For this year’s random acts of publicity week, I’d like to give a loud shout-out about  my friend Deb Diesen’s book, THE POUT-POUT FISH IN THE BIG-BIG DARK. (Illustrated by the talented Dan Hanna. Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.)

If you enjoyed the first book about the Pout-Pout Fish, you’ll love this one, too in which Fish must conquer his fears to help his friend Ms Clam recover her “yawn-gone pearl.”

And if you get a chance be sure to check out the hilarious book trailer made by Dan for the book. (See below.)

What’s it about?

It’s all about joy!

Shutta

If you’re a writer or illustrator and want to spend some time networking with other writers and illustrators contact me about the annual Schmooze here or via my “contact” page. It’s Sunday, August 14 from 2 to 5 p.m.  More information is available on my Schmooze page (under the Events tab).

In the playhouse!

Hope to see some of you soon!

Shutta

What a wonderful idea! Artists and writers have joined the wave of folks speaking directly to kids who are having a tough time, or who are being bullied, to let them know that “it gets better.” What a great way to encourage kids who are suffering. Many of us have “been there” and “done that.” Many writers, too, were bullied or depressed as kids. But we persevered to come through to the other side—to life as happy and productive adults. This is something teens need to hear.

The link is below. Please share this!

Shutta

Often I am asked about which book had the most impact on me when I was a child. A couple of years ago I finally decided to write about that.

The book was a Webster’s Dictionary that I rescued from an incinerator and lugged home to a house that did not have many books. Part of the “A” section was missing. Still, it was a wonder to me!  I continue to be enamored of dictionaries of all kinds.

To read my love song to dictionaries click below. This article was originally published in the Language Arts magazine, vol. 88, No. 2, November 2010. “Copyright 2007 by the National Council of Teachers of English.  Used with permission." 

LEXICAL LUST: AN INK-SLINGER’S CONFESSION

Enjoy . . . all you bibliophiles!

Shutta

If you’ve read the “about me” info on this website, you know I was a librarian for twenty-four years. On the first Father’s Day after my own father had died, I wrote a short piece for a professional journal about two favorite reference questions I fielded while a librarian. Both involved fathers who were doing their best for their children.  As Father’s Day is coming up again, I thought I’d post a link for those parents, teachers, and librarians who might be interested.

The Last Word:  God and the Swearing Book

(Note: This article was originally published in Children and Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, Vol. 7, no. 2, Summer/Fall 2009.)

Enjoy! 

And cherish your fathers, they are too quickly taken from us.

Shutta

My friend, Cynthia Leitich Smith, has posted a fun interview with Publisher Elizabeth Law of Egmont and author Allen Zadoff. And Elizabeth has been kind enough to offer a critique of part of a manuscript! This is a wonderful chance for someone to get some thoughtful criticism back from a respected professional in the field.  So head on over to Cyn’s site at her Cynsations Blog and check it out! What have you got to lose?

Happy Writing!

Shutta

Since I have a really difficult time waiting for a book to be released, I thought I’d release a tantalizing bit of MINE! via a book trailer.

Hope you like it! I love, love, love Patrice Barton’s illustrations for our book! 

And—just in case you haven’t heard . . . MINE! has gotten two great reviews thus far. (And both are starred reviews!)

From the stars so far:

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, April 18, 2011:
"Crum uses only the title word (if you don’t count a single "Woof?"), but the various inflections speak volumes about the comic dynamics of sharing…[Barton's] dizzyingly expressive digitized pencil sketches seem to be everywhere at once continually reframing the action to make sure readers savor every gleefully anarchic moment."

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2011:
"The capricious artwork has touches of Helen Oxenbury and Marla Frazee’s babies, smudgy, digitized pencil sketches full of movement and joy…This charming, animated episode will elicit giggles and demands of ‘read it again!‘"

Enjoy!!

And be good-share,

Shutta

One of the greatest things that has happened since I started writing is that my network of friends keeps growing–writers and non-writers. Many of the writers host contests. (As I did for THOMAS AND THE DRAGON QUEEN last fall.) Below are links to some giveaway contests and good books written by good writers. So stop by one, or more, of them and enter. Someone has to win. It could be you!

Hugs,

Shutta

(p.s.:  I will be posting a permanent link on the right hand side to ongoing book-related contests. Be sure to check that out soon.)

Katie Davis:  In honor of the hatching of her new book: LITTLE CHICKEN’S BIG DAY. In addition to autographed books there are different prizes each week. This week it’s a baby quilt she made herself!  So stop by Katie’s site at katiedavis.com. 

And stop by the YA Fusion blog where book giveaways happen often. It is co-written by a number of young adult book authors and readers, including my friends Kristin Lenz and Tracy Bilen.

Publishing Children’s Books: The Dirty Truth!

Thursday April 7, 2011 @ 7:00 p.m.
Ann Arbor Public Library, Traverwood Branch
3333 Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105

Panelists are:
Shutta Crum, author and storyteller
Sleeping Bear Press publisher at Sleeping Bear Press
Colleen Kammer, owner of the the Book Beat in Oak Park, Michigan
Marian Nelson, publisher at Nelson Publishing, LLC
Erin Stead, illustrator and 2011 Caldecott winner
Philip Stead, author, illustrator, and writer of the 2011 Caldecott winner
moderated by Dr. Harry Eiss, professor of children’s literature at Eastern Michigan University

And it’s FREE!

Come as you are. Books will be for sale. Bring friends (or even foes-we’re not particular).

For more information please contact Ahuva Rogers: [email protected] or 248-895-7241 or call the Ann Arbor District Library at: 734-327-4265.

Sponsored by the Women’s National Book Association–Detroit and the Ann Arbor District Library.

I’m tickled and so-o-o-o excited to announce that award-winning illustrator R. Gregory Christie has agreed to illustrate my upcoming book with Hyperion:  JUBAH. It’s a picture book story of a young girl with the power of creation in her hands . . . based partly on African creation myths. The hard part, of course, is waiting to see his art. He uses a mix of realism, abstraction, and folk art. But, it will be a while before the book will be out. In the meantime-here is a link to his website Gregarious Art Statements. Enjoy!

Shutta

p.s.:  Check out the new widget for the Children’s Choice Awards!

My next book, due in June of this year, is a complete departure from the fantasy novel that came out last year, THOMAS AND THE DRAGON QUEEN (Knopf), and a return to picture book format. It’s titled: MINE!

And I thought you all might be interested in seeing the wonderful artwork of the illustrator, Patrice Barton.  It’s published by Knopf, and edited by the talented Michelle Frey.

MINE! is a simple tale of one-upmanship with a hero who is a VERY YOUNG child. This book is for sharing with any child who has ever laid claim to all the toys within reach. It was inspired by the Toddler’s Creed—something I always keep in mind when writing for this age group. 

Love it!

And I hope you will love MINE! when it gets here. I do know that many online ordering sites are doing preorders right now.

Happy National Reading Month to all of you!

Shutta

Lots of news to catch up on…

1.)  First of all, THOMAS AND THE DRAGON QUEEN was listed last year by the New York Public Library as one of their recommended top 100 books. Yay! Listed in: “100 Titles for Reading and Sharing.”

2.) And . . . I’m happy dancing for a good friend of mine and a writer I mentored a year or so ago. Her name is Tracy Bilen. She won me as a novel mentor for a year in Michigan’s SCBWI (Soc. of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) group. Her manuscript had the basics of a great read…a riveting plot and an empathetic main character. But it needed deepening and developing. She worked hard, took many of my suggestions and always did the homework I suggested. Just this week she received an offer from Simon Pulse, a division of Simon & Schuster. YAY!  I think I am more excited about this than anything else that’s happened lately.  It’s so fun to know that soon another great young adult novel will be in the hands of readers. It will make its debut in 2012. Hugs to Tracy!!! (And we’ll roll out the red carpet when the book comes out.)

3.) A really different and fun book just made the news on National Public Radio. It’s called YOU CAN COUNT ON MONSTERS by Richard Evan Schwartz. It’s not a picture book–though it’s all about pictures of monsters (and numbers).  I’ve highlighted it to the right. Enjoy!

4.) Wow!!  Michigan rocks…In the recent ALA awards Erin Stead won the Caldecott Medal for A SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE (written by her husband Philip). Sure am proud to live in Michigan!

Shutta

Due out on the 11th of this month is a new rip-snortin’ tall tale by Texan, Cynthia Leitich Smith (published by Dutton Books and illustrated by Barry Gott). Young Holler, Mr. and Mrs. Loudly’s child, has the ability to turn teacher chalk to dust, stampede cattle, and set the hounds in the county to howling . . . with just his voice. But ya know–between me and you and the fence post–not every talent is truly appreciated . . . at first. However, quick thinking on Holler’s part when a tornado threatens saves the town and his talent finally is appreciated. In fact, the town names the local library after him: The Holler Loudly Library. HAH!  What a fun picture book read this is!  And the lively, colorful illustrations vividly portray all the energy of the text. A truly great match-up of writer and illustrator. Be sure to order your copy soon. (Ages 4-8.)

Also, be sure to stop by Cyn’s website and check out the book trailer for HOLLER LOUDLY.  Or click here to see the trailer on YouTube.

But . . . hold your horses! Don’t go riding off yet.

To top off this good bit of publishing news I’ve got an interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith, author of HOLLER LOUDLY.  (See below.)

Welcome, Cyn!

1. S. C.:  I love the ironical twist at the end of HOLLER LOUDLY Was this the germ of the story? Or did the idea for HOLLER LOUDLY begin elsewhere?

Cyn: Thank you! HOLLER LOUDLY was a book some six years in the making. It started out as contemporary realistic fiction about a loud boy who’s sad that the old theater is being torn town. He eventually makes the suggestion to move the library into that building. It had a lot of qualities I liked-the importance of children’s voices, historic preservation and libraries. But it was a little complicated, a little too much about the world of grown-ups.

Over time, it became a tall tale about a very loud boy-one whose loudness, like any unchecked superpower, becomes burdensome. Over the course of the story, he comes to appreciate quiet times, the music other folks make, but also uses his power for good

S. C.: The dedications are wonderful, as well. Were you a loud child? (Aren’t all stories just a little bit autobiographical?)

Cyn: For me, writing HOLLER LOUDLY is probably a study in wish fulfillment. I was very much concerned with being a “good” girl. There are family photos of a very young me frowning at cousins who’re making noise.

S. C.: It seems to me that Barry Gott’s colorful and energetic illustrations are perfect for this book. And I enjoyed the way the illustrator and art designer used the loud words as part of the illustrative matter rather than simply having them in the text. Did you have any say in this?