<![CDATA[Just Like Heaven: A Mutts Children's Book]]>

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Animal lovers adore Patrick McDonnell's comic strip, Mutts featuring the adventures of Earl (the dog) and Mooch (the cat) told from their unique (and often hilarious) point of view. Just Like Heaven is a poignant and powerful picture book that fans (and their kids) will appreciate. We asked Patrick to tell us a little more about himself and the book, and he surprised us by including a few comic strips to help illustrate his story. Check out his message to fans, and the artwork below. --Daphne Durham <hr size="1">A Special Message about Just Like Heaven from New York Times Bestselling Author, Patrick McDonnell I have spent the last twelve years as the creator of the newspaper comic strip Mutts. Mutts is centered on the unlikely friendship between Earl the dog and Mooch the cat. It combines my love for animals with my love for the art of the comic strip. Becoming a daily cartoonist was something I always dreamed of doing, as was creating children's books. I love the timeless magic found in the best children's books. Like comic strips, its art is rooted in telling stories with words and pictures. Both forms have simplicity, poetry and optimism. Arts that spread joy. I had the pleasure to do my first picture book last Fall when Little, Brown published The Gift of Nothing. It features Earl and Mooch. It was fun to tell a self-contained, complete story with characters I live with every day. I followed The Gift of Nothing with Art, a book about a boy obsessed with making art and messes--a somewhat autobiographical love poem to the creative process. My new book is titled Just Like Heaven. With this book I wanted to celebrate our everyday lives and the things we tend to take for granted, such as nature, birds, flowers, friends and family. It is loosely based on a two week story I once did in Mutts. Some of the comic strips from that story are included here. While Mooch takes a nap under a tree, a deep fog quietly rolls in. Awakening in a cloud of mist, Mooch concludes that he must be in heaven. With his cat curiosity, he proceeds to explore his surroundings and sees the familiar in a whole new light: <table align=center cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td align="left"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/books/promos/a-plus/mutts.1.jpg" border=0 align=top> </td> </tr> </table> <table align=center cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td align="left"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/books/promos/a-plus/mutts.2.jpg" border=0 align=top> </td> </tr> </table> <table align=center cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td align="left"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/books/promos/a-plus/mutts.3.jpg" border=0 align=top> </td> </tr> </table> <table align=center cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td align="left"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/books/promos/a-plus/mutts.4.jpg" border=0 align=top> </td> </tr> </table> <table align=center cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td align="left"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/books/promos/a-plus/mutts.5.jpg" border=0 align=top> Mutts © Patrick McDonnell, distributed by King Features Syndicate </td> </tr> </table> I hope the book is uplifting, inspiring and will be something to cuddle up to with your two legged--and perhaps your four legged--little friends. --Patrick McDonnell <hr /="/" noshade="noshade" class="bucketDivider" size="1"> <div class="bucket">

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Just Like Heaven: A Mutts Children's Book

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4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 13 07:48:55 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 07:53:11 -0700 2009 Hug Time. I've heard this story told as a fable before: character falls asleep, wakes up, assumes he is in heaven. With these new eyes, everything seems more wonderful, even though it is the same world he was in. The really telling part is that he acts more kind...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Oct 19 21:10:25 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 21:10:25 -0700 2009
Heaven...? He thought....more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Dec 13 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 11:17:45 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 14 20:22:15 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Thu May 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 15:58:36 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 16:01:34 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Oct 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 08:29:27 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 08:29:27 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Jul 31 00:12:49 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 31 02:09:26 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 17 08:38:05 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 17 08:41:30 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Jan 10 23:39:07 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 23:44:17 -0800 2009 where the heart is" is eloquently demonstrated with a minimum of words, and maximum feeling.]]> 5 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri May 30 15:08:04 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 15:09:48 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Mar 28 14:37:34 -0700 2007 Wed Mar 28 14:38:20 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 25 20:20:29 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 25 20:22:02 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Aug 05 20:25:20 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 05 20:25:57 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Nov 20 19:32:02 -0800 2007 Tue Nov 20 19:32:50 -0800 2007 5 0 false false Mon Nov 02 10:02:04 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 10:02:29 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Oct 26 21:13:27 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 21:13:27 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sat Oct 17 13:18:13 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 13:18:13 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Sep 20 21:09:55 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 21:09:55 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Sep 17 23:20:42 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 23:20:42 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Sep 01 08:11:22 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 08:11:22 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Aug 12 05:57:41 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 05:57:47 -0700 2009