Author and Illustrator friends
Getting together with this group of authors and illustrators was just what I needed to kick start 2026. Writing and illustrating books is often a solitary endeavor so, for me, it's important to have creative friends to critique, discuss, and share ideas with.
Miss Sherman Is Determined!
The new student teacher, Miss Sherman, wants to be a famous influencer. She cares a LOT about clicks, likes, and followers on social media. Teaching - not so much. So she has enlisted the help of A.J. and the gang to come up with weird, attention-getting stunts. One thing is for sure: Ella Mentry School is going viral. This funny book can now be found wherever books are sold.
Books By The Dozen
If you like to read your books by the dozen then you are in luck. Now, all twelve books from the bestselling My Weirder-est School series are together in one big box!
Yay Bookstores!
We had an amazing day at our book event this weekend. Literally A Bookshop hosted 9 authors and illustrators and the place was packed for more than two hours. For much of that time there was a line waiting outside. It was wild and crazy. Thanks so much to all the book readers and book creators who helped make the event so much fun! In this picture: Kim Tomsic, Priscilla Burris, Violet Duncan, Brittany Pomales, Jim Paillot, Dianne White, G.F. Miller, Matt McMann, Kathryn Rammell, Tanja Bauerle, Karen Chow And Laura Sharp: Owner of Literally A Bookshop.
True things about me!
Here's a few fun facts about me. I like to send a fun bio like this before I visit schools. It's a good way to show kids that we all have a lot in common.
Mr. Plummer Is Dumber!
This funny little book is now in bookstores. It's Career Day at Ella Mentry School, but the boy's bathroom floods, causing chaos. Enter Mr. Plummer, plumber extraordinaire. After realizing the cause of the bathroom back-up is a mystery, Plummer goes into Sherlock Holmes mode to find the culprit. Is Mr. Plummer a super sleuth or is he all washed up?
The word of the day: hike!
I added another page to my hiking sketchbook. Or is it a journal? Either way, I find that recording these hikes in a sketchbook is a great way to relive the experience. This hike with Lisa was in Usery Mountain Regional Park, central AZ.
I'm a Poet and I Know It!
Here's a funny book that came out last week. It's National Poetry Month and Ella Mentry School is having a school-wide poetry writing contest. A.J. has no time for rhymes until he hears that the winner gets a lifetime supply of Zip-Zap candy bars. Now it gets real. That is the kind of inspiration that helped Emily Dickinson and some guy named Shakespeare crank out their best work.
Mr. and Mrs. Phelps Need Some Help!
Mr. and Mrs. Phelps are here to teach A.J. And the gang how to cook and build things. Will everything go as planned? Will ANYTHING go as planned?! This funny little book can now be found at bookstores everywhere.
Fall is the best time of the year!
Happy Halloween to all of the ghouls and goblins out there!
For the fun of it
In between paying jobs I get a chance to just relax and draw just for the fun of it. The only goal is to enjoy myself. Sometimes a drawing like this will inspire me to other drawings and sometimes it's just a good way to spend a couple of hours.
There's A Skunk In My Bunk!
This My Weird School book came out in June. It's my new favorite book in the series! As a kid, I never got to go to summer camp but I would hope that it is as crazy, unpredictable and fun as this book.
Mrs. Marge Is In Charge!
This funny little book came out a few weeks ago. Mrs. Marge is in charge of the school clubs and after-school activities like the Toast Club, the Zombie Hunters Club, and Underwater Hockey. Do things get weird? My Magic 8 Ball says, "It is decidely so".
A Children's Book for Every State
100 My Weird School books! What?
Earlier this spring Dan Gutman and I released our 100th My Weird School book - Miss Nichol Is In A Pickle!. That is flat out crazy. Here is a picture of our 99th and 100th from our book series. Thanks so much to the teachers, librarians, parents and especially the readers. We love making these books so we are elated that kids enjoy reading them. More fun stuff and news to come...