When I started reading The Mostly Invisible Boy to my kids, they all went scrambling for their art supplies. Drawings of Bog Creeps, Razor Wings, and Sentry Trees covered all available surfaces. Architectural sketches of tree fortresses plastered the fridge. We got still lifes with oaks, epic battle scenes with Gloria, and Sylvan locations with my kids making cameos.
Speculative monster art continues to be a very popular genre. “Here’s one for your next book, Dad. It’s called ‘The Bloody Monster'” (six-year-old Flannery).
All this colorful, horrifying art is too good to waste. So in the near future, I’ll be adding a Gallery to show it off. If your kids are anything like mine—and I know some of them are, because I’ve been hearing from you—I’d love to feature their woodsy, perilous art as well.
Here’s how this will work.
Kids are welcome to mail paper art to my real address:
4526 N 123rd Terrace
Kansas City, KS 66109
If they do, I’ll get one of my tech-kids to photograph it for upload to the site, and the physical copy will likely end up on the wall.
However, digital files are also welcome. You can take a picture of your art or create digital art, and email me: AJ [at] this site’s home address.
Along with the art, I'd like a name and age—and of course, notes are welcome. I’ll leave it up to parents and teachers to steer the process. For anyone looking for inspiration, here’s an inside tip: The definitive picture of a Butcher Beast has yet to be created…