Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Comix Claptrap and Karl Show (Starring Jason) Interviews



 I have two new podcast interviews up:

The first was back in the Spring on The Karl Show (Starring Jason)

And the most recent was with Rina Ayuyang and Thien Pham of the Comix Claptrap.

I talk about drawing and teaching throughout both.

The Zoo Box gets some love from the press!!!








I am proud to announce that The Zoo Box is now available. When I saw it at my local library I was stunned, and all but 2 of the 20 copies were already checked out.

The Zoo Box is a collaboration between Ariel Cohn (my wife) and I and it's getting some great reviews so please check them out:

The Busy Librarian "Cohn's story is her perfectly complemented by Steinke's pastel palette and round-edged illustrations. There is something so unfailingly kid-like in the dialogue between the siblings and each beat of the story, from discovering the box to following the train of animals through the woods to the brother asking to buy popcorn at the zoo, feels natural and true to how a school-age child would react if brought into a magical world such as we see in The Zoo Box."

100 Scope Notes (School Library Journal Blog) "It’s entertaining from start to finish, with a bit of subtext that readers can reflect on. Worlds colliding in unforgettable ways."

Publisher's Weekly "Cohn’s minimal text is simultaneously funny and foreboding; it’s balanced by Steinke’s doll-like figures, whose pin-dot eyes and stiff movements ease the tension."

Kirkus "Young Erika, perhaps 12, and her younger brother, Patrick, are about to enjoy a night home alone, when, while playing dress-up in the attic, they happen across a curious box. The box—a hatbox with zebra stripes—is clearly labeled “DO NOT OPEN.” Believing that it could be a birthday present or an old, beloved and forgotten toy, the pair disregard the label and tear into it. Imagine their surprise when a full-size ostrich bursts out, followed by an entire menagerie of zoo life. When Erika and Patrick decide to follow the animals, they find themselves in a strange, topsy-turvy zoo and must puzzle out how to get all the animals back into that tiny box."

Estella's Revenge  "I always love First Second, whether it's a book for grown-ups or for kids, so it's no surprise this one is a winner for me. This book is listed for 5-7 year olds, and I think that's a fair representation of the content."