I've been waiting almost two years for this mid-grade graphic novel, Ellie McDoodle Have Pen Will Travel. Its published by Bloomsbury and is scheduled make its appearance in May. I per-ordered my copy months ago and I know I'll have to race my kids to the mail box when it arrives.

http://www.ruthexpress.com/

Ruth McNally Barshaw, Ellie McDoodle's amazingly talented creator is one of my favorite well kept web comic secrets and fast becoming a household name on the children's writer and illustrator scene.

http://members.aol.com/marjieogolley/ruthcomix.html

She's warm and generous and has been an everyday hero to countless writers and illustrators, as they juggle and fight for their dreams against all odds in an endless sea of laundry, dinner, dishes, kids, pets, carpools, field trips, rejections and family expectations.

There are three such journals capturing her adventures as she sets out from Michigan by train to the annual winter SCBWI Conferences in New York City. Her sketchbooks will make you smile, laugh and cry yourself silly. They will hearten and inspire you when you think you can't go on, and more they will give you words of wisdom and insights into the world of children's writing and illustrating.

http://www.ruthexpress.com/sketch/nyc07/001.html (This year's)

http://www.ruthexpress.com/sketch/nyc06/001.html (Last Year's)

http://www.ruthexpress.com/sketch/sk07.html (And the first, the one that introduced her saga to millions across the globe)