Happy Birthday, J.K. Rowling

Today J.K. Rowling turns 48-years-old! And Harry Potter turns 33-years-old!

Joanne Rowling (J.K. Rowling) was born in July 1965 in England. In college, she earned her degree in both French and Classics, and then worked as a researcher at Amnesty International. She started writing the Harry Potter series during a delayed train trip (Manchester to London King’s Cross), and during the next five years, she outlined the plots for each book and also began writing the first novel.

Joanne then moved to Portugal, where she taught English as a foreign language. In 1992 she got married and in 1993 she gave birth to a daughter (Jessica). When the marriage ended, she and Jessica returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone was eventually completed. The book was published under the name J.K. Rowling. The “K”, for Kathleen, was added at the request of her her publisher, who thought that a woman’s name would not appeal to the target audience of young boys.

Today, J.K. Rowling lives in Edinburgh with her husband and three children. Her latest book is her first novel for adults! It's called The Casual Vacancy and was published in English in September 2012.

Check out J.K Rowling's website here!

Don’t Pigeonhole Me: Two Decades of the Mo Willems Sketchbook

By now, we're pretty much all familiar with the works of Mo Willems: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and the Elephant and Piggie series. But did you know that before all this fame, Mo Willems published a zine? Parts of it, as well as other early-days doodles and comics by Mo are available now in a book called Don’t Pigeonhole Me: Two Decades of the Mo Willems Sketchbook. Be sure to put a copy on hold today!

Unlike the books that made him famous, Don’t Pigeonhole Me: Two Decades of the Mo Willems Sketchbook is not necessarily for small children. According to Disney, this book “reveals the author/illustrator at his most truthful, most experimental, most grown-up. Most Mo.” Sounds awesome! Plus, bonus: It features a foreword by Eric Carle!

For more on the book and Mo Willems' zine days (mostly an interview with Mo!), click here.

Or, click here for an exciting preview from Mo Willems' Doodle Blog.