August 24, 2013.
Lucy (6) has a friend (7) over for a sleepover. I walk by the room and overhear a conversation:

Friend: Who do you like, Romney or Obama?
Lucy: Who do YOU like?
Friend: I like Romney.
Lucy: I like Obama.
Friend: Well Obama is bad. You have to like Romney.
Lucy: He's not bad!
Friend: Yes he is. And if you want to be my friend, you have to like Romney.
Lucy: No I don't! I can like whoever I want. You can't tell me who to like! Everyone can like whoever they choose to like!

Go Lucy! Best answer ever!

Working on character development today, for my manuscript/comic (working title: The Problem). I'm not really sure what the character will be. A non-specific blob? a worm? today it's a penguin. I think kids like penguins. I want it to be cute and innocent looking. Character 2 is the bully version of him. 

I feel like I've got to rush through my ideas. Yesterday I was going down my PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month, 1 idea/day every October) ideas from the last couple of years, and a bunch of them have been done. I was telling Lucy about how upset I was that a few of my top contenders are out. She said, "I can't believe they're stealing your ideas! Isn't there a law against that?!?" And then she proceeded to say that I have to hurry up and write my books already before they get taken. 

So here I am. Moving forward.

I'm always looking for good comics for Lucy. Something that's just clean fun: good story, not scary, not too many superheroes, no inappropriate words for her age (6). So I found this series called 323 Detective Agency -  The Disappearance of Dave Warthog by Fiona Robinson. It's kind of a cross between the Bremen Town Musicians and The Number One Ladies Detective Agency. Five animals, each with a special skills, who go into the big town to make it big, end up living together, and solving mysteries as a "day job". There is enough of an intriguing plot to keep the kids involved in the story, wanting to read on and solve the mystery. Lucy definitely did not want to put the book down. 

I found the drawings a little hard to read at times, and it's not a minimalist, clean cartoon; definitely a lot going on visually. Nonetheless, it is cute, funny, has lots of action -a rewarding read. It walks you through the logical process of gathering clues and deducing the conclusion, and is riddled with clues in the visual details. The morning after reading this book, Lucy had assembled her own version of a detective outfit, white lab coat, glasses, notebook and pencil, and was making lists of clues around the house, trying to solve her imaginary mysteries.

Animal characters are a great way to represent different human archetypes. I'd say that, despite not having people, this book scores well in terms of diversity, for creating characters that vary greatly in species, size (from donkey to dung beetle), character, and aspirations, but who can bring their talents together and respect each other's differences.