The Mukluk Ball Dance Party

The Book Launch Party on November 17th, 2018 at The Red Balloon Bookshop for THE MUKLUK BALL, by Katharine Johnson and illustrated by Alicia Schwab 2018 Minnesota Historical Society Press. It was not only a success but a blast as well. The kids had a lot of fun. Katharine read the book to them and Alicia danced The Twist with Angela, sales associates. What a ball!  We look forward to doing more events together.

Star Tribune & The Pioneer Press—The Mukluk Ball


Minnesota Flavor
Sunday, November 25th, 2018 Star Tribune article "Picture Books with Minnesota Flavor" by Laurie Hertzel featuring THE MUKLUK BALL, by Katharine Johnson and illustrated by Alicia Schwab. "A young bear sells blueberries to make money for mukluks — and then worries that he'll be hibernating during the midwinter mukluk ball. An entertaining tale of cooperation and fun, with illustrations that place the bear and the dance in a place that looks a whole lot like Ely (MN)."

Other notable Minnesotan Children's Books author and illustrators such as: Mary Cassanova, Stephanie Watson, Marion Dane Bauer, Cori Doerrfeld, Katharine Johnson, Alicia Schwab, Elizabeth Verdick, Laura Purdie Salas, Mélina Mangal, and Alexs Pate. Here in Minnesota we have a rich literary community with lots of talent and meaningful voices.

December Midwest Connection Picks
The Midwest Independent Booksellers Association listed THE MUKLUK BALL for its Midwest connections. Both the author and illustrator live in Minnesota, and the book is set in a snowy Northwoods setting. Karhu the bear wants to go to the Mukluk Ball. He will need mukluks, dance moves, and someone to wake him up from hibernation. Will the Ball live up to Karhu's dreams? The music and fellowship filling Finn Town Hall might just make for the best night of his life. Read more

Top 60 Books Guide
The Mukluk Ball is also listed on Star Tribune's online Holiday Books article: "Your Guide to nearly 60 books to give (and love) over the holidays"  THE MUKLUK BALL made the top 10 Picture Books in this article! Read more

Teachable Moments
THE MUKLUK BALL,
by Katharine Johnson,
illus. Alicia Schwab
October 7th, 2018 The Pioneer Press also featured THE MUKLUK BALL in this article: "New Books Provide Teachable Moments for Young Readers — and Fun! Put this “up north” picture book at the top of your Christmas gift list. It is one of the most joyful tales (tails?) of the season. Karhu, the bear, tells his owl friend Zazaa that this is the year he’s going to the Mukluk Ball, Finn Town’s liveliest winter event. But he has to earn money to buy mukluks, so he picks blueberries and sells them at the Blueberry Festival. It’s $2 “for a PAW-ful” that comes with a real bear hug." Read more

Dance Like Nobody Is Watching


On October 27th, 2018 Katharine Johnson, her husband Dale and I drove up to Ely from their home near Duluth, MN. We went to our picture book launch for THE MUKLUK BALL at Steger Mukuluks in Ely.

After a warm welcome we held our book event and had so much fun. Katharine read the story to the children and I got the kids to dance!

In the book, during the Mukluk Ball, Karhu the bear and Millie the do-si-do champion made up a new dance called The Bear Hug Twist. I showed the kids some dance moves and then I had them make up three dance moves to combine into our very own Bear Hug Twist. We twizzled and hopped, some in shoes and others in boots. The kids were great and now they are ready to dance with Karhu the bear.

The Mukluk Store is featured in THE MUKLUK BALL, Karhu the bear wants his own pair of Mukluks to wear to the Mukluk Ball. Karhu picks blueberries and sells them with bear hugs at the blueberry festival to earn money for his new boots. We were astounded by our own good fortune. Steger's was very generous and gave Katharine and I each a pair of boots! I have never had such nice, comfortable boots. And they were very supportive of our book. What a wonderful way to begin the long cold season with beautiful, warm mukluks!

Writing and Illustrating Books on Craft


Over the years, after going to countless SCBWI Children's Books Writing and Illustrating Conferences and Workshops, I have assembled this large list of books on craft. Please share with me your favorite books on craft in the comments. Check out my blog post: Paths to Publication on the different ways to get your book produced for readers.

Writing Craft

A Kick in the Head, by Paul B. Janeczko

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott

Characters and Viewpoint, by Orson Scott Card

Crafting Stories for Children, Nancy Lamb

Picture Writing, Anatasia Suen

What’s Your Story: A Young Person’s Guide to Writing Fiction, Marion Dane Bauer

Writing it Right, by Sandy Asher

Writing Picture Books, by Ann Whitford Paul

Illustration Craft

Cartoon Animation, by Preston Blair

Children’s Picturebooks–The Art of Visual Storytelling, by M. Salisbury and M. Styles

Comic and Sequential Art, by Will Eisner

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards

Drawn to Life, by Walt Stanchfield

Expressive Anatomy for Comics and Narrative, by Will Eisner

Film Directing—Shot by Shot, by Stephen D. Katz

Illustrating Children’s Books, by Martin Salisbury

Picture Book Primer, by Denise I. Matulka

Picture This! by Molly Bang

Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Feature Shorts, by Nancy Beiman

The Art of Animal Character Design, by David Colman

Writing with Pictures, by Uri Shulewitz

Author and Illustrator Platform and Social Media

Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market

Create Your Writer Platform, by Chuck Sambuchino

Get Known Before the Book Deal, by Christina Katz
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Kid Tested. Kid Approved.

Today, Katharine Johnson and I signed our book, THE MUKLUK BALL. We sold out of books before the morning was over at the @MNHSPress booth during the MEA Convention #meamn18 for Minnesota teachers. educationminnesota.org 

It has been such a blast working with Katharine and the Minnesota Historical Society Press on this book launch. Pre-order your copy here!

We got to meet and greet lots of great teachers today. Minnesota has many wonderful teachers and they are part of what makes this state a nice place to live. Thank you teachers for all your hard work and sharing THE MUKLUK BALL with your students!

Pioneer Press Article — The Mukluk Ball

link to article

New books provide teachable moments for young readers – and fun! 

by Mary Ann Grossmann

PICTURE BOOKS

“The Mukluk Ball” by Katharine Johnson, illustrated by Alicia Schwab (Minnesota Historical Society Press, $16.95.) Put this “up north” picture book at the top of your Christmas gift list. It is one of the most joyful tales (tails?) of the season. Karhu, the bear, tells his owl friend Zazaa that this is the year he’s going to the Mukluk Ball, Finn Town’s liveliest winter event. But he has to earn money to buy mukluks, so he picks blueberries and sells them at the Blueberry Festival. It’s $2 “for a PAW-ful” that comes with a real bear hug.
Karhu laces up his mukluks and learns to dance; Millie twirls him in a polka; Mary Ann the librarian shows him the boogie-woogie, and Inga the folksinger teaches him the chachacha. But Karhu has a problem. The ball is in January and he can’t stay awake. So he takes a nap snug in his den until Zazaa wakes him to go to the ball, where the Finn Hall band plays and Karhu “twirled and whirled, twizzled and spun” until he fell asleep on Inga’s shoulder. It takes the Shagawa Square Dancers to take him to their bus and then he is pulled home on a dog sled.
Back home, Karhu snored and dreamed of dancing. His toes tapped in time to the music of the Mukluk Ball.
Author Johnson says she  wears mukluks all winter in Cloquet. Illustrator Schwab, who lives in Minneapolis, calls this a super fun project for which “I danced and listened to a lot of music to fall into the rhythm of the book’s illustrations.” Her colorful, muscular pictures leave no doubt this is a northern Minnesota story, from the log cabin-style buildings to Karhu’s den (with a round window), rabbits tobogganing, and happy dogs pulling the sleeping bear on the sled. Even the endpapers are covered with colorful floral designs and different pairs of mukluks. There’s lots of hugging and happiness in this book that will make readers of all ages smile.
Johnson and Schwab will launch their book at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, at Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., St. Paul.

The Mukluk Ball, by Katharine Johnson and illustrated by Alicia Schwab

I am very excited to spill the beans! I've illustrated the picture book, THE MUKLUK BALL by Katharine Johnson to be released fall 2018.

It was a super, fun project! I danced and listened to a lot of music to fall into the rhythm of the book illustrations.

David Geister

My friend

David Geister

 has been painting a series of three "World War One America" murals at the

Minnesota History Center

 in St. Paul for months. In this photo, you can see him work on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. His pictures are full of the notable people during 1914-1918. Albert Einstein, Walt Disney and William Randolph Hearst are just some of the famous portraits that fill his paintings.

And David is such a great guy he handed me his painting palette and let me take a crack at his painting! President Woodrow Wilson stands in front of the memorial, next to Teddy Roosevelt.

Here I am painting the collar of 

Mary Pickford, America’s first sweetheart of silent film. The blue shadow just to the left of her chin looks out of place but he coached me on how to transition the values on the collar.

It is such a treat to see his work up close and in progress. There are so many figures to work on. Bravo, David!

Dwarf Nose, by Wilhelm Hauff

Here is the final art I made with the deliciously sinister Herbwise (herb) fairy from Dwarf Nose, a classic fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff, with rich unforgettable characters and suspenseful turns. The main character, Jacob is cursed after insulting a wicked fairy at the market. The outlandish spell she casts on him will change his life forever. After seven years of hard labor, Jacob escapes his curse only to changed into Dwarf Nose. He must labor seven more years to break the curse and be reunited with his family. 

Emily Taylor

My dear friend Emily Taylor's passing is already a month ago. I miss her smile, art, critiques, and her enthusiasm for life. Emily taught art at a local community center and was giving person right to the end. She was a regular participant at the monthly MN SCBWI critique group meet-up in Edina, MN. I enjoyed collaborating with her and our friends at an illustrator retreat with in Grand Marais, MN in May, 2017. It seems so long ago now. I know she is in a better place. All my love, Alicia

Mice Are Nice

I painted a series of mice going on an adventure in the woods. I grew up in the lush wooded hills of southern Wisconsin where spent many happy hours wandering the woods, building forts with my brother and sister. I love to the feel of earth between my toes.

 In these paintings, I had a lot of fun with the mark making in the negative space.

Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota

Yesterday was a book adventure! I took part in a tour of the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota. If you ever want to explore a hidden Twin Cities treasure, this is the place! 90 feet below the ground floor of the Anderson Library on the UofM lies an archival collection of books, manuscripts, sketches and other collectibles, that spans an area of 2 football fields.

Down, down, down the elevator we go, past the stalactites and into the caverns containing the stacks of priceless collections.








First draft of Because Of Winn Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo http://www.katedicamillo.com/books/bowd.html


















After the tour, we were able to view original paintings for GOODNIGHT MOON, by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd.



We also got to look at the sketches, dummies and 3d final art for BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY, by Melissa Sweet, winner of the Robert F. Sibert Medal.




What a treat that was. That was not my first or last trip to the Kerlan. I feel very lucky to have such easy access to a place like that!