Chris Van Dusen's Blog, page 8

First Review

Even though King Hugo's Huge Ego doesn't come out for a couple of months, I just received my first review, a starred review from Publishers Weekly! Here's the full review:

King Hugo's Huge Ego

Chris Van Dusen. Candlewick, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7636-5004-9

"Long ago, when people spoke/ with words like 'thou' and 'thee,' " a Napoleonic figure (in attitude and physical stature) named King Hugo ruled supreme. While his subjects think he's a joke, they have no choice but abjection: they bow low when he passes by and pretend to listen his "Speech of Adoration," a weekly hours-long "boring buzz/ of how mighty and magnificent/ King Hugo thought he was." Comeuppance takes the form of a comely, feisty peasant maid named Tessa, who, unbeknownst to the king, is also a sorceress. "Let's see if all your arrogance/ can fit inside your head," she says, and sure enough, "his head kept bloating,/ bulging bigger every day" with each narcissistic act, until he looks like a bobble head doll on steroids. A life lesson and true love tie up the loose ends, but not before readers are treated to a terrific mélange of satire, slapstick, and caricature, all served up with expert comic timing. Van Dusen (The Circus Ship) may be puncturing the myth of infallible monarchy, but readers will have no trouble pledging obeisance to his comic majesty. Ages 3–6. (Aug.)

King Hugo on Amazon

I've been working day and night to finish the art for a new book which will will come out in the spring of 2012. That's why these blog posts have been few and far between. But I just saw that my next book, King Hugo's Huge Ego is now available for pre-order on Amazon. I also noticed that the release date is earlier than I thought. According to Amazon, Hugo will be available on July 26th.

I don't want to give anything away about King Hugo's Huge Ego, but I can tell you that it's a fairy tale (you probably guessed that!), it rhymes, it's 40 pages long and it's probably the funniest story I've ever written. I was inspired to create a fairy tale in part by the great Dr. Seuss. A few of his early books were fairy tales. Remember King Derwin and Bartholomew? But I also had so much fun by adding a villain (Mr. Paine) to The Circus Ship that I decided to challenge myself with this one. Could I write a book where the main character is a bad guy and still make it fun? I'll let you decide.

Some Terrific Drawings from ASFL

Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Mrs. Claxton's second graders at The Academy for Science and Foreign Language (ASFL) in Huntsville, Alabama. Apparently the students had been studying me and my books for a while. Before our visit, Mrs. Claxton sent me a packet of letters the students had written and I was amazed when I read them. They almost knew more about me than I did! The notes were filled with insightful comments and great questions. Several students were curious if there was going to be a Mrs. Magee (I didn't quite know how to answer that one. I can't imagine anyone wanting to marry Mr. Magee!). As a bonus, attached to each student's letter was a drawing they had done from one of my books. They were all TERRIFIC and I really wish I had room to post each and every one, but unfortunately I don't. Here are just a couple:

On the left is Stephanie's homage to Dee, and on the right is Emmanuel's version of Mr. Magee skiing.

Thanks to all of the students in Mrs. Claxton's class at ASFL for studying my books, writing me letters and drawing wonderful pictures. I really appreciate it!

I Made the List!

The Good Stuff Guide is a wonderful website dedicated to …well…good stuff. Heidi, who created the site, has been especially supportive of me and my books. She recently sent me this link to her list of The 25 Best Children's Picture Books (which sounds like a daunting task to me!) and very nicely included me as #17 – right before The Giving Tree! What an honor to be in such esteemed company.

Here's a link-http://www.thegoodstuffguide.com/the-25-best-childrens-picture-books/

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Dr. Seuss was born on this day 107 years ago. In his own words:

"Today you are you! That is truer than true!

There is no one alive who is you-er than you!

Shout loud, I am lucky to be what I am!

Thank goodness I'm not just a clam or a ham

Or a dusty old jar of sour gooseberry jam!

I am what I am! That's a great thing to be!

If I say so myself, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!"

-from Happy Birthday To You! (1959)

Introducing King Hugo

My apologies for not updating my blog until now. I just noticed that my last entry was posted in late November! Sorry. I'll try to do better from now on.

I've been busy working on several new books. When you combine the writing (and rewriting) with the illustrations (and all the preliminary sketches and revisions) it ends up taking close to a year for me to complete a book. After I deliver all the final art to the publisher, it's yet another year until the book hits the stores. Therefore, I'm always thinking ahead as to what's coming out and when.

My next book, which I finished last fall, is a bit different for me. I decided to go way back in time and write a fairy tale! But I wanted to challenge myself at the same time. I had so much fun adding a villain to The Circus Ship (remember Mr. Paine?) that I started wondering if I could write a book where the main character is a bad guy and still make it a fun story to read. The end result is a book called King Hugo's Huge Ego which will be published by Candlewick Press this year. It's about a short little king with, you guessed it, an enormous ego and it's probably about the funniest thing I've written. Here's a picture of King Hugo from the book.

New Prints for the Holidays!

Just in time for the Holidays, I've added five new prints to the prints page. Three images are from The Circus Ship (including an oversized print of the Hidden Circus Animals spread that's truly impressively!) and two are from my brand new book, Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee. Like my other prints, these are high quality, signed giclee prints that are mounted on a backing board and shipped in a crystal clear bag. And if you order in the next couple of weeks, I'll do my best to see that you get them in time for Christmas. Oh what fun…

My Fall Schedule

This Fall, I'll be traveling all over Maine and visiting stores to sign copies of my brand new book, Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee. Here's my upcoming schedule:

- Sat. Oct. 30 – Book Launch at The Owl & Turtle Bookshop, Camden – 10:00 AM- 12:00 PM

- Sat. Nov. 13 – Book signing at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Augusta – 11:00 AM

- Sat. Nov. 20 – Book signing at Children's Book Cellar, Waterville – 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

- Sat. Nov. 27 – Book signing at L.L.Bean, Freeport – 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

- Sat. Dec. 4 – Two book signings at Kennebooks, Kennebunk – 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM

- Sun. Dec. 5 – Reading and signing at The Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland – 2:00 PM

- Sat. Dec. 11 – Group signing at The Owl & Turtle Bookshop, Camden – 10:00 AM- 12:00 PM

- Sat. Dec. 18 – Book signing at Borders, South Portland – (Time to be determined)

I hope to see you at one of these events!

A "Magee" Teaser

Here's a little teaser from my new book Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee. It will be released in just a few days! Ready to go skiing?

Small Town / New Friend

I live in a small town on the coast of Maine, and one of the nice things about living here is you know so many people. This is what happened earlier this summer:

It was a Sunday morning. Lori and I were sitting on our deck reading the paper and having a cup  of coffee when the phone rang. It was Kenny, the dockmaster at the large marina down on the harbor. He said a nice family from Canada had sailed into town and when they docked, a small boy ran up to him and asked if he knew Mr. Chris Van D...