I'm now having a ball creating the artwork for my book on Thomas Yellowstone Moran. Tom Moran was an artist who went on the first offical expedetion into the wilderness around the headwaters of the Yellowstone River (in 1871). The leader of the expedition, Dr. Ferndinand Hayden, used the paintings Tom painted to show members of Congress how uniquely beautfiul the area was and succesffully lobbied to have it preserved as Yellowstone National Park, our nation's first park. The art is a fun adventure --painting stagecoach rides, bison and other wildlife, geysers erupting, and all the other amazing sites Tom saw on his adventure. The book will be a 2009 release with Viking Press.

I’ve just sent a stack of Pennies for Elephants artwork to my editor and art director. This is my next book with Hyperion—a spring/summer 2009 release. I can't wait to have the book out to share with kids. Its story is based on the true event of thousands of children working together to earn the money to buy the first elephants for the Boston zoo in 1914. Here are a few images: