Murilla Gorilla May 30th!

Well, the release day for Murilla Gorilla: Jungle Detective is just around the corner! I'm happy to announce that starting May 30th, it will be available for purchase in both Canada and the US! You can find it online at chapters.ca, amazon.ca, and barnesandnoble.com. You can also special order it through your local bookstore. 

Also, I'm very, very thankful for all of the great reviews Jungle Detective has been getting! You can see  some reviews on the Simply Read Books website here. As well, here is an excerpt from the latest review from School Library Journal - "This charming, easy-to-read chapter book will delight emerging readers"

Booklist Review!

Murilla Gorilla: Jungle Detective got another great review, this time from Booklist!

Here's what they have to say:

There is mischief afoot at the Mango Market, and Murilla Gorilla is on the case. In this first entry in a new series of early reader mysteries, Murilla is hired by Mrs. Chimpanzee to solve the case of her missing banana muffins. Readers won’t need to borrow Murilla’s magnifying glass to follow along with the clues, which establish a motive and possible suspect early on. Murilla’s meandering detection allows readers to meet several supporting characters who represent the variety of exotic animals living in the jungle. And though Murilla may wander, the text does not; the chapters are succinct and the vocabulary focused, keeping new readers on track and interested. The illustrations are awash with soft pastels, creating a backdrop as warm as the sun over the African rain forest. Often sleepy, slightly disorganized, but never in a rush, Murilla Gorilla has her own methods, which mystify and frustrate her client but get the job done.

— Kara Dean 

McDonald's Canada

Another fun illustration assignment from Tribal DDB! This one is an infographic for the McDonald's Canada press room. It can be seen on their website here and on their Facebook page here.

Happy Easter!

My obsession with Mini Eggs was taken to new extremes this year. 

Publisher's Weekly

Exciting news! Murilla Gorilla gets a starred review on Publisher's Weekly - Check it out here!

Murilla Gorilla: Jungle Detective

Big news!!

Elaborating on my earlier post about Murilla Gorilla, I had a really amazing opportunity come my way in fall 2011.

Just after moving to Vancouver, I got in touch with local publisher Simply Read Books. They specialize in children's literature and have a fantastic list of authors and illustrators under their name. I wanted to work on a book with them, and thankfully they wanted to work on a book with me too. The story turned out to be Murilla Gorilla: Jungle Detective, and it is the first in a series!

Jennifer Lloyd is the award winning author who wrote Murilla Gorilla. She's based out of Quebec, and has written titles such as One Winter Night and Looking for Loons. Her latest story follows the adventures and mishaps of Murilla as she tries to solve a case for her friend, Ms. Chimpanzee.

Simply Read Books has been amazing to work with and everyone there is super passionate about what they do. I spent a good chunk of 2012 working with them to develop the characters and illustrations, so it feels great to finally have it come together!

Murilla Gorilla: Jungle Detective is officially out in bookstores late spring 2013. I'll be updating with more details here and on my tumblr. I'll probably be blabbing about it on my twitter too.