Kidlit Cupcakes

KidLit Drink Night in NYC is well established and, though I don't drink, I hope to attend sometime when I'm in New York. Then there was Boston Kid Lit Pie Night and now, as reported by Fuse #8, there will be Pie in Salt Lake. Pie is great -- one of our WLCB mottos is "Eat Pie Now." However -- more time in Austin would definitely mean Kidlit Cupcake Night. Here's where we'd meet -- the incomparable Hey Cupcake!



We've sampled several and there are no bad choices. Choose yours here. Pay close attention to the Whipper Snapper.

Not all locations are in Airsteams, but that's our favorite.

NYT Best Illustrated

The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books for 2009 were announced today. I think they’re great choices – I usually do. But sometimes, while I feel the choices are marvels of illustration, I wonder about real child appeal. Not so with this year. Several of my favorites are listed, including the gem All the World. The only title I don’t know is White Noise, but David Carter is known for some incredible pop-ups.

Austin Reads!

Austin is a book town -- we see people walking around with books everywhere. We've been to Bookpeople and will be there again and take some photos of the children's area. Haven't been to the library yet, but we'll get there.

Liz Garton Scanlon lives here and I fantasize about running into her.

Smile

We visited a comics shop in Ann Arbor and this sign made us smile.

Review -- The Secret World of Walter Anderson

The Secret World of Walter Anderson
Written by Hester Bass and illustrated by E. B. Lewis
Candlewick Press, 2009
Hardcover Picture Book

Sometimes books strike you in a particularly strong way and you might not know why. That's true for me with The Secret Life of Walter Anderson. I'm so enamored of this book!Yes -- the beach,nature, an artist, on an island -- it makes sense that I would like a book with these elements. But this book is more -- I want to know everything about Walter Anderson and his family, I want to visit the museum that holds his work, I want to see his work "in person". I'm fascinated with his story. I embrace the idea that someone living so simply could be so happy.

The opening lines express the essense of the man --

There once was a man whose love of nature was as wide as the world. There once was an artist who needed to paint as much as he needed to breathe. There once was an islander who lived in a cottage at the edge of the Mississippi, where the sea meets the earth and the sky.

But it's not just about an artist who loved to paint but something more universal -- its about following your heart.

The book focuses on his trips to Horn Island. Packing sparingly and leaving before dawn he'd row 12 miles out off the Mississippi coast and arrive on the island, greeting his animal friends. The uninhabited island had no electricity or buildings; food was scarce and the weather wild. Walter would spend weeks at a time on the island painting, writing and drawing. Though he was happiest here the work he created was kept locked in a cottage room and unseen until after his death. He was recognized for other works of art -- paintings, sculpture, carvings -- but what came from Horn Island was secret.

The illustrations are so atmospheric you can practically smell the salt air. Lewis' loose, impressionistic watercolors pull you right into Walter's solitariness and his intense focus on his subjects. The expressive well-crafted text portrays the character of the man and the natural world he was such a part of. Both art and text vividly capture his uniqueness.

An extensive author's note sheds more light on Anderson -- he was a troubled man and unable to live with his family. His brothers were also artists and founded Shearwater Pottery, though much of that legacy was destoyed by Hurricane Katrina. Horn Island is now protected as part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.The author spent 7 years in Ocean Springs MS and her love for the area and admiration of Anderson are apparent. A bibliography is included.



These images are taken from the Walter Anderson Museum of Art website.

Thanks to Candlewick Press for providing a review copy.

Nonfiction Matters

Take a look at this amazing website put together by the authors who are a part of the I.N.K. (Interesting Nonfiction for Kids) blog. Now there's a searchable database of their titles linked to standards -- such a great resource!

Congratulations to our clients who are members of this innovative group of writers: Marfe Ferguson Delano, Deborah Heiligman, and Susanna Reich.

2009 National Book Festival

photo by Sally Lindsay
My friend Sally and I drove down to Washington yesterday for The National Book Festival.It was our first time at the annual event and even though the rainy day shortened our time there we experienced enough of the flavor of the festival. I love the idea of a national celebration of books and authors and the author line-up included many "big" names.

photo by Sally Lindsay

The highlight of the day was hearing Jacqueline Woodson speak. She is an amazing woman and writer and it was a privilege to listen to her talk about her work and recite from Locomotion, Feathers, Show Way, and Behind You.

PBS Kids had its own tent and it was packed! Chaotic really. My favorite Reading Rockets had a table. photo by Sally Lindsay

All in all I'm glad I went though I was a bit disappointed. I expected more exhibits -- local publishers, literacy organizations, why not the DC Public Library? I think it's wonderful that there were so many authors but what about lessor known and new names?
photo by sally Lindsay

Review -- Trouble Gum

Trouble Gum
Written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Feiwel and Friends, 2009
Hardcover Picture Book

This new picture book is about fun – pink fun, stretchy fun, bubble fun – yes, gum fun. And as the title states it’s a book about trouble too.

On a rainy day, Rueben and his younger brother are playing inside and soon the piglets’ raucous behavior unnerves their mother and visiting grandmother. Grammy offers gum while Mom invokes the three rules, “Don’t swallow your gum. Don’t play with your gum. And don’t blow big, sticky bubbles with your gum.” How long do you think it takes to break those rules? How long before fun becomes trouble? Cordell does a fine job with pacing and juxtaposing art with text so that readers are simultaneously laughing while exclaiming Oh no! The black line cartoon-y art with just small bits of pink, red and gray is perfectly placed against a white background. There’s plenty of room for changing perspectives, lots of action, and text that is both story and art. Some text in hand-lettered font -- SMAK! Stuuuuuuuuuurch Pop! -- creates a soundtrack of the misbehaving brothers. Cleverness and hilarity run throughout the story.

Thanks to Feiwel and Friends for the f & g given at their reception for bloggers during ALA.AND they gave us these terrific promo gifts -- guess what's inside the tiny box?


Click here to go to Matthew Cordell’s website.

Review -- A Tree for Emmy

A Tree for Emmy
Written by Mary Ann Rodman and illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss
Peachtree, hardcover, March 2009
Picture Book

A simple story about appreciating the wild natural world and the satisfaction of realizing one’s desires.

Emmy loves trees of all kinds, though it’s the mimosa tree at Gramma’s that really grabs her. Her imagination is ignited by the mimosa’s strong low branches, its fuzzy pink blossoms and the rattling seed pods. Best of all the mimosa is “stubborn and strong, and a little bit wild. Just like me.”

Emmy decides a mimosa of her own is a perfect birthday wish and her parents do their best to find her one. But mimosas are considered wild and so they’re not available at garden centers. Disappointed, the family visits Gramma and unexpectedly Emmy finds her own mimosa, a seedling growing wild and free. The last page presenting an older Emmy watering her beloved tree (now taller than her) is a testament to time passing, patience and a nurturing heart.

Lovely designed papers used for just the right amount of collage add whimsy and create visual interest and texture against the watercolor art.

Thanks to Peachtree Publishers for providing a review copy.

Review for Molly's Bookshelf -- I Want a Dog

I Want a Dog
Written and illustrated by Helga Bansch
North South, hardcover, $16.95
Picture Book

“Lisa loved dogs. Big dogs, small dogs, short dogs, tall dogs, shaggy-haired dogs, curly-haired dogs, any kind of dog. ‘I want a dog,’ she said twenty-one times a day.” Lisa’s entreaties don’t fall on deaf ears but her parents stand firm, “Our apartment is too small for a dog.”

She argues (nicely,) makes promises, threatens tantrums, all to no avail. However, Lisa is a problem-solver and she hatches an ingenious plan to get what she wants. The end result is a happy foursome – her parents, a playful pup named Rollo, Mr. Lewis, Rollo’s elderly owner and of course, Lisa. It’s not easy introducing concepts like creative solutions and taking action to young children, but it’s easily done here.

The artwork is loose with a contemporary feel using bright colors with limited collage. Changing perspectives and layout help move the narrative along. Dogs, real and not, are everywhere, sharing the focus with red-haired Lisa, and both people and dogs are expressive with use of simple lines.

Come meet Lisa, dog-walker extraordinaire and dog’s best friend!

Thanks to North South Books for supplying a review copy.

Review -- Ollie and Me 1 2 3

Olly and Me 1 2 3
Shirley Hughes
Candlewick, hardcover, July 2009
Picture Book


Shirley Hughes’ familiar illustrations populate this counting book which also serves as a vehicle for young Kate to tell readers all about her family, including younger brother Olly, and friends. “There are four people in our family. When we go out, we usually take our dog, Buster, too, and that makes five. Buster likes to chase birds but he never catches any.”

The page layout places the featured number (1-10) written at the top of the page; next to it are large colored dots with the number of dots matching the number. On a double-page spread are multiple examples of the number in words and illustrations, such as “Three is company.” What I love about Hughes’ art is that it’s messy and expressive and full of motion, showing us happy animals and people in the everyday. It’s kids being kids and her language is just like listening to kids. Following the number 10 she writes
“Some things are too many to count –
Like blossoms falling from a tree
Or raindrops into a puddle . . .
Or flowers in the springtime
Or clouds in the sky going up and up . . .
Numbers go on forever.”

Thanks to Candlewick Press for supplying a review copy.

Early Library School

I found this image at the bookstore when we visited the Chautauqua Institution in New York state earlier this summer. On the back of the postcard:

Melvil Dewey, at extreme right, who helped found the Chautauqua Library School in 1901, is shown with a class of librarians engaged in continuing education.

Blogging from Chicago ALA

This afternoon we met some fellow bloggers, as well as librarians and authors, at a bloggers reception hosted by Feiwel and Friends. We were happy to put faces with names and have a chance to reconnect with some folks. We enjoyed talking with Betsy Bird, Sue Kusel, Travis Jonker, Karen Romano Young, Matthew Cordell, (thanks for the bubblegum) Yuyi Morales, Esme Raji Codell, April Halprin Wayland, Wendi Old. And of course the F&F people, who went out of their way to make everyone feel welcome. We really admire Jean Feiwel, Liz Fithian, and their team for what they're doing in publishing.

We looked at many books while there and went home with a few galleys which we'll report on soon.

Blogging for LGBT Families Day

Today we’re blogging for a specific purpose; we’re participating in the Blogging for LGBT Families Day, hosted by Mombian on June 1, 2009. And so, We Love Children’s Books fades to background and our sister company, Two Lives Publishing, comes front and center. At Two Lives, it’s all about books for kids in LGBT-headed families, and in addition to publishing, we also distribute titles in our niche. We’re not the only ones publishing these books, as our distribution attests – there are successful self-published and small publisher works out there and some large, mainstream publishers have put out books with an impact, like And Tango Makes Three. But, oh, we wish there were MORE! Our first titles (123: a Family Counting Book and ABC: a Family Alphabet Book were published 10 years ago and today, there’s still just a handful, and those books only begin to tell our families’ many and varied stories.

Recently, Bobbie spoke about the “State of LGBTI Themed Picture Books Today”(NJLA Conference, April 2009) and took part in the Many Voices panel on diversity in publishing at the SCBWI New England Annual Conference. Lots of engaging discussion, lots of support from allies, but the bottom line is change is slow. The percentage of children’s books published that speak directly to non-whites and non-heterosexuals is still quite small and given the current economic climate we don’t think we’ll see publishers doing more of what sells less. So what can we do to ensure that our families are represented – and not as an “issue” but as part of the fabric of our country’s day-to-day? What can you do?

Our thanks to Mombian, and to the Family Equality Council for sponsoring this effort.

Profile: Live Oak Media

Last week we visited friends in the beautiful Hudson River Valley. Debra and Arnie Cardillo are the owners of Live Oak Media, known for its amazing and award-winning readalong productions and unabridged audiobooks of first chapter books and middle-grade fiction. No strangers to awards, their production of Jazz written by walter Dean Myers and illustrated by Christopher Myers, won the very first Odyssey Award for excellence in audio production for children.

We snapped a few photos of the offices and warehouse, though they'll soon be outdated becaUSe they're moving into new digs next month!

Here's Debra, Liz and Bobbie.





Pictures of the warehouse.

Check out their website to learn more about their Behind the Scenes Interviews, a great e-newsletter, and my favorites, the Live Oak Music Makers!