Author Archives: Maria

Grumpygurl was my BFF right after Max was born. She was cheaper than a therapist and probably just as helpful in helping me out my hormonal rages, insecurities and crappy feelings related to being responsible for a helpless human being … Continue reading →

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to update my blog more. Since I’m already wearing flip-flops and my last post was uh…almost a year ago, I better get on it. My excuses? I could say that I ran a … Continue reading →

What do you think is the most ubiquitous design in the world? My money is on this design: If Roger Cook and Don Shanosky received a royalty every time the design was used, they could afford a gold plated, temperature-controlled … Continue reading →

Flight 123 has landed. On my editor’s desk at Chronicle Books. It will be a sequel to Backseat ABSee, but it’s a counting book about airport/flight signage. I am working on three picture books this year, and all celebrate flight … Continue reading →

When I was in Holland, I stumbled across a vintage enamel KLM sign in a shop in Amsterdam. I am a sucker for vintage airline stuff: posters, graphics, fashion, interiors, suitcases. It’s all so beautiful. Flying used to be chic. … Continue reading →

Today is the book birthday of Backseat ABSee, my new book with Chronicle. This book was the first one I did in Adobe Illustrator, and it sparked a completely new style for me. It helps me create bold shapes, high … Continue reading →

Pal Matthew Willcox, who heads FCB’s Institute of Decision Making, told me about compatriot Jonah Lehrer. Jonah is a neuroscientist who studied literature and philosophy at Oxford, and has a couple of interesting things to say about how creativity works. … Continue reading →

Backseat A-B-See is about to zoom into bookstores. I am so happy with it. Chronicle did a kick ass job on the production. The black is deep pothole black, the colors pop off the page, and the hazard tape spine … Continue reading →

I recently finished translating Hopper and Wilson in Dutch. It is the first book *evah* of mine to be translated into Dutch. There is a German version of BLOOM floating around, and Korean kids get to read BLOOM and SPLASH, … Continue reading →

Yes we do.