Ken W. Min ~ Illustrator

A Very Cool Week

this week i learned that the picture book i illustrated, "hot, hot roti for dada-ji" took home the honor title in the picture book category from the APALA (asian/pacific american librarians association) 

the 'honor' title is generally considered the runner up status or recognizing a work of merit. 

in fact, for the children's publishing industry, monday was their 'oscars' in that ALA (american librarians association) handed out a slew of awards to celebrate the works of many authors and illustrators in a number of categories.

so to be given this title is a very humbling and flattering thing.

but let's not think this award mine alone, it acknowledges both the literary as well as the artistic achievement. it very much is a team collaboration. and, of course, that starts with the lyrical words of author f. zia, who conceived this charming story to give to her grandchildren. my editor jennifer fox whose guiding hand brought this project together and a tip of the hat to art director scott myles. they were so terrific to work with and i especially enjoyed hanging out with scott talking about the book and going over the designs and layouts over lunch at bob's big boy restaurant here in LA. (get the chili spaghetti- thems good eatin')

also want to say thank you to lee & low books for taking a chance on a couple of newbies to the field. 

 i raise a glass and toast you all.

Some new pieces

been pretty busy late, but i thought i would post a few pieces i did recently.

 

 

 

 

Another Guest Post/Blog

yakkity-yak. i didn't realize this 'ken min' guy was so talkative. if you ask his friends, when in company, he's rather quiet and docile. now, here he is with another post/blog talking about that 1 book that inspired him to reach for a career in illustrating. 

if you want to know what that 1 book is, head on over to the site 'teach mama' via this link.

also, you can win a copy of my book, Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji signed by me and the author. (shoot, even i don't have a signed copy from the author. so you'll be one up on me!)

and thanks to amy, of the teach mama website for letting me ramble on about one of my favorite books. :)

Who is this Odd Person in Burbank, CA?

who is a bit of a hermit? who thinks 'salty snacks' is one of the major food groups? who can't seem to throw out his VCR? who thinks "calvin & hobbes" is the coolest thing since sliced cheese, and who has an inordinate number of books in his home library? (well, after lisa yee that is :)

recently i took part in an interview series/blog from jennifer bertman who likes to take a peek into the "creative spaces" of various authors and illustrators. i was flattered to be asked to participate cause i'm really kind of a boring guy...who works in a room...by himself...for hours on end. so an opportunity to open up and interact with someone (albeit across the interweb) was kind of a fun.

so if you want to take a look and see some of what makes me tick, read the post here.

i hope i didn't overshare or reveal too much of myself; like any sort of dark secrets. at least i didn't mention my penguin fetish...oops.

The Book is Out!

found out through friends and the publisher, lee & low, that the picture book i worked on is out there in the universe. the original release date was May 1, but i was told that it's release was bumped up and came out last week. (which was actually a nice bit of news to receive just before my b-day)

the book has already gotten some nice notices (see previous posts) and a starred review in kirkus review (a well regarded site reviewing new publications.) here's a link to that review.

so look for it in your local book store. if they don't have it on hand, ask for it. special order it. i went into my local barnes and nobles to see if they would carry it and another favorite local children's book store- Children's Book World- (the best here in LA) to carry it as well.

the book is also available from amazon.com at this link. 

if you feel so incline to order it, consider doing so with Children's Book World. it's good to support independent book sellers and i'd be willing to jog down there and sign the book (if you happen to want my messy scribblings in your fine book :) ask for my friend, Anthony- he'll know what to do.  

also, i make this offer, if you are on facebook, post a picture of yourself with the book on my wall or post it and tag me and i'll send you a pseudo book plate with a doodle on it. if we're not already FB friends, send me a friend request. the more the merrier. 

i hope you enjoy reading the book. i certainly had a kick out of doing it. and eating lots of roti. :)

Kid's Reading Room

i have a piece in today's sunday comic section of the LA times accompanying a story called, "whirling dervish"

if you don't subscribe or pick up the newsprint edition of the paper (and why not? i myself love the feel of printer's ink on my fingers while perusing the paper. seriously. i'm old school :) you can find a link to the story and image here.

or, i suppose, you might have noticed the image up top. (man, i have to work on my skills to tease a story and tantalize the reader... *sigh*)

Roti reviews are coming in...

the picture book i illustrated, "hot, hot roti for dada-ji" just received a starred review from kirkus book review, a well regarded publication in the book publishing industry. the actual review itself won't be out till march 15th, but i got the early word from my publisher lee & low books today.

we also received a very nice write up from elizabeth bird of the influential blog- fuse 8 earlier in february. here's a link to that review.

i can't describe how pleased we are here in the roti camp, especially the west coast contingent. everyone involved from the author, art director, editor and staff put in a lot of work into this project and it's nice to know people are responding to it.

"hot, hot roti for dada-ji" will debut in May.

The Postman always rings...

went to the mail box today, minding my own business and i see there is key in the box. what this means is that there is a package in a separate utility box for oversized parcels. i had no idea what it could be because i wasn't expecting anything in the mail. well this is what i found inside.

an early, advance copy of the picture book i worked on last year. all bound with a shiny cover to boot. if i wasn't so stoic, i would say there was maybe a tear of joy in my eye or perhaps a smirk of happiness and contentment, but i'm pretty stoic so you'll just have to read between the lines. :)

it's certainly a handsome book to look at and made me quite proud to have this as my first, official picture book.

i hope you will look for it come May 2011.

Season's Greetings

happy holidays everyone!

My picture book is listed on amazon

was monkeying around over the weekend and thought i'd type the name of the PB i worked on into amazon.com and low and behold, it was listed. granted, without a cover image (which i've provided here without text. :) apparently the book retails for $17.95 and you can pre-order it. and i have an ISBN number. that makes it official. cool!

i found it amusing to click on my name under the heading which takes you to a list of other titles by "ken min". the first title that came up for me was "empowering asian mindsets through coaching", then my title and third was "the national collegiate judo handbook". i find that third one funny because i know, by 'googling' my name, that there is a tae kwon do master who teaches at berekley by the name of 'ken min'. yes, i'm not the first 'ken min' (shock and surprise!) and if you type in kenmin.com, it takes you to a chinese restaurant in japan. (btw- no, i'm not heir to the food dynasty and no, i can't get you a free meal, so don't ask)

speaking of the berkeley 'ken min', i've always wanted to meet him and i probably missed my opportunity because i had numerous friends who went to cal back in the 90's. i guess i snoozed and losed, uh, lost.

he's also the reason i use my middle initial 'W', to differentiate us and so no one comes up to me and asked me to "bust a move" karate-wise.

see the amazon listing here: Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-Ji

look for it may 2011.