Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Dean Griffiths May 12,08

Dean Griffiths was born and raised in Duncan, on Vancouver Island. His mother claims that when Dean was a toddler he wouldn’t eat his meals until she read him a story. During his elementary school years he was more interested in drama than
drawing. That all changed when, at the age of 12, he bought a copy of Ironman # 135. Halfway through the comic book, he knew that he wanted to be
a comic book artist. For the next few years Dean spent every spare minute drawing, creating his own comics and filling them with his own characters.
He credits the book How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John
Buscema as his main instruction in life drawing during this time.
Dean struggled in school and even failed art in grade ten. Thankfully,
during his last two years of high school Dean found a mentor in his
principal, Jerry Brewer. Mr. Brewer was an accomplished artist himself, and
he encouraged Dean to keep drawing.

In 1986 Dean moved to Vancouver where he worked for a computer graphics company for two years before finding himself back on Vancouver Island. In 1995 Dean dropped off some samples of his work at Orca Book Publishers in Victoria. He was immediately called back and soon after signed on to illustrate his first children's book, The Patchwork House, written by Sally Fitz-Gibbon. He has been happily illustrating children’s books ever since.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Ali & Lora's Must Have Books for Spring 08

Kate Walker & Company’s Best of Spring 2008; a list of must have books from Ali Hewitt and Lorna MacDonald


Art’s Supplies; Mechanimals by Chris Tougas (Orca Books)

Buttercup’s Lovely Day by Carolyn Beck (Orca Books)

Forestry A-Z by Ann Walsh & Kathleen Cook Waldron (Orca Books)

Emily Carr’s Attic by Diane Leger (Orca Books)

Jeffrey & Sloth by Kari-Lynn Winters (Orca Books)

Siwiti by Alexandra Morton (Orca Books)

Chester; Scaredy Squirrel; Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend; Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach by Melanie Watt (Kids Can Press)

Stanley’s Party; Stanley’s Wild Ride; Stanley at Sea by Linda Bailey (Kids Can Press)

Looking Closely Through the Forest; Looking Closely Along the Shore by Frank Serafini (Kids Can Press)

Bugs up Close by Diane Swanson (Kids Can Press)

One Hen by Katie Smith Milway (Kids Can Press)

Lily and the Paperman by Rebecca Upjohn (Second Story Press)

Maggie and the Chocolate War by Michelle Mulder (Second Story Press)

Lord of the Forest by Caroline Pitcher (Frances Lincoln)

Freckleface Strawberry by Julianne Moore (Bloomsbury USA)

Claire and the Bakery Thief by Janice Poon (Kids Can Press)

Elf the Eagle by Ron Smith (Oolichan Books)

Jake the Baker by PK Page (Oolichan Books)

Yellow Blues by Sean Moore (Raincoast Books)

Paleo Bugs by Timothy Bradley (Chronicle Books)

T is for Tugboat (Chronicle Books)

Like a Windy Day; The Sun is My Favorite Star; The Earth and I by Frank Asch (Harcourt Trade Publishers)

A Puppy is for Loving by Mary Labatt (Orca Books)

Klutzhood by Chris McMahon (Orca Books)

Wild Ride by Liam O’Donnell (Orca Books)

Orphan Ahwak by Raquel Rivera (Orca Books)

Still There, Clare; Not Fair, Clare; Double-Dare Clare by Yvonne Prinz (Raincoast Books)

Canadian Flyer Series by Frieda Wishinsky (Maple Tree Press)

Laugheteria by Douglas Florian (Harcourt Trade Publishers)

Time of the Thunderbird by Diane Silvey (Dundurn Press)

Reading the Bones by Gina McMurchy-Barber (Dundurn Press)

All-Season Edie by Annabel Lyon (Orca Books)

Impossible Things; Dead in the Water; Big Guy by Robin Stevenson (Orca Books)

Fouling Out by Gregory Walters (Orca Books)

Tweaked by Katherine Holubitsky (Orca Boks)

Gotcha by Shelley Hrdlitschka (Orca Books)

Pauline, BTW Series by Edeet Ravel (Raincoast Books)

XYZ Series by Karen Rivers (Raincoast Books)

Perfect Cut by Julie Burtinshaw (Raincoast Books)

She Loves You by Rhonda Batchelor (Dundurn Press)

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

April 7 Program Reminder

Don't miss our next program on April 7 with Ali Hewitt & Lorna MacDonald who will share the best kids books of the season. See below for more details.