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That’s Not Mine Written by Anna Kang Illustrated by Christopher Weyant Two Lions     9/01/2015 978-1-4778-2639-3 32 pages      Age 4—8 “Two fuzzy creatures both want to sit in the same chair. The trouble is, they can’t agree who it belongs to. “Mine. “Mine. “They get madder and madder, until . . . …

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Turkey Trick or Treat Written by Wendi Silvano Illustrated by Lee Harper Two Lions    8/11/2015 978-1-4778-7503-2 32 pages       Age 4—8 “Everyone loves Halloween candy—even Turkey. But how can he and his barnyard friends get any when the farmers only give it out children? With a costume, of course! As his pals …

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Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant, creators of That's (Not) Mine!, selected these five family favorite picture books.

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Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

I spent easily half my week writing a picture book which is not working and which at this point I hate a little bit :)  Why is it that an idea which seems so good when it starts out in your head can turn out so badly when you get it on paper?  I still feel like there's a kernel of good story in there somewhere, but darned if I can find it right now :)

Ah, well, at least I have a lovely, fun picture book (not mine :)) to share with you today!

Title: You Are (Not) Small
Written By: Anna Kang
Illustrated By: Christopher Weyant
Two Lions, August 2014, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 2-6

Themes/Topics: Differences, Perspective, Humor

Opening: "'You are small.'
'I am not small.  You are big.'
'I am not big.  See?'"

Brief Synopsis: Two creatures (whose fur, noses, and expressions suggest that they are indeed closely related) argue over who is small and who is big.  But it's really all in how you look at it :)


Links To Resources: Kids Activity Guide with printable growth chart; Classroom Guide for K-1st with Common Core Standards; start a discussion on the difficulty and/or desirability of establishing standards; read with Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - how are these books alike? how are they different?

Why I Like This Book:  This book is short and simple, yet it manages to convey an important message with humor.  I dare you not to laugh at the end :)  In 91 words, it manages to get across the idea that we can be big and small at the same time, and in spite of our perceived differences we have much in common.  The art is appealing, and the characters' expressions speak volumes.  For anyone who has ever felt too little (or too big), this is the perfect story.

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!  Can't wait to see what other wonderful picture books will be on the list this week!

Have a wonderful first weekend of Autumn, everyone! :)

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You Are (Not) Small

Written by Anna Kang
Illustrated by Christopher Weyant
Two Lions             8/05/2014
978-1-47784772-5
Age 4 to 8           32 pages
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“Two fuzzy creatures can’t agree on who is small and who is big, until a couple of surprise guests show up, settling it once and for all! Size all depends on who’s standing next to you.”

Opening

“You are small.”

Review

Two funny, hairy purple and orange creatures square off and let the other know about their size:  big or small. The orange creature tells the purple creature that he is small. The purple creature responds that he is not small, but the orange creature is big. Orange denies being big, despite towering over the purple, who denies being small, despite barely coming up the orange creature’s waist. STOP! What is going on with these two? Don’t they see the obvious?

Nope, they sure do not. The big guy denies he is big, bringing in others just like him to prove his point.

 “They are just like me.”

Huh? The little creature brings in others just like him and he, too makes the same point. This argument is not logical, but young kids will not care. Honestly, in my first read-through, which is always for fun, I didn’t give much to the faulty logic either. I doubt I even noticed it—laughing excessively, wiping tears from my sparkling eyes, and holding my laugh-cramped stomach. Then the interaction gets a tad intense. Voices get louder.

“You are all small!’
“You are all big!”
“Small!”
“Big!”

Each of the supporting groups has interesting reactions. At first, the purple creatures look on, one wide-eyed (love it), but the orange creature’s are less interested. One even rolls his eyes (love it, more). Ratchet up the tension and voices. Everyone is now involved. This plot, the characters, the twist at the end all make for a charming book no young child should be without.

Five colors and a white background make perfect illustrations for this story. The black outlining brings character and emotions to these hairy big and small creatures. Their rotund figures remind me of polar bears. I love the small dot eyes. The comical noses on these creatures are huge and terrific. Add in the mitten-like hands and these creatures are all thumbs and harmless. Oversized text compliments these terrific illustrations, which children and their parents will love—enough to read many successive times.

 “BOOM”

Whoa! What was that? Two huge feet— each foot half a page in width—and two legs, cut off before the knee, slam down in the middle of the lively argument. The green, hairy creature is humongous! Tiny pink creatures find their way down by way of yellow parachutes. Purple and orange creatures look up with varying interest; including a wide-eyed, purple creature and a glasses wearing orange creature with a content smile (love the small details). Many of the creatures on both sides are smiling. Combatant purple looks to his orange sparring partner, points to one pink creatures and says,

“See? I am not small.”

Misunderstood orange, wearing a big smile, points to the green creature that dropped in only moments before, and says,

“See? I am not big.”

Notice, there are no exclamation points in either statement. The two creatures have come to a conclusion. Both sides smile, one declares something, and off everyone goes, happy as if no argument ever occurred. Lesson: your size is relative to whom you are standing near. You can be both small and big!

You Are (Not) Small has one of the funniest twists/lead-ins to a next book I have read in a while. Aside from the back matter telling us the author/illustrator team of Kang and Weyant are working on a sequel, the final spread gives it away. Kids will grab up the sequel as fast as the books hit the shelves. Pre-order the sequel now, well, if you could, but you cannot. What a shame.

Kids will howl at the twist, never having seen it coming until it hits. All readers, young and old, big and small, will adore this crazy book about size’s relative nature, be it of girth or problem. There is always going to be one bigger and smaller than yours.

Go get You Are (Not) Small right now. Read it every night—you will do this voluntarily. Read it to the kids, if you want. They will love it as much as you will. Laugh every day. Cry every day (from laughing). Then, when the new book is announced, pre-order as fast as your small, uh, big, uh . . . just do it. Wonderful debut from this husband / wife team.  Up next: That is (Not) Mine  2015

YOU ARE (NOT) SMALL. Text copyright © 2014 by Anna Kang. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Christopher Weyant. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Two Lions, New York, NY.
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Buy You Are (Not) Small at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Two Lions—your favorite bookstore.
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Learn more about You Are (Not) Small HERE.
Meet the author, Anna Kang, at her facebook:    https://www.facebook.com/YouAreNotSmall
Meet the illustrator, Christopher Weyant, at his website:   http://christopherweyant.com/
Find more picture books to laugh at the Two Lions’ website:   http://www.apub.com/imprints

Two Lions is an imprint of Amazon Children’s Publishing

An interview with Anna Kang 

Art: India ink and watercolor
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Also by Anna Kang & Christopher Weyant
That is (Not) Mine  2015
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Copyright © 2014 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews

Filed under: 6 Stars TOP BOOK, Children's Books, Debut Author, Favorites, Library Donated Books, Picture Book, Series, Top 10 of 2014 Tagged: Amazon Children's Publishing, Anna Kang, children's book reviews, Christopher Weyant, debut author, picture book, Two Lions

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Happy Valentine’s Day

Illustration by Maria Bogade Maria was featured last week on Illustrator Saturday.  Here is the link: http://wp.me/pss2W-68h

Amazon Launches Two Lions and Skyscape YA Imprints

Roughly a year after the Amazon Children’s Publishing division launched, it has announced two new imprints. Two Lions will be home to picture books, chapter books and middle-grade fiction, and Skyscape will be devoted to titles for young adults, encompassing works from both established authors and new voices. Margery Cuyler is editorial manager for Two Lions, and Tim Ditlow is editorial manager for Skyscape. Amazon Children’s Publishing’s general manager is Amy Hosford; Larry Kirshbaum, publisher for Amazon Publishing, oversees the editorial leadership for the company’s Seattle and New York adult imprints, as well as Amazon Children’s Publishing.

Amazon wants to take advantage of one of the hottest segments in the publishing world with these two new youth imprints, which is a great thing for all of us. They will publish established and new authors for these books.

In the next four months there will be a number of launch titles being issued. According to Publishers Weekly, Two Lions is slatted to release Gandhi: A March to the Sea by Alice B. McGinty, a biography written in free-verse; and Poco Loco, a debut picture book about a mouse inventor by J.R. Krause. Titles under the Skyscape umbrella include You Know What You Have to Do by Bonnie Shimko, about a 15-year-old girl who hears voices in her head telling her to kill people; and Reason to Breathe, the first book in the Breathing Series trilogy by Rebecca Donovan, an initially self-published title that has already earned a dedicated readership.

These new imprints will play into the new Kindle Freetime Unlimited program that allows parents to subscribe to the new Amazon service, and get as many kids books they want a month. It is very likely that a number of these titles will appear between Freetime and Amazon Prime. Have you taken advantage of this new program? Don’t miss out.

Nobrow Press to Launch Children’s Imprint in 2013

U.K.-based indie graphic novel publisher Nobrow Press is launching Flying Eye Books, a children’s book imprint that will debut in the U.K. in February and in March in the U.S. Flying Eye Books will release 12 titles in the first year including comics, picture books, activity books, fiction, and nonfiction for kids aged 4-11 years old.

Speeding Star is a new trade imprint from Enslow Publishers, Inc., esteemed for its high-quality nonfiction and fiction materials for the educational market.  Beginning in the Fall 2013, Speeding Star will release easy-to-read fiction and informational titles. This content will be suitable for boys and young men from third grade to high school. Each title will be either 48, 64 or 96 pages, on topics ranging from zombie mysteries to profiles of today’s greatest sports stars.  Available in both hardcover trade and paperback bindings, as well as through all major e-book outlets, our titles will keep boys reading!

Capstone Publishing Group, which has been aggressively expanding beyond the school and library markets with the launch six months ago of its Capstone Young Readers trade imprint, is adding picture books to the list this spring. Thirteen picture books in print format will be released initially under the CYR imprint; after the first list, the imprint will release four to six picture books each year.

Capstone Publishing Group has previously published picture books for the educational and trade markets under its Picture Window imprint and will continue to do so; this is the first time the company is publishing picture books under the CYR imprint. Thus far, board books, chapter books, and hobbies and crafts books have been published under the CYR imprint, which is overseen by senior product manager John Rahm and editorial directors Michael Dahl and Nick Healy.

In May Capstone will launch a Web site to promote its new CYR line, www.capstoneyoungreaders.com. CYR titles will be available in digital formats as well as in print. While only select Capstone Publishing titles for the educational market are available in digital formats, beginning in fall 2012, all of Capstone’s trade titles will be available in both print and e-book formats.

Valentine’s Illustration by Barbara Eveleth Barbara was featured on Illustrator Saturday, Nove. 11th, 2010.  Here’s the link: http://wp.me/pss2W-1ZX

This Valentine’s Day illustration was sent in by Michelle Kogan. Michelle is a Chicago illustrator, instructor, painter and writer. She’s working on a picture book called Through A Sunflower. You can view some of the illustrations for this book and read more about Michelle in the article: Journey with an Illustrator, Painter and Writer, in the January 2013 The Prairie Wind, the Newsletter of the Illinois Chapter of the SCBWI, where Michelle is the Illustrator in the Spotlight, http://www.scbwi-illinois.org/pdf/PrairieWind-Winter2013.pdf

View more of Michelle’s work at her website http://www.michellekogan.com

Talk soon,

Kathy

Filed under: authors and illustrators, New Imprint, opportunity, Places to sumit Tagged: Amazon Children's Publishing, Capstone Young Readers Trade Imprint, Enslow Publishers, Flying Eye Books, Skyscape, Speeding Star, Two Lions

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