By: Gerald Hawksley,
on 12/29/2016
By: Gerald Hawksley,
on 12/28/2016
By: Gerald Hawksley,
on 10/23/2016
Another day, another FREEBIE!
SILLY MONSTERS ABC now free (23rd - 25th October)
Perfect alphabet book for little monsters everywhere!
Download for your kindle here:
FREE ON AMAZON.COM
FREE ON AMAZON.CO.UK
Awake Beautiful Child by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Gracia Lam
| Storytime Standouts
In this fascinating picture book, Amy Krouse Rosenthal uses only words that begin with A, B or C to tell her story. The day begins as a young boy awakens and enjoys Apples, Bananas and Cantaloupe for breakfast before heading outside and finding Ants, Butterflies and Caterpillars. He later celebrates at a birthday party, explores a city and appreciates an artist. Older children will enjoy scouring debut picture book illustrator Gracia Lam’s detailed digital illustrations for an apron, bowling pins, binoculars, a castle, a cape, a church (and more!) that serve to broaden the appeal of the story and support the development of phonemic awareness
and alphabet recognition.
It is worth mentioning that Ms. Rosenthal and Ms. Lam do not limit the story or illustrations to the phoneme /K/, they also challenge readers to recognize the use of ‘C’ in words beginning with the /ch/ and soft ‘C’ sounds, as in church and city. the ‘A’ words that we detected use the short vowel sound.
We envision this picture book as a wonderful inspiration to young illustrators and writers. Great for classroom use, the clever take on the alphabet book genre could certainly be a jumping off point for children to create their own stories and illustrations using only two or three letters.
This is a picture book that will be enjoyed by children aged 3 and up but that has great potential for exciting older children and adults.
Awake Beautiful Child at Amazon.com
Awake Beautiful Child at Amazon.ca
Storytime Standouts - Raising Children Who Love to Read
A Pod of Orcas: A Seaside Counting Book written by...
By: keilinh,
on 2/3/2016
Alto, allá arriba en los Andes brilla un bosque bordado de bromelias…
High up in the Andes blooms a brilliant forest embroidered with bromeliads . . .
Set to be released this spring, ¡Olinguito, de la A a la Z! / Olinguito, from A to Z! : Descubriendo el bosque nublado / Unveiling the Cloud Forest takes readers into the magical world of a cloud forest in the Andes of Ecuador. We discover the bounty of plants, animals, and other organisms that live there as we help a zoologist look for the elusive olinguito, the first new mammal species identified in the Americas since 1978. It has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews, which called it “a breath of fresh air in the too-often-contrived world of bilingual books.”
We asked Lulu to take us behind the scenes of her exquisite art process to make the cloud forest come alive:
I spent an average of ten days working from eight to ten hours per day creating each spread.
The first thing I did was to transfer the sketch to the Arches watercolor paper. Then I decided which areas would be collaged printed patterns and which would be painted in flat acrylic colors.
I prepared the patterned backgrounds pressing leaves gathered in the cloud forest dipped in ink and stamped onto rice paper.
With an X-Acto knife I cut out the shapes of texturized paper and pasted them into the background. I used archival glue and micro tweezers to affix the collage elements in their precise positions.
Next I prepared all the shades of acrylics that I would need for the spread and stored them in small clear jars. Each section of a color required several thin coats to achieve the rich look I was looking for.
Once the spread was entirely painted I had fun selecting pressed ferns from the forest to affix to the art. This was a delicate process as some of the pressed leaves and ferns are paper thin.
The last thing was to create the letters for the spread. I wanted a layered look, recreating the natural layers of flora in the forest, so I drew the letters on vellum paper and cut out them out. I taped the letters onto a vellum square and with careful precision affixed the letter in the spot it was intended to be.
Check out the final spread!
Lulu Delacre has worked with LEE & LOW BOOKS on several award-winning titles, including the Pura Belpré award-winning titles The Storyteller’s Candle/La velita de los cuentos and Arrorró, mi niño: Latino Lullabies and Gentle Games; How Far Do You Love Me? (English and Spanish), and Jay and Ben. Delacre has been named a Maryland Woman in the Arts and served as a juror for the 2003 National Book Awards. A native of Puerto Rico, Delacre lives with her husband in Silver Spring, Maryland. For more information about Lulu Delacre visit luludelacre.com.
You can purchase a copy of ¡Olinguito, de la A a la Z! / Olinguito, from A to Z! : Descubriendo el bosque nublado / Unveiling the Cloud Forest on our website here.
By: Roger Sutton,
on 10/15/2015
When I saw Welcome to My Neighborhood: A Barrio ABC at the library, I was immediately intrigued. I am always interested in books about people of color and since my daughter is half Latina, I wanted to see what this book was about.
I’m all for “keeping it real,” but when I read the first page and saw that A was for Abuela — and for abandoned car — I wondered if this book was keeping it too real with its depictions of neighborhood blight. But as I flipped through it, I decided that it was not too much. Abandoned cars and other signs of neglect are a very real part of some kids’ lives. There is beauty everywhere in life and the narrator finds it in broken bottles “that are smashed like falling stars” and a vacant lot that has become a vegetable plot.
My husband, who is Puerto Rican, read the book to our daughter and when they got to the letter R, the book mentions Rincón, a town in Puerto Rico where he has family.
It is so very important to see yourself reflected in all types of media. And a book like this will probably be very affirming for kids who have similar experiences, but what about the kids that don’t immediately identify with the kind of neighborhood portrayed in the book?
The jacket copy suggests that after reading about this neighborhood, young readers can think about what is special about their neighborhoods. They can also reflect on memories that make their lives special because that is an important part of the book.
For example, if a student says the book doesn’t reflect his or her life, ask questions such as:
The post Welcoming everyone to the neighborhood appeared first on The Horn Book.
By: Thomas James,
on 8/5/2015
Illustrator Nigel Sussman is developing a really cool book project, and he needs your help!
“I am calling the project Alphabet Compendium; An Illustrated A-Z of Things. It will be an extensive illustrated alphabet book of objects. For each of the twenty-six letters there will be a visual representation creating an organic composition devoted to each character; even the color choices correspond with their respective letters. The entire book is basically a giant visual alliteration.”
Support Nigel’s project on Kickstarter here.
By: Thomas James,
on 7/10/2015
We’re ready to announce this week’s topic, but first please enjoy the wonderful illustration above by Jessica Warrick, our Pick of the Week for last week’s topic of SHARP. Thanks to everyone who participated with drawings, paintings, sculptures, and more. We love seeing it all!
You can see a gallery of ALL the entries here.
And of course, you can now participate in this week’s topic:
Here’s how:
Step 1: Illustrate your interpretation of the current week’s topic (always viewable on the homepage).
Step 2: Post your image onto your blog / flickr / facebook, etc.
Step 3: Come back to Illustration Friday and submit your illustration (see big “Submit your illustration” button on the homepage).
Step 4: Your illustration will then be added to the public Gallery where it will be viewable along with everyone else’s from the IF community!
Also be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to our weekly email newsletter to keep up with our exciting community updates!
HAPPY ILLUSTRATING!
Busy Little Dinosaurs: A Back-and-Forth Alphabet Book
Series: Back-and-Forth Books
Written by Beth Schwartz & Lynn Seresin
Illustrated by Luciana Navarro Powell
Capstone Young Readers 8/01/2015
978-1-62370-234-2
22 pages 9″x8″ Age 1—4
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“Busy little dinosaurs, as a rule, agree it’s fun to go to school! Follow dinosaurs through an alphabet of activities from A all the way to Zzzzzz. But wait—you’re not done! Go back to A and name the things that start with the letters along the way.” [back cover]
Review
Busy Little Dinosaurs will teach young children their ABCs in an unconventional manner. Each spread contains a four-line verse of rhyme and somewhere in that rhyme is a word with the letter or letters for that spread, going from A to Z. For example, the second spread is for the letters “Gg,” “Hh,” and “Ii.”
“Dinos gather together,
hang a flag from a tree,
and imagine they’re pirates,
that sail the high seas.”
At the top left of each spread, in various colors, are the next letters in the alphabet. It would be easy enough to learn the alphabet by learning the letters while ignoring each verse and illustration, but that would not be much fun. The dinosaurs are doing all sorts of imaginative activities, many of which young children could also enjoy. In the above verse, the orange dinosaur looks at a map while wearing a pirate’s hat. The green dinosaur wears glasses and is looks over a different type of map, while the third dinosaur peers through a telescope—“Land Ho!”
Young children will have loads of laughs learning the alphabet with Busy Little Dinosaurs. The colorful, sturdy pages are glossy and wipe off kid-gunk with ease. The “A” dinosaurs enter school with their backpacks and big smiles. Throughout the day, the dinosaurs have a tremendous amount of fun as they enjoy many activities: play instruments, exercise in gym class, play soccer, paint, eat lunch, read books, and take a nap. All make for a rather decent kindergarten day.
Once those dinosaurs awake, they can flip back through the pages and, well, this part is actually a little tricky.
“Now go back to the cutouts
for surprises and fun.
Guess the letter things start with
and then you are done!”
The first spread is now letter “Z,” and in the cutout is a picture of a zebra fish—the object begins with the letter Z. On spread “Y,” the cutout is over the orange body of the yawning dinosaur. This could be the word “yawning” beginning with the letter Y, though not an object. “Ww and Xx” opens to a bookworm or a worm reading—begins with the letter W. But then “Tt, Uu, Vv” opens on the color purple on the dinosaur’s nose. I cannot think of anything beginning with the letter t, u, or v for this “object.” The spreads repeat this pattern of object then body color until the child is back to the front off the book. I love the idea, but do not understand what object each color represents, especially if the letter of the object is one of the letters of the spread, though that was not specified. I can only imagine how difficult it would have been to get an object in one cutout for two spreads. This does give a child the chance to use his or her imagination when deciding what object the colors might represent to them. Unfortunately, as a back-and-forth book, Busy Little Dinosaurs works well going forward and half the time in reverse.
Despite this problem, Busy Little Dinosaurs is a fun, imaginative, interesting, and colorful learning experience for young kids. Learning the ABCs in this manner is more beneficial than simply reciting the alphabet repeatedly until learned. Rote learning is never as much fun as experiential learning. I would highly recommend Busy Little Dinosaurs for teaching young children their alphabet. I believe, learning in this manner—non-rote learning—helps kids learn faster and remember what they learned longer. Busy Little Dinosaurs will have young children excited to learn the alphabet—and that is the best way to learn.
BUSY LITTLE DINOSAURS (A BACK-AND-FORTH BOOK). Text copyright © 2015 by Beth Schwartz & Lynn Seresin. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Luciana Navarro Powell. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Capstone, North Mankato, MN.
Pre-order Busy Little Dinosaurs at Amazon
Learn more about Busy Little Dinosaurs HERE.
Meet the author, Beth Schwartz, her website:
Meet the author, Lynn Seresin, at her website: http://bit.ly/LynnSeresin
Meet the illustrator, Luciana Navarro Powell, at his/her website: http://www.lucianaillustration.com/
Find more picture books at the Capstone Young Readers website: http://www.capstonepub.com/
Capstone Young Readers is an imprint of Capstone.
Other Back-and-Forth Books
Puppies, Puppies, Everywhere! (opposites)
Ten Playful Tigers (counting) (reviewed here)
You’re it, Little Red Fish (colors)
Plus – Hop, Hop Bunny (reviewed here)
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Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved
Review section word count = 603
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By: Debbie Ridpath Ohi,
on 12/30/2014
Just one reason you should always keep a notebook handy -- you never know when inspiration will strike!
By: [email protected],
on 9/22/2014
I am a huge Oliver Jeffers fan but have to admit his last few picture books haven’t hit the mark. That of course excludes the absolutely brilliant The Day The Crayons Quit he did with Drew Daywalt last year which was simply outstanding. Oliver Jeffers illustrations have always been outstanding but it was his stories that seemed […]
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P is for Pirate is here!
As long-time readers know, the subject of pirates is a favorite of mine. You can imagine how happy I was when Sleeping Bear Press asked me to illustrate Eve Bunting’s latest, P is for Pirate.
Here’s how the jacket art came together. Some rough sketches, a tight sketch based on the approved rough, the painting in progress. I lost something in the tight sketch—the pirate doesn’t have the same aggressiveness & oomph—so I went back to the rough sketch to paint from. That’s my dear old African Grey, Sherman, sitting on his shoulder. How I miss him! I like this low-key palette, mostly blacks, greys and red. The talented Felicia Macheske was my art director on this project. I will show more images throughout the month.
By: Paula,
on 6/30/2014
By: Paula Becker,
on 6/30/2014
I almost forgot…Slowly but surely!
By: Paula Becker,
on 6/23/2014
Slowly making way through the alphabet. Below is an illustration for the letter “B”…
By: Paula,
on 6/23/2014
By: Paula,
on 6/16/2014
Here's something I posted on my blog, as well as here....
This is from a while back, a personal project. I wanted to do an alphabet. And the never-ending question for me is in regards to style: Cartoony? Stylized? Loosy-goosy-esque? (Whatever THAT means!). But in time, place and history, I made it look like this. So without further ado, I give you the letter "A", featuring an alligator eating and apple, of course!
By: Paula Becker,
on 6/16/2014
Posting some work from a while back, a personal project. I wanted to do an alphabet. The never-ending question for me is in regards to style: Cartoony? Stylized? Loosy-goosy-esque? (Whatever THAT means!). But in time, place and history, I made it look like this. So without further ado, I give you the letter “A”, featuring an alligator eating and apple, of course!
By: nicole,
on 3/18/2013
By: nicole,
on 3/11/2013
5 stars All About Boats: A to Z David & Zora Aiken Schiffer Publishing No. Pages: 32 Ages: 6 to 8 ....................
Back Cover: Boating time is family time as everyone often shares both the fun and the work. Even young children are eager to help. Their curiosity is roused and they’ll look for ways to learn more about boating. All About Books: A to Z shows the youngest crew members the purpose of the many things they see while boating. The book can prompt conversations about all aspects of boating as families develop their onboard teamwork.
All About Boats: A to Z is a unique alphabet book. For one, it is written for older children who already know their ABCs. A boating term, beginning with that page’s letter, helps a child learn about boats and boating terms. A rhyming verse explains the term in a light, easy tone. Finally, the illustrations add further explanation of the term.
For example, the letter K’s word is keel.
Most boats have a keel—
It’s part of the design.
A sailboat’s deep keel
Helps hold a straight line.
The illustration for letter K is a sailboat on transparent water, allowing the child to see the keel on the sailboat. This is a great way for anyone to learn something new. The more senses involved, the better the retention.
All About Boats: A to Z uses sight and sound, but in multiple ways. The child will read the letter and its word in bold type. Then they will read a short verse, which rhymes and includes the word’s purpose. Each illustration shows the child where the term is in relation to boating. Assuming the family owns a boat, the child can connect then term with the real thing.
I like the book’s multiple avenues for learning both the alphabet and boating terms. Younger children can use this as an ABC book, especially if interested in boats. All About Boats: A to Z is written for the older child who wants or needs to learn the terms of boating. Each verse helps the child remember the purpose of each word. The important word is in bold type and always in the verse. The illustrations do a wonderful job of capturing the word, while still keeping the book’s feel light and airy, somewhat like boating itself.
I think kids will love to learn about boats by using this book. It is friendly, fun, and familiarizes the child to boats and their functions quickly. A young child, under the age of five or six may not understand all of the terms, even after having the verses read to them and looking at the illustrations. Still, I would not hesitate in giving this ABC book to a youngun (as my fellow book reviewer Erik, called young children in a recent review).
This is a book that can help a child prepare for a boating trip and then reinforce the boating term, part, and function while on the trip. Some adults, not accustom to boating on a regular basis, will learn much from this cute book. T is for transom,* which is the area on the back of the boat, where a boat’s given name is painted. I did not know that.
I like this book. Kids will enjoy the illustrations and learning about boats. I think girls will enjoy this as much as boys. Anyone with children, or grandchildren, who regularly boats, especially if they own a boat, will find this book valuable. Any child who loves boats, be it the large ones sailing the ocean or the small ones sailing the carpet, will want this boat, learn from this boat, and be thrilled to own this book. All About Boats: A to Z is a great book for many reasons—all of them kid friendly.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞♦♦♦♦∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
*One possible game that can be played to reinforce remembering a term, is to find that term on other pages of the book. For example, the term transom, which I did not know until reading this book. There are seven transoms with a name in this book. One boat has its name on its side, so I would think it does not count.
Those seven boats with names, when found by the child, will help reinforce what a transom is for. The last spread is a beautiful scene of all shapes and sizes of boats, yet not one has a name on its transom. This is a missed opportunity for reinforcement of letter T’ and the word transom.
Author: David & Zora Aiken Illustrator: David Aiken Publisher: Schiffer Publishing website Release Date: July 28, 2012 ISBN: 978-0-7643-4184-7 Number of Pages: 32 Ages: 5 to 8 .......................
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By: Debbie Ridpath Ohi,
on 9/1/2012
I'm posting some of my older comics here as I catalog and tag them in prep for a print book compilation. You can find my comics for writers on Inkygirl (http://inkygirl.com), Tumblr (http://inkygirl.tumblr.com) and Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/inkyelbows/comics-for-writers-inkygirl-com)
By: Paula Becker,
on 8/22/2012
We all had a favorite teacher, yes? They did really neat, cool things that we remember well after our school days. My most “cool” teacher was when I was in third grade. He taught us to knit, make bread, sprechen Deutsch (as well as sing Bach Fugues in German!), tumble, and make lye soap. And that’s also the first time I did a comic strip–and fell in love with cartooning. His name wasn’t Mr. McCool, but it may as well have been.
Having taught classroom myself for a number of years, I know how hard the job is. So godspeed to all you teachers out there, prepping for the new year!
Wow! I loved seeing the steps in Lulu’s illustrations. I’m definitely reading this book!