Whew! Boy, am I getting this last one in right under the gun or what? Which is to say, before the end of January has passed. The new round of previews begin in February so I didn’t want to have any loose stragglers waiting about when I saw the new crop of 2011 titles.
A month ago Michelle Bayuk did me the very great favor of sitting down and showing me a couple of the offerings Albert Whitman & Company have on their roster. AW & Co. is a smaller publishing company than most of the folks I cover. Located in what I assume to be the lovely but currently freezing Park Ridge, Illinois (though who am I to talk?) the company is able to indulge in smaller more personal titles that the biggies out there. That’s why I like ‘em. This season? No exception.
First up, their logical catalog begins with board books. There’s the usual cluster of previous titles turned into board books, like Alison Formento’s This Tree, 1,2,3 or Rebecca O’Connell’s Done With Diapers!: A Potty ABC. My eyes, however, were fixed on the new batch of books from one Martine Perrin. Already a hit in her native France, Perrin’s board books are entirely splendid from a visual standpoint. AW&Co. is translating and bringing to our shores two of her books for starters. The first is Look Who’s There, with a snazzy die-cut board book cover. The other book, What Do You See?, is reminiscent of the work of Laura Vaccaro Seeger with its visual cut-out puzzles. Very cool. Put ‘em on your board book wish list then.
Next up, British author/illustrator Sarah Gibb also makes an appearance on our shores. Her version of Rapunzel should be out in March and it’s perfectly situated to appeal to those . . . fine. Those girls (I’m sure there are boys that like princesses too sometimes, y’know) who incline towards Disney-esque figures. This Rapunzel does bear some similarities, at least on the cover, to Disney’s Sleeping Beauty right off the bat. The title itself tells some of the tale in a series of silhouettes. They’re gorgeous silhouettes, though, showing things I’ve never seen before. Things like a perfect layout of at least four of the floors in Rapunzel’s tower (love the spinning wheel in one of the rooms). We all love our Zelinsky Rapunzel, but this one has some points to recommend it as well. I found some of the interior spreads online. Here’s a taste:
I love Ross Collins!
Betsy, You have missed “Princess: A Glittering Guide for Young Ladies” by Stella Gurney from Candlewick’s Genuine and Moste Authentic Guides series.
I knew there was one out there I missed. I bet the other hypothetical manners books exist as well, don’t they? If they don’t, dibs on the robot one.
I’m the Will Terry you speak of and I know you not either but I’d like to know you – I keep hearing great things about this Fuse8 blog. In fact I was speaking in Rick Walton’s picturebook class last night at BYU and he mentioned Fuse8. “If you don’t read Fuse8 you need to start.” – was the advice he gave to his students.
I’ve been hiding out here in Utah – probably a state the east coasters don’t even know about. I grew up just north of Washington D.C. in Beltsville Md. Survived three sisters trying to get me to play barbie dolls with them – played cello in H.S. – mom forced me to get my eagle scout award – Lived in the shadow of my academic over achieving older sister – struggled to get D’s instead of F’s on my report cards – lost self esteem – WAS BULLIED – snuck in the backdoor at BYU – worked hard in art – built an illustration career in 1992 – happy ever since! Now working with great authors like Leslie Kimmelman – Helen Ketteman – Gail Krause – Joan Holub – Marcia Vaughan – coming soon Lee Bennett Hopkins and hopefully soon Rick Walton!
I’ve successfully avoided a real job for the past 19 years – shhhh – don’t tell my wife.
Will Terry, who illustrated THE THREE BULLY GOATS, lives in my neck of the woods.
In fact, we were just hanging out last night. He’s got a lot of great material on his blog:
http://www.willterry.blogspot.com/
Gibb’s Rapunzel looks fabulous! Colorful and quaint illustrations that might possibly emphasize each page’s action with a faded background. Do you know how these were created/designed?
Thanks, Betsy! and Thanks Will for introducing yourself.
Mary — I don’t have info on the art method. I’ll see what I can find out – but in the meantime, her website sarahgibb.com does have some info about her style, etc.
Hi- Thank you for including my book “Princess Kim And Too Much Truth” in your Albert Whitman Highlight.
Albert Whitman puts out some great books and they are fantastic to work with…and that’s the TRUTH.
Visit http://www.maryanncoccaleffler.com
Thanks Maryann Cocca-Leffler
Thanks for including THE GOODBYE CANCER GARDEN. I was honored to illustrate it and hope that it inspires many families having to deal with the hard fact of cancer. It’s wonderful that you’ll add it to your other lists too!
Yes! Frieda Wishinsky is my aunt! She is so much fun to hang out with. When we get together we talk and talk and talk and talk and talk about books. The humor and insight you see in her stories is hers in real life, too. I love her!