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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.

Title: Alphabet Wildlife A To Z

Author/Illustrator: Nata Romeo

Year: 2014

Nata Romeo’s stunning children’s concept book, Alphabet Wildlife A To Z, introduces young readers to the 26 letters of the alphabet accompanied by corresponding animals.

I’m truly impressed by Nata’s watercolor and pen and ink illustrations, which are visual feasts for the eye. Some are bursting with color while others are wholly black and white. Most are a mix of both color and black and white, but all of them are unique, lively, and beautiful to look at. My favorites include the bird on the “B is for Bird” page and the cat that sneaks its way in at the very end of the book. Nata’s choice to use the image of the lion for the front cover was a good one. It’s attention grabbing and gorgeous.

While Alphabet Wildlife A To Z will help children learn the alphabet, I believe the book will stimulate artistic creativity in children as well. Kids are going to want to draw their own animals surrounded by fun and dramatic backgrounds, just as Nata has done, and I think that’s awesome!

I've been working on my advertising page for the Directory of Illustration. I decided to do all new art work…here's one of the paintings I finished for the directory. 

Krista Dawson, who has been getting books from First Book for years, works with preschool children in Richmond, Virginia and recently responded to us with a great list of books that she uses to get kids started with reading. We love the list so much we created a bundle on the FB Markeplace to share with you!

First Book: How long have you worked with kids/literacy groups in general?

Krista: I have been an educator for 25 years and doing literacy work specifically for the past 5 ½ years.

First Book: Do you have a favorite story about working with your kids and/or First Book?

Krista: When providing my first site visit for my first First Book grant, I took the book, Five Little Ducks by Raffi. I had made foam stick puppets for retelling the story and when I shared with the group, they were already familiar with the song and were thus very engaged. My surprise came the following month when I returned with the second book to share and immediately the children began to shout “Five Little Ducks! Five Little Ducks!” They had obviously remembered me but only by the book I shared. Every month after that, no matter what book I brought, the children always wanted to recite the Five Little Ducks song before moving on to the new book. My personal takeaway from this is that songs and books with songs really stick with young children and are a great way to engage and build memory. The repetition and rhyme are powerful tools for literacy development (by the way, I still pick Five Little Ducks as our first book for each grant because I KNOW the power it has to anchor all future visits).

First Book: Do you have a favorite moment involving a child reading/enjoying books?

Krista: This was shared with me by one of the children’s staff that provide the site visits for our First Book Grants. “The other day a FB student came into the library. The student was very excited to see me at a different library from where I do the First Book Program. She grabbed her mom by the arm and very excitedly said, ‘Mommy that is Miss Heidi! She is the book fairy that gives us all of our books to take home!’ I had no idea that I was a book fairy but I am happy to accept that title.” (Submitted by Heidi Yannetti, Children’s Associate for Belmont and Main Libraries)

Early Childhood Ready to Read Collection: Two Copies of Each Book

Very Hungry Caterpillar (Special Edition) (Board Book)
Alphabet Book (Board Book)
Cleo’s Alphabet Book (Board Book)
Elephant and Piggie: We Are in a Book (Hardcover)
Elephant and Piggie: Listen to My Trumpet! (Hardcover)
The Mitten (Board Book)
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Board Book)
Princess Bedtime Stories (Hardcover)
From Head to Toe (Board Book)
Big and Busy Ocean (Board Book)

The post Early Childhood Ready to Read Collection Created By Krista Dawson appeared first on First Book Blog.

written and illustrated by Alice Melvin Tate Publishing UK 2007 The English alphabet is only 26 letters. There's only so much you can do with an alphabet book. Not that people haven't found ways to make an alphabet book informative (Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehrlet), thematic (C is for Caboose, about trains, and A is for Astronaut, about space, both by Chronicle Books), and they can

Here are a couple warm-up drawings before I work on an assignment today. Also have to finish cleaning my studio--I just don't know what to do with all these picture books! I could practically make a whole kid's library out of it all. They're under my bead, on shelves, in Target plastic bins. Phew!