Feeling more hope today than I have in months.

#A_NewHope ✊

[Exit King.]

Democracy is dying but don't worry we have

My wife was complaining about our house not having any medicine cabinets so of course I had to show her the medicine cabinet tracking shot from the 1997 science fiction masterpiece Contact.

It's time for yet another round of How Many Phone Calls Does it Take to Refill My Child's Prescription

Been a while since a new album has made it into heavy rotation but 'Headlights' by Alex G has been playing on repeat since I stumbled onto it a few weeks ago. 'Afterlife' is the obvious standout, but there are a bunch of great tracks. music.apple.com/us/album/aft...

Final night at the lake.

Boris the water dog* *definitely NOT a water dog

Lake, day three.

Oh, hey, another lake photo.

Endless gray. Lake Michigan this morning.

An eloquent image: Setting aside the content under the tarp for a moment, teens were asked to make art expressing what it is like to be a teen, and the end result was a mural wrapped in a tarp by adults. I bet a lot of teens would find this expressive of their experience.

The "EXTREME HEAT" warning is just too perfect for this story

Absurd 'About this Book' sections have become a staple of the WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID series, and the one for WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID ON HALLOWEEN will not disappoint... ...Assuming my editor doesn't make me cut it down—it features about as many words as the rest of the text combined 🤣

Apple just recommended my own books to me, so I'd say they have my tastes down pretty well.

Drove through a torrential downpour on the highway this morning and instinctively removed my sunglasses. I put them right back on again when I realized the polarized lenses enabled me to see *so* much better

So one of my kids left a bottle of hair spray in the kitchen and my wife mistook it for cooking oil. On an unrelated note, do you have any recommendations for good cast iron pans?

Got a free trial of Apple Music and I can't believe how much better the curated recommendations are vs Spotify

I literally gasped when I read the nutrition facts on the packet of tteok bokki my kid brought home from the grocery today.

My home office shares a wall with my youngest kid's room which means I am on a zoom meeting while she practices her solo in 'Be My Guest' at the top of her lungs about 18" behind me

Interiors? ✅ Front cover? ✅ Back cover? ✅ Jacket flaps? Not my department. Pretty sure my work WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID ON HALLOWEEN is done until it's time to review proofs. Now, back to working on my Middle Grade suburban portal fantasy novel.

Pretty sure I just sent off the final interior art for WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID ON HALLOWEEN and I am feeling very good about that.

Pulled a big section of vine off my house and nearly took a small nest down with it. Thankfully, this section was attached securely enough to stay put. I bolstered it with some wire and a few sticks. Fingers crossed it's sturdy enough to hold them until they're ready to fly 🤞

Hiking with Boris and my oldest kiddo. Neither of whom are pictured here. But they were there, I promise.

Last author visit of the year is in the bag. Big thanks to both Prairieview and Elizabeth Ide Elementaries (and their PTOs!) for the double-header this morning!

Whenever I visit a school now, a kid asks "what's your favorite Italian brainrot." After like 3 of these encounters I finally looked it up. It is...something.

Had the perfect idea for end paper art for What the Dinosaurs Did On Halloween but I can't find the prop I need! We had 2 of them we used for interior photos. Not only can not find either, they're not available online anymore. Only hope now is that some other photo we took of it will work...

A very happy, somewhat thirsty Boris.

I am on a train with nothing to do but write. Thus, these train haiku:

Writing (along with most other things, honestly) has been such a slog this past year under the poison cloud of the world's hopelessness but school visits continue to be an effective antidote. Talking and reading with students never fails to get me excited about telling stories again.

Having a blast at Edison Elementary in Elmhurst, IL! Getting ready for my last session of the day—4th and 5th graders—and signing books. #authorvisit

Sometimes my wife will be silently tapping at her phone for several minutes then randomly look up and say something like "HSA is the thing I'm thinking of, right?"

How could it possibly be met gala time again? Either that event is being held at shorter and shorter intervals or I am tumbling ever faster down the widening maw of my own mortality.

Making chicken parm from scratch. It's going to be good. Or if it's not I may never cook again.

Punta del Este, Uruguay

Made a new friend

Ever feel like you're being watched...?

Breakfast in Montevideo

Finally finished the 9th and final book of the Expanse series and damn if they didn't end that sorry perfectly.

Been cramming español for my upcoming trip to Uruguay and I can't believe how much I've improved* *Very little. I have improved very little.

Took the oldest kid out to the trails to get some photography in and came across this spiraled lean to.

Had a great #Authorvisit at the District 181 Young Writers ceremony last night! Got to deliver the keynote address, lead a couple Build-a-Villain workshops, sign some books, AND watch the 3-8 graders receive awards for their writing and illustrations. Inspiring to see so much talent & excitement.

Found the cats

Happy Orange Monday, everyone. Please do not look at your 401k.

what a visual

Not sure we're taking pictures of our food anymore but my breakfast is pretty

My office shares a wall with my 11 year old daughter's bedroom, which can be a bit distracting. (She's the youngest of 4 with the volume to prove it.) BUT right now I can hear her recording her choir solo audition before school and it is the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life.

A little while ago, my parents' cat Bridget went missing. As the weeks dragged on, they became extremely worried. My dad devised a way to distract himself: he began to paint Bridget's adventures, imagining her travelling through time and popping up in some of art and music's most iconic scenes.