I wanted to feature Melissa Iwai solely on the basis of the title for her beautiful snowflake above: "The Newlyweds." But then I discovered she too lives in Brooklyn, and now, in the spirit of boroughhood, I have to love her. Her bio: Melissa Iwai is a native Californian who now lives in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. with her husband and their son, Jamie. She has illustrated twelve picture books and won the 2004 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio award for her book Good Night Engines, and the 2007 Bank Street College of Education Best Book Award for Tool Box Twins. Her snowflake will be featured in the second round of auctions, from November 26-30, and would make a wonderful wedding or Your First Christmas Together present for your favorite couple, whoever they may be. (Especially if they're a bit of an odd couple like the monkey and elephant above . . . Amor vincit omnia.)
N. B.: Melissa's website has a nice description of the process of making a picture book.
Next-to-the-last time: FIGHT CANCER! BUY SNOWFLAKES! YEAH!