Children’s Author Talks Inspiration & Comic Book-ing
A book festival in Gaithersburg, Maryland might seem an unpredictable southern detour for a cartoonist turned children’s book author originally from Anchorage, Alaska, but as I’ve always been quick to point out, mildly frozen is no way to go through life!
Heeding that advice, I now reside happily on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., with my wife, two young daughters, and one very stubborn beagle.
With that said, I’m pleased to be in attendance at this year’s Gaithersburg Book Festival with my latest children’s book, “The Teeniest Tiniest Yawn.”
After so many years spent cartooning and creating content for grown-ups, I’m often asked what drew me to the world of children’s books. Of course, the arrival of my own children played a natural role, but there’s also a certain joy in knowing just how much a book can mean to a child.
Consider this: As grown ups, we may occasionally fall asleep with a favorite book still accidentally in hand as we nod off for the night, but a child will consciously decide in advance (often with great urgency) what books they should lovingly clutch as the lights go out, and therein lies the beautiful difference.
In creating “The Teeniest Tiniest Yawn,” I tried to remain mindful of this. The result was a 36-page picture book designed to stimulate language, sense of rhyme, and most of all, attempt to reinforce the tremendous fun of reading through soaring colorful landscapes and a whimsical cast of characters caught in their quest to stop a runaway yawn.
Come on by and see for yourself. I’ll be set up in the Children’s Village Hall of Authors from 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., and will be raffling off an 11 x 17 signed and framed full-color spread from the book’s interior while I’m there.
Be sure to stop by to say hello and enter to win. If you have little ones, bring them all by. We can talk books, cartooning, or if you’d like, we can just talk about glaciers!
Don’t have a copy of “The Teeniest Tiniest Yawn” yet? It can be purchased in hardcover directly from Amazon or at my booth at the Gaithersburg Book Festival.
You can find Andrew on Twitter at @AndrewZettler.