2007 was a very busy year and 2008 shows no signs of letting up.

I met with Charles at the beginning of July 2008 and was given the following information (Michael Sims)

Some of the highlights were an exhibition at the Seymour Art Gallery called "Charles and the Children" which included a performance reading of 'The Painter Mouse and the Countryside" Charles invited me (Michael) to write some songs for the show and to perform them together. I am a pianist/songwriter and it was a real joy to do this together with Charles. It was a sell-out crowd and some of the proceeds went to a local animal shelter.

For those who missed the performance, "The Painter Mouse and the Countryside" is also available for $20.00 as a compact disc recording from our mailing address.

I had a chance to catch up with Charles and heard about his recent trip to London where he met with the Folio Society to discuss illustrating a new version of Kenneth Grahame's "Wind in the Willows." This follows a very enjoyable commision for the Folio Society of "The Blue Fairy Book" that came out in publication in January 2003. The Folio Society had this to say about Charles' work on The Blue Fairy Book"

Charles had a chance to do some field research and sketching along the banks of the river Thames in the heart of "...Willows" country He was accompanied by Dorothy Gibbs, the president of the American chapter of the Arthur Rackham Society where they both spent an ejoyable day of sloshing through the mud and acquiring a feel for the willows in winter.

The Rackham Society asked Charles to give a talk on how Rackham has influenced his work. This was a meeting of the society held in conjunction with the first Arthur Rackham exhibit in many years.

As of the summer of 2008 Charles is working on no less than four book projects: The Fairy Market, a Book of Owls (that will be hand-etched at his studio,) and also a book on Canadian animals. However, the main work , which has been consuming most of his time, is a secret project with The Folio Society which we will let you know about in October.