These are images (and sketches) that complement two points in Kids Discover Chocolate. The first being that chocolate is dangerous for dogs to consume, and the other that chocolate does not cause or otherwise agitate the problems related to acne.
An infotoon about checks and balances, and how the president needs to be accountable to many different people.
This image (from Reader’s Digest Books for Children) represents the newer, cleaner energies “knocking on the door” of big oil. To get that grunge look on the door, I pulled out an old baking sheet (yes, we still use it) and scanned the bottom of it. Perfectly icky.
Detail of door
I was asked to put together a KIDSBILL for Music Theatre of Wichita, so I decided to try something new. I saw Bryan Ballinger (breadwig.com) doing some cool stuff with Maya, so I tried to replicate it in Adobe Illustrator, eventually winding up in Photoshop for some of the details. I really liked the “onstage” look of it.
In July I drew up a few goodies for Kids Discover Matter. This one dealt with with a new type of liquid that is being used as body armor. It supposedly stays in a liquid form until something strikes it, then instantly hardens, then just as quickly turns back into a liquid.
In that same issue we talk about how your weight can change due to gravity (say, Earth vs. Moon) but your mass will still be the same.
When my brother and I were little we played a game that had no rules, no physical boundaries, no set time limit, and absolutely no purpose—just a lot of running. My mom just called it dogfoose because it sounded like a made-up word; much like the game itself. This is an image from Fizz, Bubble, & Flash, a great primer on the periodic table for future Einsteins—and kids like me.
An image from FIZZ, BUBBLE & FLASH; Element Explorations and Atom Adventures for Hands-On Science Fun. Anita Brandolini and Michael Kline
The pervasive holiday mug—purchased by us in a spirit of unbridled holiday procurement—does its annual job, but sits empty and forlorn the rest of the year. Owing to its themed appearance, this perfectly useful object is shelved for all but 2 or 3 weeks a year. We may not always see it, but it’s there! So, what do we call it (and other objects like it)? Pour thing…
1st place: Cupbored (pl8speaker)
2nd place: Christmugs (Ivan88, Cleveland, OH)
3rd place: Whine stein (pl8speaker)
Honorable mention: Mug-grrrr (2801aAudrey)
word-play
Isn’t it nice to receive presents? Especially when those “thoughts of giving” are encased in 9 miles of decorated paper, 42 square feet of cardboard and bubble wrap, and 18 pounds of tissue. The actual gift (we’ll tackle this subject later) itself comprises about 2% of the actual mass, but we are left to deal with the holiday flotsam. So what name do we give to these severely over-wrapped objects of affection? No peeking….
1st place: Gift-trapped (waverider, Auckland, NZ)
2nd place: Wraptilian Attack (Bonnie K.)
word-play
Most scientists will tell you that no two snowflakes are identical. We say HOGWASH! The only reason for their skepticism is that no one has ever come up with a name for these rare but delightful hexagonal twins. So (knowing full well the editorial wrath of Nature magazine is about to strike us), what do we call these freaks of winter? Come on you snow-it-alls!
1st place: Identicolds (pl8speaker)
2nd place: Sixual deviants (Dunn M., Oakland, CA)
3rd place: Fro-zen (verbal herb)
Honorable mentions: Snow big deal (blitzen)
word-play