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A variety of birds found in the woods for a natural science book I illustrated.  The reference was easy...right behind my house

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This was an illustration I did for an ad agency some years ago.  Only adults having fun on the ice.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope that wherever you may be you have plenty to be thankful for.

Congratulations to Priscilla Alpaugh, for winning a signed copy of The Story I’ll Tell. Thanks to everyone who entered the drawing.

I can’t resist filling your screen (and mine) with this gorgeous front cover:

The Crow’s Tale by Naomi Howarth (@nhillustrator) is a visually spectacular retelling of a Lenni Lenape Native American legend about how the crow came to have black feathers, and about what counts as real beauty: not how you look, but how you behave.

Deep in the middle of a snowy winter, the animals are all cold and hungry. Crow volunteers to bring back some warmth from the sun, but in doing so he is changed forever. Will his friends still love him?

You see, Crow used to have breathtakingly brilliant feathers in ever colour under the sun. But where there’s fire, there’s soot, and Crow despairs at how his outward appearance is transformed, when all he wanted to do was help his friends.

What this dazzling story tells us all, however, is that “your beauty inside” is what really matters and shines through. Selfless, brave and still beautiful, Crow learns that what his friends really value is his kindness, generosity and courage, not whether his feathers are black or shot through with rainbows.

Howarth’s picture book début is a feast for the eyes, and not least in the way the black crow feathers are reproduced (I can’t show them here because the special printing techniques just don’t show up on a computer screen). Her use of colours reminds me at times of a favourite illustrator of mine – Karin Littlewood – and Howarth’s use of varied perspective keeps page turns surprising.

The fluency of the rhyming text doesn’t quite match the sumptuous heights of the illustration, but the sentiment is heart-warming, encouraging and just right for boosting confidence and encouraging consideration of what we value in ourselves and others.

Inspired by the stunning array of Crow’s original feathers we set about making our own rainbow plumage. We decorated lots of white feathers using slightly watered-down acrylic paint (the acrylic paint “sticks” nicely to the feathers – much more easily and/or brightly than watercolour or poster paint does – and by watering it down it is easier to apply):

Once our feathers were dry we turned them into a piece of art, positioning them in a circle (we used a plate to guide us) on a piece of black card.

It’s now one of the first things you see when you enter our front door (along with obligatory piles of books):

Whilst painting feathers we listened to:

Other activities which might work well alongside reading The Crow’s Tale include:

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Disclosure: I was sent a free review copy of this book by the publisher.

Mother Daughter Book Reviews is pleased to be coordinating a Book Blast for our new picture book,”The Fox and the Snowman” (November 2 to 4, 2015).

About the Book

Title: The Fox and the Snowman | Author: Angela Muse | Illustrator: Helen Wu | Publication Date: October 5, 2015 | Publisher: 4EYESBOOKS | Pages: 28 | Recommended Ages: 0 to 8

Summary: This is a story of a lone fox and his journey through a year of changing seasons. He discovers friendship and family in this colorful winter tale.

Also check out Lil Glimmer, The Nutt Family: An Acorny Adventure, The Pig Princess, The Bee Bully, Eager Eaglets: Birds of Play, Cactus Charlie, Suzy Snowflake, Monsters Have Mommies, The Christmas Owl, The Cat Who Lost His Meow, Caterpillar Shoes & Ten Thankful Turkeys by this author.

Grab a copy of the ebook, available for a limited time at the introductory price of 99 cents! (REG $2.99)

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo

iBooks * Createspace * Goodreads

About the Author: Angela Muse

Angela Muse was born in California to a military family. This meant that she got used to being the “new kid” in school every couple of years. It was hard trying to make new friends, but Angela discovered she had a knack for writing. In high school Angela began writing poetry and song lyrics. Expressing herself through writing seemed very natural. After becoming a Mom in 2003, Angela continued her storytelling to her own children. In 2009 she wrote and published her first rhyming children’s book aimed at toddlers. Since then she has released several more children’s picture books and released her first young adult romance series, The Alpha Girls.

Angela’s husband, Ben Muse writes suspense/thriller books that can also be found on Amazon.

Check out what else she’s working on by visiting www.4eyesbooks.com

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

** Book Blast Giveaway **

Prize: One winner will receive a $100 Amazon gift card or $100 PayPal cash prize, winner’s choice

Giveaway ends: November 15, 11:59 pm, 2015

Open to: Internationally

How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Angela Muse and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.

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You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive the HTML from all of the Book Blasts hosted by MDBR in the Fall, 2015.

Hey, readers! Once again, we’ve brought out the Upcoming Titles feature to give you a sampling of the books being published this month! As always, this is by no means a comprehensive list of forthcoming releases, just a compilation of titles we think our readers (and our contributors!) would enjoy.

Without further ado:

November 1st

• Infinity Lost by S. Harrison

November 3rd

• How To Be Brave by E. Katherine Kottaras
• Traffick by Ellen Hopkins
• Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins
• Need by Joelle Charbonneau
• The Wrinkled Crown by Anne Nesbet
• Black Wolves by Kate Elliott

November 10th

• Winter by Marissa Meyer
• See No Color by Shannon Ginny
• Consent by Nancy Ohlin
• Da Vinci’s Tiger by L. M. Eliott
• Soundless by Richelle Mead
• A Bitter Magic by Roderick Townley
• Unforgiven by Lauren Kate

November 17th

• Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler
• The Game of Lives by James Dashner

November 24th

• Promises I Made by Michelle Zink

Happy reading!

Artist and naturalist Jim Arnosky has been honored for his overall contribution to literature for children by the Eva L. Gordon Award and the Washington Post/Children’s Book Guild Award for nonfiction. His latest book is "Frozen Wild."

We have just completed the final edits on our new winter story told in verse.  We are now beginning the illustration process.  We are so excited about this next story and can’t wait to hear your feedback.  Here’s a few hints about what our next story will be about.  Aren’t they just beautiful?  What other animal reminds you of winter?

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) on snow at sunset, Kamchatka, Russia

At first glance, life on the icy floes may seem appealing. (Unless you reside in SE Queensland as I do with no real concept of what cold is until you have to live through ‘an unseasonably cold winter’ with little more than a cotton tee-shirt and a pair of bed socks). In Lulu’s world, there […]

Winter is a popular time for book lovers, the season where many of us enjoy staying in, rugging up and delving into a good book. But do we read more in the winter months or in summer? Summer brings to mind images of sunny days, cool drinks and reading a book on the deck or under the […]

Where Bear?

By Sophy Henn

I’m staring out of the window at yet ANOTHER snow storm, and I’m wondering, probably like a ton of east coast people right about now, “Where Liz?”. Where does one go when you’re not content to be where you are? Where do you go?

Winter is long and harsh this year, but there are a slew of picture books out there that can make the down time fun and productive. And these wonderful books can certainly take you on a journey to places you’re never been, with people you’ve never met.

Former president Harry Truman used to call his places, the “foxholes of the mind.”- places to visit in memory that are comfy and familiar. And in this picture book, it’s someplace new and exciting!

All that’s needed is a little planning – just like boy and bear in “Where Bear?”

Sophy Henn, in her debut picture book, introduces a bear and boy that are fast friends. Then, things change, as that has always been the guaranteed state of the world, right? Things do change. How do you explain THAT to a child or here, a bear, that craves permanence and stability, yet his bearishness and bigness needs a big place to do both. Answer? You find the best possible next step or place to be. And what’s needed here is a bit of research on the part of both boy and bear – together. They search in a variety of settings from jungles to zoos, from circuses to woods and into dark caves. No fit is found….until they share a cold, blue ICE pop. Ah, now you’re onto something. Colder climes are just the ticket for this polar bear.

Remember Elsa, the lion cub, in the movie, “Born Free?”It was made from the book by Joy Adamson of she and her husband George’s experiences with the rescued and domesticated lion cub, Elsa that had to be retrained to live again in the wild. It was translated successfully into a movie version. I saw it again the other night.

This picture book, “Where Bear?”reminded me of that scenario in a much simpler set of settings. But the themes are the same; helping the one we have been close to, and no longer can be, through the transition phase to a newer and better life.

Things do keep changing; it’s a life lesson for kids – and adults. Cubs turn into big white polar bears and boys grow up as well. But as much as things change, some things are forever if we make the effort – and that is key. Things like friendship can last through all sort of life changes, if we make the effort to stay in touch. Even though we are no longer living physically close to that bear or person we know and love, if we have shared something of ourselves with them, they remain a part of who we are and will be.

And what about shared vacations together? But, where to go? I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Where, Bear? How about someplace warm and sunny?

Matt Monro – Born Free – YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISWOrI0WaLs