THE FIRST CAT IN SPACE ATE PIZZA by Mac Barnett & me.
320 page Graphic Novel, Book 1
Instagram followers and Mac’s Book Club Show Book Club Club Heads will recognize this book shares a title with the Live Cartoons we posted to Instagram in 12 weekly installments back in 2020. It was a weird, scary time, and Mac and I wanted to tell a story to comfort and entertain families (including our own) suddenly stuck at home during quarantine. To tell it, we combined elements from picture books, puppetry, comics, animation, and filmmaking, and we recorded it all live over a Zoom call. It’s the first time we ever wrote a book in front of an audience (we didn’t know it would be a book at the time.) It was also the first time we made a book with a full length soundtrack. Watching the live cartoon is kind of like seeing an early sketch of a painting, or a storyboard of a feature film. Usually, those drafts are only seen by the creators, but in this case, it’s all there for you to check out, at www.thefirstcatinspace.com . Maybe it will give you some ideas for your own show, or book, or whatever your idea ends up being— you never can be sure.
Available wherever books are sold. Here, for example, or internationally, here.
If you’d like a personalized copy, you can order one from my local bookshop Ink Spell Books . When checking out, in the order comments section, include who you’d like your books signed to, and if you have a special message or doodle request for me to draw for you. I sign orders at the shop every week or two.