This month it is my pleasure to share an interview with Children’s Book Author Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen.  I first met Sudipta at the NJSCBWI Conference in 2011.  She conducted an amazing workshop session on how to write Picture Books (PB) that sell.  She shared her format and tips for successful PB writing. If anyone has a magic formula it is she.  Her career has included such fiction titles as HAMPIRE, CHICKS RUN WILD, PIRATE PRINCESS, and HALF-PINT PETE THE PIRATE.  She’s also written a series of non-fiction Science books with titles such as: LAST MINUTE SCIENCE FAIR PROJECTS, NATURE SCIENCE and KITCHEN SCIENCE, among others

Thanks for joining me Sudipta.

1. You’ve carved out a successful career as a Children’s Book author and workshop presenter.  How did this come about?

Years of hard work and perseverance? J I’m not sure how to answer this question…nor am I sure how successful I am. I do know that I write books that I am proud of, that I try to tell an interesting story in each of my books and tell a relevant story in each of my workshops. I’m lucky, really – I have had the good fortune to find an audience for both my books and my talks!

2. What was your first book?  Did you sell it through an agent?

My first picture book was TIGHTROPE POPPY, THE HIGH-WIRE PIG, and I did not sell it through an agent. I did, however, sell POPPY to an editor that I was already working with.  She had published some of my science books so it was easy to send her one more manuscript, even though it was so different from what we had been doing. Luckily, it was also the right fit for her.  That is how I broke into the picture book market.

3. Your  PB’s are fun, playful  and adventurous tales with lots of kid appeal.  Where do you get your ideas and how long does it typically take to complete the first draft of a story?

Ideas come from everywhere but they are usually married to something autobiographical.  It is unusual for my main character to not be a proxy for myself or my children.  The premise, however, could be taken from anywhere, either personal experience or something that I have heard or read about. 

In terms of completing a first draft, it’s difficult to give a discrete window.  Some books take a matter of days and some take months to complete a first draft.  However, if you ask how long it takes for a manuscript to be publication-ready, that’s easier for me to answer – that’s typically 12-18 months.

4. What’s a typical day like for you?

I am the single mother of three. There is no such thing as a “typical” day! Every day is a mix of being a parent, trying to write, managing the business side of what I do, and attempting to have a personal life. Balance is precarious but is always the goal!

5. Whose PB writing/books do you most admire?  Which of your books is your favorite?

I guess as the person I most admire I can’t choose myself, huh? J Both of these are such difficult questions to answer.  It’s like asking me to name my favorite child! So many of my favorite authors are good friends of mine, so if I were to pick only one as my favorite the others would never speak to me again and throw pies at me in public.

Similarly, which of my creations could I select as my favorite?  Wouldn’t that suggest that mommy doesn’t like all of the other ones? J

I’ll be a good sport though and give you the names of a few picture book authors I truly admire (in no particular order):  Amy Dyckman, Audrey Vernick, Kat Yeh, Leeza Hernandez, Joyce Wan, and Tara Lazar.

6. Many authors work at other jobs to pay the bills.  You don’t.  Tell us how and what you do between projects to keep funds coming in.

The more successful I get the less time I have to actually write to support my writing career.  I end up doing a lot of appearances or events like school visits, book festivals or professional development for educators.  It’s been a very interesting journey because when I first became an author I thought that would be a very solitary life.  Now I spend about half of my time speaking in front of large groups of people.  The other half I spend in my jammy jams.

7. Tell us a bit about your background and what you did before you became a writer.

I didn’t start writing until pretty late in life (becoming a writer was just pretty much the last thing I ever expected to be doing). I was a PhD candidate in developmental neurobiology at Caltech when I had one baby, my daughter Isabella. Fourteen months after that, I had another baby. Then I learned that babies have this way of changing your life and turning everything you had planned on its ear. All of a sudden, I didn’t want to be a scientist so much as I wanted to be a mother.

About six months after Brooklyn (my second) was born, I decided that just being home being a mom wasn’t what I wanted – I definitely cherished my time with my kids, but I wanted to have something more, something that was mine. I thought I could write with two babies in the house – which was utterly silly because you can’t do anything with two babies in the house!

8. Complete this sentence: I can’t live without________________________.

If we skip the obvious answers of my children, my work, etc, here are three ways I would finish this sentence (in no particular order)

a)      Mounds bars                                                    

b)      My Galaxy phone

c)      Air conditioning

9. What are your current projects?

I am still working on a new chapter book series called, “The Spectacles of Destiny”.  That takes a big chunk of my time.  But that doesn’t mean that I have abandoned picture books.  I have a few ideas that I am tossing around but they’re still too embryonic to share.

10. Tell us some amazing/rewarding feedback you’ve gotten from readers of your books.

I met a boy in California once who came for a book signing before I went to his school.  He was very shy both times that I saw him.  But afterwards, his teacher told me that for the next show and tell, this boy brought in one of my books, QUACKENSTEIN HATCHES A FAMILY, and proceeded to show his class his favorite page.  He started on the first page and said that was his favorite page.  Then he turned the page and said that that was his favorite page.  Then he showed the third page and that was his favorite…he eventually showed the entire book. 

I was recently in Knoxville, TN for a children’s book festival and many parents came up to me and said that they had received my books through the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.  Many said these books are family favorites.  I had never been to Tennessee before.  It gave me an appreciation for how many people have been touched by my work.

11. What is something that readers may not know about you?

That I don’t like real animals anywhere near as much as I like the imaginary ones I write about.

12. If you could relive one day of your life over again, which would you choose and why?

I don’t look back. Sure, I’ve made a lot of mistakes and faced a lot of disappointments, but every one of those mistakes and heartaches led me to the place I’m in now – and it’s a truly good place.

13. Any final thoughts or words of wisdom for new authors regarding marketing or promotion of books?

I think the best advice I can give is that you should remember what you are promoting – and realize that it isn’t your newest book. Authors are best served by learning to promote themselves first and their newest book second – after all, do you want your fans to buy just one book of yours, or your entire catalogue because they can’t get enough of your words?

 Thanks Sudipta.  I’ve really enjoyed this opportunity to get to know you better. 

You can learn more about Sudipta and her books at: www.sudipta.com

 FB author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sudipta-Bardhan-Quallen-Childrens-Book-Author/67021696384?ref=tn_tnmn

Twitter: @SudiptaBQ

Blog: www.nerdychickrule.com

Sudipta is doing a cover reveal for her upcoming PB. There is a giveaway, too, that people can enter: http://nerdychicksrule.com/2013/05/20/cover-reveal-and-giveaway/

     It would be perfect  if Joan herself were here to write this blog – with her many years of experience from her own early days of struggle and rejection slips, with her wide reading and appreciation of all kinds of life and literature, and her great sympathy for fellow writers, she would have had […]

This is Pink’s Snatcher look.  She learned it when Snatcher lived with us and terrorized the rest of the animals with his high-handed haughty ways.   Its years since Snatcher left Wayside Cottage and went to live with the Car-Man (who taught him to be nastier than he needs to be) but you can see there are things behind his eyes that he doesn’t bother to hide.  The same goes for Pink.   All our cats have secrets in one way or another, except for Bamber.  He’s simple and true and honest.  He wears no mask.  He’s the only normal cat we have.  Snatcher was a dreadful thief, and he lied all the time, almost without trying.  He never took the blame for anything but when he left we found a large stash of contraband (including some precious stories) behind the wardrobe in the spare room, where he had his quarters.

Information technology and new technological devices are revolutionizing the world of literature, and children’s literature is no different. The ever-increasing numbers of e-books and e-readers in recent years has sparked debate about whether or not e-books are bad for the book industry or reading in general. This argument has been especially critical in the arena of children’s literature. Though children’s e-books have both their improvements and downsides over print books, they achieve the same goal of reaching out to children and telling stories or conveying information in a way that children can understand and enjoy.

One improvement e-books have over print books is the superior picture quality of e-books. This is particularly important for a lot of children’s books. Lots of children’s books, both fiction and nonfiction, contain beautiful color illustrations or photographs. Backlighting on computers or iPads make these pictures brighter and more vivid, enhancing the child’s enjoyment and reading experience. Additionally, pictures which splay across two pages and are split down the middle by a page divide in a print book look better on a screen where there is no page divide.

There are other improvements. Audio books enable young children to hear stories without their parents having to read to them. This way if parents are doing something else the kids can have a book out and have a computer read it to them, and parents can interact from the kitchen or the driver’s seat (“What’s the picture of?” “What kind of sound does that animal make?” etc) without having to take their eyes off the stove or the road to read the book. Additionally the fact that iPads, e-readers, computers, and other electronic devices can hold hundreds of e-books in a tablet that takes up about as much space as one book makes them convenient for traveling and ensures that children always have something new to read.

Parents will like that the e-books are often cheaper and more durable than print books. Our favorite books all suffer from over-use – dog eared pages, worn covers, pages falling out. These happen even to adults’ favorite books, and most kids are far less careful with their things. E-books don’t have pages that can fall out or covers that can get bent in the bottom of a backpack. There are durable tablets available so that kids can drop the e-readers without breaking them.

The most important thing is to get children reading and to get them reading good books. Fiction has to have characters and an interesting plot. Children get this from the story itself, not the media. Harry Potter is still Harry Potter whether you’re reading about him in the familiar-smelling, dog-eared pages of the books you’ve had for years or whether you’re reading about him on a computer screen with the movie soundtrack emitting from the same computer. The same idea goes for nonfiction. Children’s nonfiction has to have information that keeps the child engaged and which the author explains on the child’s level. These qualities are things that both print books and e-books have in common. The goal is still the same – to get kids reading and interacting with language and information. Information is powerful no matter the media through which it is conveyed. 

For more information on children’s e-books from Sylvan Dell, go to Amazon. Our e-books are $0.99 through the 18^th of May.

A wonderful truck book for boys and girls is being released this week…DO take a look and enjoy.  I’ve ‘borrowed’ the blurb from Melissa Iwai’s blog here…about the book and author and, for some, a surprising fact about the collaboration process.  Congratulations Melissa and Anne ….it’s a most fun result of a growing friendship!

I’m thrilled to announce the release of TRUCK STOP, written by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by moi!!  The official Viking pub date is this Thursday, but we are kicking off our blog tour today.  TRUCK STOP is a fun picture book for young kids that celebrates all the different trucks and their drivers who gather for breakfast every day at the young narrator’s family’s truck stop diner.

When I first was offered the manuscript in 2011, I was so excited to see it was written by Anne.  I’ve been a big fan for a long time.  She`s written over 100 children’s books for all ages, on topics ranging from boats, history, mythology, to the first day of school, bugs, to the seasons.  Go check out her collection of books here!  Needless to say, I didn’t need much time to think it over and said “yes” to my editor immediately.

Most people don’t realize it, but usually the author and illustrator don’t meet or collaborate at all on the book.  Exceptions are made, of course, if they are married, related, or perhaps have worked together in the past.  So it was such a pleasure last week when I finally had the opportunity to meet Anne in person.  We had been corresponding via Facebook  for the past year after I turned the artwork in (yes, it takes a year for a book to be printed!)

There are several ways to celebrate Children’s Book Week – May 13-18 2013.

1. Take the children to your local library for story hour.  Check the library to see what special programs are available during this special week.

2. Visit a local independent bookstore and browse the racks for the latest children’s books.  Call ahead to see if you can co-ordinate your visit with those of authors who might be signing books.

3. Read, read, read your favorite children’s stories as well as some new ones you’ve never read.  There are so many wonderful authors and picture books.  Looking for a place to start? Try the Newbery and Caldacott winners for the best in writing and illustrating for children.

4. Have a book trading party.  Bring books you’ve had for awhile and trade with other parents or children for some new stories. It’s a great way to expand your child’s reading on a tight budget.

4. Dress up as your favorite character from a book and spend the day pretending to BE that character.  What would he/she/it eat, play with, etc?

Happy Book Week!

Book Festivals - I love them! Not only do you get to meet great kids who are excited about reading, parents who are excited about kids reading, you also get to visit with lots of great authors and illustrators.

Yesterday I was part of Cape Elizabeth, ME, Book festival - their first and they did a great job! Over 30 exhibitors and a wonderful flow of people all day. Makes the heart sing!

Here are a few pics of the day ...

 

 

 

Pink thinks everything becomes her. Some animals change colour to match their surroundings, but Pink’s surroundings change texture and hue according to her whim and fancy. In her youth she was abject and easy to upset. I found her once on the worktop in the utility room, crying because one of the local cats had been nasty to her. She slept on my pillow that night, and for many nights afterwards, and sometimes I think I may have given her too much confidence and paid her too much attention for her own good, because now it’s all so different and instead of being a shrinking violet she’s a little tyrant. In the old days even Bamber used to bully her a bit, because that’s what boys are like. Alleycat used to wonder if she could really be one of us (meaning one of the Ginge Club) and when she went out of doors we worried that she’d never come back – she was that weak and puny. But now the Ginge Club are all at her command and she’s their Queen and even Alleycat does her bidding and makes way for her.  Her glass might have started off empty but it didn’t stay empty for long, and these days it only takes one look from her for her cup to fill up with her favourite liqueur just simply because she wills it so.

Even our kitchen is PINK!
And our glassware is PINK TOO!

Do cats rate chips?  Bamber does.  I gave him a chip on my fork and he lapped it up. I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I did. For the last month we’ve been in the throes of getting a new kitchen installed, and during the whole of that time we haven’t had water in the taps.  Hence we’ve relied on processed food and home cooking has eaten dust.  But Bamber loves rubbish food, he loves fatty chips, meat products laced with bad chemicals and oozy fatty liquors.  And that’s what this episode has taught us. It’s also reminded us how stubborn he is.  He refused to give up asking until he’d had his chips.  He sat on the edge of my plate and demanded them until he was given.

A few months ago, when Gangnam Style fever had kids ponying around the country, two baffled Fox News pinheads personalities debated the song’s appeal.

“I think what this fella Psy is tapping into…is the fact that people don’t want any meaning right now. The most popular music apparently is that without intelligible words…not reality, not feeling, not meaning.”

“So it means nothing…”

They never once considered that the song was in Korean and the gibberish they were hearing was indeed actual words in a different language, satirizing the wealthy Gangnam district of South Korea, an area obsessed with western culture.

From that mind-numbing discussion, they somehow segued into their perceived lack of meaning in children’s books.

Wait? What was that? No meaning in children’s books?! Oh yeah, the ignoramus commentator had a picture book rejected and was obviously still reeling from the sting.

“I had a little kids’ book I wrote; I sent it out to a few publishers. They bemoaned the fact…they said, gee, it seems like it has a message. I said, ‘Well, yeah, it’s about empowerment’. Well, books about messages right now aren’t selling.”

He then ridiculed WIMPY KID and OLIVIA, two of the best-selling children’s book series. (Probably because he didn’t think of them first.)

“Try to tell them about ‘courage’, that’s not going to be purchased by the great masses who now want not to be tapped on the heartstrings, if you will, but simply to be pushed toward ‘a good beat’.”

Darn straight, readers want a good beat. What they don’t want is to be beat over the head with a lesson you think they need to learn.

Message-driven picture books begin with the intention of teaching a life lesson, like how to have good manners. With the writer’s purpose being so righteous, the story can come across as preachy and self-important. Why don’t these books sell? Because they lack the one thing that kids really want: FUN. Think about it—children are being taught all day long—at home, at school, at places of worship. When they pick up a book, do you think they want to hear “remember to say please and thank you” yet again? If I were a kid, I’d shelve that book pronto. Kids want to be entertained.

Message-driven books are not subtle. They often contain the very phrase the writer intends to teach, like: “Just be nice and you’ll always have lots of friends!” This is the classic mistake of “telling” instead of “showing” with your words. It’s talking down to kids, it’s assuming they’re not intelligent creatures with limitless imaginations.

Not all books with messages are message-driven. In fact, the best books do contain messages, but they are subtly woven through a wondrous story rich in character, setting and action. Every good story contains a universal emotional truth—friendship, family, fitting in—that is slowly revealed through the main character’s journey. The character at the beginning of the book is not the same person by the end; they have been transformed. How have they changed? Within the answer lies the lesson. Character is paramount, not the message.

I’m going to leap upon my soapbox now. I believe children’s books should be fun-driven. If books are going to compete with computers, iProducts and video games, authors need to deliver an escape, a fantastical world where anything can and does happen. I write with fun in the forefront. I think back to my childhood and the things that I loved—like secret hideouts adults didn’t know existed. I was fascinated by Dahl’s chocolate factory and the fact that he chose a kid to run it. (I hope I didn’t spoil that for anyone. It has been almost 50 years since the book was released.) A kid in charge! Marvelous!

So let’s circle back—does DIARY OF A WIMPY KID have a message? It sure does. I can name a bunch: being yourself, persevering through difficult situations, being able to laugh at yourself. These are all important life lessons.

No one would call Jeff Kinney’s series “message-driven”, yet a lot of people mistake FUN books for being worthless teachers, for being meaningless. I beg to differ. (And I beg Fox News to get a clue.)

It’s time to do the exact opposite of writing message-driven books: assume kids are already smart as whips. (Believe me, they are.) A message-driven book isn’t going to teach them anything except to avoid reading. And that’s a lesson no one needs to learn!

At the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books last weekend, three writers shared advice for aspiring children’s book authors.

During the “Pictures on the Page: The Art of Children’s Books” panel discussion, Blue Chameleon author Emily Gravett, Hang Glider & Mud Mask co-author Brian McMullen and Not a Box author Antoinette Portis talked about their craft and writing lives.

Below, we’ve collected their advice for aspiring authors…

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

It’s finally spring and so much seems to suddenly happen! or need doing! or change in some way!  Love it and hate it.. but it’s never boring and slow like winter can be.

Bologna was sort of the big start of it all.  Word from clients is that it was as wonderful as always. (I went in ’04…how time flies!)  Some changes were seen generally around the world.  Middle grade and realistic fiction is “hot.”  Lightly illustrated middle grade…often stand-alones again, and more contemporary in feel… are wanted.  Some lessening in YA paranormal/dystopian stories and more “fang-free fiction.”  (love that expression! contributed to John Adams, of Adams Lit.)   Lots of interest in traditional, beautifully illustrated picture books it appears. Yipee!

In PW I keep reading about the changes in patterns for the public’s way of buying and finding books. Less the library or book store help this past year, and more Amazon and from word of mouth.  However, in general, over a third of parents seem to feel their kids actually have a “stong attachment to print books.” (Feb 25th)  I do hope this is true.  We need both to balance various needs and uses.

The Common Core State Standards, which has turned more ‘non-fiction,’  is always a big influence on publishers of course as they and schools find ways to incorporate the new mandate. Should bring more work to the ‘realistic’ artists I’d think, and those who love research and history of all styles.  Writers and artists can help by offering games,  crafts and such into their sites perhaps.  Working out ways the schools can get links to their free downloads…. to take the information and interactiveness further.

I read a quote somewhere recently (I DO notice….)  but can’t place who said it….want to share as it is SO true always.  Publishers want “writing that sings – art that expands on words – stories that inform developmentally.”   THAT is the ‘common core.’

Priscilla Burris

Over at the Muddy Colors blog, children’s book author and illustrator Adam Rex shared his creative process behind Chu’s Day–his picture book collaboration with Neil Gaiman.

The post includes a brief glimpse of Gaiman’s script for their next children’s book project, but we also get priceless shots of storyboards and character sketches from the current book. Here’s an excerpt from the essay:

In a novel you can just throw a bunch of blanks at the end to round out another eight pages if you have to, but with a picture book you need to be more precise. Add to this that nearly all picture books are either 32 or 40 pages long, and it gets even more restrictive. Few PBs are more than 40 pages. None are less than 32 (board books don’t count). I draw 32 or 40 or whatever little boxes on a single page of my sketchbook and start filling them in. I only have the most rudimentary notion what each page is going to look like, but this is where I usually discover the ideas that will make this my book as opposed to a book that was merely illustrated by me. Once I have all my pandas in a row I probably sketch character designs.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth,” Sherlock Holmes has said about his method of detective work. In Sylvan Dell’s new picture book, Deductive Detective, our hero Detective Duck shows that he’s learned from the best! He dons his best deerstalker hat, his much-too-big magnifying glass, and solves the case of the missing cake with the same methods the pros use!

That is, a style of logical thinking called “deductive reasoning.” In deductive reasoning, someone finds an answer they’re looking for by first finding out what the answer isn’t. When Detective Duck examines the clues and finds out which of his friends couldn’t have stolen the cake, it leads him closer to what really happened!

Of course, you don’t need a weird hat and a magnifying glass to use deductive reasoning. These methods come in handy every day! If you lose a toy, for example (or car keys), you may make your search easier by determining where the item isn’t.

“Oh yeah,” you may say, “I didn’t bring it to my friend’s house; I wasn’t holding it when I walked to the living room, or landed on the moon. I wouldn’t have brought it to my parents’ room or under the ocean or into Mordor.” By deciding where you shouldn’t look, you now have a better idea of where you should.

This kind of logic process happens throughout the day, sometimes without you even being aware of it; you might say your brain is always on the case as much as any detective!

Apply deductive reasoning the next time you’re in the bookstore: subtract the books that don’t meet the highest educational standards, offer pages of activities and facts, offer online supplements, are fun to look at and fun to read! You’ll be left with books by Sylvan Dell like The Deductive Detective!

Once again, it is time for the 2nd Big Peepsqueak Give-A-Way!   

Will you be the winner?

Will you get a box in the mail full of Peep goodies?

This time around, the prize is for both of my books, “Peepsqueak”, and “Peepsqueak Wants A Friend,”  AND a Peepsqueak plush toy!

Are you up for it?

Here are your 2 easy instructions:

1.   If you have not read Peepsqueak yet,  go to the story link below and listen to Brad Mendleson read it aloud.

2.  Go to the Amazon link below, and give me a review.  So I know you are entering the contest, start your review with the words, “I LOVE PEEPSQUEAK!”.  If you have read the second book, please feel free to review it too.  At the end of two weeks, I will take the names off the Amazon site and put them in a bowl and pick the winner!!!  You will be able to watch me draw your name!!  Here are the links! 

Peepsqueak story link:  http://www.readmeastory.tv/category/read-me-a-story/

Amazon review link:  http://www.amazon.com/Peepsqueak-Leslie-Ann-Clark/product-reviews/0062078011/ref=cm_cr_pr_btm_link_3?ie=UTF8&pageNumber=3&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Please SHARE this with others.  Peepsqueak is waiting for you!!

love, Leslie Ann and Peepsqueak!

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…

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Happy National Poetry Month! All throughout April, we will interview poets about working in this digital age. Recently, we spoke with J. Patrick Lewis, the United States’ current children’s poet laureate.

Lewis (pictured, via) worked as an economics professor for many years. The sighting of a moonbow (a white rainbow) inspired him to write his first children’s story.

He has since gone on to write more than eighty books and has collaborated with other respected members of the industry including prolific children’s writer Jane Yolen, illustrator Sophie Blackall, and artist Michael Slack.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

This month T2 artist, Jane Smith, is interviewing fellow T2 artist, Natalia Vasquez, on the blog, Bird Meets Worm. Read it today!

PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT I JUST SIGNED WITH CREATIVE BOOKINGS AS MY REPRESENTATIVE FOR SCHOOL VISITS AND EVENTS!

://authorvisits.com/hazel-mitchell/inquire-about-a-visit/it/

The best way to capture the past is to step back into it -- visiting the places you are writing about. Last week Fran and I toured Monticello, the mountaintop home of Thomas Jefferson.  There is no better way to get into a person's head than to walk the red Piedmont soil and marvel at the blue rolling hills off in the distance. Now I know why he called it his "sea view."

But stepping back in time also takes a healthy dose of imagination, too. Mulberry row, where slaves lived and worked, is empty now. I have to imagine the lane busy with boys making nails, and the air  thick with smoke from the forge and the cook house. Instead of the two white women driving a four-wheeler from tree to tree in the orchard, I have to envision perhaps two black men carrying a ladder and saws to trim the branches.

The past is not black and white, either. Old photos make everyone look somber and give the impression that history was fuzzy and dull. But people wore shades of red and blue, laughed and danced.  One of the more startling things I noticed at Monticello was the neon yellow dining room. Not what I would have expected had I not known how much he appreciated light and air.

Hustled through the house with other tourists it was hard to really see everything, but then again, it gave me a more accurate portrayal of a house filled with children, servants, and family.  And when I return, I can dig deeper, look closer, and reveal even more.

we’ve shared with you before one of our artists Priscilla Burris’s wonderful truly heart felt young characters and their special worlds.  Well one of them Heidi Heckelbeck is a most popular little girl as it turns out!

Heidi won 1st place for fiction series at the New York Book Show!!!
They announced it last night at the event. Exciting!  WAY TUGEAU (ooops To Go!) Little Simon and Priscilla!  wow and wow!

I just had to share this information for those of you anywhere around Brooklyn NY next month.  I think this event and the BATTLE OF THE ARTISTS sounds SO fun and a great time for all. VERY clever of the bookstore…might be something to try in your area!  Sure there are LOADS of talented children’s book artists in Brooklyn which helps! (and my daughter’s family I might mention, which as NOTHING to do with this event!)

April 11, 2013

Greenlight Bookstore celebrates Children’s Book Week May 13-19

Week of school visits topped off with bookstore party with Brooklyn

authors & illustrators

Greenlight Bookstore is proud to participate in the nearly

100-year-old tradition of Children’s Book Week, May 13-19, with a

week-long celebration of the children’s authors and illustrators of

Brooklyn.  Five local elementary schools have partnered with

Greenlight to host authors presenting books to their students – one on

each day of the week – and the week will culminate with a multi-author

book party at Greenlight on May 18.

Established in 1919, Children's Book Week is the longest-running

national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, commemorative

events are held nationwide at schools, libraries, bookstores, homes —

wherever young readers and books connect.  Children's Book Week is

administered by the literacy organization Every Child A Reader, and

sponsored by The Children’s Book Council, the national nonprofit trade

association for children's book publishers.  Greenlight is

participating in Children’s Book Week for the first time this year.

“When we saw the incredible list of authors and illustrators who have

expressed willingness to participate in Children’s Book Week events in

our area, we just thought ‘We have to do something big!’” says

Greenlight Bookstore co-owner and events coordinator Jessica Stockton

Bagnulo. “There’s a tremendous amount of talent in Brooklyn, and we

got excited about bringing children’s book creators and readers

together. And this gives us a unique chance to partner with our local

schools, who bring books into students’ lives every day.”

The schools participating in Greenlight’s program of events include

both local Fort Greene schools and those in other Brooklyn

neighborhoods; some host author events regularly, while others rarely

have authors visit their students.  Greenlight worked with school

administrators to pair authors with the age groups and interests of

their students, and hopes the Children’s Book Week events will serve

as a model for bringing more authors to area schools in future.

For the Children’s Book Week Party on Saturday May 18, Greenlight will

offer 15% off on all children’s books all day long.  To highlight the

talents of multiple great children’s book illustrators, the store will

host two rounds of Artist Battles, at 11 AM and 3 PM.  Artists will

take turns creating drawings of subjects determined by the audience of

kids, showing off their different styles – the audience can pick their

favorites!  Afterward all illustrators will be available to sign books

and chat with young readers.  Greenlight will also offer bookmarks,

stickers, and other book-related giveaways to partygoers.

Participating authors include winners of the Ezra Jack Keats Award,

the New York Times Best Illustrated Award, ALA-ALSC Notables, the

Parents’ Choice Award, Newbery Honor Awards, Coretta Scott King Award

and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, as well as many New York Times

bestsellers.

Authors scheduled for school visits include Ambre Anderson

(Qualities), Michael Buckley (The Sisters Grimm, NERDS), Gilbert Ford

(12 Days of New York), Tad Hills (Duck & Goose, How Rocket Learned to

Read), Fiona Robinson (What Animals Really Like), Jacqueline Woodson

(Each Kindness), and Dan Yaccarino (Doug Unplugged).  Featured

illustrators for the bookstore party on May 18 include Selina Alko (B

is for Brooklyn), Sophie Blackall (Ivy & Bean, The Mighty Lalouche),

Melissa Guion (Baby Penguins Everywhere), Melissa Iwai (Hush, Little

Monster), Betsy Lewin (Click, Clack, Moo), George O’Connor (The

Olympians series), Sergio Ruzzier (Bear & Bee), and Paul O. Zelinsky

(Z is for Moose).

Greenlight Bookstore’s Children’s Book Week Schedule:

Monday May 13: Fiona Robinson and Jacqueline Woodson visit Arts and

Letters (Fort Greene)

Tuesday, May 14: Dan Yaccarino visits Greene Hill School (Fort Greene

/ Clinton Hill)

Wednesday, May 15: Michael Buckley and Ambre Anderson visit PS 11 /

Purvis J. Behan Elementary (Fort Greene)

Thursday, May 16: Tad Hills visits The Co-Op School’s Brevoort Place

Elementary School (Clinton Hill / Bedford Stuyvesant)

Friday, May 17: Gilbert Ford visits Leadership Prep Ocean Hill (East New York)

Saturday, May 18: Children’s Book Week party at Greenlight Bookstore!

11 AM Illustrator Art Battles:

Melissa Guion

Sergio Ruzzier

Sophie Blackall

Melissa Iwai **********husband Denis is wrote HUSH LITTLE MONSTER

3 PM Illustrator Art Battles:

Selina Alko

George O’Connor

Betsy Lewin

Paul O. Zelinsky

A book signing with all authors will follow each Battle.

For more information, contact:

Greenlight Bookstore

www.greenlightbookstore.com

Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, events coordinator / co-owner:

jessica@greenlightbookstore.com

(718) 246-0200

Children’s Book Week

www.bookweekonline.com/

Nicole Deming, communications manager:

nicole.deming@cbcbooks.org