Don’t Worry, Wuddles

Don't Worry, Wuddles by Lita Judge

September 26, 2023

In this snowy day picture book, a kindhearted but overeager duckling tries to be helpful by sharing Wuddles the sheep’s wool to make sure all their animal friends stay warm—but will there be enough for Wuddles?

Snow is coming, and the barnyard animals are preparing for the cold. Duckling has an excellent idea! Fleecy Wuddles the sheep has plenty of wool to keep everyone nice and toasty. Surely Wuddles doesn’t mind sharing? Soon there’s a goat in legwarmers, piglets in onesies, and more! But will this outpouring of generosity leave Wuddles himself out in the cold? Not to worry—Duckling has one final, absolutely heartwarming idea!

Don't Worry, Wuddles by Lita Judge

Dogs: A History of Our Best Friends

Something Beautiful by Lita Judge

Just Released!

This illustrated history of dogs explores how humans’ partnership with dogs changed our lives and theirs

Of all the animals on the planet, dogs have the widest range of roles in our daily lives. They’re protectors, helpers, lifesavers—but most of all, they’re family.

And they’ve taken a fascinating journey to get to this point. Long ago, early wolves evolved from fierce predators into trusted partners. They became dogs! While we know dogs to be lovable and full of personality, they have also historically improved our lives in many practical ways, like guarding livestock to help humans form the first settlements, cleaning out infectious wounds, and finding food. Covering over 50,000 years of history, from cave-dwelling to the present day, Dogs chronicles fascinating scientific details and the history of how dogs learned to live cooperatively alongside humans.

Creative Process Videos

The Wisdom of Trees

In recent years, forest ecologists have learned that trees have a secret language all their own, one we can’t see or hear, which allows them to work together in communities.
The Wisdom of Trees by Lita Judge
The poems in this book reveal what trees might say if they did use words. Trees live longer when they help and defend one another. They can do this only if they communicate. Find out more about how this works in THE WISDOM OF TREES!

Mary’s Monster

My debut young adult novel, Mary’s Monster: Love, Madness and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein was longlisted for the 2019 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal (the UK’s oldest and most prestigious children’s book award), selected as a book of Outstanding Merit on the Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year list, added to the Amelia Bloomer List, and was shortlisted for the 2019 UKLA Book Award by the UK Literacy Association. Pairing free verse with over three hundred pages of black-and-white illustrations, Mary’s Monster is a unique biography of Mary Shelley, the pregnant teenage runaway who became one of the greatest authors of all time.

When You Need Wings

When You Need Wings takes readers on a wonder-filled exploration of a child’s imagination, thoughtfully weaving in a gentle suggestion of how to explore that bountiful inner world and let it help them shine with courage in the real one.

When You Need Wings
is now available!

The Making of When You Need Wings

After coil hand building a ceramic vessel comes my favorite part, carving! It feels like a meditation. This one will be ready for the fire soon.
Ok, life interrupted for a bit, but I'm back!! I sculpted this vessel several weeks ago and she's going into the kiln tonight. If you've ever stuck your hand in a vessel and felt the warmth rise off the drying clay, you'd know that vessels should be called "she", like a great ship, not an it. So excited to introduce her to the garden soon.
I'm taking the plunge! I've decided to carve out more time for clay in my schedule, and start selling my sculptures! (With some supervision from birdie of course:) For now, online and my studio will be my galleries, but I hope to expand to other galleries as well. I love writing and illustrating, but my fingers need more clay time alongside creating books so this feels like a big new adventure. ⁠
A sketchbook and my Maine coon girls are two of my favorite things!! No matter how much I am writing, painting for a book, or sculpting, I find carving out an hour a day to just draw something I love is a daily practice I never want to let go of. It keeps my creative well filled and my drawing skills sharp. Drawing is a practice that needs constant devotion. I get rusty if I miss even a couple of days. So it has to be a labor of love. I don't watch a lot of tv, but I sure look into these beautiful eyes a lot!
Sharing a study of owls in my sketchbook. I grew up with them in my grandmother's house so they are on of my most favorite creatures to watch and draw. I'm gearing up to sculpt one, so I thought I'd draw different species while I muse on what to create. Hope to have a sculpture to share soon!
Getting ready for Monadnock Studio Art Tour next weekend! October 7-8, 10 AM - 5PM. I'm # 44 on the map (monadnockart.org/open-studio-tour)⁠ And if you can't come in person, I just loaded several new paintings onto my Etsy shop. A link in my bio. ⁠
I'm falling deeper in love with clay with every vessel I make. I just tried a new brown stoneware for this vessel. If the build goes well, it feels like the vessel holds a personality. This one, inspired by a seedpod I drew, feels very feminine and whimsical. Can't wait to fire and place her my garden. Come visit her and me on the Monadnock Art Tour, October 7-8. I'm # 44 on the map. (monadnockart.org/open-studio-tour)
Sharing a wee sculpture I made of my little Pan.