A Farm Moment: The Story Behind Barn Yarn
Creativity has a way of snowballing. Our story starts with my wife, Melissa, when she was about six years old, and became fascinated with keys—all keys. Her relatives began giving her their old keys, which Melisa kept in a little box. A month ago we found her key collection while blasting through the attic in […]
Behind the Book: Freak of Nature or Diversity Icon?
When Rachel Merriam, the illustrator for my beginning readers Silly Ruby and Funny Ruby, was trying to create “Ruby,” she first painted a sheep with a white face and white legs. “Looks good,” I said. But the art director wasn’t sure, so asked Rachel to paint a sheep with a black face and black legs. “Looks […]
A Farm Moment: Impatient Sheep
Up here in the north, by April we’re all pressing our noses against the windows, desperate to get outside. Then May arrives and everyone goes from sedentary to crazed—gardening, landscaping, mowing, biking, walking. We’re frenzied. The sheep are just as excited about spring because it means moist, tasty grass. No more dry, boring hay. Our […]