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The weirdest thing happened in Marvel last week. The publisher’s landmark Secret Wars event has been delayed repeatedly, but Marvel is moving ahead as scheduled with their full line relauch, giving birth to the All-New, All-Different Marvel Universe. We at Comics Beat are dedicated to praising great comics, and with so many potential winners out there it […]

I've been talking a lot, especially with Jen from Jenuine Cupcakes, about the sad lack of kissing in the books that we read. How many times have I experienced this frustration: There is this epic romantic tension. The two love interests just can't seem to come together for one reason or another. The suspense is absolutely killing me (but I love it). Then FINALLY, after hundreds of pages, they

Illustrator Steven Henry (the artist formerly known as Steven D’Amico) is here today to talk about a couple of his brand-new illustrated titles, as well as look back on a few of his earlier ones. Steven, who has also worked as a designer and art director, debuted in picture books a little over ten years ago, and today he shares a bit of his artwork — soft and breezy pen-and-ink (for the most part) artwork on this soft and breezy Autumn Day. (And pictured above is early concept art from Rebecca Colby’s It’s Raining Bats & Frogs, released in August. More on that below.)

Without further ado …

Steven: With two new books coming out this Fall, I’ve been thinking about how different the production process was for each one.

I began working on A Lucky Author Has A Dog [Arthur A. Levine Books, September 2015] with my editor, Arthur Levine, in April 2013. I loved the subject matter and gentle tone of Mary Lyn Ray’s manuscript, and I also realized pretty quickly that Ms. Ray’s spare language left a lot of space for me to work with as an illustrator. Which was exciting, but a little intimidating at the same time.

After a number of concept sketches and color studies, it was agreed that the pen-and-ink tests I’d done captured the tone of the story. I’d wanted to explore this direction for some time, but this was the first book I’d been invited to do that actually seemed like a great fit for this level of detail. So I was pretty excited to get rolling. However, once the first sketched dummy was completed, Arthur felt we were missing some opportunities to tell another story with the pictures. I agreed. I re-drew the dummy, adding details and a new character not mentioned in the story. The new work expanded on the themes in the text and seemed to add an extra emotional pull, especially on the final page. The new dummy was a definite improvement over the first one, but the time it took to make all of the changes was pushing the production timeline into the next project on my calendar. After some discussion, Arthur graciously agreed to let me pause work on A Lucky Author in order to begin concepting for It’s Raining Bats & Frogs [Feiwel & Friends, August 2015].

The manuscript for It’s Raining Bats & Frogs was sent over to me by Liz Szabla at Feiwel & Friends. Rebecca Colby’s whimsical tale of a witches’ parade gone wrong immediately grabbed me, and the visual ideas came in a rush. Unlike A Lucky Author, this was one of those books where everything seemed to fall into place. I still did a lot of concept sketching and there were a few minor changes along the way, but the vision of the witches in their world came together relatively quickly. As it turned out, Liz and art director Rich Deas were on board with nearly all of my ideas for the story. Drawing from some of the lessons I’d recently learned with Arthur, I paid special attention to things in Delia’s world that might help push the story forward and engage the reader. Mountaintop treehouses, mushroom cottages, Delia’s pet crow, the ghostly marching band: These were some of the things I brought to the table to help expand the story beyond the text.

 

It’s Raining Bats & Frogs and A Lucky Author Has A Dog are visually distinct from each other, but together they represent a departure from my earlier work on books like Ella, The Elegant Elephant [Arthur A. Levine Books, 2004] and Suki, the Very Loud Bunny [Dutton Juvenile, 2008].

That’s not to say I won’t return to a softer, bolder approach in future books. I don’t necessarily consider this particular style to be a progression of growth as an illustrator. As much as I like working in it, it’s not always what a manuscript requires. As much as possible, I try to tailor the style of my illustrations to the feel I get from a story. To find the right look, I work closely with my publishers, often exchanging moodboards and tweaking concept art until we find a style that harmonizes well with the text. The comfort level I have with this kind of collaboration has probably been helped by my background as an agency art director. The idea of being an “artist” has always been less important to me than being an effective visual storyteller — at least when it comes to children’s books. And the best way I’ve found to do that is by striving for creative synergy with my editors and authors.

A few other places I’ve been …

[This is from] Ella Sets The Stage (2006). The Ella books were my first venture into children’s publishing (under my previous name, Steven D’Amico).

 

All images used by permission of Steven Henry.

Grain Edit friend and fave, Josh Brill recently updated his shop with a sophisticated collection of canine prints. Included in the series are illustrations of Labrador Retrievers. Boxers and French Bulldogs. See the complete collection here.

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NYCC ’15 has come and gone, but the photos The Stately Beat Manor took are here to stay.  We had a number of fantastic journalists on the scene, taking pictures of the events happening at the Javits Center as well as the great cosplays attendees wore.  Here are a few favorites:

The Cult of Judy 

By Varian Johnson

When I was a kid, I was a stereotypical nerd. I loved Star Trek, I was great at math, I had no athletic skills whatsoever, and I broke out into a cold sweat any time I tried to talk to a girl.

I got picked on a lot. Sometimes I was called a nerd or a geek, which wasn’t so bad. Sometimes I was called a sissy or accused of being girly, which I didn’t like at all. Other times, I was called things much, much, much worse.

I did what I could to blend in. I surrounded myself with a handful of close friends. I tried harder at sports (and failed). I laughed at whatever lame jokes the cool kids shared with the class. And I stopped bringing library books to school. 

I loved to read. I loved books even more than Star Trek. Some of my favorite novels included The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper, Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar, and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. 

But favorite author, by far, was Judy Blume.  

I read every Judy Blume book I could get my hands on. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Deenie. Tiger Eyes. And of course, Forever.  

Clearly, as an already ostracized kid, there was no way I was bringing a Judy Blume book to school. And I wasn’t just afraid of what the kids would say. I didn’t want my teachers to know what I was reading. I didn’t want them singling me out in class, telling me to put down my “girl” book for something else. Because if the kids were saying it and the adults were saying it, then maybe there really was something wrong with me…

So I stopped taking books to school.

But when I was at home, I could freely read whatever I wanted. My mother, bless her heart, never batted an eye at any of my book choices. She just wanted me to read good books. And novels by Judy Blume were some of the best. 

Sometimes I wonder what type of author I would have become if I hadn’t read Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret or Iggie’s House. I wonder what type of person I would have become if ten-year-old me hadn’t read about Margaret’s conversations with God, or Winnie’s interaction with the African-American family that moved into Iggie’s house. These books are not just for girls. These books are for readers, period. These are the books that shaped a generation, and I’m so glad to have experienced them when I needed them most.

I have my own family now. My girls aren’t even old enough for elementary school, but their shelves are filled with books. When they’re ready, I can’t wait for them to discover Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Princess in Black, When You Reach Me, One Crazy Summer, and Holes.  

(And yes, even Forever.)

Because my girls deserve the right to read what they want to read without judgment or bias. They, like all readers, deserve stories for all. 

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Varian Johnson is the author of four novels, including award-winning and highly-acclaimed The Great Greene Heist and My Life as a Rhombus. Besides being a writer, he's a civil engineer, and with his wife, a parent to two young girls. Born in South Carolina, he lives outside Austin, Texas.

@TheRealStanLee and @stevewoz team up to overcharge artists and comic creators with insane booth prices at Silicon Valley Comic Con! — Paul Roman Martinez (@PRMartinez19XX) October 13, 2015 Well that’s the charge by artist Paul Roman Martinez, anyway. @robsalk @ICV2 could bonanza be a bubble? Is the con market growing over saturated? I exhibit at […]

On Tuesday, October 6, the inaugural Everyday Advocacy Challenge (EAC) presented our volunteer cohort with what’s proven to be their biggest Take Action Tuesday prompt yet:

Make a formal request to attend National Library Legislative Day.

Here’s what a few of our participants had to say about their Week 6 experiences in six words or less:

• “Easier than expected! Now I’m apprehensive!”
• “Out of my league.”
• “I used this as a learning tool only.”
• “Apprehension, how to justify the request.”
• “An exercise in balancing priorities.”
• “Impossible.”
• “A bit disheartening.”

For Olga Cardenas, the Week 6 prompt was an opportunity to pause and consider what she can do to preserve the future of libraries and library users.

For Pam Carlton, the Week 6 prompt brought the realization that there’s really no one better suited than she is to tell the stories of her library community.

Olga writes:

Since the staff attrition of 2008, my colleagues and I are still struggling to manage everyday increasing responsibilities while providing outstanding customer service to our patrons. Most of us are too busy with what is happening today, or in our immediate futures, to really consider what’s happening in our wider profession.

Though what’s happening today has immediate effects, we sometimes forget that what we fail to do today will have lasting consequences for ourselves, our profession, and those we serve in the future. It’s not that the future is unimportant or non-urgent. On the contrary!

Therefore, let’s pause from the mundane, look to the horizon, and ponder what we can do today to ensure our tomorrows continue to provide access to information and resources for all our patrons. It’s time to invest our precious time and effort so that future generations enjoy the privileges of a strong democracy that we hold so dear and defend so zealously!

This week’s challenge allowed me to momentarily turn a deaf ear to the screaming important urgent things to one important, non-urgent, whispering thing: Advocacy in its highest form. I must confess, I didn’t know what National Library Legislative Day entailed. So, for the benefit of those who, like me, were in the dark about this, I’ll share an abridged version:

Library professionals and supporters gather annually over a two-day period in Washington, D.C. to rally support for libraries. On the first day, attendees learn about current issues in Congress affecting libraries via experts—and here’s the cool part—you actually learn what to expect and do the following day during a meeting with your Congress representative!

In the evening of the first day, attendees have the option of mingling with members of Congress and their staff. The second day is dedicated to personal meetings with legislators. Just imagine, finding yourself at the cusp of advocacy and using your voice in favor of preserving what you hold dearest in your heart!   

That, my dear colleagues, is a bold leap into formal advocacy.

Yeah, yeah, that sounds fine and dandy, but where would one find the strength to make the leap, to actually make a concerted effort to attend National Library Legislative Day? Would it be the bright eyes of your youngest customer? Perhaps the absence of teen customers? What about the shuffle of your elderly customers who have already ensured the existence of your library? What about the vision of what it would be like to live under the tyranny of a dictatorship?

As for me, I took a huge leap by joining the Everyday Advocacy’s Take Action Tuesday movement and have found the challenges uncomfortable to various degrees yet empowering. I have come to realize that advocacy takes many forms and has neither beginning nor end. I feel I owe it to the next generation of professionals and library users to get involved, for libraries and what they represent are worth preserving.

May you find your source of strength and inspiration today so you may choose to learn more and possibly attend ALA’s National Library Legislative Day or your own state’s legislative event in 2016!   

Pam writes:

National Library Legislative Day was something I had heard about but I had never thought of as something in which I would participate. In Montana, we have a very capable Legislative Committee that is formed at our Montana Library Association. They have been helping Montana Libraries get the funding they need for years now.

But the tide is turning.

We now have a State Library Development Task Force, which will recommend new ways for operating our libraries. We are having to make difficult decisions on what will stay funded and what will not. On top of this, the librarian who has very capably lead our legislative efforts alongside of our State Librarian is retiring.

I just attended a follow-up event for a leadership class I took this past summer, and the presenter asked each and every one of us to think hard about our commitment to our work as librarians and how we might join the efforts to lobby our State Legislature and work with them to continue funding the wonderful programs and services offered by Montana’s Libraries.

Then Week 6 of our Everyday Advocacy Challenge comes along: Ask to attend the National Library Legislative Day. What in the world would I accomplish at this event? I was a Youth Services Librarian. I wasn’t a director. I wasn’t on the Montana Library Legislative Committee.

So I took a deep breath and I thought again. I was one of the many librarians who sees on a daily basis the benefits of the library in their community. I could tell the stories about the patrons who were helped by our services.

I realized that there was really no one better to attend National Library Legislative Day.

It’s the day to day challenges and success stories that best tell the library’s story. Yes, the directors and managers will have statistics and and official letters stating how important libraries are, but we have the “real” stories. Stories about patrons of all ages who come to our libraries and get the help, information, entertainment and community involvement they need.

Going to the National Library Legislative Day would be an awesome, eye-opening experience. I have given my formal request to attend to my director. Now I wait and see. But whether I go or not I do know that I will be joining our Montana Legislative Library Committee and work toward making Montana Libraries the best they can be.

Olga Cardenas is a librarian at Stanislaus County (Calif.) Library; Pam Carlton is a librarian. Olga and Pam are members of the inaugural Everyday Advocacy Challenge cohort, an 18-member volunteer group convening from September 1-October 20, 2015.

The post Everyday Advocacy Challenge: Week 6 Reflections appeared first on ALSC Blog.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here
by Patrick Ness
High School   HarperTeen   320 pp.
10/15   978-0-06-240316-2   $17.99   g
e-book ed. 978-0-06-240318-6   $10.99

Ness’s latest offering is a fantasy novel — and simultaneously a fantasy-novel send-up — whose true focus is on its cast of innocent bystanders. Mikey’s town is “just like your town,” except that every once in a while impossible things (the undead, vampires, soul-eating ghosts) invade it and are driven out by the heroic “indie kids with unusual names and capital-D Destinies.” This time, the invaders are Immortals with a mission to select someone as a permanent Vessel for their Empress in preparation for taking over the world. Brief chapter openings encapsulate these details, but the rest of each chapter tells what’s happening to ordinary Mikey. He and his siblings and friends sometimes cross paths with the hero indie-kids but rarely take part in their adventures, which the main characters brush off as just another one of their crazy sagas. The novel’s tone, with its ripped-from-current-YA-fantasy indie-kid names (two Finns; a heroine named Satchel; lots of Dylans), encourages readers to view the Immortal invasion the same way. The narrative’s real weight is attached to the mostly realistic events surrounding Mikey: the “loops” that his OCD traps him in; his sister Mel’s severe eating disorder; the outside attention on the family because of his politician mom; a love quadrangle involving longtime friends and fluid sexualities. In this often-hilarious (and just as often poignant) parody of fantasy stories from Harry’s to Buffy’s, not everyone is a Chosen One, but “everyone’s got something”; everybody matters.

From the September/October 2015 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

The post Review of The Rest of Us Just Live Here appeared first on The Horn Book.

Hello, YABC!

Today we're super excited to celebrate the cover reveal for WANDERLOST by Jen Malone, releasing May 31, 2016 from HarperTeen. Before we get to the cover, here's a note from Jen:

Ready to see?

Scroll, YABCers! Scroll!

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Here it is!

*** If you choose to share this image elsewhere, please include a courtesy link back to this page so others can enter Jen's giveaway. Thank you! ***

WANDERLOST

About the Author

Twitter | Web | Facebook | Goodreads | Pre-order | YABC Profile

Giveaway Details

One winner will receive an ARC of Wanderlost (when available - US/Canada only). 

Two winners will each receive an e-book copy of MAP TO THE STARS (International).

Entering is simple, just fill out the entry form below. Winners will be announced on this site and in our monthly newsletter (sign up now!) within 30 days after the giveaway ends.

During each giveaway, we ask entrants a question pertaining to the book. Here is the question they'll be answering in the comments below for extra entries:

What do you think about the cover and synopsis?

Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway:

This coming Saturday evening, I’ll be interviewing Gary Schmidt about his new novel, Orbiting Jupiter, at the Peabody School in Cambridge, sponsored by Porter Square Books. It’s a very different kind of book from this author, and I am eager to talk with him. I hope you can join us!

The post Come fly with me appeared first on The Horn Book.

This coming Saturday evening, I’ll be interviewing Gary Schmidt about his new novel, Orbiting Jupiter, at the Peabody School in Cambridge, sponsored by Porter Square Books. It’s a very different kind of book from this author, and I am eager to talk with him. I hope you can join us!

The post Come fly with me appeared first on The Horn Book.

If there’s one thing I like, it’s money.

In fact, I like a lot of monies.

In fact that love, so near and dear to my heart, gave me an idea that’s going to make me RICH RICH RICH!!!

PICTURE THIS:

THE FUN TENT!!

First, the person who’s paid for their ticket {$482 for children ages 0-5, $679 for kids 6-12, $5,119 for teenagers, $23,917 for grown ups…Babies under 2&1/2 weeks are free, of course…I’m not a miser!} Anyway, the paying participant stands in front of a giant pit of mud.

And is shoved into it.

Next, the participant stands under a bucket full of spiders, snakes and mosquitoes.

(I call this the “Lice Bucket Challenge.”)

(Hahaha!!  Get it??  Because “Lice” sounds like “Ice” as in “Ice Bucket Challenge”! Get it??  Get it??  Oh, you are a dead audience)

Anyway.  After that, the participant…

…is locked in a freezer.

That’s it!  Isn’t it a kick??  Aren’t I going to be rollin’ in the dough??

I AM.  I am gonna be rollin in the dough and do you know why??

BECAUSE PEOPLE DO THIS ALL THE TIME!  THEY PAY TO DO IT AND THEY CALL IT CAMPING!!!

Yeah you are!

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who appreciate the dignity indoor plumbing can provide, and those who like to pretend they’re homeless.

I belong to the first group.

In fact, before this past summer, I hadn’t gone camping since I was a kid!  Which was years, and years, and years, and years, and years ago.

I don’t remember much.  I remember it rained and was so cold the spiders snuggled up to me for warmth.  It was

the worst.

The rest of the experience my brain very wisely blocked from my memory, but maybe one day I’ll remember how I lost all the toes on my left foot.

Anyway, I bring this all up because last year, I was called to be in the stake YW, which is a church youth leader position.  I really like it!

Except for this part…

WHUT

Ever since I was a kid I’ve managed to dodge anything that requires me to leave my house.  I’ve gotten pretty good at it.

PROSPECTIVE DATE:  Are you doing anything this Friday?  You wanna go on a date or something?

ME:  You bet I do!  I’m totally free!

PROSPECTIVE DATE:  I was thinking maybe going on a hike–

ME:  Hahaha just kidding!  Go away!

It’s bizarre how many guys don’t appreciate a girl who likes to stay inside all day staring at the wall!!

{They’re so shallow.}

Anyway, because this was a church calling, I decided to pony up.  My friend Joe, who’s a wilderness survival expert and actually likes camping, helped me draw up a list of supplies:

Thankfully, I didn’t have to spend *too* much to get the supplies I needed.  Definitely less than five grand.  But by george, those are the nicest socks I’ve ever had!

And we began the hike in good spirits!

About twenty minutes in, I realized I had made a grave, grave mistake.

For one thing, that was that big yellow glowy thing in the sky.  I forgot the name of it, but it was totally annoying.

For another thing….NO BATHROOMS????

This turned out to be the worst part of all, because as I breached the last hill to the campsite, this is what I found:

Apparently we weren’t the only people who thought that would be a great weekend hike.

This was not what I was promised.

Our camp leader had scoped this place out several weeks before.

But what could I do?  My eyeballs were swimming.

The moment camp was set up, I set out to find a tree.

This turned out to be a problem.  Every tree I found ended up having a friendly resident.

Things weren’t looking so good.

About four or so miles away from the campsite, I found something that might work.  No one was around.

This frame is totally inappropriate.  I apologize.

If it helps, you’re the only ones who are seeing it.

OR SO I THOUGHT

WHUT

WHUT

WHUT???!?!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Aaaaaaaand…the rest of the camp was blocked from my memory.

…Except for the part where I drank ZERO WATER for the rest of the trip…including the hike back.

Remember the Fun Tent?

This hike inspired me.

I’ve decided to add a giant glass cage to it.  It’ll have a hornets’ nest, a bucket, and aaaaaaaaaalll the water you can drink!

Interested?

I’m gonna be so rich.