This website uses affiliate links. All featured products are original Valbrains books. As Amazon Associates, we earn a small commission from books bought via links on this site.
About Valbrains
Valbrains is an irreverent author/illustrator whose primary purpose is to make you laugh, think and enjoy through the magic of humor. She believes that a life without laughter is not worth living, and that no topic is off-limits. Her latest book, the The Ultimate Butt Coloring & Activity Book, is available for preorder now, which means you should go and preorder it now.
Val’s book CAT-alog is a mix of traditionally published and self-published titles spanning a range of outrageous subjects, from Cat Butts to Screaming Goats and (the vastly underappreciated) Squirrel Nuts. While her titles tend to be on the fluffy side, Val is actually kind of a serious person and systems thinker with a lot of ideas about how life should be lived. Maybe she’ll tell you all about it someday. For now she can only reveal that each book starts as a spreadsheet (the horror!).
Spring in Val’s garden
When she’s not toiling on her next great work, you can find Val in the garden, out for a long walk or bike ride or committing sins of standup comedy on stage. She also runs a live butt-drawing service for parties and events called (what else) Draw My Butt. Val lives in Austin, TX but loves to travel (who doesn’t?).
Look at that hair, wow.
Valbrains’ esteemed titles are available online from Chronicle Books and Amazon.com. You’ll also find them in specialty retailers across the globe, from the UK, to New Zealand, Japan and more.
Where does the name “Valbrains” come from?
The nickname “Valbrains” began with frustration at the notion that people must be either right-brained (creative and emotive) or left-brained (linear and analytical). “Why can’t they be both?'“ Val thought… and a few keystrokes later, Valbrains was born.
It also helped that “valbrains” was available across URLs and social platforms (that’s the left brain talking) so she snagged it and the rest is history.
Early life, education, yadda yadda
After emigrating from Ukraine with her family as a child, Valbrains grew up amidst the woods and high taxation of Connecticut, where she started her first business maintaining gardens in high school because she thought bikini gardening was better than working at suburban Chili’s (she was right). Val lived the American dream, studying at Brown University and abroad in Bologna, Italy, where she picked up Italian and 20 extra pounds. She also speaks Russian, Spanish and humor and loves the many nuances of language.
A real shocker in the creative arts, Valbrains has worked a million different jobs and even had her own popsicle business in Providence, RI back in the day. While Val is not enough of a wizard to know exactly what the future holds, her favorite role thus far has been making books for your consumption while flying her freak flag as high as possible.
Philosophy
Humor, variety, using your body, learning new things and spending time in nature are the building blocks of life, as far as Valbrains is concerned. She’s forever working towards making as much room as possible for these elements in her life. Val’s also fascinated by mundane tasks and strives to infuse them with as much fun as she can (see dancing hot dog).
Valbrains thinks critical thinking skills are essential to a well-lived life and that cancel culture is a discussion killer and giant bummer. Nothing you can say will offend her. If you would like to try your luck, please reach out via the contact form.
This dancing hot dog appears on all Valbrains invoices