Jack’s daddy’s recipe book

,
Unlike the original Jack and the Beanstalk where Jack is a thief, in Jack and the Giant Barbecue the Giant stole Jack's daddy's recipe book long ago. Jack beards the Giant in his barbecue shack so he can get it back. Here are thumbnails and…

The jukebox with a broken heart

, ,
In the great old mediæval fairytale, Jack & the Beanstalk, Jack steals a golden harp from the giant's castle. Eric Kimmel's update, Jack and the Giant Barbecue, sets the action in west Texas and replaces the harp with a jukebox. I have…

Color for Jack and the Giant Barbecue

,
Jack and the Giant Barbecue is Eric Kimmel's retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, set in west Texas. I wanted my images to tell the reader where he is, so the costumes and settings were carefully researched. Color is a powerful tool for telling…

Design for Jack

, ,
Jack and the Giant Barbecue is officially in bookstores today! I had a great time designing these characters. Here's how Jack came to be. The first drawing I do of a character is always too rough. I draw it just to get that drawing out of the…

Let’s eat!

,
Grandpa Crow serves up some pizza in Let's Have A Tree Party! [slideshow]

Grandpa Crow’s tree

,
Here's the establishing shot for Let's Have A Tree Party! Just like in a movie, the establishing shot at the beginning lets the reader know where the story takes place. In this case we're in the woods at the base of Grandpa Crow's tree. Let's…

Giddyap!

,
Here's another title I have coming out in March—Jack and the Giant Barbecue. It's Eric Kimmel's update of the Jack and the Beanstalk story set in west Texas. West Texas, you said? Cue the Elmer Bernstein music! Here we go: thumbnail sketch,…