In its September issue, Atlanta Magazine goes deep into the success story of Pete the Cat and considers the franchise and authors’ future.  Here’s the first paragraph to get you started…

It’s the first day of daycare and my two-year-old daughter, Lola, is getting nervous in the backseat. “Why you’ll have to leave, Daddy?” she asks. At an intersection, we stop behind a Honda minivan. On its rear window, Lola spots a reassuring sticker. “Look—it’s Pete the Cat!” In Lola’s pantheon of children’s book characters, Pete is second only to Disney princesses. She sleeps near a stack of Pete books and a worn Pete doll. From my perspective, the unflappable feline is a positive influence—and compared to those formulaictales about Disney royalty, Pete books might as well be Rolling Stone.

Kris writes in…

Oh no! Pete the Cat is missing. My son and I were enjoying some Yogurt Tap yogurt and we noticed . . . Pete is gone!  Please contact the Chief of Police and the Mayor – we HAVE to find him! Put out an APB!

I can already hear Daren’s mind cranking.  “For the Book Festival, we ask James Dean to paint green boxes one at a time all over the city…”

This just in from the city’s Cheryl Burnette…

Unfortunately, James Dean has a family emergency and won’t be at the Decatur Arts Festival poster unveiling tonight. We still want folks to come and they will get either a free poster, or they can pick up a coupon to redeem at the festival and have James sign it there. I am also making a big card for folks to sign so we can give it to him.

View a revised poster with all the pertinant (where, when, free drink info, etc) after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Want to be among the first to see this year’s Decatur Arts Festival poster?

Better yet, want to meet Pete the Cat artist James Dean and get yourself a signed festival poster?  Well, then you need the info below!

Posted by DM, who is just realizing he shouldn’t have given Andisheh all the codes to his Swiss bank accounts just because he “wanted to play DaVinci Code.”

I hope Pete the Cat will like his black, ink-stained shoes, after he’s finished climbing the New York Times Bestseller list!

Dave over on the Little Shop blog notes that Eric Litwin and James Dean’s Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes is already #8 on the New York Times Picture Book Best Seller List after only a couple weeks of having gone national with Harper Collins.

In celebration, sing along with these girls!

Over on the Little Shop blog, Dave tells the story of how “Pete the Cat’: I Love My White Shoes” went from a local sensation to getting picked up by none other than Harper Collins.  Pretty sweet story!

Eric Litwin, a local storyteller and musician, had an idea for a children’s book starring Pete the Cat. A chance random meeting with James Dean, a local artist and creator of Pete, started the collaboration. Eric and James put the book together and published it themselves. Amazingly successful, the first printing sold out. Outrageously successful, the even bigger second printing also sold out.

In the meantime, multiple big time publishers began knocking on their doors.

Read the rest of the tale over on the Little Shop blog.

The Decatur bookstore will host a book release party for Dean and Litwin this Saturday, March 6th at 7pm.

Disclosure: Little Shop of Stories is a DM sponsor.

"Hey! Stop Your Smooching! Its My B-Day!"

Pete the Cat is turning 10! And his showroom of choice, The Seen Gallery, is planning a summer celebration surrounding Decatur’s most famous blue cat.

Caren at The Seen Gallery sends out the invitation, since Pete lacks opposable thumbs to do it himself…

THE SEEN GALLERY PRESENTS JAMES DEAN: “A DECADE OF PETE”
Honoring the 10th Anniversary of Pete the Cat

On Display June 13 through July 29, 3009

Opening Night Reception on Saturday, June 13 from 7 to 10 p.m. Featuring Complimentary Cocktails and Hors D’oeuvres

Atlanta, Georgia (April 29, 2009) – The Seen Gallery is proud to host James Dean’s newest series of paintings, “A Decade of Pete,” on display Saturday, June 13 through Wednesday, July 29, 2009. The exhibition honors the 10th anniversary of “Pete the Cat,” the scrawny cat who became a beloved member of Dean’s household and the inspiration for his paintings in 1999. Co-owners of The Seen Gallery, Bill Bibb and Amy Bradford, will host an opening night reception to celebrate the exhibit on Saturday, June 13 from 7 to 10 p.m., featuring complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

As one of Atlanta’s most beloved artists, James Dean’s creations are instantly recognizable.  He is well known for incorporating “Pete the Cat” into likenesses of famous art works and artists in his paintings. “Pete the Cat,” a local icon for many years, has burst on the national art scene and continues to bring a smile to children and adults alike.  Recently published in the children’s book, Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes, by Eric Litwin, Dean’s artwork continues to garner national attention and praise.

“We have represented James since opening as a fine art gallery.  The journey with James and his art through these seven years has been one of the things that make the gallery business worthwhile,” says The Seen Gallery Co-owner Bill Bibb.

“It’s been a simple thing,” says Dean. “It’s just touched people and that’s really what it’s all about on any level. It makes people smile. I’m an artist who makes people smile.”

For more information about James Dean and Pete the Cat, please visit www.petethecat.com.