The cover for Around the World was unveiled at the Texas Library Association conference a few weeks ago. Candlewick was handing out free advanced reading copies which had the color cover, but unfortunately only lowish resolution black and white scans of the color interiors. It's a necessity at this stage, but I can't wait for people to see the full color version.
At any rate, I had an absolute blast in Austin. The Maverick graphic novel panel went very well (with a pretty large crowd in a gargantuan conference room). It was great to chat with Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, and Hope Larson and learn about their process.
I signed boxes of Around the World, Storm in the Barn, Flora's Very Windy Day and more. Conferences are always a whirlwind, but everyone there couldn't have been nicer and it was truly fun. I particularly lucked out at the Bluebonnet luncheon, where Elizabeth Bluemle and I got to sit with a table of students who had entered an essay contest to attend. Keep writing, all of you!
Below are some moleskine sketches from the plane ride home. Now that I look at them again, I think my subconscious was summing up the trip for me.
