I couldn’t be more delighted: fine artist David Foote has signed on to illustrate my next book for children, a wild collection of short stories about various breeds of fairies living in New York City (Knopf, September 2010).

David’s work is divine: energetic, unlikely, evocative; I’ve even described it as alarming, which can be a good thing, in my opinion.  Stare for a moment at his painting Clouds below: the longer you look, the more faces and objects you will find hidden in the piece. 

A current of tenderness and humor also runs through many of David’s drawings, and the combination of all of these things makes him a perfect illustrator for young readers.

As we get closer to publishing the book, we’ll see if we can post a sneak preview of some of David’s wonderful illustrations.  When I first saw his sketches for Modern Fairies (as our book is called), my heart skipped a beat: it was like seeing the emergence of the next Edward Gorey or Tim Burton. 

There seems to be no limit to his imagination, and I am thrilled about our collaboration.

- lmmb