I tried to share this on March 29th, but I failed to find the right button. Oh. There it is, where you would never look for it. Let’s try this again…
The Twelve Days of Christmas is a children’s holiday picture book that began 33 years ago as a love letter to my own children. This tradional carol always captivated me because it was so odd. I thought, “Let’s take each day’s list literally, and bring on some madcap holiday fun!”
It would be zany and funny, based on the idea that each Day of Christmas had a list which must be represented. So, for example, on the third Day of Christmas my true love will have given me three French hens, two more turtle doves, and a third partridge in a third pear tree. It would build exponentially. I threw myself into the drawings.
Line art for the Second Day of Christmas
It begins with a serene Christmas morning, as my true love and I decorate the tree in the front room, a fire blazing, with a Christmas star in the pre-dawn sky out the window.
As my true love and I exchange gifts over the coming days, new guests arrive. The number of characters grows exponentially. On the Fourth Day of Christmas, the image has to crawl across the gutter, and can’t be contained within the border any longer.
It only becomes more and more madcap, as you will see.
You might say it becomes raucous…
I truly believe this is a Christmas book that you, your kids, and your grandkids will cherish for years to come. I’ve poured my heart and soul into it!
If you’d like to see a sneak peek inside the book, go here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZCGOr5phYs&t=3796s
Brown Books and I have signed an agreement that will put this book in bookstores around the country (and possibly around the world!). My Kickstarter campaign will fund that effort with signed copies and a signed Special Edition with heavier paper and some extras.
It's the most insane thing I've ever tackled in my career. I'm loving it. It's crazy, but wonderful! You'll see.
The Kickstarter is now live, here:
http://tinyurl.com/2wv74ce2