Childhood's Inspiration

by Joanna

When we first discussed what the cover of Freddie's Blanket should look like, Eric knew exactly what he wanted- a little boy pretending to be a knight using pots and pans and a wooden spoon for his helmet, sword, and shield.  And, since we don't have an art director, a publicist, an editor, or a publishing house guiding our creative decisions, and we can do whatever we want, that's what we did.  I think it turned out to be really fun and creative.  As soon as my father-in-law (the sneaky signwriter) saw the cover when we put it up on Amazon last week, he emailed me this photo:

"Beach Warriors, 1978?"

Eric is on the left, with the wooden spoon and the pot lid.  His younger brother Chris is holding his own!  The boys spent time in the summer "down the shore" (if you are from New Jersey you know what that is) at Grandma's bungalow and made their own fun and adventures out of Grandma's kitchen stuff.  I just love how my husband was able to recreate a very vivid childhood memory on the pages of our new book.  He really outdid himself on the artwork on this one- you won't be disappointed!