Now

SUN — spotted with Fox in the wild.  @hmhkids ️?
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Copies of the best two Be Bold Baby books have arrived—JK Rowling and Sonia Sotomayor.  Available on September 3! .
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@coritaartcenter 
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For the anniversary of the Watts Rebellion, we take an in depth look at Corita's "my people."
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Corita Kent, "my people," 1965, serigraph, 23 x 35 inches  2019 The Corita Art Center, The Immaculate Heart Community, Los Angeles

Corita Kent at @beyondthestreetsart

Happy

SUN is out now! (sequel to MOON) Pick one up where ever you like to buy books.  @hmhkids .
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A beautiful post by @enchantedlion 
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“Hello Reader, ️
Though we’ve never met, we already have a lot in common. We’re both human beings, which may seem obvious—but our shared humanity is hard for most people to keep in mind. Because you read, and because you are reading this right now, you know more about me than almost anyone else I’ve come across today... In Manhattan, you are alone even when you’re surrounded. I am sure you know what I mean. .
Did anyone I met today take the time to see me? ...If they’re readers like you and me, than they’re used to searching for connections with strangers. They’re easy to find when you make a practice of opening a good book and opening your mind to another person. We readers do that. We welcome the thoughts and feelings of someone else right into our brains, and we find ourselves in what resonates. We see that everyone is part of the human condition, even and especially us. .
Reading is for the brave among us. It teaches us how to love people we don’t know and will probably never meet. It teaches us that we too deserve that same sort of love. That faith is, in fact, the work of being a fully realized person. So thanks for reading and please don’t ever stop.”  Open-hearted words by Thomas Page McBee ( @thomaspagemcbee ) for A Velocity of Being: Letters to Young Readers. Sensitive, lovely illustration by Mandana Sadat 
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Starting this week with a wide open heart to embrace not only attitudes of tolerance, but chances at deeper connection with the people around us- our community. Here’s to searching for bits of ourselves in others, to keeping an openness to the gifts that outrospection can bring, and to the ways that empathy can be used to heal and to restore.? Felt moved by a stranger on the street or in a store lately? Tell us about them below. ❣️
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A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader. Edited by Maria Popova ( @brainpicker ) and Claudia Bedrick. ️

Oh, hi Dawn. Did Sebastian Brecht say you can have that?

Thank you @picturebookny for this beautiful post! 
Repost from @picturebookny ・・・
Sun by Alison Oliver is a vibrantly illustrated book about a boy who is great at sports, but feels most fulfilled and connected with the world when he also uses his imagination and creates.  This book celebrates the inspiration we can find in nature and discarded items, and reminds us that boys don't have to be just one thing.  Link in profile for more...

If only this guy had a nightly show...I’d watch it every night. (photo: @billclarkphotos)

@thechildrensbookpodcast with @get_repost
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I love the way making and creativity and imagination are on display throughout SUN, Alison Oliver’s newest picture book. The free-flowing, smooth, energetic, colorful lines light up my brain. What does creativity look like to you?

@bedtime.stories.forevermore with @get_repost
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Congrats @wrightedawn!! You won!  ️?
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WIN BOTH OF THESE SIGNED ALISON OLIVER PICTURE BOOKS!! I couldn’t leave those of you who can’t attend my storytime  hanging! Alison and @hmhbooks have so graciously given me another set of books AND wall art (more photos to come later) to give to one lucky winner. Both of these books proclaim the message that setting time aside for creativity, exploration and slowing down ignite the soul—a message all of us can benefit from. ️  .
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To enter: .
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1. Follow @bedtime.stories.forevermore and @alisonoliverdesign .
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2. Tell me how you rejuvenate and feel refueled! Do you read? Take a bath? Hang out with a friend? Get crafty? .
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3. Show some love to my last three posts by liking them and/or commenting on them. .
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US residents only. Runs until Friday, July 19th at 10am MST. .
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Happy 50th, NASA!  .
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Here is my found object art made last summer with @farmaxwell, I call it “Man with Dog”. Flip to see my friend, Fontaine, who inspired the book Sun. ️?
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by @bedtime.stories.forevermore and @hmhkids of Moon and Sun! Details below...

@bedtime.stories.forevermore with @get_repost
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WIN BOTH OF THESE SIGNED ALISON OLIVER PICTURE BOOKS!! I couldn’t leave those of you who can’t attend my storytime  hanging! Alison and @hmhbooks have so graciously given me another set of books AND wall art (more photos to come later) to give to one lucky winner. Both of these books proclaim the message that setting time aside for creativity, exploration and slowing down ignite the soul—a message all of us can benefit from. ️  .
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To enter: .
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1. Follow @bedtime.stories.forevermore and @alisonoliverdesign .
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2. Tell me how you rejuvenate and feel refueled! Do you read? Take a bath? Hang out with a friend? Get crafty? .
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3. Show some love to my last three posts by liking them and/or commenting on them. .
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US residents only. Runs until Friday, July 19th at 10am MST. .
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Thank you to @ladybrink for sharing this masterpiece made by an adorable artist collective out on a camp adventure. Just like SUN, they used found objects to make something magical. Share and tag your found object art with (I will post one of my own too!) And check my stories to see how the magic got even more magical for these artists later that day...  .
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Oh, hi Dawn. Watcha reading? Is that “Heroes” by Doug Meyer?

SUN was spotted at Strand in NYC ️?  @hmhkids .
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Available for pre-order now! Be Bold Baby: Sonia Sotomayor and JK Rowling are out in September. _________

Happy Pride!

The Bear’s Garden by Marcie Colleen (illustrated by me) is available for pre-order! It is based on the real story of how a famous community garden in Brooklyn came to be.
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Happy 90th Birthday, Milton Glaser!

SUN was spotted at @lastbookstorela by @hopegillerman (more in stories).  @hmhkids .
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Not usually home to see the afternoon light in my apartment so I took a photo of my fave things: portraits by @sharonyagreen | silkscreen by @breadandbutterpuppets | pillows made with the amazing textiles of @batabasta thanks to @madateliermadatelier

SUN is out today! Pick one up where ever you like to buy books.  @hmhkids .
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Central Park

Congratulations to my friend Doogie Horner on his novel that releases today. Nice cover! (Art by Adams Carvalho)

Vivian Suter at Gladstone Gallery

Silkscreen print from Aladdin. pure-sugar.com/shop
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Stay wild little friend of @hopegillerman, you have a good start with those awesome pants! Hope you like Moon! 
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Thanks to @angiehranowsky I got to meet the artist Doug Meyer this week. Amongst other things he creates these beautiful cameos. In June his book “Heroes: A Tribute” releases. You can pre-order it now, and you should! (Swipe for cover)

Old sketch for

Old sketches for covers

Jen is right—you can get prints in my shop at pure-sugar.com. Thanks @babylitjen! 
Repost from @babylitjen using @RepostRegramApp - Getting ready to go exploring on a fun family vacation! Art by @alisonoliverdesign from BabyLit Peter Pan. Prints available in the online shop at pure-sugar.com. @babylitbooks

Oh, hi Dawn. Coffee?

Repost from @ch.j.eun using @RepostRegramApp - . 하지만 이제 문은 달라졌어요. . . 봄산님께서 이 생각났나며 소개해주신 그림책 . 주인공 소녀 '문'이 늑대와 함께 자유와 행복 무엇보다 자신의 이야기를 찿아가는 과정을 보여준다. 출판사 소개처럼 아이들의 지루하고 반복적인 일상에서 활기를 찾도록 도와주는 책이기도 하다 . 원서로 소개 받아서인지 표지의 생락과 제목등 아쉬운 부분도 있지만 자주 만나게 될 듯하다. .

Brainstorm

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Studio moccasins ?️

Howl! 
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Teeny shoes

Coming this June.  @hmhkids 
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Thank you @matthewcwinner of the @thechildrensbookpodcast for this exciting cover reveal of The Bear’s Garden. I loved working with Marcie Colleen on this story inspired by a real community garden in Brooklyn. 
Repost from @matthewcwinner using @RepostRegramApp - Exclusive Cover Reveal of THE BEAR'S GARDEN by Marcie Colleen and Alison Oliver!!! Author Marcie Colleen finishes my sentences:

THE IDEA FOR THE BEAR'S GARDEN CAME FROM... a garden in my former neighborhood in Brooklyn, called The Brooklyn Bears Community Garden. I found that quizzical. I mean, do bears roam around Brooklyn? I soon learned that the garden was named after a stuffed bear who was found in the weeds when workers began to transform the lot. Immediately I wondered “where did the bear come from?” This purely-fictional book attempts to whimsically answer that question. 
IN THE STORY... a little girl sees an empty lot in her city and imagines what it can be. With the help of her stuffed bear, the girl brings her community together to create a beautiful garden.

ONE THING I LOVE ABOUT ALISON OLIVER'S ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE STORY... is how she subtly changes her color palette as the garden grows. The story opens in shades of greys and blues yet moves to popping color as blossoms burst and the community flourishes.

SOMETHING I HOPE THE READERS WILL TAKE AWAY FROM THE STORY IS... that beauty is everywhere. As in the story, anywhere can be “a place to grow, a place to play, and a place to love” sometimes it just takes a little imagination and resourcefulness.

GARDENS ARE... perfect intersections of nature and humankind—especially urban community gardens. They are gathering places overflowing with and surrounded by all sorts of life. Pure symbiosis. *THE BEAR'S GARDEN will publish in March, 2020 from Imprint.

Aftermath of a Dawn doll photoshoot (photobomb by the @benlenovitz portrait of #moonbeamsparkleoliver)

Oh, hi Dawn. Gary seems distracted.

Illustration I did for the great @hopegillerman. I can’t live without her oils, especially Travel Remedy. 

Repost from @hopegillerman using @RepostRegramApp - Sometimes it is hard to believe that relaxation and happiness is a natural state of being. As we're approaching the weekend we need to get back to this place. Have you tried using essential oils to soothe your senses and help you maintain your composure? This lovely drawing by @alisonoliverdesign details the steps. Start with H. Gillerman Organics True Relaxation Stress Remedy when you are feeling irritable, overwhelmed or tense. You can use it up to 5 times a day (unlike perfume). The chart shows where to apply.  Made with 100% certified organic oils it offers up a serene lavender/citrus/woodsy scent. To makes your space even more chill, layer with NEW True Relaxation Diffuser Oil - these two blends work synergistically!⁣
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Two halves make a whole. @hmhkids 
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