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4 Stars Pobble’s Way Simon Van Booy Wendy Edelson 32 Pages   Ages: 4 to 8 Inside Jacket: Pobble’s evening walk with Daddy is a magical adventure in which branches wear sleeves of snow and mushrooms become frog umbrellas. When Pobble’s mitten—small and pink and as soft as a bunny’s chin—is lost on the path, woodland animals gather to discuss [...]

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5 Stars Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie Laurie A, Jacobs Anne Jewett Flashlight Press 32 Pages Ages: 5 and up Inside Jacket:  Sophie and Chloe are lucky that their Grandma Tillie knows how to be royally silly. To their delight, whenever Grandma Tillie babysits she seems to disappear, only to be replaced by a parade of [...]

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A to Z Challenge Day 19: S .  3.5 Stars Seriously, Just Go to Sleep, is the children’s version of the indie hit with almost the same title.  Adam Mansbach and Ricardo Cortes (author, illustrator) have toned down the original text for little eyes and ears, and have removed every F-word from the text. The [...]

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My picture book, The Time-for-bed Angel, will be released as an e-book (electronic book) soon. I signed the contract last week.

This book was first released in 2008 as a hardback and, shortly after, as a paperback. When I first sold the book to the publisher, the contract we agreed upon didn’t include electronic rights. That’s how quickly things have changed in the past four years! Now many books are coming out solely as e-books.

Picture books haven’t typically been published as e-books. They are one of the most expensive types of books to produce because of the artwork. A picture book with a high-end illustrator can cost $100,000 or more to produce. Publishers have been reluctant to wager whether they can recoup their expenses to produce a picture book if it’s coming out only as an inexpensive e-book. They’ve also had concerns about the screen size on electronic devices and how to render what might be a 16-inch-wide horizontal spread onto a 6- or 7-inch vertical screen. Obviously, less risk is involved if the picture book has already come out as a paper book and the artwork has been paid for.

Electronic publication of picture books has advantages over paper publication. Offhand, I can think of three:

•  E-publication conserves trees and, therefore, the environment.
• Picture books can be made more interactive. Publishers can include applications like music and games at the touch of the screen. My publisher is thinking about having The Time-for-bed Angel narrated. I can see this working well with the book because the text is short. Small children have short attention spans but can easily sit through the complete reading of the book. When I was a child, I had storybooks with listen-along records. I was always interested in using these records alongside the books, but each record ran more than a half-hour in length. I usually lost interest before the story was finished. In contrast, The Time-for-bed Angel can be read in under five minutes. I think small children will be far more likely to find this useful and enjoyable.
• Parents can save money. E-books are less expensive than paper books. The savings can be significant when picture books generally run about $15 and up. And parents can try out picture books in e-form before investing in the paper version, seeing how much their child really likes a book first. Conceivably, parents could buy a picture book wherever and whenever their little one is ready for something different.

No more boring bedtimes!

0 Comments on My Picture Book as E-book as of 1/1/1900

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4 Stars
Babysitting SugarPaw
V.S. Grenier
Kevin Scott Collier
(SP) Halo Publishing
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In Babysitting SugarPaw, SugarPaw is a young bear who will be spending the evening with a babysitter, but is not happy about the situation.

“I don’t want a babysitter!”

Papa Bear assures SugarPaw everything will be okay, but SugarPaw is going to make sure that’s not true. First, he runs down and changes the rules chart.

………………

……….No TV after 7 P.M.

……….No TV after 10 P.M.

……….No playing with paints

……….Play with paints.

 

Every rule on SugarPaw’s rules chart now has a counter rule designed to get the babysitter in trouble.

The babysitter is indeed the best around. Bonnie Whiskers knows just how to handle sneaky little bears who think they are too old for a babysitter. She lets SugarPaw get away with his rules, cleans up after the messes he deliberately makes, and does it all kindly. SugarPaw starts to feel guilty.

This is a cute book appropriate for any child who thinks they are too old for a sitter, getting a new babysitter, or who usually acts up for the babysitter. Kids will love the characters and the mischief SugarPaw tries to create. The story can be an icebreaker for parents with a child adamantly against a babysitter, regardless of age.

The illustrations by Kevin Scott Collier of adorable, funny, and bright-eyed characters enhance the story and increase the laugh factor of SugarPaw’s antics. Such as the  one of SugarPaw sitting in an over-flowing bathtub, with the biggest smile on his face and looking like he is having the best time, while Bunny Whiskers looks on with a mop in her hand.

Babysitting SugarPaw is also a good bedtime story. It is a fast read, kids will love hearing the story night after night, and parents will not mind reading it repeatedly. I do wonder why Bunny Whiskers reads the rules chart—the correct rules chart—and then allows her charge to do a switch-a-roo on her. Maybe she felt SugarPaw needed some control over the situation, something kids usually do not have. Whatever the reason, the babysitter takes it all in stride giving us a wonderful time and a beautiful ending.

SugarPaw’s creator, V.S. Grenier, visited Kid Lit Reviews yesterday and sat down for a chat. To read more about SugarPaw and the author, click HERE!

Babysitting SugarPaw

Author: V.S. Grenier   website   for kids
Illustrator: Kevin Scott Collier   website
Publisher: (SP) Halo Publishing   website
Release Date: June 30, 2009
Number of Pages: 32
Ages: 3 to 9
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Filed under: 4stars, Children's Books, Debut Author, Library Donated Books Tagged: babysitter not wanted, babysitting, bears, bedtime story, bunny, children's books, finger painting, mischief, picture book, pranks

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The Time-for-Bed Angel
written by Ronica Stromberg
illustrated by Kristina Stephenson
Lion Hudson
ISBN: 978-0-7459-6073-9
Copyright 2008
Picture book, Hardback, 32 pages




The Time-for-Bed Angel is a sweet, cute children's book about a little naughty boy and the guardian angel who keeps a watch over him until it's time for bed.

Our little protagonist can't stay still as he goes about the house performing his mischevious antics. Of course, the time-for-bed angel follows him around, trying to persuade him to bed. The job of a guardian angel can be quite exhausting at times, especially when it comes to putting little boys to sleep!

The illustrations are fun, colorful and expressive, bringing the story to life. The story itself has very little text and is aimed at the youngest audience (2-6). The book has a calming tone, making this a very nice book to read at bedtime. It also evokes a feeling of love and security in children.

--by Mayra Calvani

This review originally appeared on Armchair Interviews

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by Bob SheaHyperion 2009Roar! I am a dinosaur! ROAR! Nothing can stop me!A pile of leaves, a playground slide, a bowl of spaghetti, all met with the little dinosaur's fearlessness and a mighty trio of roars as this simple picture book progresses toward the ultimate showdown against bedtime. Following each battle "Dinosaur wins!" sets up the reader for the turn when baby dinosaur meets his

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Not too long ago, our whole family spent a weekend together at a lake cabin. Because my daughter’s boyfriend came along, my three kids shared a bedroom together. As I was tossing extra blankets on my 18, 21 and 23 year old kids, I teasingly asked if they wanted me to read them a bedtime [...]

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5stars Little Sea Otter is ready to go to bed, snug in his Mamma’s lap, head against her chest, floating on the ocean’s surface.  Still, he fights his drooping eyes and mother’s urgings, by saying good night to every animal he can see or hear, in and out of the ocean’s calm blue waters. “I [...]

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3stars Princess Zaara lives in a castle overlooking a magical forest her parents refuse to let her enter.  The next time her tutor falls asleep she slips off her crown and runs into the forest.  Zaara meets a Giant named Morgan and his two friends, Elvin the elf and Banji, a teddy bear creature.  They [...]

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Well, I'm at it again with another tour for Walking Through Walls, but this time I'm not doing it on my own, I'm going with World of Ink Tours.

And, the tour begins TODAY!

You might be wondering why I'm having another virtual tour for Walking Through Walls, and the answer is two-fold:

1. I have tremendous belief in my middle-grade fantasy adventure story, Walking Through Walls, and want to give another opportunity to attract new readers, and I'm also promoting my first book, Day's End Lullaby.

Day's End Lullaby is a soothing, lyrical, and rhyming children's bedtime picture book with the sheet music to the lullaby included in the back of the book. To learn more about Day's End Lullaby and read some great reviews, and even a singing video review, go to:
http://daysendlullaby.blogspot.com

To learn more about Walking Through Walls and read some great reviews, and check out a couple of interior illustrations, go to: http://walkingthroughwalls-kcioffi.blogspot.com

2. These books are great holiday gifts and wanted to share them with readers.

Now on to the schedule for the World of Ink Karen Cioffi Book Tour:

November 1st
Families Matter Blog - Interview
http://familiesmatter2us.blogspot.com

November 2nd
World of Ink Network – Spotlight/Guest Post
http://worldofinknetwork.blogspot.com

November 3rd
American Chronicle – Interview/Spotlight
http://www.americanchronicle.com/

November 4th
The Writing Mama – Interview
http://thewritingmama.blogspot.com

November 6th
Utah Children's Writer Blog – Guest Post: Tips for Writing eBooks
http://utahchildrenswriters.blogspot.com/

November 7th
The Maggie Project – Guest Post: Writing in Rhyme
www.themaggieproject.blogspot.com

November 8th
Writing to the Hearts of Children- Spotlight
http://terri-forehand.blogspot.com

November 9th
MomnBaby Network – Spotlight
http://momnbaby.com/blogs

November 10th
Roth’s Inspiring Books & Products – Interview
http://rothsinspiringbooksandproducts.wordpress.com

November 11th
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