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On October 6th, 2009, Andrea Ross of JustOneMoreBook.com was diagnosed with breast cancer.

On October 3rd, 2010, she will run for the cure.

If you'd like to support her efforts to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, please click here to sponsor Andrea, and help spread the word about this event!

SHOW NOTES:

An impromptu discussion among Heidi Estrin, Mark Blevis of the Just One More Book podcast, author Richard Michelson and author/readiologist Esme Raji Codell during a party at the Planet Esme Book Room. Of seasonal interest: among other things, we discussed potential winners of the 2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award. We'll find out if we were right next month in January 2010!

AUDIO:

Click the play button on this flash player to listen to the podcast now:

Or click MP3 File to start your computer's media player.

EMBED:

If you'd like to place this audio on your own web site, please use this stand-alone player from Entertonement. Click the embed button and copy the code!

Planet Esme! sound bite

Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel
Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries
Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band
Facebook fan page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast
Twitter: @bookoflifepod

SHOW NOTES:

In this picture we see Mark Blevis & Andrea Ross, the husband-and-wife team behind the kidlit podcast Just One More Book. They're holding the Six String Nation guitar, and they're at the Podcasters Across Borders conference, of which Mark is one of the founders and organizers. Mark also co-hosts, with Bob Goyetche, an excellent show by and for podcasters called The Canadian Podcast Buffet.

While I was at Podcasters Across Borders, I grabbed Mark for an interview about his upcoming gig at the Association of Jewish Libraries convention, which takes place in July in Chicago, IL. Mark's talk is entitled "How I Learned About Amazing Jewish Books Through Social Media."

As we chatted, he posed a question for listeners: what are your concerns about the visibility of Jewish books, especially books for children? Please share your thoughts with Mark at [email protected] or post a comment here at The Book of Life.

Mark's AJL Convention presentation will be recorded for podcasting, and will ultimately appear on the AJL Podcast at jewishlibraries.org/podcast.

AUDIO:

Click the play button on our traditional flash player to listen to the podcast now:

Or click MP3 File to start your computer's media player.

NEW!
If you'd like to place this audio interview on your own web site, please use this stand-alone player from Entertonement. Click the embed button and copy the code!



CREDITS:

Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel
Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries
Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band
Facebook fan page: click here
Twitter: @bookoflifepod
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/electricsky/3646268523/

Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to [email protected]!

Just One More Book

You can listen to a great podcast review of my husband's book at:
Just one more book

Be back soon with some blogging goodness.

Take a little while to listen to this interview on Just One More Book with Paul O. Zelinski.

Rockstars of reading continues over at "Just One More Book". So fun to watch an illustrator work in their studio .http://tinyurl.com/cafsnt

The Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award Winner for New Talent and the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator of 2009. See Ms. Strickland's portfolio here. (And see Everybody Got Their Somethin’)

Jon Bard, Managing Editor at Children's Book Insider, is offering a FREE e-book on writing for children. "Getting Started Writing Children's Picture Books" is free at 

Hello Everyone, A quick update to let you know I’m currently at Podcasters Across Borders (PAB 2008) being held in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is wonderful to catch up with such inspiring podcasters and friends including Andrea and Mark from Just One More Book, Cat and Bob from the Catfish Show, Sage Tyrtle of Qn [...]

As you can imagine, here at First Book we are very enthusiastic about reading and children’s literature. If there was ever a group of people who pleaded for an extra story at bedtime as children- it was probably us!

That is why I was excited when I recently learned of a fun children’s book podcast called Just One More Book! Three times a week a podcast is created from the creators’ favorite coffee shop. In their words, “Each weekday morning, we take a few minutes out of our morning coffee ritual to discuss one of our many favourite children’s books. We also feature weekly interviews with authors, illustrators and experts and enthusiasts in the areas of children’s literature and literacy as well as listener-submitted book reviews.”

Their podcasts vary from 5 to 25 minutes, and can be viewed on the website or downloaded onto an mp3. It is very convenient for the busy children’s book enthusiast!

So, grab some coffee and tune in!

See Bob's sweet logo for Just One more Book!! (Then check out his caricature gallery)

From Mark and Andrea:

This July, the Just One More Book!! children’s book podcast will celebrate its second anniversary and 400th episode of promoting children’s books and literacy. As part of our celebration, we are redesigning our website and would like the new look to include artwork that promotes a love of reading.


Illustrators of all backgrounds are invited to submit a logo-like illustration that can be resized nicely and featured on our website for everyone to enjoy. Illustrators submitting artwork will be invited to be guests of Just One More Book!! to talk about their design, the creative process and how their submission helps to promote a love of reading.


We ask that all submissions be emailed to [email protected] in JPG, PNG or GIF format, 500×500 pixels on or before June 15, 2008. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Jason Wells, the Director of Marketing & Publicity at Harry N. Abrams Inc., was interviewed recently at Just One More Book on May 5 and 12, 2008.
Some highlights from the interviews were Jason’s thoughts on what constitutes a good website. He suggested it be a “one-stop-shop for everyone.” According to Jason, the site should be relevant for all—librarians, teachers, readers. A good website should promote the book for readers by providing additional character information, games, links, etc. Plus, it should encourage new readers as well—excite them about reading the book for themselves and sharing the experience.
Jason noted that the more an author has out there (on the Internet), the more likely it is for someone to find out about the book. However, he also stated that a review in a major newspaper or magazine still sells more books than a blog review.
To find out more publicity inside information, visit Just One More Book and listen to Jason’s interviews.
The site also has tons of book reviews and author interviews. The American Library Association’s Library Services to Children has given Just One More Book their “Great Web Site” seal of approval. It’s a wonderful site. Allow yourself some extra time when you visit because as the name suggests, you’ll want to listen/read about just one more book or author.

" As a bonus, at the very end of this podcast, Mr. James tells the story of how his book Baby Brains came to be."
...........................................thanks to

I have recently done a few reviews of books by Oliver Jeffers. Just One More Book recently did an interview with him. Go here to listen.

Oliver Jeffers book reviews:
The Incredible Book Eating Boy
Lost and Found
How to Catch a Star

Just One More Book! is a thrice-weekly podcast which promotes and celebrates literacy and great children’s books.

Here’s what the creators of Just One More Book! have to say about the podcast:

Each weekday morning, we take a few minutes out of our morning coffee ritual to discuss one of our many favourite children’s books. We also feature weekly interviews with authors, literacy related discussions or audio reviews submitted by our listeners.

Through this podcast and its website, we are building a lively, interactive community linking children’s book authors, illustrators, readers (parents and children) and publishers.

Episodes range in length from 5 to 25 minutes and can be played directly from our web page or downloaded to an ipod for listening on the go. Each episode is an informal discussion of one of our family’s favourite children’s books. We also feature interviews with authors, literacy related discussions or audio reviews submitted by our listeners.

Busy parents and educators can now discover great read-aloud children’s books while they are busy doing the many tasks that would otherwise rob them of the opportunity to research great children’s books in more traditional ways.

This podcast is powered by passion. We have no advertisers or sponsors. Our goal is to link children with great books and help create happy memories for children and the adults that read to them…and to have fun!

Listen to Just One More Book! here.

Take a look at – and listen to – this delightful e-card from Barefoot Books: author Amy Tan narrates the poem from the recently-published Motherbridge of Love. Once you’ve heard the poem and been given a glimpse of the lovely illustrations by Jose Masse, you’ll understand why this would be a perfect book to read as a bedtime story, especially but certainly not only if you have adopted children of your own. There’s a special story behind it too, since the author of the poem is unknown: but it highlights the questions an adopted child might have about where they come from and who they are. I was fortunate to be able to catch up with Xinran, founder of the Mothers’ Bridge of Love charity, to whom the poem was sent and to which the royalties for the book will go – you can read the interview here; and here’s a photo of Xinran with Amy Tan, taken when they met recently during Xinran’s whistle-stop tour of the States.

Another recently-published picture-book featuring adoption is Grace Lin’s gorgeous The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale. It has all the traits of an enduring fairy tale – and love as the overriding principle. It creatively incorporates the “ancient Chinese belief that an invisible, unbreakable thread connects all those who are destined to be together.” This is something that many adoptive parents of children from China become aware of during their sometimes long, emotional journey through the adoption process. Grace has indeed turned it into the stuff of fairytales. She talked about the book in her charming interview with 7-Imps back in May; and Just One More Book featured it a few weeks ago.

Both these books are valuable additions to the slowly increasing number of picture-books which focus on adoption; and each in its own way has those qualities which will keep them special for years to come.

For more books featuring adoption, check out Rose Kent’s great Personal View on the PaperTigers main website: “Three Cheers For Adoption Books – And Why We All Should Read ‘Em”, with her recommendations for children of all ages. Chicken Spaghetti has put together a list of books for National Adoption month, as has Andrea Ross in her revealing podcast Thicker than Water: True Family Ties for Swimming in Literary Soup.

…And don’t forget, the auction of Snowflakes for Robert’s Snow: For Cancer’s Cure is still going on - Auction 2 starts tomorrow! Grace Lin’s own snowflake is featured in the PaperTigers Gallery along with others by artists from around the Pacific Rim…

An appreciation of Patrick McDonnell's picture books, by Adrienne Furness

and
Sounds from the Forest talks with Mary Anne Hoberman and Deborah Freedman (Brought to you by Just One More Book!!)

Just One More Book!! has an interview with children's book author Mary Ann Hoberman and her niece, author and illustrator Deborah Freedman, up for your enjoyment.

Andrea and Mark of Just One More Book!! have also produced this month's Sounds From the Forest, which will have outtakes from the interview. It will be up with The Edge of the Forest this evening.

One event I will be missing this year, being on the wrong side of the Atlantic, is the exhibition of Allen Say’s work to celebrate his 70th birthday, which is currently running at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art – but if you can get to Amherst, Massachusetts before 28 October, I should imagine it would be well worth doing so. Writer, Lois Lowry certainly recommends it…

We love reading Say’s books together. Particular favorites are Under the Cherry Blossom Tree: An Old Japanese Tale, which appeals especially to my younger son’s sense of the absurd; and Kamishibai Man, which has inspired my older son to create his own storyboards. We also read Home of the Brave recently, following the discussions arising from A Place Where Sunflowers Grow. Say’s rich illustrations here and the slightly abstract conveying of the story stretch young children into asking questions… the bedtime storytime can certainly be drawn out beyond the deceptive brevity of the story. As Karen Edmisten says, it is “not a happy book but an excellent one”.

Podcast Just One More Book has reviewed Emma’s Rug and I think they sum up Say’s work as a whole when they say: (more…)

This is a celebratory show highlighting the release of CLIP 50! Thank you so much to all of you who have subscribed or occasionally listened to the show. I really do appreciate knowing you are out there. Special thanks to Andy, Mark and Andrea, Charles, Sage, Cat, and Karen! Tags : andycast, Catfish Show, [...]

Check out Just One More Book. It's a podcast about the children's books Andrea and Mark love, and why they love them..recorded from their favorite coffee shop.

Figuring that 200 episodes and one year of Just One More Book!! is a milestone worth celebrating, we took a few minutes to share some stories and thoughts on what we’ve done so far and some of the changes we’re making to our podcast. Is the next milestone episode number 500?

Don’t forget that we will be giving away an autographed copy of Lois Ehlert’s Eating the Alphabet during the first week of September. To qualify, send a review of one of your favourite children’s book (five-minutes or less) as an MP3 file (or text review) in email to [email protected], phone it in to our listener feedback line (+1-206-350-6487) or leave a two-minute MyChingo by August 31, 2007.

Photo of Andrea and Mark on the PAB2007 boat cruise taken by Scarborough Dude.

Just One More Book was launched one year ago today with the release of our first podcast episode; a review of the children’s picture book, Bill In A China Shop. It was a different world for JOMB. Our audio quality was terrible and we hadn’t found our rhythm. We watched our statistics and hoped for more than thirty listeners per show.

As the year progressed, we invested in some new equipment, changed our review style, interviewed a lot of amazing people, gave away several autographed books, corresponded with people who are equally passionate about great children’s books and watched our listener base grow to an average of 6,000 downloads a week. Later this week we will release our 200th episode.

Thank you for being a part of the Just One More Book community and for helping to make this an incredibly fun first year!

Don’t forget that we will be giving away an autographed copy of Lois Ehlert’s Eating the Alphabet during the first week of September. To qualify, send a review of one of your favourite children’s book (five-minutes or less) as an MP3 file (or text review) in email to [email protected], phone it in to our listener feedback line (+1-206-350-6487) or leave a two-minute MyChingo by August 31, 2007.

It’s hard to believe that it’s summer here in the UK at the moment but the sunflower seed which Son Number One planted a couple of months ago is about 30cm tall and still growing - so we may eventually have a happy ball of sunshine in our garden to counteract the rain, which may also still be falling!

Keeping watch over every millimetre of growth has been a good time to read A Place Where Sunflowers Grow, this year’s winner of the Jane Addams Book Award for Best Picture Book. It is a beautiful and poignant story about one little American girl’s experience of adjusting to being interned during the Second World War because of her Japanese heritage; the character, Mari, is based on author Amy Lee-Tai’s own mother. You can hear Amy reading extracts from the book and talking about it here.

The book is published by the independent, non-profit publishing house Children’s Book Press, whose executive editor, Dana Goldberg, has just been interviewed by Just One More Book. It’s part of their Publishers’ Showcase, a special series of interviews with children’s book publishers – well worth listening to.

I mentioned that one of my favorite toys is my iPod. I got it for Christmas, and ever since, I have been hooked on a few podcasts. No, I don't use my iPod exclusively for music, as many teens do. I spend most of my time listening to podcasts--specifically ones related to children's books or writing.

I have been recently listening to Just One More Book. I downloaded 180-some podcasts from them, and I have been slowly making my way from the present backwards. On my way to and from the Green Valley Book Fair, I listened to Just One More Book's coverage of the IRA 2007 conference (to get to IRA Coverage, find the Categories list on the left side of their homepage, scroll down to "Special Series", click on IRA 2007). They include interviews with the likes of Tony Stead, Janet Wong, and Mo Willems.

Just One More Book does a lot of reviews of Canadian and American books, but they also do intereviews with authors and other literacy-related people. I have been to the IRA conference twice, and both times were amazing experiences for me. I got to hear and meet dozens of authors. And the exhibition hall--amazing. Cheap books, lots of famous writers, free stuff. It's a book lovers dream. So, I was thrilled that Just One More Book did coverage of the IRA Conference, since I couldn't be there this year. It made me feel like I didn't miss out on everything.

Other podcasts I download:
Grammar Girl
Jodi Piccoult
YALSA--I haven't listened to these yet, but I am saving these for my 36 hour plane trip to Thailand next week.
Children's Book Radio

If you have podcasts related to children's books or writing that you listen to and love, let me know. I'm always looking for good listening.