My friend, Greg Ruth — illustrator of our upcoming picture book, A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade (Feiwel and Friends, July, 2010) — just announced that his latest children’s book, Our Enduring Spirit, is now available in stores.
Using the original text from President Obama’s first inaugural address we endeavored to create a children’s book that could communicate the vitality and ideas of that day in pictures to children and also act as a historical record and a snapshot of that day to the rest of us. As many of you know the opportunity to do this book came out of my ongoing weekly drawing series, The 52 Weeks Project, which makes this event all the more fun and stupendous. It is a work of great fun and deep meaning for me and I am extremely excited and proud to have it finally come out.
Greg is also offering a limited edition of autographed books, complete with “a unique original 9×9″ sumi-ink drawing on paper of President Obama” — for more details on that bit of gift-quality goodness, go here. Please note that 50% of all proceeds raised through this special offer will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.
To see more images from the book, there’s always this.
Congratulations, Greg. I’m proud of you. Somewhere, a not-half-bad former editor named Brenda Bowen is smiling.
Hey Jimmy!
SO nice of you to take the time to post this here. It is a great honor. Thank you for your encouragement and support, my friend. No how can we get Jean to put our Pirates book out sooner? I’m dyin’ over here. (so impatient, I know…)
Well, Greg, you are a huge talent — with a unique voice — and this looks like a special book. I’m happy to help spread the word.
Besides, it can’t be “me! me! me!” all the time over here at chateau Jamespreller.com, or else my mighty Nation of Readers would be in revolt. Actually, it would be revolt-ing; so I try not to talk about myself too, too much. Even I would get sick of myself.
“Oh, look, everybody! There’s LINT in my bellybutton!!!”
As for PIRATES, I know how you feel. I think it has a combination we don’t see often enough in children’s picture books: true kid-appeal that lends itself to happy, upbeat read aloud sessions, but with award-quality artwork to give it added depth. The best of both worlds!
I’m excited for it, too.
I just reviewed Our Enduring Spirit. Its a beautiful book. I love the illustrations.