New Coloring Page...FREE!

Feel free to click the pic to download my latest Prairie Storms coloring page!  In this scene, we see a cougar taking refuge from a chilly, November hail storm.

"Prairie Storms" book launch and GIVEAWAY!

Head over to the blog of well-respected children's book illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba for a chance to win a FREE copy of my new book, Prairie Storms.  Also, be sure to read the interview with the book's author, Darcy Pattison, and myself, about how the concept for the book and the illustrations all came together.  You can also watch a book trailer there, to preview this exciting new book!

Video Preview of "Prairie Storms"

Watch this exciting book preview video of my new book, Prairie Storms, written by Darcy Pattison and illustrated by me.  The book is just weeks away from its release date.  I am so excited.  Watch the video HERE!  (Thanks to Darcy for putting together this video.)

Illustration Friday: "Midsummer Night"

Here is a preview illustration from my latest book, Prairie Storms, set for release in just a couple of weeks.  The book was written by Darcy Pattison, and published by Sylvan Dell.  We have a follow-up book, called Desert Baths, which will be coming in 2012.  It has been wonderful working with both Darcy and Sylvan Dell.  In this illustration, an earless lizard shimmies to find shelter from a dry, crackling lightning storm in the middle of an August night.  You can download a free coloring page version of this illustration here.

"Prairie Storms": February coloring page

To help launch the August release of my new picture book "Prairie Storms", written by Darcy Pattison and published by Sylvan Dell Publishing, I will be making available FREE coloring pages drawn by me!  Each coloring page features a month with a scene which coordinates with a scene from the book.  Just click the image, then either download the coloring page, or drag and drop it to your desk top.   Be sure to print the image in a "landscape" format on your printer.   The image size is 8.5" X  11".  I would love to see your child's finished, colored page when they have finished coloring it.


This week I am featuring the coloring page for the month of February: a prairie dog peeks out of his snow-capped burrow on a foggy morning.  Will he see his shadow in the snow?

"Prairie Storms": New Book Release Coloring Pages!

To help launch the August release of my new picture book "Prairie Storms", written by Darcy Pattison and published by Sylvan Dell Publishing, I will be making available FREE coloring pages drawn by me!  Each coloring page features a month with a scene which coordinates with a scene from the book.  Just click the image, then either download the coloring page, or drag and drop it to your desk top.  Be sure to print the image in a "landscape" format on your printer.  The image size is 8.5" X  11".  I would love to see your child's finished, colored page when they have finished coloring it.

Illustration Friday - "Swarm"

A swarm of winged ants!  From the book "Little Black Ant on Park Street".  You can order the book from Amazon here.  Thank you for visiting my blog.

Illustration Friday: "Trail"

After the little black ant discovers a plump, juicy caterpillar carcass....


she secretes a scent trail back to the colony....


so she and her nest mates will have food to feed the queens.

(Excerpted from "Little Black Ant on Park Street", written by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by ME :) and published by Soundprints Publishing.)

Illustration Friday: "Early"

"Early in the morning, the little black ant pokes up through the ground, eager to hunt for its food."


This is a spread I illustrated for the book "Little Black Ant on Park Street", part of the Smithsonian's Backyard Books series from Soundprints Publishing, 2010.

Illustration Friday - "subterranean"

Little black ants gnaw pieces from a plum caterpillar carcass to bring back to the anthill for the queens living underground....

From my latest illustrated book "Little Black Ant on Park Street", written by Janet Halfmann and published by Soundprints, now available and shipping from Amazon.com.

Illustration Friday - "Perspective"

It's amazing how different life appears through someone else's perspective.

This is the cover art from my latest children's book from Soundprints, "Little Black Ant on Park Street", written by Janet Halfmann.

Little Black Ant on Park Street

After several delays, the new release date for my illustrated book "Little Black Ant on Park Street" (Soundprints Publishing) is December 2009. I took these photos of the spreads with a pocket camera, and will repost them when I get actually high quality scans. But I was so excited I just had to show you now! It was hard to choose only 2 spreads from the book, but I cannot give away the story. So until December, this will have to satisfy!