Join Us! Friday, December 3, 2011 at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale to celebrate the exhibit of Florida's Picture Book Illustrators

PARTY! PARTY! PARTY!

Join us for a WHOOP-DE-DIDDLIOSKI-DOO!

Friday, November 19, 2010

5 - 7pm

The Elliott Museum

825 North East Ocean Blvd.

Stuart, Florida 34996

RSVP 772-225-1961 x 107

It's going to be a roaring good time with book lovers young and old. The original illustrations will be on exhibit, books will be available for purchase and between the snicker-doodles and the fruit punch I'll be happy to autograph copies for you!

School Library Journal says "Vivid illustrations fill the spreads, and all the creatures have faces with expressive mouths and searching eyes. The red grouper with blue spots and the accompanying red-and-yellow cleaner shrimp pop off the pages. The nighttime view of the reef is beautiful, and the glossary will help with words like “copepods” and “bioluminescence.”

Crab march and booksigning

This talented boy dazzled us at the book signing for Ocean Commotion: Life on the Reef! at Barnes and Noble in Jensen Beach, Florida. After the reading we talked about the creatures who live on a reef. Because Jensen Beach is so close to the Atlantic Ocean, local kids are introduced to the sea as babies. My little friend was an expert on all things concerning sea life and he couldn't wait to color the book's leading character so he could lead a crab parade as the Grand Marshal. The kids and their crabs wandered around the entire children's department. Good job everybody!

Ocean Commotion: Life on the Reef!

My newest book, Ocean Commotion: Life on the Reef arrived, and it's beautiful!

I just discovered its first review:

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3–A molting hermit crab is searching through a splendidly colored seascape for a new shell to replace the one it has outgrown. Among other things, the perky heroine “tiptoed through a garden of anemones,” “waved to a family of cleaner shrimp,” and “danced across the bottom” where she finally found a vacant conch shell that was a perfect fit. Vivid illustrations fill the spreads, and all the creatures have faces with expressive mouths and searching eyes. The red grouper with blue spots and the accompanying red-and-yellow cleaner shrimp pop off the pages. The nighttime view of the reef is beautiful, and the glossary will help with words like “copepods” and “bioluminescence.” Endpapers contain serious talk about the endangered coral reefs of the world, and the author has referenced international organizations working to combat their destruction.Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC

Letters ARE my friends.. They ARE. They ARE.

There are days - like today - when I'm reading a contract thinking "surely it doesn't say THAT?" (It does.) The words look like they're made up of letters like these. Which reminds me of the days when I was so little I thought I was NEVER going to get the alphabet straight. I was NEVER going to be able to read. There were too many letters. And I absolutely couldn't be interrupted if I was reciting them, I had to go back to the beginning, remember? Who knew if "H" came before "J" unless you started again... a.b.c.... But today, with confidence and experience, and trust, I know these wild letters can be tamed into a contract that will be comfortable for both my publisher and myself. Shhh. Be good little letters.

Ocean Commotion: Life on the Reef

Good news! My newest book, Ocean Commotion: Life on the Reef (September 2010, Pelican Pub) will be included in the September 1st edition of Booklist Fall Youth Preview Section.

A one-woman exhibition of Janeen Mason's lively original picture book illustrations opens in the 22nd floor gallery of the Capitol Building in Tallahassee on April 8, 2010. The reception is from 3 - 5 pm. Please join us if you're in the neighborhood! Can't make it for the reception? The work will remain on exhibit until July 1, 2010.

For more information: www.florida-arts.org

www.JaneenMason.com