In Production

• A graphic novel/illustrated chapter book series with my old friend and super-writer, Jason Eaton. Jason has written many award-winning books, and also wrote the script for the movie Ice Age 3. He wrote a super funny manuscript (and ideas for two sequels) for this silly concept of mine, which I will be illustrating. It just sold to Harper Collins in a two book deal. Can’t wait to get started!

Current status: Waiting for the contract to review and sign.

• A collaboration with legendary author, illustrator and friend Dan Yaccarino on three (3) 120 page, two-color chapter books for Siobhan Ciminera at Simon Spotlight. Dog Meets Dog stars two anthropomorphic dog siblings who meet up in vacation spots all around the world. They are fictional stories with a huge amount of non-fictional elements and hijinx. Dan is writing the stories and I’m doing the art! Woo-Hoooo! Art for Book 1 is due in June 2025, and Dan is working on the writing as we speak for the other two. We plan to turn this into something big!

Current status: The art is complete for Book 1 and Book 2 is the sketch stage.

• Junior Monster Scouts—Illustrations-only for two (2) 32-page Early Readers, Books 5 and 6 of this full color series. Book 5 is in the final stage of production and Book 6 is awaiting the manuscript from the publisher. These books will most likely be the last titles in this fun series. The stories are written brilliantly by Joe McGee and published by Simon and Schuster. Working with Claire Torres and Alicia Mikles has been a dream.

Current status: The art is in production for Book 5 and Book 6 hasn’t begun yet as we await the initial contract.

• A collaboration with my life-long friend (45 years!) and fellow creative, Tim Steinouer, on two 64-page full-color picture books for Christy Ottaviano at Hachette/Christy Ottaviano Books. The stories star two anthropomorphic animal friends taking road trips around the United States. They are fictional stories with a huge amount of non-fictional elements. Tim is doing the writing and I am doing the designing and illustrating. Fun stuff!

Current status: Book 1 is in production and Book 2 is in early development.

• The Letter Setters, an Early Reader Series for Holiday House, centered around a group of 5 dogs and their antics that emphasize phonics. We will see how these books sell out in the world before we develop any more titles for this series. Thank you to Mary Cash for championing this series as well as many others in my backlist.

Current status: Book 1 is complete and publishes on June 24, 2025. Book 2 is in the production stage.

In Development

• The dream is to see this in lights: Chamelia: The Animated Series! My partner, Steven Wendland (formerly of Technicolor) has been diligent in his pursuit of a producer, and I still hold belief that it will find a home somewhere. He has some serious leads and I look forward to hearing an update from him soon. Go, Steven and Chamelia!

Current status: Still in search of a production partner.

• Marisa Wolsky, my producer at GBHKids, has also been searching for funding for a 3rd season of Scribbles and Ink: the online interactive series with PBSKids. She’s been so committed to this series over the years that I believe she will figure out a plan. She says she has some ideas. Thank you for you hard work and determination, Marisa!

Current status: Active games on PBSKids.org!

• GBHKids has also pulled a project down off the shelf from many years ago and have put it back into development. They had asked me to do character designs for it, but for some reason it stalled. Happy to see this fun property getting its legs again. More on this as it develops.

Current status: In early development

• The plan is to keep creating Scribbles and Ink digital books. In addition to the 4 original titles, Harriet Ziefert (as editor and marketer) and I have completed 5 new digital titles and talked early on about creating 10 total. All of the titles are available on Epic Books (digital) and also Amazon (print). We’re also looking for additional revenue streams for these books and characters.

Current status: Epic Books are currently selling their company and we are waiting for the process to be completed. When they have their affairs in order, we will re-assess.

• We also have an offer to develop Scribbles and Ink into a TV series! There are still so many details to hash out, but our attorneys are working on it!

Current status: Waiting to review and sign the contract.

• Christy Ottaviano at Hachette/Christy Ottaviano Books wants me to work on another project with her. Will it be another Middle Grade novel? My first author/illustrated Chapter Book? Right now we’re thinking it could be a picture book. Decisions…decisions. Watch this space.

Current status: A pitch with high potential is currently under review with the Hachette team.

Out On Submission

• A picture book with me as the writer and our client Jada Jeni Bennett as the illustrator. I am excited about this because it’s a little bit of a different direction for me. More to come on this as my agent, Tim Travaglini, prepares the submission. Current status: No bites yet.

Also: Seeking Partnerships

Here are some super fun book properties available for option as animated series.

Contact the studio for more details.