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Dee and Deb's travels continue... Their latest stop...
SCBWI 2016 Winter Reading List
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The Reading List Program includes books of all genres from our PAL authors and illustrators, both front list and backlist titles.
This is an opportunity to find that book that a kid or teen will enjoy and can engage with the fun and adventure of reading.
Authors and illustrators from close to your hometown to those around the world are featured on the List. The Lists will be
published bi-annually, in the Summer and Winter.
Snoopy Dance!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Best wishes,Donna M. McDineMulti Award-winning Children's Author
Ignite curiosity in your child through reading!
Connect with Donna McDine on Google+
Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters ~ December 2015 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2016 Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Picture Books Five and Under and Story Monster Approved
A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014 and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review
Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Historical Fiction 1st Place, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review
Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 6+, New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review
The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist
Look who showed up to visit with Dee and Deb! Story Monster dropped by to say hello on this beautiful day in the Hudson Valley and to award the girls with his Story Monster Approval! How cool is that! The girls are making new friends wherever they go!
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Linda F. Radke, Five Star Publications, Inc.
Phone: 480-940-8182
Picture Book, Dee and Deb Off They Go, Kindergarten First Day Jitters
Earns Story Monster Approval
CHANDLER, AZ (March, 2016) – The judges of the Story Monster Approved program, which recognizes accomplished authors in the field of children's literature have spoken, and Dee and Deb Off They Go, Kindergarten First Day Jitters by Donna M. McDine has earned approval.
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Title: Dee and Deb Off They Go, Kindergarten First Day Jitters
Author: Donna M. McDine
Illustrator: Jack Foster
Softcover ISBN: 9781616336998
eBook ISBN: 9781616337001
About Dee and Deb Off They Go, Kindergarten First Day Jitters: The anxiety of finding one's own place and friends in kindergarten without the comfort of having her fraternal twin sister nearby at first overwhelms Dee. Until she realizes even without her twin, Dee and her classmates for the most part are in the same boat. Suggested age range for readers: 3-8
About the Author: Donna McDine is a multiple award-winning children's author. She writes and moms from her home in the historical hamlet Tappan, NY. McDine is a member of the SCBWI and Family Reading Partnership. Learn more about McDine’s writing career at www.donnamcdine.com and www.donna-mcdine.blogspot.com.
The colorful, kid-friendly Story Monster Approved seal attracts the attention of young readers much more than a sticker intended for adult scrutiny. Kids know when they see the Story Monster Approved patch it means children their own age enjoyed the book and are recommending they read it, too. How do they know that? Because after books pass the first round of rigorous judging – which is done by industry experts, the books are then judged by a panel of youth judges who must also endorse the books before they can receive the official seal of approval.
"Who better to judge children’s books than the children who read them?” explains Linda F. Radke, president of Five Star Publications, Inc., the same company that launched the Dragonfly Book Awards program, now in its fourth year. "Judging these books gives children a wonderful sense of importance and responsibility. Some of our judging coordinators have told us that students who usually don’t enjoy reading or have difficulty reading have gotten a much-needed boost due to their judging responsibilities and have requested to serve as judges again." ###
Full Media Kit, Headshot, Book Cover Art and more are available upon request.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Best wishes,Donna M. McDineMulti Award-winning Children's AuthorIgnite curiosity in your child through reading!Connect with Donna McDine on Google+
Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters ~ December 2015 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Story Monster Approved
A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewPowder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Historical Fiction 1st Place, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewHockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 6+, New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewThe Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist
What people are saying....
An adorable story of twin sisters and their first day of kindergarten. They are in separate classrooms and are concerned who they will have to share their secrets and to play with. Dee meets a girl named Casey in her class, and after a fun day with her, shares with Deb about her day and learns about Deb's day as well.
There are no more than one or two sentences on each page, which makes for easy reading. The illustrations are bright and beautiful. I hope the author will share more of Dee and Deb's adventures with us in the future. ~ Teresa Kander, Amazon reviewer
~~~~~~~~~~
Award-winning author Donna M. McDine has written an adorable picture book about the first day of kindergarten. She uses her first hand knowledge (having a twin sister of her own) to share what it might be like for separated twins on the first day of kindergarten.
Many kids have fears regarding the first day of school, but this first day of school is especially worrisome for twins Dee and Deb.
Deb and Dee head off for their first day of kindergarten together, but become separated when Dee goes to the K1 classroom and Deb goes to K2.
The rest of the book centers on Dee and her fears of being lost and alone without her twin sister for back up. But as usually is the case, Dee makes a friend, and the day flies by. Reunited at the end of the school day, Dee and Deb have so much more to talk about with their own accounts and experience of the day. And Dee can hardly wait for tomorrow.
The colorful and contagious illustrations are provided by Jack Foster.
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He shows not just the similarities between the twins (their too-cute pigtails and matching outfits), but also their differences (Dee and Deb must be fraternal twins.)
A truly entertaining book for any child embarking on the journey to kindergarten. ~ Suzanne Puvis, author of Destined for Deception
Thank you Teresa and Suzanne.... I appreciate your time and interest!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Best wishes,Donna M. McDineMulti Award-winning Children's AuthorIgnite curiosity in your child through reading! Connect with Donna McDine on Google+
Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters ~ December 2015 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewPowder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Historical Fiction 1st Place, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewHockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 6+, New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewThe Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist
And it's time for Mr. Bear to finally say 'Bear is finished!'
I like these step by step progressions so if you scroll through the arrows on the images you can see how each image changes.
And of course with photoshop there are many, many changes to be accomplished.
When in doubt, make french toast!
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John Nez,
on 6/7/2015
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And of course everyone is waiting for the latest 'bear update' - well here it is. As you can see if you scroll down through a little, the figure began in a swirl of vague forms driven by the gesture. But now it's coming right along... taking care not to lose the spontaneity of the rough sketch.
My secret sauce will add some rough splashy color to increase the spontaneity.
I think I fell for the socks on this one. I had to get out my 'french toast brush' to correctly render the breakfast. It was interesting working from the rough sketch to a rough finish - with lots of fun on the way getting there.
And this child reminded me of my own child way back when... at the start when life was all wonderful.
Basically my working method is simple - I sketch & draw & draw & sketch until the tabletop is covered with sketches. Then the sketches are scanned into Photoshop... and when the pile of papers on my desk looks like it's becoming a fire hazard I tidy all the sketches into a corner by the cupboard, and keep on drawing. It's actually quite effective. Bridge keeps track of everything else.
In today's chapter of the 'Busy Drawers For Fun Club' I'm drawing a farm. This is about as close as I'm going to get to illustrating a scene from Charlotte's Web - so I quite enjoyed it. The girl reminded me of Fern. I just wished the script called for Wilbur - since I do love drawing pigs. In fact my nickname as a stout young lad was 'Pig'.
Out of the swirling chaos forms appear - sifted out from dozens of other choices. Soon enough the favorite choice gets made - or the current favorite I might say.
Draw, draw away idle dreamer of bears! I think this bear may have stolen my heart away, but I shouldn't tell him that.
I made this little movie of a rough drawing I'm working on... just for fun. The rough drawing is always so much fun, because it's all a discovery. Invention, artistry, problem solving - an excellent diversion when one finds oneself imprisoned in a quiet distant room.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W71_6biMnSY&feature=youtu.beIt's not much of a movie actually, but I was in a hurry and it was fun - my two excuses. Maybe I'll make a better one some time. I think it might require 30 minutes to do an in depth drawing demonstration - so one does what one can.
I don't want to think about the file size of a 30 minute .mov file - or how long it'd take to render!
By:
John Nez,
on 5/11/2015
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Life as a freelancer is chaotic and unpredictable. So I decided if I ever gave a SCBWI talk on how to prepare for a career as a children's book illustrator I would advise developing three basic skills.
1) practice your expertise in Photoshop
2) practice your expertise at 'Whack-a-Mole'
3) practice your expertise at playing 'Publisher Poker' - which is the fine art of trying to juggle deadlines and art directors without losing your mind or going broke.
By:
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on 5/7/2015
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For my birthday I treated myself to a trip to the new Starbucks Emporium - where people go to feel famous while sipping a cup of coffee. (at least that's my guess).
Between the 250 decibel ethno-jazz (can't hear yourself think) and the 6 story coffee factory with walkways and ladders it is quite an experience and not a quiet contemplative one at that.
It's more like a Starbucks gone Vegas experience. The whole idea is modeled after 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. Funny, but I don't remember the smell of coffee while I was there.
And I wouldn't know the meaning of what 'happy birthday' meant. I always get a pensive sadness that creeps into the occasion - like a frozen chill of defeated expectation. Sigh... c'est la vie.
Opening the pages from my past we find old magazine spreads...
and old book plans and dreams...
and even a self portrait of me at age 8 1/2. I added the Pierrot costume, which seems just about right for this serious little fellow.
It was fun having a bunch of my fictional illustration buddies drop by the studio. So I captured the event on film... lol!
Back in the BC stone age, (before computers) I used to make my promotion cards with cut & paste. And with press-type. I hated how press-type would start curling up and the letters started to crack and fall apart. And how I'd run out of zeros and use an O instead.
It was really like doing surgery - precision cut & paste with dexterous hand skills required. I remember the gooey glue-brush and rolling up the leftovers into little sticky balls. lol!
And after all that how amazing it seemed to do computer lettering. Freedom from all the limitations of real press-type letters and freedom to do anything.
Here's a collection of some spiffy new art I've painted up recently.
Once every blue moon I like to do an 'art piece' like this. I just can't help it - so it's easier to give in than resist. This was inspired by a scene from a BBC - PBS production - it's dark and somber instead of my usual cartoony dish of happy nursery fodder. I guess the fun part of making 'art' is one can just let go and be messy. This was all done with the wacom in photoshop.
And then add a paper bag and mix in Shakespeare and a cat and you're done.
The evolution of Shakespeare into a cat. I'm not sure why this is important, but I felt compelled to finish drawing it out. I think Ben Johnson had a closer relationship with his cat. I read that he had a servant to keep it's bowl stocked with fresh vittles.
By:
John Nez,
on 4/8/2015
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I always loved those Tarzan movies with the treehouse, vine-swings and all those elephants. It was the depth of the jungle that I found so enchanting - hidden depths, elevated trees, simplistic (non-existant) plots. It was more of an experience than a story.
I'm attracted to the same qualities of depth in my paintings on canvas. The deeper and more mysterious the elements, the better.
By:
John Nez,
on 4/4/2015
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Here's one of my forgotten books - the Easter Surprise! It was painted in real paints on gessoed paper (for all you hard-line real media folks). And it featured idyllic scenes of baby farm animals frolicking in pastoral locales. I think it does have a nice painterly aspect to it. And now I'm much more forgiving of it's innocence, all these years later. I think it's sweet... loving kindness.
I spent days drawing monkeys - with the consequence that when I went out to the market shopping - yes, I looked at people and saw monkeys - especially guys with beards. The inevitable parallels all get immediately drawn. I felt kind of bad about it, coming to that conclusion but don't hold myself to blame personally. Anyhow, nowadays on NOVA on PBS they openly refer to our kind as primates - cuz we are! lol! (insert chimp laugh here - like Cheeta on Tarzan - and why did Tarzan name his monkey Cheeta?)
Here is my very first portfolio - the 30 lb 'jumbo boy'. It was gigantic and filled with astounding work! Art directors loved it. They ate it up like cake.
Each new portfolio I made got smaller and smaller until now they fit on an iPhone. But there's something to be said for the 'Jumbo Boy'. Art directors had to clear their desk just to look at it.
I think the amazing thing is that I drew those in ink straight onto the newsprint page without any pencil or rough sketch. I loved how the fountain pen ink sank into the newsprint.
The muffin-man returns - this week it's apple-blueberry-peach. The silicone muffin tin is fab - since it makes turning out the muffins so easy.
It's always nice to take a break from pushing pixels and do something real, like baking.
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