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I am so very happy to welcome back Sylvia Liu onto Miss Marple’s Musings as part of the blog tour for her debut picture book, A MORNING WITH GRANDPA. This manuscript won the 2013 Lee and Low New Voices Award … Continue reading →

Goodnight Hockey (Sports Illustrated Kids) Written by Michael Dahl Illustrated by Christina E. Forshay Capstone Young Readers     8/01/2015 978-1-62370-298-4 32 pages     age 4—8 “From the first puck drop to the final buzzer, Goodnight Hockey will have every hockey fan cheering. Rhyming text and energetic art perfectly capture the excitement and thrill of …

Goodnight Football (Sport Illustrated Kids)

by Michael Dahl & Christina Forshay, illustrator

Picture Window Books                 8/01//2014

an imprint of Capstone Young Readers & Capstone Books

978-1-62370-106-2

Age 4 to 7   32 pages

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“From the opening kickoff to the final whistle, Goodnight Football brings the excitement of a football game to the youngest fan. Rhyming text and vibrant illustrations capture the love of the game through a child’s eyes and celebrates the combination of football, friendship, and family.”

 Opening

“It’s the end of the week,

it’s the best of all sights—

beneath the night sky

lies a field of bright lights!”

The Story Game

Tonight the home team Grizzlies are playing the Thunderbirds. The crowd bundles up to stay warm as they cheer on their team. It’s the first down of the game and Grizzlies quarterback, number 10, takes the snap, then takes a seat. He’s sacked! In the huddle, what will the Grizzlies do next? Number 10 throws the football long. A Grizzly player zips ahead of a thunderbird, passing by the tackle attempt, reaches up for the ball, and catches it—in the end zone! TOUCHDOWN GRIZZLIES! Through four quarters the teams race up and down the field, play after play, score after score. The final seconds tick off the clock as a Grizzly player dodges the last Thunderbird, running the ball run into the end zone for a touchdown and the game. It’s a Grizzly win for the hometown fans!

Happy Grizzly fans empty out of the field. The family of four walk past the field. The coaches are shaking hands, the players are saying ‘good game’ to their opponents, and the band says goodnight to the cheerleaders. The little boy waves goodnight to number 10, who smiles and waves back. The family heads home, but not before saying goodnight, and there are many goodnights to say. At the concession stand for one last order, the young boy waves goodnight to a new friend. Then it is off to the tour bus for the ride home, but not before waving goodnight to the Grizzly mascot, a giant orange bear! Then it is, “Goodnight goal posts” and “Goodnight moon.” Finally, home, it is past time for bed. The young boy has but two goodnights left. “Goodnight Mom. Goodnight Dad.” Then he drifts off to sleep, snuggling his football, dreaming of the next game, and making the winning touchdown.

Review

Goodnight Football is the second bedtime sports adventure for young children from Sports Illustrated Kids. The first was Goodnight Baseball (review here). With Goodnight Football, the series has become multicultural. The African-American family is young with a small boy and girl. The boy is thrilled to be at the game. He waves to players, and smiles throughout the entire book, until bedtime when the yawns start in. I like that this is not the typical Caucasian family, as seen on the majority of kids’ books. The young boy is the one who says goodnight to everyone and everything. The game has exciting moments, nothing bad to sour the evening game. The home team is once again the winner and they probably will always win.

The cutest spread is the final one, with the young boy tucked into bed, eyes closed, snuggling his football. Having a younger brother who was football crazy at a young age I know the ending is realistic. Girls snuggle teddy bears; boys snuggle footballs and baseball gloves.

The colorful illustrations in Goodnight Football capture the game realistically. One spread in particular is the best. On the right side, the Grizzlies are in a huddle and the illustrator has you on the ground, looking up at the faces in the huddle. What is the play? That huddle is simply a nice image. On the left side, the sacked quarterback gets help rising to his feet. Just as these players do, the quarterback extends one hand to the player helping him up, who grabs the hand with both of his. The realistic image is terrific, but that is not why I love it so much. If you zoom into the middle of the image, right to the locked hands, you will see white hands helping up a black hand. I love the symbolism, which is why it is the best page in the book.

As with Goodnight Baseball, young boys, who will want dad to read the story at bedtime, will love Goodnight Football. The book introduces young kids to the game of football, gets them to notice the world around them, and make new friends. I love these sports books for the youngest boys. They are the ones who usually don’t get to play the game, but now they have something all their own. The story is an easy read, making it possible to read the story every night and not become annoyed with the book. Goodnight Football is a wonderful bedtime story for young boys, but some girls will love this story as well. Goodnight Football makes the perfect gift for young football fans.

GOODNIGHT FOOTBALL. Text copyright © 2014 by Michael Dahl. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Christina Forshay. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Capstone Young Readers, North Mankato, MN.

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Learn more about Goodnight Football HERE.

Pre-Order Goodnight Football at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Capstone Books—your local bookstore.

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Meet the author, Michael Dahl, at his website:   http://www.michaeldahlwrites.com/

Meet the illustrator, Christina Forshay, at her website:    http://www.christinaforshay.com/

Find more books at the Capstone Young Readers website:    http://www.capstoneyoungreaders.com/

SI KIDS is a trademark of Time, Inc.       http://www.sikids.com/

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Also by Michael Dahl & Christina Forshay

Goodnight Baseball (Sports Illustrated Kids)

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Also by Michael Dahl

Book That Ate My Brother

In One Ear, Out the Other

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Also by Christina Forshay

The Really Groovy Story of the Tortoise and the Hare

Moxie

Christina Forshay was born and raised in sunny California, where she lives with her amazing husband and the two cutest kids in the world!

Of course, as a child she could be found drawing, coloring and admiring her grand collection of crayons.

Christina graduated from California State University Long Beach with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration in 2002. Since then, she has been proudly working as an illustrator for the children’s market.

Cover of Christina’s book titled, The Really Groovy Story of the Tortoise and the Hare (Albert Whitman & Sons, 2011)

Here is Christina’s Process with her new book:

So, the first step to working on the first picture book I illustrated, The Really Groovy Story of the Tortoise and the Hare, (Albert Whitman & Sons, 2011) was to read through the manuscript and jot down some initial notes and ideas. I was also sent a PDF from the art director of the layout of the book that had the text and some notes for each spread. That made it somewhat easier for me, as figuring out where the page turns will go seems to be half of the initial battle in terms of the flow and continuity of a picture book. I printed out the pdf in a smaller format and cut and paste the pages to form a miniature version of the book so that I would have something tactile to hold, and pages to turn. I kept this right in front of me on my desk every day. This really helped me along the way to bridge the gap between the written word and how I envisioned the final book would look .

After a few days spent mulling over the manuscript, gathering my thoughts and creating small, scribbly sketches, I began working on character design and development for the two main characters. Here is one of first pages I sent the art director of how I envisioned the hare.

The Art Director thought he needed to head in a more “hip and cosmopolitan” direction, so I trolled the internet looking for inspiration. I sent Nick (the Art Director) this image I found on a certain “hip” clothing store’s website and he agreed that this was the direction we should go.

So, that is how we ended up with the final look for Hare.

Once the character designs were finalized, it was time to move to the sketches for the spread. Though I work digitally for the final paintings these days, my sketches are mostly done pencil on paper and then scanned in.

I started very small on a sheet of paper with thumbnail size sketches that are approximately 1” by 2” each. These thumbnails are proportionally correct in size to the final artwork size. As you can see, these are super messy, but contain the essential large shapes and fig

An esteemed panel of judges (possessing much expertise and very good taste) pored over portfolios yesterday to choose winners for the SCBWI Portfolio Showase! Laurent Linn, Steven Malk, Richard Jesse Watson, Nancy Conescu and Jamie Weiss Chilton chose a grand prize winner and three honor winners as well as several illustrators to participate in SCBWI's illustrator mentorship program.

Note that mentorship recipient Julianna Brion won an SCBWI student scholarship (one of three winners), awarded this year for the first time. And she's the recipient of both a portfolio honor and mentorship. Also note that honor winner Joen Deininger was a mentorship winner last year. (The wonderful SCBWI Illustrator Committee programs yield results!)

Here are the recipients...

Grand Prize Winner: ELIZA WHEELER

Portfolio Honor: GREG PIZZOLI

Portfolio Honor & Mentorship Recipient: JULIANNA BRION

Portfolio Honor: JOHN DEININGER

3 Comments on Portfolio Showcase Winners, last added: 8/9/2011 Display Comments gotstorycountdown said, on 8/7/2011 4:02:00 PM Congratulations, everyone! And a special shout-out to Andrea! Yaaaay! Laurie Jess said, on 8/8/2011 8:13:00 PM So Exciting!!! ❀◕‿◕❀ Wheeler Studio said, on 8/9/2011 10:32:00 AM Thank you so much, SCBWI! I should also add that I was in the mentorship program last year, along with John Deininger, and couldn't have gotten this far without it. My many thanks to the mentors, my fellow mentees, and the judges of this year's showcase!! Add a Comment More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag 6. IF - The Cat in the HAT by Dr. Seuss 0 Comments | Previous | Top | By: Michelle Lana, on 11/2/2007 Blog: Michelle Lana (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags:  Hat, Michelle Lana Style, Dr. Seuss, IF, Hat, Michelle Lana Style, Add a tag Here's a tribute to Dr. Seuss... 0 Comments on IF - The Cat in the HAT by Dr. Seuss as of 1/1/1900 Rrramone said, on 11/2/2007 4:14:00 PM He was the man! Nice job Michelle. KarMa said, on 11/2/2007 4:27:00 PM Nicely done! :D Manuela rbaird said, on 11/2/2007 7:48:00 PM Ha ha... very clever illustration! JC said, on 11/2/2007 8:27:00 PM Michelle, this is so cute!!! I really like your version! =) Diane Duda said, on 11/2/2007 8:27:00 PM Ah! You make a great cat in the hat! Kate said, on 11/3/2007 8:45:00 AM Cute one Michelle! Pati @-;-- said, on 11/3/2007 3:59:00 PM Cool! I love this tribute, Mitchie :) studio lolo said, on 11/3/2007 10:18:00 PM How did you do this???? I have no digital skills, but I have to tell you this is amazingly clever Michelle. Great job! Sherry Rogers said, on 11/4/2007 9:41:00 AM Michelle you always have the best ideas! I love this! I love Cat in the Hat! Eric Vanucci said, on 11/4/2007 10:55:00 AM Hi! I´m a brazillian artist and I d´like to thank for visiting my blog. With your visit and this answer I could know your fantastic blog and wonderful work. Thank you.so much, and say hellow to your nephew Kevin! Very nice tribute, and the other drawings are excellent! Paola said, on 11/5/2007 7:54:00 AM Great piece Michelle! Cool style! Thank you for stopping by my blog, welcome! Katarina said, on 11/5/2007 8:17:00 AM ha! great one ;) MVillos said, on 11/5/2007 8:39:00 AM Thanks for visiting and your kind words! Great piece! I really like the line work... JO said, on 11/5/2007 9:17:00 AM Hi Michelle, you do make for a very cute cat in the hat. It's a very clever and well designed piece. Liz Jones said, on 11/5/2007 9:40:00 AM Love it! Very clever idea! paulinho said, on 11/5/2007 10:56:00 AM I like the moviment! Ujwala said, on 11/5/2007 11:34:00 AM super job on this ilo :D suana said, on 11/5/2007 1:26:00 PM Hilarious! Great play on words! J. Sena said, on 11/5/2007 3:14:00 PM Ohhh! I really like your characters design! It'so cute and cool. Great works! What kind of reference do you use? enigma said, on 11/5/2007 4:32:00 PM how cute! btw i like your 'hansel and gretel' too, nice color! ValGalArt said, on 11/5/2007 5:16:00 PM clever and wonderful! Debbie Egizio said, on 11/5/2007 5:40:00 PM This is so cute and clever! isay said, on 11/5/2007 11:07:00 PM so cool michelle! Elmyra Duff said, on 11/6/2007 3:05:00 AM Bravo Michelle! good work! Coloribus said, on 11/6/2007 6:55:00 AM Very beautiful illustration, I like this red and blue combination ! Nicole Brekelbaum said, on 11/6/2007 9:41:00 AM Cute stuff to brigthen up my day. buep said, on 11/6/2007 9:52:00 AM Great job, Michelle! The best version I've seen :) Kevin Spear said, on 11/6/2007 10:19:00 AM I like the way you mimicked the cover. Your craftsmanship is excellent. Princess Pepper Cloud said, on 11/6/2007 8:47:00 PM You are terrific, just great! I think you can do anything Nancy Bea said, on 11/7/2007 11:29:00 AM What a fun tribute! princesstomato said, on 11/7/2007 2:41:00 PM nice tribute. :) teri Constant Thing said, on 11/7/2007 6:43:00 PM A nice twist of Dr Seuss, I like it :) Honor Bowden said, on 11/7/2007 9:17:00 PM Awesome! Dr. Seuss rocks!!!!! md said, on 11/8/2007 7:06:00 AM not sure how u do it but uyou sure do inspire every week you post. nice work Digital Scott's illustrationblog said, on 11/8/2007 11:01:00 AM This really made me smile! Thanks for sharing it. Kstyles said, on 11/8/2007 3:53:00 PM Great job! Mac said, on 11/8/2007 4:32:00 PM Cat in the Hat FTW Twisselman said, on 11/8/2007 7:02:00 PM Yes, the ultimate hat! Good matching of style, with your distinct style thrown in. Beautiful medley. HARDWAX said, on 11/8/2007 7:32:00 PM Beautiful work and funny. I'm sure the doctor would be proud. Pickledog said, on 11/8/2007 7:33:00 PM Super Seuss! A very cute tribute Michelle steve said, on 11/9/2007 5:00:00 AM Classic! Well done Michelle! Majeak Ann said, on 11/9/2007 2:51:00 PM ah loooove this so much Michelle, clever clever :) xo. Tracy said, on 11/10/2007 10:01:00 AM OMIGOSH this is adorable! I love it! You did a wonderful job on this :) Cecil Delloza-De Jesus said, on 11/11/2007 3:29:00 AM You're so talented! More power to you and good luck! Emila Yusof said, on 11/11/2007 7:45:00 PM Great illo Michelle! AscenderRisesAbove said, on 11/16/2007 8:30:00 AM very clever, you! suess was the man for sure (rramone). i really like reading on the meaning behind his images. 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