Louise Fury is attending the NJSCBWI June Conference and doing critiques. She is with the L. Perkins Agency that was founded in 1987 by Lori Perkins, a former newspaper publisher and editor. They specializes in many different genres. Currently there are five agents representing approximately 200 authors to the publishing industry.

The Agency has agents in 11 foreign countries and works with an established film agency. The L. Perkins agency works hard to stay ahead of the curve and makes it a priority to help their authors stay ahead of the pack. In 2010 they broke new ground by being the first (and currently ONLY) agency to hire a literary agent who works exclusively in the digital marketplace.

Louise Fury is a senior agent at the L. Perkins Agency and specializes in romance, all kids and young adult material and pop culture nonfiction. She has sold books to both traditional and electronic publishers including Random House, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Samhain and others. Louise encourages authors to have one foot in traditional publishing and the other in the digital-first arena. Actually Louise has reported 26 deal to Publishers Marketplace during the last 12 months, which is extremely good.

Here is Louise’s Wish List.

I am looking for writers with a unique voice and an unforgettable story.  I’m particularly drawn to stories with a strong protagonist.

I want delicious adult romances with creative plots, sexy liaisons and unique characters that sweep me up in their love story and leave me smiling and sighing and longing for the romance to last forever.

Filed under: Advice, Agent, Editor & Agent Info, Interview, opportunity Tagged: Agent Louise Fury, HarperCollns, L Perkins Agency, Random House, Simon & Schuster

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Happy National Poetry Month! All throughout April, we will interview poets about working in this digital age. Recently, we spoke with award-winning children’s book author and illustrator Betsy Snyder.

In the past, Snyder (pictured, via) has published two picture books that feature haikus, Haiku Baby and I Haiku You. She has been celebrating poetry by tweeting one haiku a day all month long. Check out the highlights from our interview below…

continued…

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Joan Aiken’s passion for history often led her to wonder ‘what if’ things had turned out differently.  What if, for instance,  Jane Austen’s early novel, originally entitled ‘Susan’ and sold to a publisher in 1803, and which then languished unpublished until she furiously bought it back for £10 thirteen years later, had in fact appeared, even maybe without the knowledge of its author, and had been in the pocket of a young nobleman who ran away to join the Peninsular wars in Spain at the beginning of the 19th century.

The young man falls in love, and marries an aristocratic Spanish girl who dies having his baby, and he watches over the boy, disguised as a groom until his own death, when he leaves a letter, and his treasured book to the boy, Felix Brooke,   with a message telling him to seek out his long lost family in the city of Bath, England where the action of Austen’s novel takes place.  For Joan Aiken imagines that this is in fact Jane Austen’s early novel, ‘Northanger Abbey’ which was written in the full enthusiasm and confidence of youth, and is a delightful parody of all the Gothic romances so popular at the time.  It is also a description of an innocent abroad, a heroine with a head full of fantasy from reading too many novels,  who finds herself alone in a dangerous world struggling to make sense of the behaviour of unscrupulous villains or apparently solicitous friends with nothing but the world of fiction to guide her.  This is much the same world that the Spanish orphan, young Felix Brooke encounters, but in a truly wild and Gothic landscape  with terrifying brigands and murderers, mountain tribesmen looking for a human sacrifice, pirates who specialise in the kidnap of children,  with only the assistance of Austen’s novel to sustain and comfort him.

In Joan Aiken’s Go Saddle the Sea Felix is recounting his story:

“The book, Susan, was an odd tale about a young lady and her quest for a husband; to tell truth, I wondered what my father had seen in it, that he had even carried it with him into battle; I found it rather dull, but since it had been my father’s I kept it carefully (his bloodstains were on the cover).”

Later in his adventures, having escaped various perils by the skin of his teeth and the use of his not inconsiderable wits, Felix has time to look into the book again, and reconsiders:

“I had opened it at the place where Miss Susan, going to stay with her great friends in their abbey-residence, is terrified at night by a fearful storm and the discovery of a paper,hid in a closet in her bedroom, which she takes to be the confession of some wicked deed of blood – only to find, next day, that the mysterious paper is naught but a washing bill!  For the first time, this struck me as very comical; yet, reading it through again, I could see that the writer had represented the poor young lady’s terrors very skilfully; just such a nightmarish terror had I felt myself among those unchancy people in that heathen village – and yet for all I knew, my fears were equally foolish and unfounded!  I began to see that this was not such a simple tale as I had hitherto supposed, but must be attended to carefully; and I gave my father credit for better judgement than I had at first…wondering what kind of man my father had been..and hoping that some person in England would be able to tell me more about him.”

In an article for the Jane Austen Society, Joan Aiken describes with relish the content of  Mrs. Radcliffe’s bestseller, The Mysteries of Udolpho, which Austen had gleefully satirised:

“If we take a look at the works of Mrs. Radcliffe, we can easily see what tempted the youthful Jane Austen to poke fun at them…[they were] enormous historical canvases splashed over with forests and beetling fortresses and dark crags in the Appennines.  Mrs. Radcliffe went in for immense casts of characters on a positively Shakespearian scale (she was in fact much influenced by Shakespeare for whom she had great admiration); she had stabbings and shootings, suicides and assassinations; interspersed, for comic relief, by long scenes with garrulous Shakespearian-type servants; she had immensely complicated family relationships, long-lost relatives in every possible connection, suggestions of incest, mysterious resemblances, and, besides all this, a large number of startling, apparently supernatural occurrences..”

From this we can see that these writers had an equally powerful influence on Joan Aiken’s own work, and by setting her novel,  Go Saddle the Sea in just such a rip roaring Gothic world of her own in 19th century Spain, and with a nod at Austen’s own parody, she could have the best of all worlds!

 

Go Saddle the Sea is the first of the three ‘Felix’ Novels just about to come out in gorgeous new editions in the UK

For more details about all three books visit the Joan Aiken page at Random House

or visit the Felix pages at The Wonderful World of Joan Aiken

*****

Filed under: Book Review, Joan Aiken & Jane Austen, News Tagged: Felix Trilogy, Go Saddle the Sea, Jane Austen, Joan Aiken new books coming out, Joan Aiken Page Facebook, Northanger Abbey, Random House

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Since Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast last fall, First Book has been working to help local schools, community programs and families rebuild their lost libraries.

Now, thanks to our friends at Random House, we have the resources to rebuild tens of thousands of home and classroom libraries: over one million brand-new, high-quality kid’s books.

We just need to get the word out.

Help us by sharing this blog post with anyone you know who works with children in need, and tell them to sign up with First Book today.

Recognizing the wide-ranging impact of this storm on many aspects of children’s lives, schools and programs do not have to have been physically damaged by the storm to apply for books. Any school or program that was affected by the storm or serves children in need in one of the 13 affected states is encouraged to sign up to receive books.

NOTE: The books are available to schools and programs in the 13 states designated by FEMA as being affected by Hurricane Sandy: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC.

The post One Million Books Available Now for Schools and Programs in States Affected by Hurricane Sandy appeared first on First Book Blog.

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The European Commission has approved the merger of Penguin and Random.

The Commission ruled that they were not concerned with unfair competition, “because the merged entity will continue to face several strong competitors.” This was one of the major hurdles facing the merger of the publishing companies owned by Bertelsmann and Pearson. Here’s more from the release: 

The Commission assessed the impact of the transaction on the upstream markets for the acquisition of authors’ rights for English language books in the European Economic Area (EEA) and worldwide, and on the downstream markets for the sale of English language books to dealers in the EEA, in particular in the UK and Ireland. The Commission found that on both types of markets the new entity Penguin Random House will continue to face competition from several large and numerous small and medium sized publishers. As regards the sale of English language books, the merged entity will furthermore face a concentrated retail base, such as supermarkets for print books and large online retailers for e-books, like Amazon. In addition, the Commission’s investigation revealed no evidence that the transaction would lead to risks of coordination among publishers in relation to the acquisition of authors’ rights and the sale of English language books to dealers.

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The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop. Kate Saunders. 2013. Random House. 304 pages.

The title is so promising, but I was disappointed overall. If you'd like to spend time with an immortal talking cat, an immortal talking rat, the ghost of a famous elephant, three magical eleven-year-olds (who had no clue they were magical until chapter two or three), and a frustrated evil genius, then this is the perfect book for you. It's insane really, which may be just what a fantasy lover is looking for. It's set in London. It's set in an old chocolate shop. It features a SECRET AGENCY dealing specifically with all things magic: ghosts, goblins, etc. The premise to this wild book starts off simply: a family inherits a house on Skittle street. The family decides to move there instead of selling. Only the two children (twins) see and hear the two magical residents of the house: a cat and rat. They learn of their family's past. There were magical triplets who ran a chocolate shop together. One turned evil and murdered his two brothers. The bad guy--the murderer--is immortal, he's still got evil plans that need to be stopped. And, of course, these two are the ONLY ones able to do it!

I like my fantasy to be a little tamer, and a lot saner! It was too much for me. But it might be just right for other readers.

Read The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop

• If you enjoy British children's fantasy
• If you enjoy fantasy books like Reality Leak by Joni Sensel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or The Mysterious Benedict books.

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Rogue's Princess. (Lacey Chronicles #3). Eve Edwards. 2013. Random House. 272 pages.

When I first started The Rogue's Princess, I was hesitant. I was not liking the "historical" presentation of Puritans. All the details felt too on-the-surface and not quite genuine. I wasn't sure I was going to like Mercy Hart or her family. But. Once Mercy goes to her friend Ann's house for supper and meets Kit Turner (Christopher Turner), a player (actor) we first met in The Queen's Lady, I stopped caring. What Edwards does really well is right distracting--absorbing--love stories. If you believe the love story between the hero and heroine, everything else ceases to matter almost. I do think her characters are at times a little too modern, but, as I'm reading the story I don't care.

Kit Turner was an interesting hero. I definitely enjoyed getting to know him better and seeing things through his perspective. I did enjoy spending time with the youngest Lacey brother, Tobias. Though he isn't my favorite or best Lacey brother!

I have enjoyed all three books, but I haven't exactly LOVED any of them. They are purely fun, quick and enjoyable reads.

Read The Rogue's Princess

• If you enjoyed the first two books in the series
• If you enjoy historical romance

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Queen's Lady. Eve Edwards. 2012. Random House. 336 pages.

I enjoyed reading The Queen's Lady. Readers first meet the heroine, Jane, as a character in the first novel, The Other Countess. This novel is set several years later. Jane, now a widow, is facing new troubles. Her stepsons are unhappy that Jane received anything from their father. They are after the ring, the money, the land. Her father is also anxious to get control of his daughter once again, he wants to arrange a marriage--of his choosing, of course--for her. But Jane, well, Jane is fond of James Lacey. She even tells him so. But while he loves her too, he's not ready to commit just yet. He needs time to recover from the horrible things he witnessed as a soldier.

There is a second romance in The Queen's Lady. Milly, a seamstress and friend of Jane, is in love with James' servant, Diego, an African slave. He wasn't always James' servant. Milly is someone he knew a long time ago when he was serving someone else. The focus is on both relationships equally.

I find the characters interesting, for the most part. There are definitely plenty of villains to hate! And I definitely cared for Jane in this novel. But. I'm not sure that I "love" either book.

Read The Queen's Lady

• If you enjoyed The Other Countess
• If you enjoy historical fiction set in the Elizabethan time period
• If you enjoy historical romance

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Other Countess. Eve Edwards. 2011. Random House. 352 pages.

I enjoyed The Other Countess by Eve Edwards. I think readers who enjoy historical romance set during the Elizabethan period will especially love it. Readers meet two young women worthy of being heroines. (The second heroine, Jane, will be the star of the second book.) The heroine of The Other Countess is a young woman named Eleanor (Ellie). Her father is a mess, he's so obsessed with alchemy, so Ellie has had to raise herself essentially and care for her father as best she can. Will, the hero, has a definite grudge against Ellie's father, but, he at first doesn't recognize Ellie as being her father's daughter--the last time he saw her she was a child, it was the day he was throwing her and her father out of his estate. But now Ellie is oh-so-beautiful. And he is madly in love with her until he makes the connections. Even when he does learn the truth, he can't quite forget her as he "should." He has several opportunities to help her, to show her kindness, to save her...

The Other Countess has some drama and adventure in it as well reminding readers that life either in the country or at court was never problem-free. Ellie, as a beautiful young woman, is at risk from unwanted attention...

Read The Other Countess

• If you enjoy historical fiction set during the Elizabethan period
• If you enjoy historical romance

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Random House in the Hot Seat (iBrotha Flickr.com)

I'm not sure if you've been following the controversy over Random House's new digital-only lines: Hydra, Alibi, Loveswept, and Flirt. Writers have been up in arms because no advance was being offered on these books, like with Random House print authors, and also because copies and other miscellaneous expenses were going to be taken out of the author's royalties. When I first heard about it, I was reading a discussion on the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) listserve I belong to, and the argument was mostly with Hydra and whether or not a book published with this imprint would qualify a writer to belong to the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America). It turns out the way the Hydra contract was originally written an author was not eligible for SFWA membership.

The good news is that Random House has buckled under the pressure from the writers (YAY!), and they have revised the contract. They didn't give in 100 percent, but they now offer two different models of payment, and one of these offers an advance.

Authors and others in the publishing world who were up in arms seem to be happy with Random House's changes and have said so on blogs and Twitter. To read fully everything that has been going on, you should visit Writer Beware.

What I was hoping to discuss with Muffin readers today is this whole notion of having to get an advance in order to be considered "professional" enough to belong to a writing association. And in some of the blogs I read about this issue, they said that authors weren't taking themselves seriously if they didn't demand an advance. John Scalzi, an author with a popular blog, even said that we should question publishers that can't offer advances and wonder if we will ever get paid our royalties.

So, I'm sitting at my computer in St. Louis, thinking, Well, golly gee, I have three books under contract and am not going to get advances on any of them. I was super excited to get royalties and someone wanting to publish them. I think it helps me with my writing goals of doing school visits, teacher workshops, and teaching online classes. Plus, I like small and regional publishers, and I think they often don't offer advances to an author the first time they work with her or him. And I take myself and my work seriously.

What do you all think about this? If you have a book, did you get an advance? Was it hard to meet your advance? Did you feel pressure? If you aren't published yet, will take a contract without an advance? Would love to hear from you on this issue! 

Margo Dill is the author of Finding My Place: One Girl's Strength at Vicksburg (White Mane Kids, 2012) and writes a blog at http://margodill.com/blog/.  She teaches online classes for WOW! See her classes here.

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I have never felt so exposed by a picture book as I did when I first laid eyes on Meet…Ned Kelly. The piercing stare of Australia’s most infamous bush ranger peering from the slit of his armoured headgear sliced through to the very marrow of my bones, anchoring the outlaw’s stare there as if to say, Want to find out more? I did.

I’m not one to wallow in history for too long; but I do find it compelling discovering new threads that help me appreciate how the fabric of a nation, its people and their culture is woven together.

Random House’s new Meet…series allows young readers to be similarly fascinated by picture books that tell exciting true stories of the real women and men of Australia’s past. And what more exciting a character than Ned Kelly?

Prolific children’s author, Janeen Brian, introduces children to one of the best known, ill-understood, and extraordinary tales of early Australian history, that of Ned Kelly. The sometimes misleading mystic and romance of bushranging is forsaken in favour of a straight forward, chronological telling of the facts of Ned’s life beginning with his not-so-easy childhood and ending with his untimely death in the Old Melbourne Goal in 1880.

However the story is anything but dull and lifeless. Brian leads us through Ned’s brief life with an objective clarity told in simple and effective bush ballad style verse. Each stanza is suffused with sufficient detail to allow us to develop a strong sense of Ned’s character and the treacherous times he occupied, featuring often unbalanced and corrupt systems of justice.

Ned is portrayed as a fair, brave young man but one who often found himself on the wrong side of the law mostly by misfortune, poor judgement, and ill-luck. His recurring stints in goal and unpopularity with the police ensured he and his family were regular targets for prosecution. The gaoling of his mother in 1878 was the catalyst for the birth of the Kelly Gang.

The gang escaped capture numerous times thanks to Ned’s long standing reputation amongst good friends, but following betrayal and the final calamitous showdown at Glenrowan Inn in 1880, not even Ned’s genius iron-clad armour could protect him from his ultimate fate.

It’s a stirring tale brought to life with the help of Matt Adam’s almost surreal illustrations that echo the lines and textures of a number of classic Australian painters and therefore add a rich authenticity to each scene. The font used throughout and for the timeline on the end pages reflects the feel of a wanted poster, many on which Ned’s name no doubt appeared.

I feel I better understand this young man, so vilified by the injustice of the day, after meeting him ‘face to face’ in Brian’s historic picture book. And I cannot imagine a more brilliant nor dynamic way for primary aged readers to explore our rich historic past.

Keep an eye out for my next post where we meet author Janeen Brian face to face and explore more about the author behind Meet Ned Kelly.

Random House Books Australia March 2013

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A few weeks ago a friend recommended I read I Haiku You, by Betsy Snyder. I haven't been able to procure a copy for a full review yet, but the book trailer really enticed me. The cover alone would make me read this book - but I had to share how beautifully done the book trailer is.
It struck me as just what a good trailer should be - appealing in sound, motion, and image and a tease of the whole book. I want to see more, don't you?

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This review follows on from Random Romance Part 1 of 2: Breaking the Rules.

In Bloom, 36-year-old married mother of three Emma Eddington feels fat, forgotten, and all-round frumpy. Her husband works all the time and her children see her as their housekeeper meets taxi driver. She’s also frustrated because the misbehaving family dog has become her sole responsibility and regularly humiliates her in public:

The dog yanked her inelegantly from one side of the track to the other, tangling the lead around her legs. She rued the day the kids talked her into getting a dog. Getting fit would be so much easier without this powerhouse rodent-sized pet dragging her all over the bushy parkland.

The one upside is the handsome runner she sees in the park each night, a man she fantasises about as an escape from her daily mundanities. Murphy’s Law would have it that the personal trainer running bootcamps Emma’s yummy mummy friend encourages her to sign up for also happens to be the runner from the park.

Ramon, as the runner’s name turns out to be, asks if anyone has any injuries that might prevent them from participating fully in the class. Emma considers if she should say that she is ‘almost disabled from lack of exercise’, but doesn’t want to embarrass herself further. Of course her lack of fitness warrants Ramon paying Emma more attention, something her friend Lisa comments on: ‘Emma smirked. “You’re joking. The man feels sorry for me. I’m thirty-six and have the muscle tone of cooked spaghetti.”’

Things go the way romance novels do, despite Emma considering herself ‘suburban sludge’ and unworthy of Ramon’s affections. There are some reasonably clever, entirely-recognisable-to-mums exchanges in Bloom, including the following recognisably long-suffering conversation between Emma and her children:

Emma, still trying to catch her breath, groaned inwardly. The last thing she needed was to take that badly behaved dog into a classroom full of Prep kids.
‘Darling, that’s not a good idea.’
‘But Daddy said yes.’
‘Did he? I better have a talk with Daddy then.’
‘Yay! Thanks, Mummy.’

Another time, she hears the following chorus: ‘MUM! Where’s my singlet?’ Jack’s high voice rang up the stairs. Sally’s voice followed. ‘MU-UM, Elias says I’m too little to use the toaster.’

I have to admit that I was less able to suspend my disbelief for Belle’s second novella than for her first. Second time around, Ramon seemed too convenient, too confident, too nice (and I mean nice in its blandest sense), and too ready to perform a community service by giving women pleasure. Really? I found myself thinking at various stages, before reminding myself that romance as a genre is fantasy and largely divorced from reality. For a light escape, and particularly when read some time apart from the first Ramon instalment, the novella’s fine. Besides, it arguably makes it a good fit with the ‘random romance’ theme.

Strangely, the text’s greatest, most outrageous flaw for me was the fact that the character leaves the dog locked in her car while she goes to meet her friend for coffee. I realise it’s a fictional character leaving a fictional dog in there, but nothing about it is ok. ‘Dogs die in hot cars’ is the RSPCA’s awareness-raising tagline. It takes just six minutes—less than the time it takes to order and drink a takeaway coffee—for dogs to overheat in cars and die. It was, for me, an inexcusable and unnecessary error (and one I hope can be rectified given that the text is digital and, therefore, easily adjustable). Belle could have had the character perfunctorily set the dog up with a bowl of water at the table with her and moved on with the story.

Still, that’s a small detail and not one that affects the book as a whole. Bloom is a decent read and one many married mums will relate to and enjoy.

Bloom is available now. You can find out more about Belle and her books on the Random Romance page.

Thanks to Random House for the opportunity to review this title.

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The merger between Random House and Penguin sparked much speculation about what the new company’s title would be, with ‘Random Penguin’ a clear, outlying favourite. That the company opted for the less fun ‘Penguin Random’ was a slight disappointment to us all, and we’ve all continued to run with ‘Random Penguin’ instead.

Random House Australia and its romance arm have shown they have a fabulous sense of humour, though, releasing their newly created ‘Random Romance’ series (and in the nick of time for Valentine’s Day, no less). Random Romance is an all-digital list of romance titles by Australian authors. It includes some rural romance (or, as I’ve heard it dubbed, ‘ru-ro’) titles, romcoms, and two erotic novellas.

I dipped in to the two novellas, Bloom and Breaking the Rules, which are both by Melbourne-based writer Kate Belle. Though standalone stories, they feature different women whose lives are changed by one man: accomplished lover Ramon Mendez. Both books are 100-ish page novellas, so speedy reading and, thanks to digital technology that now conceals a book’s identity from the rest of the passengers on public transport, surreptitious reading too …

Part 1 of 2: Breaking the Rules

Grace Kingston is a career-driven, slightly obsessive-compulsive academic who’s closed her heart off to love. Ramon is a cocky, tardy PhD student studying contemporary female eroticism and sexuality who specifically requested Grace to be his supervisor. Cue the couple getting off to a bad start:

She was instantly suspicious. What kind of man in her early thirties would choose to student that particular topic? It was the domain of women, her domain, not something men dabbled in—unless they were perverts.

Ramon gives Grace a book to read (purportedly one that inspired his studies). It’s entitled Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy, and Ramon has been its dutiful student now turned teacher. It goes without saying that teacher–student relationships are rather frowned upon, but Grace (who’s technically the teacher but who is quickly becoming the student) finds herself falling for Ramon after their initial bad start: His handsome features were difficult to look at without feeling drawn to him, and the last thing she wanted was to be attracted to this presumptuous upstart she was to supervise.

Grace had always ‘prided herself on her immunity to attractive men. That was an affliction other women suffered from, not her.’ But, unable to offload supervision duties to her male counterparts, Grace begins to appreciate Ramon’s charms.

Breaking the Rules is the first in Belle’s novella series, and it’s an accomplished, engaging read. One gets the sense that Belle has (or still does) work in academia—the setting and the story elements ring lived-reality true. At the same time, Belle delivers a book that’s anything but focused on stuffy academia. She has a light touch and injects wit into serious moments. She also employs the word—now a new favourite of mine—‘unsnibbed’ in reference to undoing a lock.

Breaking the Rules is out now. You can find out more about Belle and her books on the Random Romance page.

Thanks to Random House for the opportunity to review this title.

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With Valentine’s Day coming up next week.  I thought I would remind you of Betsy Synder’s new book, I HAIKU YOU and give you a chance to win a copy of her book.  It is simple.  Just Tweet and link to this post and leave a comment letting me know.  All names will be placed in a box and a name announced on Feb. 14th.  Random House will send the winner I HAIKU BABY directly to your address.

Betsy is and author and illustrator, who was featured on Illustrator Saturday December 1st.  You can click her to see her books and illustrations, but today I have asked Betsy some questions about I HAIKU YOU and the road the book has taken her down.

Back in December Betsy told us that all four of the books she has written so far have been with Random House.  She had the idea for “Haiku Baby” floating around in her head for quite a while when her agent told her of an opportunity at Random House.  She jumped on that opportunity and took the time she needed to get it on paper and sent it to an editor at Random House. She worked up some additional book ideas at the same time, which turned her first writing venture into a 3-book (now 5-book) contract with Random House.

What did you do to help launch I Haiku You when it came out on December 26th?

Books that are marketed for Valentine’s Day come out right after Christmas so stores can start promoting them right away. I shared news of the Dec. 26 book release with Twitter, Facebook and blog followers, but most people aren’t ready to think about Valentine’s Day in late December. For this reason, it worked better to time “I Haiku you” book launch events closer to Valentine’s Day. The big push has just begun for my promotion efforts and will continue through mid-February.

Did you make a plan for how to market the book before it hit the book shelves?

Yes, I worked with my publicist at Random House to determine what our joint efforts would be. One thing we decided on was a week-long blog tour in early February. My publicist helped coordinate all the blog stops and arrange a schedule for me. And since “I Haiku You” is a good book for any time of year, not JUST Valentine’s Day, we’re also planning to do another wave of promotion in April for poetry month. Stay tuned!

What types of things have you done since?

For my local book launch party, I teamed up with my friend Susan Reagan, who has a new Valentine’s book out called “Tweet Hearts” (also Random House). We held a special “Valentine Story Time” for both our books at a friend’s flower and gift shop called the Urban Orchid. We had fun crafts and sweet treats—I even made my own haiku fortune cookies as party favors! Susan and I will also be signing books together at a Cleveland-area boutique called Banyon Tree for the Tremont Art Walk this Fri., Feb. 8. And all this week I’m doing a multi-stop blog tour with all kinds of Q/A’s, guest posts and even some book giveaways—this is my second stop on the tour route!

I see you have a book trailer. How did you come up with how the trailer would be laid out?

Fortunately my husband is a motion graphics artist, so he was able to help. Jeff and I brainstormed ideas together and discussed the best approach. I chose the music and prepared the art files, and Jeff did the animation. My niece Ava even did the “Who do YOU haiku?” voice-over at the end. It was a true family effort!

What other blogs are on your book tour?

www.thechildrensbookreview.com

www.uskidsmags.com

www.twowritingteachers.wordpress.com

www.nerdybookclub.wordpress.com

www.mrschureads.blogspot.com (Watch. Connect. Read.)

www.sharpread.wordpress.com 

(sorry if I’m leaving anyone out, but that’s the most current list I have)

Have you set up any school visits to help promote the book?  If so, how did you start and plan this process?

I do have a school visit this May that is part of a special book event called Claire’s Day. You can read all about it at www.clairesday.org. I initially made a contact for this event while I was a presenter at an annual SCBWI conference (Northern Ohio).

Balancing time for making new books with promoting my existing titles is always a challenge, so I haven’t been able to organize more school visits yet. But that is something I would love to find more time for in the future. Connecting with kids, teachers and parents is one of the best parts of my job—I learn so much with every experience.

Do you have any stats on how the book is selling?

I’ve been having so much fun promoting the new book that I haven’t even checked yet!

Betsy, wishing you the best of luck with your new book and thanks for making it so much fun by letting me give-a-way a book.

Don’t miss out on leaving a comment and having a chance to win a copy of I Haiku You.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Filed under: authors and illustrators, Book Tour, Contest, opportunity, Picture Book Tagged: Betsy Snyder, Blog Book Tour, I Haiku You, Random House

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There are many exciting moments in the months ( or years) between writing a book and finally seeing it in print. There's the moment when you write (literally or otherwise) the words 'The End' (And, of course, it should be said that this may happen multiple times for the one book, as each new draft and set of edits is completed) There's the moment when you are offered a contract, the moment you

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Random House has released writer guidelines for four digital imprints, seeking submissions from romance, new adult, mystery, thriller, science fiction, fantasy and horror writers.

Follow these individual imprint links to submit your manuscript: Loveswept (romance & women’s fiction), Alibi (mystery & suspense), Hydra (sci-fi, fantasy & horror), Flirt (new adult). There is no official word count, but the editors are looking for both shorter submissions that range between 15,000 and 30,000 words and longer works that range between 40,000 and 60,000 words. Here’s more from the publisher:

You may present any manuscript in which you control exclusive copyright.  We are open to previously-published manuscripts as long as the submitting author now controls all electronic and print publishing rights.  Please submit the entire query form at the link below.  If we are interested in considering your full manuscript, you will be contacted with further submission instructions.  We make every effort to respond to submission inquiries within 2-4 weeks after submission of the submission query form; please do not resubmit previously submitted queries, as this may create delays.

 

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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BETSY E. SNYDER is a seasoned illustrator-designer of children’s greeting cards in addition to writing and illustrating children’s books. Her work has been recognized with the Please Touch Museum’s 23rd Annual Book Award, a Silver Addy Award (Cleveland—2006), and has been selected for the Society of Illustrators Annual shows.

Here’s Betsy’s Story:

Once upon a time there was a little girl from Ohio who loved to draw on sidewalks and make wishes on stars. One gray afternoon when she was five-ish, in a spark of creative genius (or rainy-day boredom), she intently scribbled on an old piece of cardboard with a bright orange marker. She titled her masterpiece “The Invisible Lady With One Orange Leg”and dreamt of becoming a REAL artist someday.  

And she did! After lots of marker doodles, the proper schooling and a full-time gig as a designer, illustrator and trend consultant at American Greetings, Betsy made the decision to leave the corporate life and go solo…and she’s been working in her slippers ever since.

Though Betsy is all grown up now (mostly), she loves to create smile-inspiring art for kids and the young at heart. You can see her colorful collages and cute characters on all kinds of things, from children’s books to board games to stickers to greeting cards. Her work in publishing and social expressions has won numerous awards, most recently a place in the Society of Illustrator’s The Original Art 2012 exhibition for her illustrations in the book Tons of Trucks. 

Betsy still lives in Ohio and shares a studio with her graphic-designer husband, where they keep drawing on sidewalks and wishing on stars (because clearly it works).

Betsy creates her art from hand-painted and found textures that she scans into the computer and collages digitally. This process gives her the freedom to mix and match until things are just right.  Here she is explaining how she creates her magic:

My process for illustrating a book begins with ideas. I always start with thumbnail sketches.  Sometimes I just dive in.  Other times I need to do research too, pulling visual reference, inspiration or information about a certain subject. Sometimes the memory of a moment makes it way into my books, like this image that inspired a spread in “Sweet Dreams Lullaby.”

When I have a basic idea for composition worked out, I choose my favorite idea and move on to a full size sketch. If I like the feel and gesture of my thumbnail, I’ll enlarge it to full page size and sketch over it on tracing paper. My sketches start out rough.

I focus on finalizing the composition before tightening up details. Sometimes I cut out the best pieces and parts from different sketches and move them around like puzzle pieces.

During the sketch phase, it’s not just thinking about how each sketch works on its own, but also the sequence of how they all work together to tell a story. Hanging sketches on a wall helps me see the flow of the book better. Doing this helps me see how the pacing and scale works from spread to spread. When I get everything just right, I scan in my sketch and make final tweaks on the computer. When my sketches are approved, it’s time to start final art.

I make my textures first. This is my time to be messy. Using watercolors, dyes, acrylics, gouache, pastels—anything, I paint large textures that FEEL like the things in my sketch—in this case, grass, sky, bark, speckled eggs, blossoms, etc. Then I scan all my painted textures and other found scraps of fabric or paper into the computer.

Next, I use Photoshop to build my collage. With my scanned sketch as a guide, I use the path tool to draw my shapes and block in flat color. I keep every shape on its own layer. With the sketch layer turned on, it looks like this

And with the sketch layer turned off, it looks like this.

When I have all the shapes created and I am happy with the overall color feel, I add my painted textures, using my paths to create texture masks—the effect is like cutting out paper with scissors. I use the brush tool for smaller details and layer in bits of tissue paper to soften edges or add shading. I sometimes play with layer effects and opacity to give the illustration more depth.

Much like a real collage, I end up with many layers (hundreds) of textured shapes. Collaging digitally allows me to change the colors and scale of my textures and handle edits easily. This is the end resul.

This is a thumbnail sketch for a spread about fireflies like nature’s night-lights.

This is the final sketch for the firefly scene. You can see that I made some changes from the original thumbnail above, but the basic idea is still there. When all the sketches are approved by the editor and art director, it’s time to move on to the final art. I scan in all my sketches and compose my final art on the computer. Using my sketch as a guide, and working with lots of textures I paint by hand and later scan, I slowly layer up all the colors, shapes and textures into a “digital collage” (at least that’s what I call it). This way, I am able to move things around, adjust colors and make changes. And after a lot of noodling, the art comes to life. Color mood was especially important with this lullaby book, since it starts in early evening and ends later at night. I needed to think about how the sky colors would slowly transition as the sun set and the moon rose.

So, here’s the final piece for the firefly scene, which reads:
dream of tiptoes through the grass
and fireflies that blink and flash,
catching night-lights floating by–
then sending them into the sky.

Below is the final cover image.

How long have you been illustrating?

Officially? Since I studied illustration in school and graduated in 1998. Unofficially? Since I could hold a crayon.

Did you go to school for art? If so, where and what did you study?

Yes, I have a BFA in Visual Communication Design (with an illustration concentration) from the University of Dayton. Go Flyers!

What was the first thing you did where someone paid you for your artwork?

My first “job” out of college was a freelance project for a local wallpaper company. I answered an ad in the newspaper and was so excited to get the gig. It was a 12′ long (yes, I mean foot) wallpaper border that I illustrated in pen, ink and watercolors in one continuous scene. Looking back, it definitely helped prepare me for the scope of bigger picture book projects.

Please use your imagination here. This is so great that I had to include it, but being 12 foot long made it impossible to show the whole thing in one illustration.

I didn’t want you to miss all the wonderful detail, so I cut Betsy’s border apart.

What a wonderful piece to be able to point to and say, “This was the first thing I got paid to do.” Great start to a long career.  Good job, Betsy!

Hope you could appreciate it viewed in pieces.

How many books have you illustrated?

13 (I think)

I see that you have won awards for your books and illustrations. Which one is the most cherished?

Any recognition, big or little, is great affirmation to keep doing what I’m doing. Some of my favorite feedback comes from parents and little ones. But as far as official awards go, it has meant a lot to be a featured artist in this year’s Society of Illustrators Original Art show for my illustrations in “Tons of Trucks”. WOW. Getting that recognition was a huge honor because it put me in the company of other artists and talent I really respect and admire.

You are represented by Painted Words. How long have they represented you?

I’ve been working with Painted Words since 2005. I found my agent when I was looking for someone experienced to review my contract for “Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes”. A friend referred me to Lori at Painted Words, who not only helped with my book contract, but also offered me representation moving forward. Again, serendipitous.  

Do you feel you have gotten more work because of that representation?

I think I have gotten more opportunities more quickly because of my representation—it’s been a good match for me. Having an agent focused on children’s publishing has helped align me with clients that are the right fit. That agent partnership has opened some doors for me earlier than I expected, and the steady work has made it possible for me to pursue publishing opportunities fulltime. But each person’s experiences and needs are different, and I do think it’s very possible to succeed without an agent—it’s all about finding the right path for you.Can you tell us a little bit about being represented? Do you talk regularly with your agent or do you just work as usual, until they call with a project?

My agent and I email a lot and usually talk a few times a week, whenever we need to work out schedules or the details of a new project.  

Don’t Throw That Away was published by Little Green Books. Could you tell us a little bit about this publisher and how they found you?

Little Green Books is an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All Little Green books have earth-friendly themes and are made from recycled materials. The publisher found me through my agent—they saw some samples of a newer style of mine that they felt would work well with the chipboard paper stock and special inks they were using. They also needed an illustrator that understood the printing process. I had just discovered Little Green Books a few months before they found me, and really wanted to work with them, so it was perfect timing. 

It looks like you have done a number of board books. Do publishers pay as much money for illustrating a board book?

No matter what the format, compensation should depend on a number of factors—the amount of work involved, experience and previous book sales, work for hire vs. advance + royalties, etc. For me, the pay has been pretty similar for picture books and board books. The advance may seem like less for a board book, but the page count and size is usually smaller as well. So, it makes sense that a shorter, smaller board book might have a lesser advance than a longer, bigger picture book that would take more time to execute.

 

How many pages is your typical board book?

There hasn’t been a standard number of pages on the board books or novelty books I’ve worked on—it has always varied. For “Haiku Baby” and “Have You Ever Tickled a Tiger?” (Random House), it was 6 spreads, but for “Tons of Trucks” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), it was 10 spreads.

Do you have an office in your house?

I share an office space with my husband, who is a designer and motion graphics artist. Our little, old  house has needed a lot of renovation through the years, so having a separate office space only a few blocks away gives us a quiet, convenient place to work and keeps us safe from construction dust bunnies. 

What is your favorite medium to use?

It kind of depends on my mood and the project, but I really enjoy more gestural watercolors. I’d also like to practice more printmaking, like linocuts and woodcuts—not necessarily for client work, but just because.

Do you try and spend a certain amount of hours every day working on your art?

I don’t consciously dedicate a certain number of hours to making art—it just usually happens that I do something creative every day since I stay pretty busy with projects. When I’m not busy with client work, I use the extra time to write and doodle new book ideas.

What was your first book?

The first picture book I illustrated was “Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes: A Very Silly Alphabet Book” by Brian Cleary, published by Lerner Books (Millbrook Press).

How did that come about?

Brian Cleary and I both worked at American Greetings—he as an editor and I as a staff artist. In 2005, Brian saw some of my work and asked if I would be interested in illustrating his next manuscript, which was already under contract with Lerner. It was very serendipitous, because I had always wanted to illustrate children’s books and had just decided it would be a good year to move in that direction. So, I jumped at the opportunity, sent my portfolio in to an editor at Lerner, and was fortunate enough to get matched up with Brian’s book.

Could you tell us a little about Millbrook Press?

Working with Lerner/Millbrook Press was a great first book experience. I was lucky to be given a fun manuscript full of possibilities, along with tons of creative freedom, from the cover to the end papers. It was an opportunity to really explore and refine my style…and get published! I will always be grateful that Brian and Lerner took a chance on me for that first book.

Do you think the Internet has opened doors for you?

It’s definitely helped people find my work and connect me with resources more efficiently. It makes communicating with clients anywhere easy–I send my sketches and final art via email or ftp sites. It’s also a great place to engage and learn—I was able to take an online textile design class with people from all over the world. How cool is that?

This is the Pitch Piece that Betsy made up to help sell the book.

Many of your books have been published by Random House? Did you know anyone there before you started illustrating books for them or was it your agent that got that ball rolling?

Yes, all four of the books I’ve written so far have been with Random House.  I had the idea for “Haiku Baby” floating around in my head for quite a while. When my agent told me of an opportunity at Random House, I finally took some time to get it on paper and to an editor. I also worked up some additional book ideas at the same time, so my first writing venture turned into a 3-book (now 5-book) contract with Random House.

Did you write and illustrate haiku baby or was the text written in house?

“Haiku Baby” was the first book I both authored and illustrated, so it is very much my baby. But I also have to give kudos to my editor and art director at Random House, who really helped nurture my idea into a reality.

Was some of haiku baby done with cut paper?

Sort of. The final art was created digitally, but I wanted give my illustrations the handmade feel of cut paper and collage. Since haiku poems are Japanese in origin, it felt natural that the art should have nuances that reflected its Asian roots, but in a way that felt true to “me”. I studied the textures, colors and mark making in Asian woodblock prints, and incorporated those influences into my digital collage style.   

Not counting your paint and brushes, what is the one thing in your studio that you could not live without?

My windows. And my husband. (Don’t make me choose)

What greeting card company did you work for?

I worked at American Greetings for 6+ years. I loved it there and learned so much from so many talented artists that also became good friends. I didn’t intend to leave so soon, but book opportunities took me elsewhere.
Do you still illustrate greeting cards?

Yes, I still illustrate cards and other fun things like stickers , tattoos, and games. I’ve also licensed some of my book art for cards and other products.

 

Do you use Photoshop with your illustrations?

Yes, almost always, for sketches and finished illustrations. Sometimes if I get stuck drawing something by hand, I will try sketching on the computer instead, and vice versa. I have found that changing the medium helps me get out of a rut.

How do you market yourself?

My agent takes care of a lot of the marketing when it comes to finding new clients. But I schedule book events and appearances and work with publishers on promo ideas to get the word out about new books. My husband and I have started making trailers for my new books. Social media has become an important promotion tool as well—I have a blog, a website, a Twitter account and a Facebook page.

Do you own or have you ever tried a graphic Drawing Tablet?

Yes, it is a must-have for me. I never use a mouse (ever).

Do you take pictures or do research before you start a project?

Yes, I begin by collecting all kinds of visual reference—photos, color inspiration, art techniques, subject matter information. Sometimes I go back to a photo I have taken and tucked away, and incorporate that moment into a book.

Do you have any material tips you can share with us? Example: Paint or paper that you love – the best place to buy – a new product that you’ve tired – A how to tip, etc.

I keep a digital library of all my scanned textures and patterns. That way I can quickly pick and choose textures while I’m collaging on the computer.

Do you think your style has changed over the years? Have your material changed?

Yes, most definitely. I experimented with collage in college, but it took me several years of playing in lots of different ways to develop my process of painting textures by hand and collaging on the computer. The nuances of the style I work in are dictated by the project’s needs, so sometimes I need to try new materials to get the effect I want or make stylistic adjustments that feel right for each book. Every book project helps me grow my style in a different way.

Do you have any career dreams that you want to fulfill?

Okay, I’m putting it all out there into the universe (sometimes it works!):

1. Keep making books.

2. Collaborate (with my husband) on content and animation ideas for children’s programming and apps.

3. Design a quirky line of kids’ fabrics or products.

4. Team up and work with an aquarium or children’s museum.

What are you working on now?

My husband and I are working on an animated trailer for my new picture book “I Haiku You” that comes out on Dec. 26. I also just finished up some fun Valentines for Peaceable Kingdom.

I see that you illustrated a book coming out written by one of our favorite former New Jersey Girl – Dianne Ochiltree which is coming out in May 2013. The cover of the book is up on Amazon and they are taking Pre-Orders. Are all the illustrations completed or are you still working on them? What is the book about?

“It’s a Firefly Night” was actually finished in 2007, but the publisher was sold, so the picture book didn’t get published. When the original contract expired, my agent was able to shop the finished book around to new publishers as a complete package. I was so excited to have Blue Apple pick it up. The book is about a girl and her dad catching (and releasing) fireflies one by one—it’s a bedtime story and a counting-up-and-down concept all in one!

 

 

Any words of wisdom on how to become a successful illustrator?

If you have a big goal for yourself, like illustrating children’s books, set smaller goals first. Reaching big goals can be overwhelming and even paralyzing, but breaking them down into smaller milestones feels a lot more achievable. Use your tiny goals as stepping stones to hone your skills, gain experience to build on, and ultimately guide you to where you want to be. And remember, one little opportunity can lead to the next in unexpected ways. For example, I did a gift card for Target, which was a fun gig on its own. But that one gift card illustration in my portfolio also landed me several greeting card commissions and even a book deal for “Tons of Trucks”. So, you just never know.

Thank you Betsy for sharing your multiple talents, journey, and process with us.  For those who are wondering about the awards Betsy has won.  Here they are:

Winner Society of Illustrator’s Original Art Show (2012), Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year (2011), Dr. Toy Best Green Product Award (2011), Scholastic Parent & Child—Best of 2010, Children’s Indie Next List (2010), CCBC’s Choice for “Best-of-the-Year list (2009), Parents’ Choice 5 Board Books for Baby (2009), Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award (2009), Please Touch Museum’s 23rd Annual Book Award.

Please take a minute to leave Betsy a comment – Thanks!

If you would like for follow Betsy, here are the links you can use:

https://twitter.com/betsysnyderart

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Betsy-Snyder-Illustration/460676855270?ref=hl

http://betsysnyder.com/

http://betsysnyder.blogspot.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Betsy-E.-Snyder/e/B001JRYPYA/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Filed under: authors and illustrators, children writing, illustrating, Illustrator's Saturday, inspiration, Interview, Process Tagged: Betsy Snyder, Painted-Words Agency, Random House, sweet dreams Lullaby

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 Fa La La. Leslie Patricelli. 2012. Candlewick. 26 pages.

It's almost Christmas. I LOVE Christmas! We go to pick a tree. This one? This one! We put on the lights. Look at ME! I'm a Christmas tree! We decorate a gingerbread house. BOOM!

I really LOVE all of Leslie Patricelli's board books. Fa La La is no exception. If you've enjoyed other titles starring this little baby--books like Yummy Yucky, Tubby, Potty, No No Yes Yes, Baby Happy Baby Sad, Higher Higher, or Faster Faster--you should definitely read this one! It is almost Christmas, and this family is preparing for the big day: picking out a tree, decorating the tree, making cookies, making and wrapping presents, visiting Santa, and going caroling. It's a fun little book.

Huggy Kissy. Leslie Patricelli. 2012. Candlewick. 26 pages.

Tuggy, tuggy. 
Huggy, huggy?
Squeeze, squeeze.
Don't stop please!
Mommy kisses all my toesies.
Daddy kisses on my tummy.
They both want to eat me up.
I'm so yummy, yummy!

I really do love Leslie Patricelli. I love this little baby!!! I do. In this adventure, he wants a lot of affection and attention. It starts with a tug on Daddy's pant legs and a baby's uplifted arms...and it just gets better from there. Who does this little one want to hug and kiss? Mom and Dad, obviously, but also a friend, the cat, the dog, the fish in his bowl, Grandma and Grandpa, aunt and uncle,  etc. It's another fun book.

Mine. Shutta Crum. Illustrated by Patrice Barton. 2011. Random House. 32 pages.

I have a difficult time reviewing wordless picture books. This one isn't technically wordless, it does feature two words: mine and woof. But. All of the story is communicated through the illustrations alone. The illustrations let readers know the tone for the word 'mine.' (And there are plenty of pages that are wordless.) In this book, a toddler and a baby are given an opportunity to play together. Readers see the mothers place the two together in a room full of toys. There's also a puppy...and a water bowl. The illustrations are so expressive making it easy to follow the story. I definitely liked this one.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Biggest Children’s Gathering Yet on Tuesday January 15 we’ll kick off Digital Book World Week with our second-annual Publishers Launch Conference focused on the digital transition in children’s publishing–giving this vital segment the deep and focused consideration it deserves.

The major themes of the event are the power of platforms; the challenges of marketing and selling to children in a digital age (including specific case studies for picture books, middle grade and YA books); rethinking children’s book intellectual property and the new ways in which publishers are creating, controlling and licensing IP; and the latest data and critical analysis of what it means.

You can come for just the day, or in a new twist, the DBW Children’s Package adds the opening day of Digital Book World–with general keynotes in the morning, and three more children’s-track sessions in the afternoon, including their exclusive new report from PlayScience on The ABC’s of Kids and E-reading at a package price.

We keep adding to the program www.publisherslaunch.com/2012-2013/launch-kids/program which finishes with a panel including Barbara Marcus of Random House, Karen Lotz of Candlewick, and conference chair Lorraine–but here is some of the diverse and talented group of publishing executives, technologists, innovators, educational specialists and librarians speaking:

Mara Anastas, Simon & Schuster Children’s
Jess Brallier, Pearson/Protropica
Todd Brekhus, Capstone Digital
Gretchen Caserotti, Darien Library
Devereux Chatillon, IP Attorney (Callaway and Zola Books)
Rachel Chou, Open Road Integrated Media
Christian Dorffer, Mindshapes/Magic Town
Deborah Forte, Scholastic Media
Corinne Helman, Harper Children’s
Lisa Holton, Classroom, Inc.
Eric Huang, Penguin (UK)
Carl Kulo, Bowker
Swanna MacNair, Creative Conduit
Kristen McLean, Bookigee
Tina McIntyre, Little, Brown Children’s
Asra Rasheed, Reading Rainbow/RRKidz
Terri Lynn Soutor, Brain Hive
Andrew Sugerman, Disney Publishing Worldwide
Jonathan Yaged, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Our one-day program kicks off Digital Book World Week on Tuesday, January 14 in New York City.

Here is a $200 code: Code: DBW13 Register here (prices go up again on December 8), or use the code PUBLUNCH for a 5 percent discount on any ticket option.  Be prepared for sticker shock.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Filed under: children writing, Conferences and Workshops, Internet, News Tagged: Barbara Marcus, Candlewick, Digital Book World, Karen Lotz, Publishing Executives, Random House

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50 Book Pledge | Book #56: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

For your reading pleasure, I present Random House‘s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.

Charming. Compassionate. Precious. These are just a few of the words that describe The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. What you encounter when you read its pages is a tale of grief, regret and weakness. But it’s much more than that. In it you take a journey of human exploration that illuminates Harold, the man, and his relationship with his wife, Maureen.

I warn you that your heart is sure to break on more than one occasion but that’s merely a testament to Joyce’s brilliance as a storyteller.

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This is Not My Hat. Jon Klassen. 2012. Candlewick. 40 pages.

This hat is not mine. I just stole it. I stole it from a big fish. He was asleep when I did it. And he probably won't wake up for a long time. And even if he does wake up, he probably won't notice that it's gone.

 I think I enjoyed This is Not My Hat even more than Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back. In this adventure, a little fish steals a little hat from a BIG fish. Since the big fish was asleep, this little fish is quite confident that the big fish will never, ever know who took his hat. The little fish thinks he's safe...probably. This one is told from his point of view, the illustrations let the reader know more than the little fish. Much more than the little fish! I think this one is quite clever.

 Because Amelia Smiled. David Ezra Stein. 2012. Candlewick. 40 pages.

Because Amelia smiled, coming down the street...Mrs. Higgins smiled, too.
She thought of her grandson, Lionel, in Mexico and baked some cookies to send to him. 
Because Mrs. Higgins baked cookies...Lionel ate one of the cookies. He decided to share the rest with his class...and teach them an English song about cookies. Because Lionel taught his class a song...

A little smile, a little kindness can go a long way. In fact, it may even travel around the whole world. Because a little girl, Amelia, smiled, she brought happiness and cheer to many, many people--almost all of them strangers. Little acts of kindness do matter. And you're never too small to make a difference. It is a sweet, inspirational story. I definitely enjoyed it.


Sky Color. Peter H. Reynolds. 2012. Candlewick. 32 pages.

Marisol was an artist. She loved to draw and paint, and she even had her very own art gallery. Not all her art hung in a gallery. Much of it she shared with the world.

Marisol is so excited to be painting part of a mural. She's volunteered to paint the sky. But when she realizes there isn't any blue paint to be found, well, she's not sure HOW she'll paint the sky after all. But a bus trip home, an evening watching the sun set, and a rainy morning inspire her to think differently and realize that many, many colors that could rightfully be called sky color! Peter H. Reynolds has written a handful of art-friendly picture books in addition to Sky Color. These include ISH and THE DOT. All three have been newly packaged together to form a "creatrilogy."

 Day by Day. Susan Gal. 2012. Random House. 40 pages.

Mile by mile, pigs motor west. 
Brick by brick, pigs build a house...
and piece by piece, it becomes a home.
Neighbor by neighbor, pigs say, "Welcome!"
Arm in arm, new friendships begin.
Then row by row, pigs plant a garden.

I really enjoyed Susan Gal's Day by Day. Readers follow a pig family as they move west, build a home, become part of a new community; a hard-working family that at last takes time to celebrate all together with food, dancing, family...and mud. I just love the illustrations! There are so many great spreads in this one, but I think my favorite is the pigs in their underclothes!!!

Unspoken. Henry Cole. 2012. Scholastic. 40 pages.

Unspoken is a wordless picture book for older readers. It is historical fiction, a story about the underground railroad. The heroine of this story is a young girl who sees someone hiding--a runaway slave--what she does next, silently, carefully--communicates everything that needs to be said. It is so difficult to review a wordless picture book, because the whole story is conveyed by illustrations and it is all left to be interpreted by the reader. But I think this one is worth reading even if you don't usually read picture books.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Want to make a potentially life-changing New Year’s resolution? Resolve to submit your novel to a writing contest or digital imprint this year.

Here are three ways to get your book out there right now…

How To Submit to Amazon’s 2013 Breakthrough Novel Award Contest: Categories include general fiction, romance, mystery/thriller, science fiction/fantasy/horror and young adult fiction.

How To Submit Your Work To Random House’s New Digital Imprints: Genres include “romance, new adult, mystery, thriller, science fiction, fantasy and horror.”

How to Submit Your Romance Novel to Avon Impulse: “We encourage creativity, so feel free to impress us with what you’ve got! We also have our eye out for great submissions in the following subgenres: Contemporary, Fantasy, Futuristic, Ghost, Gothic, Historical, Magical, Time Travel, Western, Shifter, Small Town, Steampunk, Suspense, Vampire (and others).”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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