Chronicle Books Blog

The team behind the #1 New York Times bestseller Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld, have answered their fans’ plea for “one more book before bed” with Steam Train, Dream Train.

The dream train pulls into the station, and one by one the train cars are loaded: polar bears pack the reefer car with ice cream, elephants fill the tanker cars with paints, tortoises stock the auto rack with race cars, kangaroos stuff the hopper car with balls (while zebras referee). Sweet and silly dreams are guaranteed for any budding train enthusiasts!

Get to know Sherri and Tom as they stopped by our blog to answer a few questions and give us a peek into their workspaces:

What’s one highlight from the success of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site?
Sherri: People wait in line to have me sign their books; some ask to take pictures with me: I will never get used to that!

Tom: Just before the book was released, Chronicle sent Sherri and me to present it to a group at Follett, a large book distributor outside of Chicago. The Chronicle rep, Anna-Lisa Sandstrum, was there, and it was the first time I’d met her and Sherri, so I was a little nervous. After we presented the book, I remember standing in the lobby with with Sherri and Anna-Lisa. We asked how many books were being printed and Sherri and I were both shocked when she told us the impressively high number. She gave us a serious look and said, “You guys, this is going to be a very big seller.” It was my first clue that there might be something special about this book.

What bedtime book did you love as a child?
Sherri: Always, and any time of day, Virginia Lee Burton’s, The Little House. During the holidays, I was obsessed with Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree: “Oh, wasn’t it grand to have a tree, Exactly like Mr. Willowby?” :)

Tom: Pagoo, by Holling C. Holling and Lucille Holling.

Have you had any fun times on a train?
Sherri: When I was five, my aunt and uncle took me, along with my two cousins, from Chicago to New York on an Amtrak sleeper car. It was MAGICAL! I remember cuddling on the bunk, the fancy breakfast in the dining car with the white tablecloths and china, and that our shoes, which we placed in a box in the wall, were shined when we woke up in the morning.

Tom: When I was ten years old, I took a train (by myself!) from my uncle’s farm town in northern Illinois to our home in Wisconsin. Traveling a hundred miles on a train by myself was a great adventure, made better by the fact that my uncle bought me a foot-long hot dog just before I boarded the train. I remember watching the countryside whiz by, with a basket full of fresh carrots by my side and that big hot dog to munch on all the way home.

What’s the funniest thing a child has said to you at a school or bookstore event?
Sherri: I’m always asked how old I am, and I’m always truthful: 29.

Tom: “How do you make your hair two colors at once?” (a reference to my the ever-increasing gray).

Share your space! Where do you do your work?
Sherri: This is my current office, which my husband and I share. We’re in the process of moving to a new home and can’t wait to set up my new space!

Tom: Here’s where you can find me most days… Notice the array of mediums I’m using, in hopes that one of them will bow to my will.

I keep my current favorite books on a rolling cart for quick access. Oliver Jeffers is always on the cart.

Scooter, reviewing sketches.

You can have too many books for your bookshelves, but you can’t have too many books.

I love visits from other book creators. Here, Andrea Beaty and Carolyn Crimi do their best to look like serious authors.

Rough sketches and a “model” for Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site

Everyone needs heroes – these are mine. (the signature was given under protest) Ted “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, Judy Blume and Maurice Sendak.

Thanks, Sherri and Tom!

For the fans who always want to keep their favorite train or truck close by, give them personalized books and gifts that feature the artwork from Steam Train, Dream Train and Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.

Add a photo and a special dedication to each book to make bedtime a little sweeter:

Create a Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site personalized lunchbox, growth chart, placemat, gift card and wall art with a few easy clicks on mychroniclebooks.com:

Meet Sherri and Tom on tour starting April 16th:

TOOT TOOT!

Stephanie Wong
Marketing Manager

Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld, the team who has put more than 500,000 of America’s kids to bed with their New York Times #1 Bestseller Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site have answered their fan’s plea for “one more book before bed” with their latest collaboration, Steam Train, Dream Train!

Come on out and Meet Tom and Sherri! Tom will be doing fun drawing demos, and there will be give-aways, prizes, and lots of fun. Plus, 5 lucky winners at each store will win a cool train whistle!

Toot! Toot!

Chicago - 4/16/2013
Anderson’s
7:00pm
Sherri & Tom

San Jose – 4/17/2013
Hicklebee’s
3:00pm
Tom Lichtenheld

San Francisco Bay Area (San Carlos) – 4/18/2013
The Reading Bug
4:00pm
Sherri & Tom

San Francisco – 4/19/2013
Books, Inc Laurel Village
4:30pm
Sherri Duskey Rinker

Los Angeles – 4/20/2013
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books – Target Stage
11:30am
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books – Chronicle Books Booth #561
1:00pm
Sherri & Tom

Seattle – 4/21/2013
Third Place Books
4:00pm
Sherri Duskey Rinker

San Antonio – 4/22/2013
The Twig
4:00pm
Tom Lichtenheld

Minneapolis – 4/23/2013
Red Balloon
4:00pm
Wild Rumpus
5:30pm
Sherri Duskey Rinker

Cincinnati – 4/25/2013
Blue Manatee
5:00pm
Sherri Duskey Rinker

Lara Starr
Publicity, Children and Teens

Subscribe to our monthly Chronicle Kids Newsletter.

Spring is in the air here in San Francisco, the flowers are blooming, and the days are getting gloriously longer. There’s much to celebrate, including a brand new line of personalized gifts for kids featuring everyone’s favorite spring critter, The Very Hungry Caterpillar™! The beloved artwork by Eric Carle is now available on lunchboxes, placemats, party invitations, thank you cards, and baby books customized with your child’s name and photo.

In honor of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day on Saturday, March 23, we’re throwing a party at our Metreon Store from 10am – 12pm. Kids will paint their very own sections in a Very Hungry Caterpillar community-made garland that will be strung throughout the store. Join us!

But if you can’t make it to San Francisco next weekend, we want to share some great ideas for a Very Hungry Caterpillar–themed Spring Celebration!

For your party, you can incorporate The Very Hungry Caterpillar into the invitations, food and decorations. Let your guests know that this is going to be The Very Hungry Caterpillar–themed party with your very own customized birthday invitations. You can add your child’s name and picture to the invite in three easy steps online, and preview your cards at MyChronicleBooks.com.

Once guests arrive, they can snack on The Very Hungry Caterpillar–themed foods. For those who want to provide healthy snacks, it is easy to make a caterpillar from apple slices and a small cheese wheel.

Or for those with more of a sweet tooth, these cake pops are perfect for a sweet bite.

To decorate for the party, you can make a Very Hungry Caterpillar out of balloons or get creative and make a caterpillar out of tissue paper fans.

Kids can wear their very own The Very Hungry Caterpillar themed hats,

make their own The Very Hungry Caterpillar out of an egg carton,

and play with The Very Hungry Caterpillar Lacing Cards.

To make your guests feel extra special, you can create customized placemats and lunchboxes as favors.

For a new mom who loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar, you can customize a baby book with her little one’s name and picture. It will be a special keepsake that will be treasured for years to come!

And, the new baby will love these stroller cards.

Do you love Eric Carle and The Very Hungry Caterpillar? Let us know which product you’re most excited about in the comments below, and one lucky fan will win a prize pack that includes: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Stroller Cards, 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo Flash Cards, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Lacing Cards and a $40 Gift Certificate to use on any MyChronicleBooks The Very Hungry Caterpillar product.

Cheers to many spring celebrations!

Stephanie Wong
Marketing Manager

Most of us are familiar with the adult lives, loves and accomplishments of Queen Victoria, adventurer Beryl Markham, and poet Emily Dickinson, but have you ever wondered what they were like as teenagers? In her acclaimed novels Prisoners in the Palace, Promise the Night and Nobody’s Secret, Michaela MacColl offers meticulously researched and page-turningly dramatized versions of the teen and childhood years of these remarkable women.

Mama’s Girls…

Yesterday I went to a yoga class. The studio is in the instructor’s house. When the students arrived, there was screaming inside. It went like this:

“I won’t do it!”
“Young lady, you WILL do it!”
“Will not!” (Slammed door.)

The students, moms all, exchanged knowing glances. Naturally the stressed instructor was embarrassed but we assured her that our teenage daughters are just as obnoxious. Or is it rebellious? We raise our daughters to be strong independent thinkers – and that’s the thing we most resent when they become teenagers.

I’ve written about some amazing women. Queen Victoria as a young princess. Beryl Markham, the aviator, and her astounding childhood in Africa. And most recently, the pre-eminent American poet, Emily Dickinson. All of them had problematic relationships with their parents. Could it be that a little strife in childhood helped them become the exceptional women they became?

Victoria’s mother found herself in a situation where all of her hopes and dreams relied on Victoria becoming Queen. To that end, Victoria was protected, sheltered and isolated from other girls her age. At the age of 17 Victoria shared a room with her mother. Is it any wonder that Victoria’s first “royal command” was “Get me my own room”? She stayed estranged from her mother for the first several years of her monarchy. Victoria chose her own advisors and made plenty of mistakes. But she did it on her own.

Beryl Markham’s mother abandoned her when Beryl was only a toddler. She grew up in the African bush with a distracted father. Beryl chose her own parents, the tribe who worked on her father’s ranch. She had no patience for women her whole life. Instead she competed with the boys – first wrestling and hunting with the tribe and then as an adult she flew with the most daring. Not only did she hold her own, she beat them.

Emily’s mother was over-protective to a fault. She wanted Emily to learn cooking and housekeeping. She let Emily have books but discouraged her from reading them… they might give her ideas. Emily let her mother constrain her physical life, but found freedom internally. Her poems were more daring and free than Emily ever could achieve in real life.

My daughters slam doors with depressing regularity. They are well on their way to greatness.

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Molly Idle began her career as an Animator at DreamWorks, and her cinematic style is evident on every exuberant page of the acclaimed (★”Seamless and dynamic visual storytelling” – Publishers Weekly; “Irresistible.” – San Francisco Chronicle) Flora and the Flamingo! Here she shares her inspiration, typical workday, and a peek inside her studio.

Where did you get the idea for Flora and the Flamingo?

The idea was the culmination of a series of “a-ha” moments. A few years ago my youngest son was calling fire extinguishers “fire stinking shirts.” It made me laugh, and it also made me think back to words that I mixed up when I was little (there were lots of them!) and one that leapt to mind was that (for years) I thought flamenco dancing was pronounced “flamingo dancing.”

Remembering how puzzled I used to be that there were no actual flamingos involved in “flamingo dancing,” I drew a dancing flamingo, but he needed a partner… Enter Flora, whose design is based on my sweet, sweet, nieces—Sarah and Katie.

It was around this same time that my oldest son was starting kindergarten and figuring out the process of making friends. Watching his efforts, I started thinking how much the back and forth nature of developing a friendship is like the choreography of a dance.

© Kathryn Smith Photography

That’s when I set to work!

What’s your routine when you’re working on a book?

My routine varies depending on what stage of the bookmaking process I’m in. When I’m working on developing the idea for a book, my workday doesn’t look much like work. It looks a lot more like me sipping coffee and staring into space with my pencil poised (but unmoving) over my sketchbook while I mutter to myself.

When I’m working on sketches for a book, I like to start first thing in the morning. I wake up before the rest of the house, and rough out ideas for the spreads I want to work on that day. Then, after I drop my boys off at school, I head into the studio and start to flesh out my early morning roughs till lunchtime.

In the afternoons I take care of business stuff like emails, etc. In the evening I’ll polish up the sketches I worked on in the morning. I like to break up the process so that I can revisit each sketch with fresh eyes.

Once I start in to work on the final art for a book, my days become all topsy-turvy and start to melt together. I’ll work all day, seven days a week. Even when I’m not physically working on a piece, my mind is still working on it… I’ll wake up in the middle of the night thinking things like, “Lavender! That’s the color I need to layer over the tree branches!”

Show us your space!

Here’s my space…

I’ve tried to balance functionality with organization and inspiration. So you’ll find everything from shelving and layout space to Kermit the Frog and a rubber chicken here.

I converted my old animation desk into an enormous light table so I can transfer larger sketches by hand. And I have art clips attached to boards around my desk and over the windows so that I can hang up multiple pieces at a time as I check for continuity from piece to piece.

I keep a large stash of extra pencils handy.

Do you have favorite art supplies?

Oh my, yes! I couldn’t do without my handy dandy mechanical pencil for sketching and line work. And for color I love my Prismacolor pencils (see the photo of my desk!). I’ve experimented with a plethora of pencils but, for me, these offer the best range of colors, blendability (is that a word?) and control.

Did you do any research for Flora and the Flamingo?

As a matter of fact I did. I spent quite a bit of time collecting reference photos of flamingos in action, as I wanted the choreography of the Flamingo in the beginning of the book to be based on the habits of real flamingos. Then, I watched a lot of ballet performances to gather ideas for the balletic poses that happen when Flora and the Flamingo begin to dance together, still keeping in mind that they I wanted them to be poses that would be physically possible for a real flamingo (and a real little girl too)! Pliés are tricky for flamingos.

What influences your art?

I suppose my artistic influences fall into two categories: Art and Life.

Art: If I could describe my art in terms of my artistic influences I would say it’s… Degas meets Disney’s Nine Old Men in a Technicolor musical.

Life: My boys. The way they tackle life is absolutely fearless, hearts and minds open and full of wonder. That inspires me to tackle my work in the same way.

What was it like when you first held a finished copy of Flora and the Flamingo?

I smile just thinking about it. Holding the culmination of so many hours of drawing and dreaming, the months of collaboration with the incredible creative team at Chronicle… It felt good. Really good! The kind of feeling that fills you up, and you float a little way above the ground kind of good.

What were your favorite books as a child?

I’m glad you said “books” and not “book” because I couldn’t choose just one!

I loved Seuss (still do)! My dad used to read me the Sleep Book every night. To this day I have the whole thing memorized… and so does he!

I have also lost count of the times I’ve reread Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, after my Mom read it to me when I was six.

And I have great memories of taking turns reading Daniel Pinkwater’s books aloud on camping trips. The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death was our family favorite.

As I look back on all of my favorites as a child, they are inextricably linked to the memories of who I was with when reading them, or having them read to me. I think that speaks volumes about the power of reading aloud to children.

You started your career as an artist at DreamWorks, working on movies like Spirit. How is working on animation different from picture books?

They are really surprisingly similar. Both animation and picture books are methods of visual storytelling, both are collaborative artistic efforts, and both mediums are designed to be reproduced and shared with many, many people. The biggest difference between animation and picture books for me as an artist lies in the actual production.

In traditional animation, every second of film is made up of 24 frames, (24 individual drawings), per character. So, say a scene is 10 seconds long—that means I would need to create 240 drawings! That’s why there are hundreds of artists involved in the creation of an animated film. The work is divided amongst so many artists because the sheer number of images that need to be produced is enormous.

In a picture book on the other hand, the limited number of images telling the story is such that I can create each and every one myself. That allows for more personal artistic expression. But while I don’t have to make nearly as many drawings as I would in a film, I also don’t get to use as many drawings to communicate a feeling, action, or scene.

Each single drawing that I create in a picture book needs to convey all that is happening at that point in the story, the characters’ feelings, their relationship, the setting, as well as leading the reader to turn to the next page… it’s a wonderful challenge!

What advice do you have for aspiring illustrators?

Draw! Draw! Draw!

Learning to draw well means, quite simply, spending a lot of time drawing.

A lot!

Whatever you think is a lot of time… add a bit more to it. Then add some more… and more…

You have to keep challenging yourself to become better and better. And just when you think you’re the best you can possibly be…

Keep drawing!

Watch the Flora and the Flamingo trailer.

Watch a video demo of Flora and the Flamingo’s interactive flaps and foldouts.

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