C.S. Jennings's Blog

🎉 I am so excited to share the cover of my new book, MY BIG BOOK OF TEXAS!🎉

🤠 As a seventh-generation Texan, the pages within are my love letter to Texas.

Dedicated to my west Texas grandma who would’ve been SO proud of this book. (A junior high grammar teacher, she made sure my cousins and had a love for our state. She bought us matching teal cowboy hats; took us to Fort Griffin’s THE FANDANGLE, an outdoor story-of-Texas extravaganza; and multiple viewings of OLD YELLER.😭)

🥳➡️ MY BIG BOOK OF TEXAS is available NOW for pre-order at all major retailers.

“A picture book celebration of all things Texas, perfect for fans of Richard Scarry and Miroslav Šašek’s classic This Is… series.

An introduction and love letter to Texas, this picture book explores the Lone Star State’s geographical features, culture, wildlife, prehistoric species, and more—all while incorporating early learning concepts, like the alphabet, counting, and opposites.

Discover the shapes, textures, and colors of Texas, the contributions of notable Texans, and the best of what there is to see and do in America’s second biggest state with this perfect gift for the whole family.”

From Grosset & Dunlap
48 Pages of fun!
Age Range: 4 to 8 years
Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

I pulled up my site on my iPhone.
"Oh my gosh! You wrote that?" she said, "I bought your book at the Alamo!"
(That's THE Alamo--not Alamo Draft House, Austinites--the most sacred of Texas landmarks.) 
THE. ALAMO.
This might be the proudest moment of my life. (Certainly my proudest one as a Texan.)

Mammoth. Hat. Boots.

The moment I read "turtle, tutu, elephant"
I saw this in my head. I wanted "warm" & "friends."
This is the next scene with some
characterization added.

New avatar

Twitter avatar (that's too detailed for a good read). #OhWell

  "The Race" Words: Fox. Pig. Skunk. Platypus. Unicycle.
Umbrella. Skateboard. Balloon. Dragonfly. Fish.
(click to embiggen)

Artist-block my friends. Threw together  Twoodle words. (The second sketch was the first.)
(click image to embiggen)


Hat. Eyeball. Walrus. Bulldog.
Walrus. Hat. Eyeball. Spoon. Baked beans.

Below, this week's Twoodle.*

(As always, click to embiggen.)

Gibbon. Mini-car
* #Twoodle is a Twitter hashtag. The game goes like this. On Tuesday you post two words to the hashtag, then you pick from the list people have submitted to create an illustration. Then you post your illustration using the #Twoodle hashtag.

#Twoodle is a Twitter hashtag. The game goes like this. On Tuesday you post two words to the hashtag, then you pick from the list people have submitted to create an illustration. Then you post your illustration using the #Twoodle hashtag.

Below are two Twoodles I have contributed thus far. (As always, click to embiggen.)

Guinea Pig. Guitar. Horse. Cowboy.
Detail. Knight. Egg. Baseball. Pangolin.
(This one is a shout out to a Twain book.)