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I am so absolutely thrilled that BOY + BOT releases today because I’ve been waiting for it for a long, long time.

It’s the debut picture book by my good friend, Ame Dyckman—and get this—it’s illustrated by the hugely talented Dan Yaccarino! I mean, this has got to be the best picture book EVER with an author-illustrator team just as lovable as Boy and Bot themselves.

And for this very special day, I’ve got prizes to give away! One AFFIRMATIVELY AWESOME prize pack including BOY + BOT, stickers, bookmarks, and an *exclusive* BOT keychain clip made by author-zoologist-educator-sculptor Jess Keating!

So let’s get on with the fun!

TL: So, Ame, you and I have been friends for a few years now, after meeting at NJ-SCBWI first page sessions. (I knew I had to get to know you, with your spiky pink hair and Lego bracelet.) Is that how you began your kidlit career, attending SCBWI events?

AD: *laughing* Was my hair pink back then? I don’t remember my hair color at the time (it’s blue, now), but I remember thinking, “Wow! This Tara person is funny and nice and she really knows her kidlit! I like her!” BAM! Friends!

And yes, attending SCBWI events–YAY, NJ SCBWI!–started everything for me! When I first joined, I knew I wanted to write picture books, but I didn’t know how. My first manuscripts were REALLY bad, but nobody made fun of me. Everybody was helpful. (YOU taught me how to page a PB, remember? I still have your diagram!) I went to as many events as I could—First Page Sessions, Mentoring Workshops, Networking Dinners, Annual Conferences, etc. I learned tons—still do!—and met lots of amazing industry professionals and made lots of wonderful friends. At the 2009 NJ SCBWI Annual Conference, I pitched BOY + BOT to Super Agent Scott Treimel, and he said, “I love it! Let’s work together!”

TL: I distinctly remember the 2009 conference and a certain editor making goo-goo eyes at you during lunch…but he had read your manuscript and was bonkers over BOY + BOT. I thought to myself, GO AME! You could feel the buzz about that manuscript at the event. You were in deep conversation with several agents.

So we want to know—how did this beep-worthy book idea come about?

AD: The short answer: I love robots! (I used to doodle robots instead of doing my math homework. Even in college!) The long answer: I love robots and unusual friendship stories and mirror stories always make me laugh, so I hoped mine would make other people laugh, too.

TL: So BOY + BOT is your debut and it has something like 347 starred industry reviews! Are you thrilled or what?

AD: I’m SO happy, and really grateful for all the reviewer love. Here’s hoping the little Boys (and Girls!) and Bots that Dan and I made the book for love it, too!

TL: We’re chatting on the eve of your book’s release. Will you be able to sleep tonight? It’s a little like Christmas Eve, isn’t it?

AD: It feels like Christmas Eve and Birthday Eve and Leaving-for-Disney-World-Tomorrow Eve all smooshed together! I was up until 3:45 this morning because I was so excited already! (But, I think I’d better try to

10 beautiful books for Valentine's Day—poetry, love, and stickers.

This morning I got an email from Dan Yaccarino, an incredibly talented children's book author and illustrator. He asked me to share a trailer of one of his books with you. The book is about Jacques Cousteau, a man I greatly admired when I was growing up, and whose films helped to set me on the path to becoming a zoologist.




I will have a review of The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau for you as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

www.lookingglassreview.com

When I was young, I hated green peas more than anything. They grossed me out and I refused to eat them…or I would have if my parents would let me, and since they were both pretty eagle-eyed, the chances were slim. So, I developed another, more subtle technique: get my plate really close to my brother’s, and shovel as fast as I could. Before you begin (or keep) thinking of me as a terrible person, my brother liked green peas and there was no harm, no foul. But if I had my very own robot obeying my every command, I wouldn’t have needed to do the pea switcheroo. I could have had my robot dispatch the nasty little green devils and no one would be the wiser. An intriguing thought, isn’t it? Some mechanized being doing your bidding would be almost too tempting to pass up. Monday morning would lose its sting. Family gatherings could be more bearable. Sink full of dishes? Done. Piles of laundry? Finished. Bills? Yardwork? Diaper changing? No big deal. The only problem I see with having your own robo-assistant is the laziness that would surely come along with such a handy little piece of technology. Then again, you could just set your robot to operate in guilt mode for you and not worry about it. Dan Yaccarino gives Phil a robot in If I Had A Robot and everything is great until there’s only one piece of cake. Then it’s everyone or everything for themselves.

http://www.amazon.com/Had-Robot-Picture-Puffin-Books/dp/014056294X

http://www.danyaccarino.com/dy/

“Swimming, swimming in my swimming pool. Some days are hot, some days cold in my swimming pool. Breast stroke, side stroke and fancy diving too…” Read more after the jump. This childhood song has been stuck in my head ever since I read Dan Yaccarino’s book, The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau. All I can [...]

What you are witnessing here is the first trailer for Library of the Early Mind — a feature-length documentary film by Edward J. Delaney and Steven Withrow exploring children’s literature.  According to its website, “The film will have its first public screening at Harvard University in October and is now being submitted to film festivals worldwide. Music is by Jason K. Nitsch.”  The sheer number of talented speakers they found is impressive alone.  If you can’t view it on their site, it’s also available through YouTube.  Thanks to Steven Withrow for the info.

Book trailer time!  Here we see what a little talent with stop animation, a fellow with a voice straight out of movie trailers, and a well chosen oboe can do for your average book.  It’s Sophie Simon Solves Them All by Lisa Graff:

This one’s a little different.  I guess it’s a book trailer at its heart (for Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich’s 8th Grade Superzero) but it’s also just a take on what it is to be an author.  It also works as a lovely tribute to New York City (and my library makes one brief appearance, which is nice).

Selling your book is one thing.  Selling yourself, another.  I suppose that author/illustrators need to make a living, and school visits can be a lucrative part of that.  So Dan Yaccarino had the idea to create a kind of commercial for himself.  It works.  It might work for other author/illustrators too.  Mind you, few of us have three different television shows under our belts (three, Dan?  Really?) but with a bit of creativity it isn’t hard to make something like this:

I didn’t get around to interviewing or talking to anyone at BookExpo this year.  Interviews are hard.  You have to come up with some kind of burning question for folks to answer.  Katie Davis is better prepared than I.  She went about the conference asking folks, “If you could go to the yard sale of any fictional character, whose would it be and what would you buy?” It’s worth it just to hear Scieszka say, “Katherine Schmatterson.”