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Frank Daenen has been a favorite illustrator of mine for some time… I can’t even remember how I came across his work, but I’m glad I did. Frank is an accomplished Belgian children’s book illustrator, and his original compositions, color/texture usage, and view of the world are things that I both admire and aspire to. If you haven’t have the privilege of seeing Frank’s work, you can check out his collection online here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankdaenen/

A few weeks back, after attempts to get my hands on his books here in the U.S. had gone nowhere, I emailed Frank to ask if he had any suggestions. To my great surprise, he offered to ship me his books personally. They arrived a short while ago… and I’m in awe. Although they’re not written in English and we can’t understand a word, it hasn’t stopped me and my eldest (Jackson, 4 years and 355 days old) from flipping through each book at story time, making up our own plotlines and dialogue for each page.

Jackson, as well as dad, is especially intrigued by the little illustrations Frank drew on the inside cover of each book before shipping them to us. How cool is it that an artist thousands of miles away sent us books of his drawings, including one that was hand-drawn especially for us? Very cool indeed.

In no particular order, here are books I ordered:

Frank Daenen’s newest book called, Een Huis Voor Wiezewotje …

… A book of bunnies called, Laps En Wieb …

… And a book where a mouse, cat and dog appear to cause havoc in a young boy’s house called, Muizenbeetje …

Not pictured are the interior illustrations Frank personally drew for us… You’ll just have to order your own books for that enjoyment.

When I arrived home the other day, I was pleasantly surprised to find a box on the back porch containing copies of a book I illustrated awhile back called Silly Dog Tricks. It’s always cool to get these boxes - first, for the obvious reason that it’s pretty cool to see my name and work in print… but also because the illustrations are so often submitted independently of the text, and seeing it all come together for the first time in its final package is like an early Christmas present.

The book title accurately describes its content. Silly Dog Tricks is geared for kids, and it gives detailed instructions on how to teach your pup how to perform different stunts such as playing dead, walking on its hind legs, and stealing someone’s wallet out of their back pocket (not sure about that one). It also includes a training clicker and squeaky toy… it’s a pretty cool package.

For my part, I cranked out about 40 full-color illustrations of 4 different dogs in about a month. It was a pretty aggressive schedule, but I muddled through it like everything else in life. My wife was awesome, looking after our son while I spent late nights and weekends getting fur just right. She even went as far as naming each dog and referring to them by name (Abe, Bandit, Midnight and Flapjack) when checking in on my progress and bringing me that next cup of coffee. She’s the best.

Anyhow, if you have a dog and a youngster, definitely check out the book.
You can browse a few pages from the book via Google.
Or buy the book through Amazon