I’ve always heard great things about the Rochester Children’s Book Festival, but never got invited. I tried to weasel an invitation a few years back (clever Cynthia DeFelice reference), but that went nowhere. Finally, at last, I wore ‘em down. Good thing, too, because I’m hoping to promote my SCARY TALES series as well as, you know, meet some kindred, book-loving spirits. So if you are near the area — a teacher, a librarian, or merely a stalker — please stop by and say hello.
Some of the many authors & illustrators who’ll be there: MJ & Herm Auch, Julie Berry, Michael Buckley, Peter Catalanotto, Bruce Coville, Cynthia DeFelice, Jeff Mack, Daniel Mahoney, Matt McElligott, Linda Sue Park, Matt Phelan, Robin Pulver, Jane Yolen, Paul O. Zelinsky, and more.
Holy crap! What a list of luminaries! My knees are sweating already. I better pack a clean shirt.
I’m looking forward to it, with thanks to my publisher, the kind folks at Macmillan, for putting me up with a family of Armenian immigrants at a nearby trailer park for the weekend. I just hope they remember to roll out the red carpet. Remember, I’ll only eat the blue M & M’s.
Happily, the event places me in close proximity to my oldest son, Nick, who attends Geneseo College. And by “attends” I mean, I certainly hope so!
Over Halloween, he and some friends decided to go as “Dads.” I functioned in an advisory capacity, the content of which he politely ignored. My big idea was to get a Darth Vader helmet and cape, then pull on one of those t-shirts that reads: “WORLD’S GREATEST DAD!”
Because, you know, irony!
Anyway, check it out. Nick is the one in shorts, pulled up white socks, bad mustache, and “Lucky Dad” hat. Hysterical, right?
Lastly, hey, if you happen to be in Elmira, NY, on November 6th, or Richmond, VA, on November 13, you can catch a lively, fast-paced musical based on my book, Jigsaw Jones #12: The Case of the Class Clown.
I did get to see it a few years ago, with a knot of dread in my stomach, and came away relieved and impressed. Everyone involved did a great job and, to be honest, the story is sweet, too.
Here’s the info on Richmond, VA (where, coincidentally, I’ll be visiting middle schools in early December, mostly giving my patented “Bystander/Anti-Bullying/Author ” presentation. Anyway, the info I promised:
Families, elementary schools and preschools are encouraged to make reservations soon for performances of a children’s show.
A 55-minute performance of “Jigsaw Jones and the Case of the Class Clown” will be performed at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at Civic Hall Performing Arts Center in Richmond.
The show is based on a children’s mystery series written by James Preller. Theodore “Jigsaw” Jones and his friend, Mila, are investigating who’s playing practical jokes. It includes music and humor.
“Jigsaw Jones” is presented by Arts Power, a professional theater company touring the nation.
Admission is $2 per student because a grant from the Stamm Koechlein Family Foundation is helping offset the cost for Civic Hall’s Proudly Presenting Series educational programming.
Teachers and chaperones are admitted free.
For Elmira, click here or call: 607-733-5639 x248 (and tell ‘em Jimmy sent ya!)
I've been sharing a few of Baby Bookworm's milestones on her pathway to literacy here on my blog. Last night she picked up a new picture book that I hadn't even read yet, and ran her fingers over the title. She said: "A ... H ... H ... A .... I. Ah Ha." And sure enough, with the exception of the fact that she thought that the exclamation point was an i, she was reading the title of Jeff Mack's upcoming picture book from Chronicle: Ah Ha!.
Now, I'm pretty sure her babysitter had read her the book earlier, so it's not like she was actually sounding out the words from scratch. She was remembering them. But still. She read the letters, and knew that they made up the words of the title, and read it aloud to me. I was pleased. And, of course, we promptly sat down to read the book.
Has your family experienced any milestones on the path to literacy lately?
© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. This site is an Amazon affiliate.
I’ve fallen behind with the reading logs again—it’s inevitable that I will, from time to time—but I can report that my Rilla-read-aloud time has taken a leap forward into snuggling in with long, text-heavy books of the sort she wasn’t terribly interested in a month or two ago. Brambly Hedge, crammed with all those detailed, pore-overable drawings, hooked her on tales of small, industrious, quaintly dressed animals with British accents (she was already a Potter fan); we’re now well into Tumtum and Nutmeg, and she hasn’t seemed to notice or mind that there are far fewer illustrations, and only black-and-white, at that. There are bustling, clever mice and I get to unleash my best Monty Python impressions on the dialogue. (Tumtum is Michael Palin, of course, and who else is Baron Toymouse but Cleese’s Black Night? My Nutmeg, on the other hand, seems to want to be the cook from the current Upstairs, Downstairs series.)
As for picture books, recent hits with my younger three include:
Rachel Fister has a blister, and everyone around her has a cure. Silly, satisfying rhyming text; Rilla in particular enjoys this kind of linguistic fun.
Good New, Bad News by Jeff Mack.
This one’s a great pick for the 3-6-year-old set, all ye aunties and uncles and godparents out there. A rabbit and a mouse and a picnic gone bad. No, good! No, bad! No, good…The kind of bright, bold, funny drawings my littles are especially drawn to, and unpredictable twists within a highly predictable (ergo comfortable and appealing to preschoolers) structure.
It’s a Tiger! by David LaRochelle, illustrated by the wonderful Jeremy Tankard.
You know how much we love Tankard’s work. Gorgeous coloring in this book and so much humor and excitement in the drawings. I love that heavy outline on the tiger; Jeremy was an inspired choice to illustrate this particular book. It’s a rollicking jungle adventure of the best kind, with a suitably ferocious tiger lurking in all sorts of unexpected places, and a kind of “We’re going on a bear hunt” vibe to the text. Huck loves it, and not just because you get to shout “IT’S A TIGER! RUN!” every few pages.
You start it with . . . EXCITEMENT!
A show of hands. Who, right now, is weeping a little over the fact that we will never have Mr. Colby Sharp as the 4th grade teacher of our youth? That is, perhaps, the first video I would show to my students if I were teaching a graduate course in children’s librarianship. And everyone should watch it just before the school year starts to get pumped up. Thanks to Gretchen Hardaway for the link.
Book trailer time! So I have some good news, and I have some bad news. Literally.
Fact of the matter is, thanks to Flash animation, book trailer technology just grows more and more accomplished every year. We’re getting to the point where they may as well be little movies in and of themselves. Case in point, The Insomniacs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAbeV_gPUNA&feature=player_embedded
And as for this next one, a Grimm story retold as a graphic novel by James Odone . . . WANTWANTWANNAWANNAWANT!
Trouble is, this one’s in the works so we’ve no info on it yet. James, for the record, is the fellow behind the fantastic picture book Honey Badgers (it came out before the YouTube video so no snorts, people) as well as this year’s Mole Had Everything (a natural companion to I.C. Springman’s More, illustrated by Brian Lies.
And for our off-topic video of the day, let’s just think of this one as Make Way for Ducklings 2.0.
Beginning readers will devour the simple yet hilarious stories featuring two small adversaries in nature's food chain. Frog can't help having a serious hankering for Fly. He loves the little fellow, especially with lots of ketchup. In each of the first five stories, Frog gets the better of Fly. And by better, I mean Fly ends up in the crafty amphibian's stomach. In a funny and satisfying conclusion, the final story finds Frog the victim of an unexpected slurp.
The appeal of these stories to beginning readers can't be overstated. The simple, short sentences repeat challenging words and sound patterns while the action, portrayed in comic book panels, moves swiftly to the punch line. Kids can gleefully anticipate each story's final slurp without not quite knowing how it will come about.
Frog and Fly is sure to hop off the shelves and into young readers' hands.
Frog and Fly: Six Slurpy Stories
by Jeff Mack
Philomel, 40 pages
Published: March 2012
One of the highlights of our week was the number of fabulous lectures we got to listen to -
-2 or more a day! from both guests and full-time faculty alike that we all eagerly piled into the lecture hall to hear...
Guest lecture -
Peter de Seve - one of the funniest people I have ever heard (seen) speak!
Mo Willems - who taught us to draw his pigeon, complete with sound effects.
The always engaging and all-knowledgeable
James Gurney gave us *2* mind-blowingly informative lectures.
Scott Allie (working under the watchful eye of Greg Manchess' Conan) gave a most informative comic lecture.
The incredibly prolific
Jeff Mack spent the week with us -
By:
Bianca Schulze,
on 4/5/2011
Blog:
The Children's Book Review
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By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: April 4, 2011
Spring brings warmer weather, fragrant and bright colored flowers, adorable baby farm animals, and taller children. Spring also brings more books—books that encompass all of those topics and more, for our taller children with blossoming minds. It’s time to select a book that matches the tone of the season, grab a blanket and find a nice spot outside for a spring story time session.
From bunnies to eggs to butterflies to chicks and even a spring shower, these books that have been selected all harness some kind of special spring power and celebrate Easter in its secular form.
Picture Books
Quiet Bunny’s Many Colors
By Lisa McCue
Reading level: Ages 4-6
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Sterling (March 1, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Hands down, the best spring book of 2011. The colors, the critters, the bugs, every illustration captures the essence of spring. The story is light and bounces with fun read-aloud words and finishes with a gentle-but-powerful message of self-acceptance. Simply gorgeous!
Add this book to your collection: Quiet Bunny’s Many Colors
Little White Rabbit
By Kevin Henkes
Reading level: Ages 2-7
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (January 25, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Kevin Henkes is brilliant and so is Little White Rabbit. The pastel colors of the pencils and acrylic paint give off friendly charm as the rabbit explores nature and his own abilities. The gentle details given to the rabbit’s face allow the readers to truly experience the delicate emotions experienced on every page—especially the bliss of true devotion from his mother. The double-page spread of Rabbit imagining what it would be like to flutter through the air with butterflies provides sheer elation.
Illustration by Kevin Henkes
Add this book to your collection: Little White Rabbit
by Linda Della Donna
If writing for children were a scoop of ice cream, then a Highlights Founders workshop is a hot fudge sundae.
Attending “Writing Memorable Nonfiction: Pleasures and Possibilities, Problems and Practice,” taught by Peter Jacobi last week was a delicious treat.
Already, I dream of returning for a second helping.
Peter Jacobi is Indiana University School of Journalism’s Professor Emeritus and Adjunct Riley Lecturer. He wrote The Magazine Article: How To Think It, Plan It, And Write It, and Writing With Style.
Peter Jacobi’s classroom presentation was college level, informative, interesting, endearing, and peppered with stories about his days as a journalist “following Nixon around.”
The class was small - 6 students total, and it was held in the living room of the home of original founders of Highlights magazine, Garry and Caroline Myers. We had a busy schedule each morning after a breakfast of blueberry scones, scrambled eggs flavored with cream cheese, slabs of country ham, a selection of berry yogurts, compotes of fresh raspberries, melon, and strawberries, blintzes filled with ricotta and smothered in peach preserves. I sat cross-legged in a fireside chair sipping black coffee, fingerhugging my pen listening to Peter Jacobi reinforce structure. “Tell them what you’re gonna tell them, tell them, then, tell them what you told them.”
Dinner at the Highlights Founders Workshop with fellow students
(Kent Brown is seated at the head of the table, Mr. Jacobi is at front on the left)
Friday evening dinner was shared with my classmates. I sat next to Peter Jacobi and across from Highlights coordinating editor, Kim Griswell, and science editor, Andy Boyles. We were a captivated audience as Kim Griswell spoke about Highlights article needs, Andy Boyle related a personal tale about a family member, and Peter Jacobi reported on a Highlights summer 2006 Chautauqua event.
We were served grilled baby lamb chops, corn pudding, and best-you-ever-ate potato salad, followed by strawberry shortcake, dolloped with whipped cream, by Highlights professional cook staff. It was a night I will not soon forget.
Saturday evening, Kent Brown, Highlights Editor in Chief Emeritus, stopped by and joined in the fun. We listened to stories about the history of Highlights, his Grandmother Myers’ house, and as a special treat, tales of the late “Uncle Jack.”
Sharing at a Founders Workshop ended the day. My sleeping accommodations were private and cozy. As each attendee is assigned her/his own cabin, complete with twin beds, desk, dresser, comfy chair, mini refrigerator, coffee maker, and private bath, it was no wonder I had difficulty leaving. Nestled in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania woods, I was reminded of Goldilocks and the three bears. Everything there was “just right.”
At Highlights, Founders Workshops are open to writers of all levels and offered year round. I find them more delightful, more personal, more writer-friendly than huge events. I’m one of those weird writers who relishes privacy and people. At Founders, it’s the cherry on the sundae.
You can learn more about Highlights, Founders Workshops, and the fine teachers who teach them by visiting http://www.highlightsfoundation.org
Be sure to read requirements carefully, and sign up early. Classes are limited to no more than 12 students, and they fill up fast.
If you go, tell ‘em, Linda Della Donna sent you.
Writer Linda Della Donna
Highlights Founders Workshop Highlights Founders Workshops Kent Brown Linda Della Donna Peter JacobiHighlights Founders Workshop Highlights Founders Workshops Kent Brown Linda Della Donna Peter JacobiHighlights Founders Workshop,
Highlights Founders Workshops,
Kent Brown,
Linda Della Donna,
Peter Jacobi
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That Mr. Sharp video made me cry snot tears and wonder why I ever quit being a kids’ librarian! He rules.
I agree that Colby is amazing. His enthusiasm is contagious. His blog is great. He’d probably be a stupendous school librarian were he not a fourth grade teacher last I checked.
oops sorry, misread the sentence hahaha! Red faced.
What book is Mr. Sharp referring to when he talks about the blind woman who was the greatest thief that every lived? I recognized all of the others…
Imagine my surprise when I saw my name here, next to Colby Sharp’s awesome video! How exciting! I have started following Mr. Sharp and Mr. Schu, in addition to this blog, 100 Scope Notes, and several others. I would love to start my own eventually. I love having so many resources available! You all inspire and inform librarians daily. Thank you!!!
Like this post very much, thank you for sharing! The vedios are interesting!
I shared Colby Sharp’s video with my college professor who teaches a reading course to future teachers. She loved it and said she would share it with all her students!
Wouldn’t you know that today, on our first day of school, one of my parents took a picture of me giving my first lesson to my first graders: “It is my job to teach you to fall in love with books and reading.” I was standing on desks when she took the picture (which she posted to Facebook, tagging me). I come home and I am catching up on blogs and drinking anything as long as it has ice–classrooms today were hellish–and I happen across this post of Colby standing on desks! In my case (and I have a long desk standing history), I have books about climbing and I know that when dealing with first graders, physical trumps mental every day of the week. Love this video because when I closely watch, NOT COLBY, but the students, he sucks them in. They hear what he is saying. Even the most reluctant is drawn in. If I know one thing: Passion is contagious! Thanks!
I am a new graduate student in the field of education and I think that Colby’s enthusiasm is a great asset to motivating his students. Even if you tried, it would be very difficult to ignore what he is saying in the classroom. I think he does a great job at introducing some of the books they will be reading as well as making the point that each book his students will read will change their lives in one way or another. All books should have an impact like that.