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Our new bimonthly update focuses on the world and the art of illustrators. If “every childhood lasts a lifetime,” as they say, so does the undoubted influence of picture books, and the world views they convey, in children’s lives. Translating stories into a language that needs no introduction to children, even when the subject matter is complex, children’s book illustrators communicate with their audience in a very unique way: being the language of imagination, the art of illustration lends itself perfectly to direct communication, without cultural or language barriers.

Through these new features, you will have a glimpse of how the highlighted artists work, what art means to them and how it transformed their lives. Please enjoy them. And while enjoying what they have to offer, chances are, you’ll also deepen your understanding of the important role their work plays in developing our children’s imaginations.

Featured artisits include: Felicia Hoshino, Sally Rippin, Anne Spudvalis, Maya Christina Gonzalez and Amelia Lau Carling.

Long live children’s book illustrators and their picture books!…

I woke up early this morning, excited to check my computer for the winners of the 2008 ALA Awards. It’s always an exciting moment to find out who the winners are, after all the guessing game that surrounds the occasion, with books lovers of all ages making their own predictions for the medals. You can see the complete list of winners here.

We congratulate the authors and illustrators of all winning and honor books and, in particular, Yuyi Morales, for the Pura Belpré Illustrator Award she received for Los Gatos Black on Halloween, written by Marisa Montes (Holt) – Los Gatos Black was also a Belpré Author Honor book; and Maya Christina Gonzalez, for the Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor captured by My Colors, My World/Mis colores, mi mundo (Children’s Book Press), which she also wrote. My Name Is Gabito: The Life of Gabriel García Márquez/Me llamo Gabito: la vida de Gabriel García Márquez, illustrated by Raul Colón, written by Monica Brown (Luna Rising) has also received the Pura Belpré Honor, and deservedly so.

Keep your eyes peeled: Maya Christina Gonzalez’s gallery will be featured on the PaperTigers website as part of an upcoming update focusing on illustrators. Make sure to check the website tomorrow to see a sample of her award-winning work, including images from My Colors, My World.

On My Block: Stories and Paintings by Fifteen Artists
Editor: Dana Goldberg

Artists: Cecilia Alvarez, Carl Angel, Cbabi Bayoc, Kim Cogan, Maya Christina Gonzalez, Yasmin Hernandez, Felicia Hoshino, Sara Kahn, Conan Low, Joseph Pearson, Elaine Pedlar, Ann Phong, Jose Ramirez, Tonel, Jonathan Warm Day

Publisher: Children’s Book Press
ISBN-10: 0892392207
ISBN-13: 978-0892392209

On My Block is an incredible homage to neighborhoods, those childhood neighborhoods that were filled with enchantment and the wonder of young eyes and minds. Each sumptuous and very different page features a different artist talking about the neighborhoods of their childhood and what made them wonderful. Some pages are the stuff of dreams, others are filled with magic while some are grounded in reality, yet others contain the wispy quality of memory.

The fifteen artists are each completely wonderful in their own right and there is a small bio and photo of each at the bottom corner of each page, giving children and parents the opportunity to learn more about them. Each page is a journey of discovery.

Travel to Cuba with the artist known as Tonel and let his bright colors liven up your day.

Take a walk with Cecilia Alarez through her grandmother’s garden in Tijuana and feel the power of Mother Earth and view nature as a Goddess.

Visit with Los Angeles artist and teacher, Jose Ramirez in his East L.A. neighborhood on Ithaca Street (I lived there too!). His lush earth tones and warm brown faces will make you smile.

Yasmin Hernandez takes you through a gritty city dressed as Wonder Woman on her magical tour.

Maya Christina Gonzalez sweeps you away with her gorgeous use of color and sweeping dreamlike style.

Felicia Hoshino takes you to San Francisco where you have the fun of working at making tofu. Her soft colors made me think of the delicate, pale nature of tofu.

Cbabi Bayoc takes us to the park and that joy of just hanging on monkey bars. His wonderful illustrations of children’s faces smiling with the simple joy will bring back memories and make you smile long after you close the book.

I could go on and on about each artist and find more and more to ooh and ahh over. I open this book after a long day and I can’t help but be transported to that magical place of childhood where everything has magical potential. This is a book for both children and adults and is highly recommended. Each of the artists is well worth learning about and their websites or websites about them are easily found. On My Block is a wonderful way to teach children about art and artists, styles and diversity.

I am delighted to welcome Sarah Darer Littman, author of the award winning middle grade novel, CONFESSIONS OF A CLOSET CATHOLIC. When I met Sarah at the Jewish Children's Literature Conference in Los Angeles, I was already a huge fan. (Note: CONFESSIONS OF A CLOSET CATHOLIC appears in a previous post on my list of favorites.) Sarah is warm, funny, and fabulous - everything a children's author should be! In addition to writing children's books, Sarah is a political columnist and active member of the organization "Authors Supporting Intellectual Freedom." She is mom to two kids and one dog. I'm tickled pink that Sarah took the time to stop by for a visit!


Your book, Confessions of a Closet Catholic, deals with the struggle of faith. Why were you drawn to write about this topic?
I wrote "Confessions" as an answer to my teenage self. I grew up with the unspoken message of "Be Jewish - but not too Jewish." I found that very confusing - and still do, for that matter. I give the example of how my dad gave me Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Sacks’ book, “Will our Grandchildren Be Jewish?” when my son was born, but years later when I put mezuzahs on all my doorways made a comment about how I was “going overboard.” (We’ve come to terms on that, you’ll be happy to hear!) I think for my parent’s generation there was a post-war “Don’t stick your head above the parapet” anxiety and that meant not being “too Jewish”.

As a Jewish author, were you inspired to write about a Jewish issue?
Although I wouldn’t dispute that “Confessions” is a Jewish book, I think it is more generally a book about faith – and that has been borne out by the fact besides winning the 2006 Sydney Taylor Award for Older Readers by the Association of Jewish Libraries, it was also listed as one of “10 Books Suitable for Christmas Gift Giving” by the Catholic News Service and has just been nominated for the 2008 Rodda Award (given out by the Church and Synagogue Library Association) by a Methodist librarian. I derive tremendous comfort from having faith – as Jussy says, “I don’t know if any of my prayers will do any good, but I feel better for having said them. Maybe that’s what praying is all about. Maybe it’s not just asking G-d to forgive us for bad things or asking Him for good things. Maybe it’s just the act of praying and feeling that there’s someone up there listening that makes us feel better and less helpless.”

Will we see Justine, the main character, in any future books?
I’m not sure at this point. There have certainly been requests!

Why did you start writing children's books?
I joke that I’m still so traumatized by my middle school experience that writing for this age group is cheap therapy.

Seriously, I finally came to writing at 40, after stints as a waitress, financial analyst and dairy farmer’s wife. Now I get to use my “kid brain” writing books and my “grown-up” brain writing about politics. Thus far I’ve been receiving MUCH nicer letters from readers of my book than from readers of my political columns!

What are you working on now?
My second novel (an as yet untitled YA coming out in Spring 2009) was bought by Scholastic and while I’m waiting for the revision letter on that, I’m working on a middle grade. It’s in the early stages so I don’t want say too much!

What is the best thing about being a children's writer?
Getting e-mails and letters from kids who have been touched by my book, who say, “Wow, I could relate to Justine because I feel just like that sometimes!” It’s at times like that when I feel like “it ain’t been in vain for nothing”.

I also LOVE going out and speaking to kids in schools. After sitting alone in my basement lair in front of a computer all day, then getting the Rodney Dangerfield treatment (“No Respect”) from my own kids, I get a real charge from being with a group of kids who are all excited to meet a real live author!

What is the hardest part about being a writer?
Is there a word count limit to my answer? :)

The self-doubt. The feeling of “OMG, my (first, second, third) book(s) was/were total flukes and I’ll never be able to repeat the process again.”

Oh and the waiting.

The WAITING! Waiting to hear from your agent (waiting to GET an agent if you haven’t been published yet) waiting to hear from your editor, waiting for the contract, waiting for the advance, waiting for the book to come out, waiting for reviews, waiting for people to show up at your book signing so you don’t feel like a complete and utter loser like you did in middle school…it reminds me of that Tom Petty song: “The Waiting is the Hardest Part”.

What do you like to read?
My reading tastes are very eclectic. I read a lot of middle grade and YA, because a) I have kids in middle and high school b) it’s my field and c) there are so many excellent books out there in the land of children’s literature these days.

But I also read plenty of “grown up” books too, both fiction and non-fiction. Because of my political writing (I’m a columnist for the Greenwich Time/Stamford Advocate newspapers here in Connecticut) I read a LOT magazines, newspapers and blogs

What is your favorite question you have been asked by a reader?
I was doing a terrific event in Detroit – they’d decided to start mother/daughter book clubs at most of the Jewish organizations in Detroit as part of Am Echad, Am Sefer (One people, one book) and they chose Confessions as the first book. They flew me out there and had a terrific event, which in honor of Jussy included lots of chocolate, yay!! During the Q & A, a girl asked me: “If you could write your book over, is there anything that you’d change?”

I thought that was a terrific question – because as a writer there’s a temptation to revise ad infinitum but there comes a point where you just have to let it go and get the book out there. I think that’s where my “grown-up” work as a newspaper columnist has aided me – because when I write the columns I’m a) on a deadline and b) limited to 720 words, so it’s helped me learn to self-edit and then push the send button.

My answer to her question: I would remove all the adverbs. In his marvelous book about the craft, On Writing, Stephen King says: “The adverb is not your friend.” Unfortunately I read his book after the final copy edit on “Confessions”, because when I read the book aloud to my kids after publication, I could really hear how the adverbs were redundant and slowed things down. I wanted to slap myself for using so many!

What is your favorite holiday?
Secular holiday: Thanksgiving - by a mile. I love it because it’s a truly national holiday. I also think that we’re all so used to complaining about everything, it’s good to focus on being thankful.

Jewish holiday: I’ve got kind of a love/hate relationship with this holiday but I’d have to say Passover. I hate eating matzo because it does horrible things to my digestive system, and it’s a huge amount of work changing dishes and koshering everything, but I love the seder. My sister and I always used to end up in fits of hysterical laughter when we read the psalm about how “The Mountains skipped like lambs and the hills like rams.”

Do you have hobbies besides writing?
I took up tennis again a few years ago after not playing for about a decade while I was married, and now I’m obsessed. I play twice a week – it’s my sanity break. As a writer I spend so much time in my head; for me it’s essential to get out of my head and into my body on a regular basis. Otherwise I’ll suddenly realize that my shoulders are at ear level from stress and sitting hunched over a computer for too long!

I also love reading (duh!), gardening, travel, going to the beach and heading into New York City for some live music and dancing – as long as the latter isn’t in front of my kids, because even though I’m a good dancer, they’re at the age where the slightest shimmy of my hips causes them to expire from embarrassment!

Also, I’m not sure if politics counts as a hobby, but I’m very active in the progressive blogosphere here in CT, under the name “Saramerica.”

Sarah, it's been a pleasure getting to know you. Thanks for sharing your insights!

If you would like to know more about Sarah, check out her web site at www.sarahdarerlittman.com

My Colors, My World/Mis Colores, Mi Mundo
Author and illustrator: Maya Christina Gonzalez
Publisher: Children’s Book Press
ISBN-10: 0892392215
ISBN-13: 978-0892392216

My Colors, My World is a celebration of color, the colors found in nature. Maya Christina Gonzalez modeled the girl in this story after herself and after a doll she had as a child. The result is a beautiful book with a big-eyed Latina girl filled with wonder for all the colors in her world. The story teaches children, that no matter where they find themselves in the world, they can find beauty.

Little girls will love this book - the shiny pink dust jacket just screams girl. Each page celebrates something – a hot pink desert sunset, a garden where purple and orange flowers grows, her red swing set, the black of her father’s hair and the beautiful green of the prickly and ubiquitous desert cactus.

Maya Christina Gonzalez’ almost mural-like paintings of the desert and little Maya are rich, deep, uniquely Latino and colorful, bringing to mind Mexican masters like Rivera, Kahlo, Orozco and Siquieros but only just a bit. Gonzalez adds a whimsy they never had and brings life and fun to each page . There’s something so appealing and happy about her art. It makes you smile and keep smiling. The colors she uses bring sunshine and light and nature all to glorious life. Little Maya is a happy child and a dreamy one, which makes the book even more engaging. Her suns and moons remind me of those colorful ceramic happy face suns that my grandmother would hang about the house.

The book is bilingual and sure to be a hit with ages 4-8, especially girls who love pink like my granddaughter does.

Book Description from the publisher:

Little Maya longs to find brilliant, beautiful, inspiring color in her world.…but Maya’s world, the Mojave Desert, seems to be filled with nothing but sand. With the help of a feathered friend, she searches everywhere to discover color in her world. In the brilliant purple of her mother's flowers, the cool green of a cactus, the hot pink sunset, and the shiny black of Papi's hair, Maya finally finds what she was looking for. The book’s appealing narrative and bold illustrations encourage early readers to observe and explore, and to discover the colors in their own
Little girls will love this book - the shiny pink dust jacket just screams girl. Each page celebrates something – a hot pink desert sunset, a garden where purple and orange flowers grows, her red swing set, the black of her father’s hair and the beautiful green of the prickly and ubiquitous desert cactus.

Maya Christina Gonzalez’ almost mural-like paintings of the desert and little Maya are rich, deep, uniquely Latino and colorful, bringing to mind Mexican masters like Rivera, Kahlo, Orozco and Siquieros but only just a bit. Gonzalez adds a whimsy they never had and brings life and fun to each page . There’s something so appealing and happy about her art. It makes you smile and keep smiling. The colors she uses bring sunshine and light and nature all to glorious life. Little Maya is a happy child and a dreamy one, which makes the book even more engaging. Her suns and moons remind me of those colorful ceramic happy face suns that my grandmother would hang about the house.

The book is bilingual and sure to be a hit with ages 4-8, especially girls who love pink like my granddaughter does.

Book Description from the publisher:

Little Maya longs to find brilliant, beautiful, inspiring color in her world.…but Maya’s world, the Mojave Desert, seems to be filled with nothing but sand. With the help of a feathered friend, she searches everywhere to discover color in her world. In the brilliant purple of her mother's flowers, the cool green of a cactus, the hot pink sunset, and the shiny black of Papi's hair, Maya finally finds what she was looking for. The book’s appealing narrative and bold illustrations encourage early readers to observe and explore, and to discover the colors in their own

My Colors, My World/Mis Colores, Mi Mundo
Author and illustrator: Maya Christina Gonzalez
Publisher: Children’s Book Press
ISBN-10: 0892392215
ISBN-13: 978-0892392216

My Colors, My World is a celebration of color, the colors found in nature. Maya Christina Gonzalez modeled the girl in this story after herself and after a doll she had as a child. The result is a beautiful book with a big-eyed Latina girl filled with wonder for all the colors in her world. The story teaches children, that no matter where they find themselves in the world, they can find beauty.

Little girls will love this book - the shiny pink dust jacket just screams girl. Each page celebrates something – a hot pink desert sunset, a garden where purple and orange flowers grows, her red swing set, the black of her father’s hair and the beautiful green of the prickly and ubiquitous desert cactus.

Maya Christina Gonzalez’ almost mural-like paintings of the desert and little Maya are rich, deep, uniquely Latino and colorful, bringing to mind Mexican masters like Rivera, Kahlo, Orozco and Siquieros but only just a bit. Gonzalez adds a whimsy they never had and brings life and fun to each page . There’s something so appealing and happy about her art. It makes you smile and keep smiling. The colors she uses bring sunshine and light and nature all to glorious life. Little Maya is a happy child and a dreamy one, which makes the book even more engaging. Her suns and moons remind me of those colorful ceramic happy face suns that my grandmother would hang about the house.

The book is bilingual and sure to be a hit with ages 4-8, especially girls who love pink like my granddaughter does.

Book Description from the publisher:

Little Maya longs to find brilliant, beautiful, inspiring color in her world.…but Maya’s world, the Mojave Desert, seems to be filled with nothing but sand. With the help of a feathered friend, she searches everywhere to discover color in her world. In the brilliant purple of her mother's flowers, the cool green of a cactus, the hot pink sunset, and the shiny black of Papi's hair, Maya finally finds what she was looking for. The book’s appealing narrative and bold illustrations encourage early readers to observe and explore, and to discover the colors in their own