The Foundation for Children's Books in Boston is one of my very favorite organizations. They hold a series of lectures with various children's book writers and illustrators at Boston College, give workshops for book lovers of all kinds, and do the very good work of bringing authors into schools that cannot afford them.
Last year, Grace began donating paintings to the Foundation to be auctioned on eBay as a benefit for their programs in under-served schools. This year, 12 different illustrators will contribute to the "Small Graces" auction (I'll be donating a piece this fall). Each month a small, unpublished, original painting will be auctioned on eBay with 100% of the proceeds to support the FCB's author/illustrator visits and residencies in urban schools.
This month's painting (below), a gorgeous, signed watercolor by Leo Landry with a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, is on auction now through through Friday, June 11. Leo is a friend and incredibly talented, I especially adore his book The Snow Ghosts.
Click here to bid on his beautiful piece. This is a really great chance to get affordable original children's book art for a great cause!
New England Voices: Three Area Authors Read from their New Books
Free & Open to the Public
Tuesday May 20, 2008 7:30 p.m.Join us for an evening of readings from Barbara O'Connor, Susan Goodman and Lita Judge
Barbara O'Connor will read from her latest middle-grade novel
Greetings from Nowhere. Barbara has written 14 novels and biographies for children and her books have won the Massachusetts Book Award and the Parents' Choice Award.
"O'Connor's knack for well-developed characters and feisty protagonists is evident, as is her signature Southern charm."
-School Library JournalSusan Goodman will read from
See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes and the Race to the White House. Susan is the author of dozens of non-fiction books for kids.
Using witty anecdotes and clear explanations, Goodman takes readers from the birth of democracy to the Electoral College; from front-porch campaigning to hanging chads. Illustrated by Ellwood Smith.
Lita Judge will read from
One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II, a 2008 ALA Notable Children's Book, which she wrote and illustrated.
"Based on a true story of the author's grandmother and mother, this touching bit of history humanizes war and demonstrates the difference a few people can make."-
Kirkus ReviewsNote: new location at Walsh Hall, Boston College (behind Vanderslice Hall)
This event includes book sales from the Children's Book Shop and signing, as well as refreshments.
Free and Open to the Public. No registration necessary. Bring your friends and colleagues to introduce them to the FCB!
Where and When:Walsh Hall, Boston College
For Boston College map, click here.
Tuesday, May 20 7:30 p.m.
For more information:The Foundation for Children's Books
The Foundation for Children's Books
P.O.Box 320284
21 Stratford Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02132-0003
617-469-7222
The Foundation for Children's Books (FCB), a nonprofit, educational organization, was founded in 1983 to assist the professionals who most directly influence young readers: teachers, librarians, and parents. We achieve this through professional development programs, including a dynamic speaker series, innovative conferences and workshops, as well as through author visits and residencies in under-served schools.
Its been a busy spring. As mentioned here, I've been doing a lot of public speaking, both to kids and adults. If I knew this would be part of my job 10 years ago when I got started I seriously wonder if I would have gone into publishing at all. I've always been fairly terrified of speaking in front of a group- when I had my first school visit I couldn't sleep for two days beforehand. Literally I laid in bed frozen in terror for two nights. Of course the visit went fine.
But strangely, as I've acclimated over the past several years to this part of the job (or rather learned to manage the anxiety), I start to find myself enjoying it. Saturday, for instance. I was one of the speakers at a half day conference put on by the Foundation for Children's Books, a really lovely organization here in Boston that puts on kids book events throughout the year.
When I first showed up for the event at the Athenaeum Library (a historic 200 year old independent library in downtown Boston), I was more than a little intimidated. This library is AMAZING.
This is the ornate entryway:
The floor to ceiling windows looked out on the cemetery where Mother Goose is buried:
And the screen on which I was to present towered over the room, which was quickly filling with librarians and teachers:
To make matters worse the first speaker of the day was Jack Gantos, a seasoned and famously charming speaker. He was one of those people who can just float from topic to topic, mixing broad insightful comments about the nature of art and literature and life with funny stories about Jenna Bush and kids with velcro sneakers. I sat in the audience in awe, that is when I wasn't mentally reviewing my talk and how I could make it pale less in comparison.
Then suddenly something occurred to me. It might seem kind of obvious, but I don't think I've really taken it to heart before. He was talking about his life. I was about to go up there and talk about my life. Our lives are vastly different, but that doesn't make his experiences better or worse than mine. They hired him to speak because of what he has to offer, and I have something different.
Suddenly that was a freeing thought. Because I don't really have a choice about it. I can't choose to be him or anyone else. All I really have to offer is who I am and what I know, no more no less. Suddenly I felt calm. When it was my turn I went up there and gave the talk I planned to give, relatively at ease and it was fun; the audience was great, stories came easily to mind and I felt like I gave an honest representation of me and my work. One of the attendees pulled me aside after and said it was "the best author/illustrator presentation she'd ever heard." I felt delighted, like an elephant might feel if it suddenly realized it could play the violin.
I can't remember a time when I've enjoyed public speaking more. I don't know if I'll always manage this state of mind when I have a job to do, but I pulled it off for one day at least, so I know that it is possible.
The Foundation for Children’s Books
Conversations with…Author/Illustrator Series Presents
JARRETT J. KROSOCZKA
WHEN: Tuesday, March 25, 2008
WHERE: Walsh Hall at Boston College
TIME: 7:30 p.m.
Author/Illustrator
Jarrett Krosoczka has been making books since the 3rd grade--fun, fresh books featuring vivid characters, be they animal or human. His picture book
Punk Farm, the raucous story of a farm-animal band, is being developed as a feature film by Dreamworks, and the band gets loose in
Punk Farm on Tour. His other picture books include
My Buddy, Slug;
Max for President; and
Bubble Bath Pirates.
Moderator: Patricia Keogh, retired children's librarian and teacher of children's literature at area colleges.
Anonymous asked:
I have recently enrolled in the Institute of Children's Literature writing course. I guess editors probably don't really care that I'm trying to better my skills? I've been playing the slush pile game with publishing houses now for 10 years, I thought ICL might give me a leg up. What do you think?
Editors don’t care that you’ve taken a writing course. Editors don’t care if you’re in SCBWI. Editors don’t care if you’ve written a column on children’s books for the last few years in your local paper.
Editors care that your writing is good. If I read in your query letter than you took a writing course at the Institute of Children’s Literature, it won’t make a difference to me one way or the other. It’s very nice, but it doesn’t really matter very much.
Because, as always, what matters is your writing.
And so the course is valuable if it improves your writing. If it makes you a better writer, a better storyteller, then it is definitely worthwhile.
But don’t expect the name of your course alone (or even stellar recommendations from your professors) to get you through the door.
The course doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t help, either – on our end. On your end, it might make all the difference.
Very nice post. I love these series too as they remember me about childhood time. Thanks for share with us.
I love this! And I love Leo's work -- EAT YOUR PEAS IVY LOUISE is my favorite because it's so funny.
Anna, I am saving up and hope I win whatever you donate. I was really sorry not to have been able to buy your BEST FRIENDS painting last year.