Not sure it will make him play any better, but at least I know that he sure has good taste in picture books.  Go Pats!

I recently had a retrospective exhibition at the Orlando Museum of Art in Florida. The show had over one hundred paintings and drawings from my picture books and book jackets. (more info and pictures coming soon.)