Faithful readers will recall that I have gushed on occasion about the book MAYBE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL by F. Isabel Campoy & Theresa Howell, illustrated by Rafael López. For years he’s been creating truly delicious art in a variety of great books. Remember Drum Dream Girl? Right there. That.
In this latest book, a community comes together to create not just a mural, but a series of public art ventures. Inspired by Mr. López’s public art work with real communities, the book is a joyful dance of colors and tones. I’ve had kids come in for years asking for community garden picture books. Those are great, but if we’re looking for books that speak to the beautification of public spaces, this is a great and slightly different story to start with. There’s even a Twitter hashtag (#maybesomethingbeautiful) for folks looking to show off their own public art discoveries and ventures.
Until then, here’s a truly lovely book trailer for the title. Don’t let it pass you by!
Many thanks to HMH for the link and the scoop.
So. Book trailers. I’ve seen my share. They are good. They are bad. Do they sell books? Probably some of them do, and considering how relatively cheap they are to produce it’s no wonder folks are encouraged to make them. But when you face facts, not all of them are winners. Very few, in fact, are worth watching.
Ladies and gentlemen . . . today’s video is worth watching.
Now I could just be saying that because I’m offering the premiere. But consider the evidence. The trailer is for a book by Kristen Kittscher, author of the critically-acclaimed middle grade mystery The Wig in the Window. Did you read The Wig in the Window, by any chance? If not, you’re in for a treat. Good mysteries for kids are enormously tricky to write, but that book was not only smartly conceived, but a hoot to boot. Now the sequel is on the horizon and things are looking good. Unless you’re this group of executives, that is. Then things are looking a bit more complicated:
My favorite line? “Guys! Cake!”
Further info:
About Kristen: It’s no mystery why her middle grade debut, The Wig in the Window, was an Indie Bestseller, celebrated by School Library Journal (starred review), Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly, and was named to ten Best of Year lists, including “Best Books of the Year” by A Mighty Girl. Kristen is a graduate of Brown University, self-proclaimed “childhood spy,” and former 7th grade English teacher who wrote the book with her former students in mind. Kristen lives in Pasadena.
The Tiara on the Terrace: Inspired by the Tournament of Roses, get ready for parades, pageantry, suspense, and a hefty dose of hilarity as 7th grade spies Sophie Young and Grace Yang trade their high tops for high heels to investigate a deadly crime in this clever Miss Congeniality set in middle school! When the director of the Winter Sun Festival meets an untimely end, it’s up to our favorite savvy, wise-cracking sleuths to solve the case–before they become its next victims. Back by popular demand, this funny, fast-paced follow up to Kittscher’s acclaimed debut will thrill fans of the funny, clever humor and suspense in Pseudonymous Bosch and Gordon Korman’s books.
On shelves, January 5th.
In this day and age it is prudent of the self-sufficient blogger to warn readers when they may encounter something that will affect the rest of their day, nay, week. And so I say unto you, BEWARE! Be Wary! For in today’s book trailer premiere video for Sing and Dance in Your Polka-Dot Pants (words by Eric Litwin, art by Scott Magoon) you may find the dreaded earworm. The dreaded catchy catchy earworm. Apparently earworms like nuts. Who knew?
Don’t say I didn’t warn you. And many thanks to Little, Brown for the link.
Once in a while an artist comes along who does work so beautifully that you cannot help but gawp. Particularly gawpable (a word? Tis now) is Lizi Boyd. And today, I’m pleased as punch to premiere the book trailer for her latest. It’s a simple concept book . . . at first. Probe a little deeper, however, and you’ll find it’s so much more.
Enjoy!
I’m pleased as punch to be premiering the book trailer for Michael Hall’s rather magnificent picture book RED today. The simple tale of a blue crayon labelled with a red wrapper, it’s rather subtle and brilliant. Naturally I wanted to know where Hall got the idea for it in the first place. Here’s his response to that query:
My interest in crayons began when I fell in love with Mickey Myers’ Crayola prints (see below) in the 80s. Crayons — when represented in two dimensions on paper — make an appealing subject. They are also joyful and unpretentious, and they can work as a metaphor for many things. I used them several times in my graphic design work.
At one point, I made a series of drawings by scribbling one entire crayon—until the crayon was too small to hold—onto a piece of toothy paper and gluing the crayon’s label below the drawing. Each one seemed like a picture of a life. There were many variations; one of them involved pairing one colored scribble with a different colored label.
Later, when I began making picture books, I knew that at least one of them would be about crayons, and the mismatched label idea seemed like a good place to start.
At first, I couldn’t let go of some of the more grown-up aspects of the metaphor. My first draft followed Red, a blue crayon with a red label, until he was completely used up, and the crayons put his label to rest in a grassy field. The berry crayon delivered the eulogy: “When I look up at the clouds, I can’t help but feel that he’s still with us.” And the last page — a picture of the ceremony beneath a crayoned blue sky — read: “And he still was.”
Needless to say the tale is vastly different from this first draft. No crayon funerals are in evidence now. Just a great book with a kicker of an ending.
Enjoy the trailer!
Many thanks to the folks at Harper Collins for passing it along.
Today I am pleased as punch to premiere the brand spankin’ new book trailer for Dan Yaccarino’s middel grade novel debut Zorgoochi Intergalactic Pizza: Delivery of Doom (say that five times fast – I dare you). The video captures humor, pathos, and angry mushrooms. In other words, everything that makes life worth living.
Enjoy
Well, I am pleased to announce today’s Book Trailer Premiere, particularly since it is unlike every other book trailer I’ve ever put up. Credit that to the subject matter, really. Chris Raschka is one of those rare author/illustrators that can get away with presenting the hard subjects, particularly when it comes to jazz legends. Didn’t think anyone could do something with Thelonious Monk? Wrong. Felt like John Coltrane was bit out of a 5-year-old’s reach? Think again. But the subject of today’s video is more ambitious by far. If, like myself, you were not aware of Sun Ra, prepare to be schooled thoroughly. It’s The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra: The Sound of Joy is Enlightening and it’s hitting shelves May 13th. Get just a sliver of a taste here:
As Kirkus called it, “Unequivocally stellar.” Thanks to the folks at Candlewick for the premiere.
This is lovely, and the book was wonderful too!