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It’s nonfiction Friday and we are featuring two new books that launched this week. Mammals by Katharine Hall and Sharks and Dolphins by Kevin Kurtz!

Written for young nature enthusiasts the Compare and Contrast Book series takes children into the wild with beautiful photographs and simple text to explain complicated concepts.

Author Katharine Hall began the series with Polar Bears and Penguins showing children that these animals live at opposite ends of the earth. Then she dove into plant life with Trees and flew to the sky with Clouds. Hall set her sights on slithering and slimy creatures comparing the similarities and differences in Amphibians and Reptiles even introducing the field of herpetology to young readers. This week Mammals joins the lineup comparing animals that live on land and in the sea along with two-legged and four-legged animals.

Teaming up with Hall, aquatic educator and expert Kevin Kurtz joined the Compare and Contrast Book series releasing Sharks and Dolphins this week. The no-nonsense facts will help young readers understand that although both of these animals live in the salty ocean each has a different way of life.

Extend the learning with great activities in our Teaching Activities Guide. This, along with author interviews and more information about the series is available on each book’s homepage. Visit Mammals or Sharks and Dolphins to learn more.

Win your very own copy of each of these books on Goodreads!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Mammals

by Katharine Hall

Giveaway ends February 29, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Sharks and Dolphins

by Kevin Kurtz

Giveaway ends February 29, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

After reading Linda Joy Singleton’s newest picture book Cash Kat we think she is the coolest grandma in the world! This book was inspired by a game with her grandson where he learned to count money by helping out and then buying rewards with the money he earned.

Cash Kat starts out with Gram Hatter and Kat setting off on a treasure hunt. This crafty grandma folds many hats as the pair encounter new challenges volunteering for the park clean up day. Throughout the day Kat has her eye on the ultimate prize, ice cream; but in the end she must choose between her favorite treat or donating her findings to the park.

In celebration of the launch of Cash Kat here is a pattern to make your own paper hat and set out on your own adventure!

Meet the author and illustrator of Cash Kat by visiting the book’s homepage. Where there are many more activities including the “For Creative Minds” section.

Enter to win your very own copy of Cash Kat in our Goodreads giveaway!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Cash Kat

by Linda Singleton

Giveaway ends February 29, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

It’s that time of year! Seven new books from Arbordale make their way into the hands of young readers across the country. This week we will be highlighting each book and their creators on our blog.

Before you learn about the inspiration for each of these books get to know the spring line up and pick your must have title for 2016!

Been There, Done That: Reading Animal Signs
by Jen Funk Weber
illustrated by Andrea Gabriel

Spotting wildlife is a thrill, but it’s not easy. When Cole comes to visit his friend Helena, he can’t wait to see all the wildlife the forest has to offer—and disappointed when all he sees are a few birds. Together the kids set out on a hike and encounter plenty of animal signs along the way. Through observation and her knowledge of animal behavior, Helena helps Cole learn what each of the signs means: something had been there; something had done that.

Cash Kat
by Linda Joy Singleton
illustrated by Christina Wald

Gram Hatter and Kat set off on an adventure. Gram quickly folds up a pirate hat and places it on Kat’s head and they begin their mission to help clean up the city park. Volunteering turns into a treasure hunt as Kat finds pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and even a dollar. With each discovery Kat gets a new hat and Gram Hatter teaches Kat how to count her coins as they pick up litter at the park. When Kat adds up her money, there’s enough for ice cream. Or should she donate the money to support the park instead?

Mammals
by Katharine Hall

All mammals share certain characteristics that set them apart from animal classes. But some mammals live on land and other mammals spend their lives in water—each is adapted to its environment. Land mammals breathe oxygen through nostrils but some marine mammals breathe through blowholes. Compare and contrast mammals that live on land to those that live in the water.

Midnight Madness at the Zoo
by Sherryn Craig
illustrated by Karen Jones

The bustle of the crowd is waning and the zoo is quieting for the night. The polar bear picks up the ball and dribbles onto the court; the nightly game begins. A frog jumps up to play one-on-one and then a penguin waddles in to join the team. Count along as the game grows with the addition of each new animal and the field of players builds to ten. Three zebras serve as referees and keep the clock, because this game must be over before the zookeeper makes her rounds.

Once Upon an Elephant
by Linda Stanek
illustrated by Shennen Bersani

From stopping wildfires to planting seeds, one animal is the true superhero that keeps the African savanna in balance. Elephants dig to find salt for animals to lick, their deep footprints collect water for everyone to drink, and they eat young trees to keep the forest from overtaking the grasslands. In every season, the elephants are there to protect the savanna and its residents – but what would happen if the elephants were only “once upon a time”? Read along to discover the important role this keystone species plays in the savanna and explore what would happen if the elephants vanished.

Sharks and Dolphins
by Kevin Kurtz

Sharks and dolphins both have torpedo-shaped bodies with fins on their backs. They slice through the water to grab their prey with sharp teeth. But despite their similarities, sharks and dolphins belong to different animal classes: one is a fish and gets oxygen from the water and the other is a mammal and gets oxygen from the air. Marine educator Kevin Kurtz guides early readers to compare and contrast these ocean predators through stunning photographs and simple, nonfiction text.

Tornado Tamer
by Terri Fields
illustrated by Laura Jacques

In this adaptation of The Emperor’s New Clothes, Mayor Peacock declares he will hire a tornado tamer to protect the town. After a long search, Travis arrives to fill the position and this weasel has a plan. He will build a very special, transparent cover to protect the town. Travis’ magical cover is so transparent that only those smart enough and special enough can even see it. Mouse is doubtful, but his questions are brushed off. Months later, the cover has been hung and Travis has been paid a hefty sum, but a tornado is in the distance and the town is in its path. Will the magic cover protect the town?

Find out more about our newest titles at Arbordalepublishing.com!

When you live in Antarctica and wear a tuxedo it is a group activity to keep warm on a cold winter day. Scientists have documented that emperor penguins form huddles to stay warm in the frigid temperatures of this habitat.

The penguins have a sophisticated system of rotation to make sure that no one gets too cold, but by studying the Pointe Géologie Archipelago colony researchers have found that huddles are sometimes very short-lived activities for the birds.

When the cold sets in or the wind kicks up, the birds seek out a huddle. The temperatures in the huddle can become much higher than the birds comfort level and researchers first believed that the huddles would break up from the center, but after spending years observing these animals they found that one single bird leaving from the outside can break up a huddle.

While scientists may have originally thought huddles were a simple process in the penguin lifestyle, there is much more that can be learned from the way that these birds socially regulate their temperatures.

Read the article: A Single Penguin can break up a huddle!

To learn more about penguins here are some great stories to share with your little ones:

The Penguin Lady
by Carol A Cole, illus. by Sherry Rogers

Penelope Parker lives with penguins! Short ones, tall ones; young and old—the penguins are from all over the Southern Hemisphere including some that live near the equator! Do the penguin antics prove too much for her to handle? Children count and then compare and contrast the different penguin species as they learn geography.

Polar Bears and Penguins: A Compare and Contrast Book
by Katharine Hall

Polar bears and penguins may like cold weather but they live at opposite ends of the Earth. What do these animals have in common and how are they different? You might see them near each other at a zoo but they would never be found in the same habitats in the wild. Compare and contrast these polar animals through stunning photographs.

I’ve enjoyed all the talk and articles lately about the adoption of the Current Educational Common Core with its emphasis on critical thinking and non-fiction facts by using trade books in our school classrooms.  I thought that was what good teachers were doing all along? and parents too.  It’s common sense.  We are trying to educate kids to the world around them….history and human interaction so they can understand people better as they grow.  Information about other lands so their eyes will be open to not only the differences but the ‘sameness’ of kids and adults, and animals all over our small earth. Good story telling has always been the draw with fiction and non fiction.  Learning comes in between the lines, if you will.

The advantage of this being ‘official’ now is that publishers are searching their backlists and bringing back good non-fiction as well as fiction, and grabbing up informational but fun new stories. And of course my agency artists are thrilled to have such a need for story telling pictures for these books…for all ages. Picture books are often a child’s first introduction to people and life outside their own family and neighborhood. They have always been vital to early learning, mental growth, thinking skills and maturity.  Ever more so today in preparation for school and during the so important early school years.

What IS new is that Publishers and marketing departments are writing up guidelines that will help teachers use these books they might not have recognized as appropriate for the standards set by this Common Core. Several publishers have new sites where teachers and parents can keep knowledgeable about books on” technology, writing, math, and early literacy” (PW).  Some books have had ‘back of book’ questions added to encourage the conversations that lead to exploration and learning.  Several houses have launched new lines of books based on the Core Concepts.

Some examples of current books from our agency that are perfect for this Core are: Nicole Tadgell illustrated “FRIENDS FOR FREEDOM: The Story of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass” (Susanne Slade from Charlesbridge Fall 14).  KarBen Lerner will bring “Goldie Takes a Stand” about Goulda Meir, illustrated by Kelsey Garrity Riley also Fall 14.  Patrice Barton illustrated “I Pledge Allegiance” by Pat Mora and Elizabeth Martinez for Knopf/Random.(14), and Larry Day’s illustrations for “Voices From Oregon Trail” from Dial and Kay Winters, tell the story! (summer 14) But even the newly launched “Isabelle and Isabella’s Little Book of Rules” from Little Simon and illustrated by our Priscilla Burris is a lovely, observant, non fiction from the mouths of the very children we’re trying to start the conversation with!  Pick these up and see! Use your common sense and enjoy the Common Core!             

from “Pledge”

from “Friends for Freedom”

It’s finally spring and so much seems to suddenly happen! or need doing! or change in some way!  Love it and hate it.. but it’s never boring and slow like winter can be.

Bologna was sort of the big start of it all.  Word from clients is that it was as wonderful as always. (I went in ’04…how time flies!)  Some changes were seen generally around the world.  Middle grade and realistic fiction is “hot.”  Lightly illustrated middle grade…often stand-alones again, and more contemporary in feel… are wanted.  Some lessening in YA paranormal/dystopian stories and more “fang-free fiction.”  (love that expression! contributed to John Adams, of Adams Lit.)   Lots of interest in traditional, beautifully illustrated picture books it appears. Yipee!

In PW I keep reading about the changes in patterns for the public’s way of buying and finding books. Less the library or book store help this past year, and more Amazon and from word of mouth.  However, in general, over a third of parents seem to feel their kids actually have a “stong attachment to print books.” (Feb 25th)  I do hope this is true.  We need both to balance various needs and uses.

The Common Core State Standards, which has turned more ‘non-fiction,’  is always a big influence on publishers of course as they and schools find ways to incorporate the new mandate. Should bring more work to the ‘realistic’ artists I’d think, and those who love research and history of all styles.  Writers and artists can help by offering games,  crafts and such into their sites perhaps.  Working out ways the schools can get links to their free downloads…. to take the information and interactiveness further.

I read a quote somewhere recently (I DO notice….)  but can’t place who said it….want to share as it is SO true always.  Publishers want “writing that sings – art that expands on words – stories that inform developmentally.”   THAT is the ‘common core.’

Priscilla Burris

“Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth,” Sherlock Holmes has said about his method of detective work. In Sylvan Dell’s new picture book, Deductive Detective, our hero Detective Duck shows that he’s learned from the best! He dons his best deerstalker hat, his much-too-big magnifying glass, and solves the case of the missing cake with the same methods the pros use!

That is, a style of logical thinking called “deductive reasoning.” In deductive reasoning, someone finds an answer they’re looking for by first finding out what the answer isn’t. When Detective Duck examines the clues and finds out which of his friends couldn’t have stolen the cake, it leads him closer to what really happened!

Of course, you don’t need a weird hat and a magnifying glass to use deductive reasoning. These methods come in handy every day! If you lose a toy, for example (or car keys), you may make your search easier by determining where the item isn’t.

“Oh yeah,” you may say, “I didn’t bring it to my friend’s house; I wasn’t holding it when I walked to the living room, or landed on the moon. I wouldn’t have brought it to my parents’ room or under the ocean or into Mordor.” By deciding where you shouldn’t look, you now have a better idea of where you should.

This kind of logic process happens throughout the day, sometimes without you even being aware of it; you might say your brain is always on the case as much as any detective!

Apply deductive reasoning the next time you’re in the bookstore: subtract the books that don’t meet the highest educational standards, offer pages of activities and facts, offer online supplements, are fun to look at and fun to read! You’ll be left with books by Sylvan Dell like The Deductive Detective!

I like to start a new year by going over the ‘visiting notes’ I take while showing off my portfolio of 30+ artists at publishing houses during the previous year.  Great reminders of who liked whom, and I usually find tons of industry ‘insider’ comments that help me focus for the new year.  So I thought I’d share some with you this Jan. … not in any order, and without credits to ‘protect the innocent’, but here you go!

“You can only debut once!”      or first impressions might be the last impressions!  This goes for portfolio presentation, but also for your working experience with a client…don’t blow it!

“more idiosyncratic, quirky characters!”

“one look at the character and you know you want to go for the whole ride….”

“style consistency SO important…”

“crisp edges”

“writers (artist/writers) often mistake a good TOPIC for a good STORY.”

“no Quiet picture books….”   ” need apparent hook…”

“Go for the ‘Promotional Moment’ “    holiday, events, seasons etc.

“ Too high advances can end up being PLANNED FAILURE!”  a book doesn’t earn out the advance and it’s a black mark on your lasting record.  (ie…career management)

“Core Standard (educational) will be more Non Fiction going forward.”

“Passion is not the same as stamina“…. don’t overl-book yourself each year!

happy creating!                                                                   image from Jason Wolff

As we continue to feature wildlife rehabilitators this month on the Sylvan Dell blog, this week we meet Kim Johnson from The Drift Inn Wildlife Sanctuary. She shares with us the trials and tribulations of rescuing wild animals.

Texan Kim Johnson often works with her veterinarian husband and a tiny volunteer group at her Drift Inn Wildlife Sanctuary in Driftwood to care for a wide variety of mammals, including raccoons, squirrels, deer, fox, skunks, even bobcats. “Every year is different and I never know exactly what to expect” says Kim, one of a small handful of licensed rehabilitators in her state, “During Hurricane Ike, 200 squirrels were delivered to my front door.”

Despite her hectic schedule caring for wild animals, many of them babies, for 14-18 hours a day, seven days a week, Kim never seems to lose her sense of humor. “If it’s native and it lives in Texas, it’s been in my house, and maybe even if it’s not native,” she quips.

In many of the pictures that Kim submitted for possible use in Animal Helpers, she is wearing a big smile and very heavy welder’s gloves. The grin is, of course, because Kim loves her job. The gloves are because she is smart and seasoned. After 33 years as a rehabilitator, Kim is keenly aware that those gloves are mandatory equipment for handling fuzzy babies that have big paws, sharp teeth, and claws.  

Name: Kim Johnson

Name of organization/clinic: The Drift Inn Wildlife Sanctuary

State: Texas

Specialty/special areas of experience: Mammals, raptors

Years as rehabilitator/volunteer: 33 years

Busiest time of year: May-July

Number of hours you work per week during your busy season: 18+ hours a day 7 days a week

Number of volunteers in clinic: 4

Why did you become a rehabilitator/volunteer: For the love of nature and animals

Most rewarding aspect of rehabilitation: Release days and seeing an animal we thought would not pull through survive and be released!

As a rehabilitator, what is the most common question you are asked? If I touched it, will the mother come back?

Having cared for wildlife for so long, Kim cheerfully tells wonderful stories about the creatures that have come through her clinic, such as: A 7-week-old bobcat came to us on Christmas Day.  He was cute as a button, cute in the “I have claws and teeth and know how to use them” kind of way. For some reason, people still think that all little wild animals drink cow’s milk. (Unless they arecows, they do not do well on cow’s milk.) After getting his weight up, this bobcat soon started to fit right in with the rest of the crew.  He ate mice in nanoseconds, soon was jumping up on everything and getting more mischievous by the day!  Seven weeks later, it was time to move him to a larger facility.  This bobcat had grown four times the size he was when we got him. He was ready to mingle with his own kind.  We transferred him to a much larger facility outside of San Antonio where there are 12 other bobcats. He will be released onto a 1,000 plus acre refuge.  We will miss him; but, as with all of our animals, we feel blessed to have them and to be able to give them the care they need for the time we do. 

Favorite animal story:  We got a call that an adult raccoon had his head stuck for the entire night and half of the day in a bird feeder in a tree.  As I got there sure enough, he had wedged himself to where he could rest on the edge of the feeder as he contemplated his problems.  I told the lady that I could save the coon but not the feeder.  She suggested that they have a warning for purchasers of said bird feeder that it could also capture raccoons.  I got on a ladder and proceeded to unscrew the feeder and remove it from the tree.  So far so good.  I quickly realized that the coon was not coming out of the feeder without a chisel or saw and some serious drugs (for the coon of course).  I decided to put said coon and feeder in the back of the SUV and take him the eight miles down the road to the house where Dr. Johnson (Ray) could tranquilize him and we could then figure out how to release the raccoon from his feeder.  Halfway home, I have visions of the coon releasing himself from the feeder and kicking my tail in the car all the way home.  Luckily, for both of us he was quite stuck and we made it home.  Ray was almost laughing too hard to sedate the bugger but we got it done and although he never completely passed out, he was docile enough to unscrew the rest of the feeder and chisel the wood from around his neck without so much as a scratch on him!  He looked at us and groggily ran off without so much as a thank you.

What advice would you offer to children considering a career in wildlife rehabilitation?

Become a veterinarian who specializes in wildlife.  There are few out there and more are needed!

Remember Animal Helpers: Wildlife Rehabilitators is FREE for the month of October at www.sylvandellpublishing.com, or Read it on your iPad, by downloading the free app Fun eReader in iTunes and entering the code: 2WZ637 in the red box on the App Registration page.

• What is educational publishing exactly?
• What is a high-interest, low readability book and who is the market?
• How does an author write for educational publishers (versus the trade)?
• What are the relationships you use to sell books and keep customers?
• How does an author market themselves to educational publishers?
• As an author, how do you stay relevant in this industry?
• What is one thing you get asked all the time?

Arianne McHugh

Don't Think About Tomorrow

SO PROUD TO official LAUNCH my son and artist JEREMY TUGEAU’s latest book from Lerner/Kar Ben  NATHAN BLOWS OUT THE HANUKKA CANDLES      …enjoy!

TWO IN ONE!!!!

FLIP BOARD BOOKS ARE FUN….and this one illustrated by my artist Melissa Iwai, and written by Denise Dowling-Mortensen, has already proved itself to Clarion who published it, and to so many kids who LOVE cars and trucks and bikes and trains etc. etc. 

The original two picture books, Good Night Engines, and Good Morning Engines, were THE favorite of my first 4 grandsons….and one granddaughter!  The oldest (twins now 12) made me read Good Night Engines EACH AND EVERY TIME they spent the night…at least once!  Had to be the LAST goodnight book read too!  So grandson number 5 will have them both together now in a FLIP BOOK he can fall in love with EARLIER! 

Hope you and yours will enjoy them all just as much……………….and just as long……

We are MOST happy to be mentioning that our own JAIME ZOLLARS and the book she illustrated CAKES AND MIRACLES: A PURIM TALE by Barbara Diamond Goldin for Marshall Cavendish has won the Young Readers Honor for the SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD.  It’s a sensitive book about a blind boy who learns to VISUALIZE in his mind and help his mother create special Purim cakes.  Jaime’s unique style and method of painting/collage brings something one-of-a-kind to our visualizing this lovely story.  CONGRATULATIONS all!  

DO check out this SO cute site/video ….an interview of sorts and reading that is most clever and fun, of COLONIAL VOICES: HEAR THEM SPEAK illustrated by our Larry Day!     CHECK IT OUT!

http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2011/01/30/video-sunday-give-forth-the-name-of-this-book-my-good-rat/

with SNOW hitting SO many this month… this warm wishes image seems SO appropriate ….thank you to Melissa Iwai for the vision!  enjoy and stay warm, well, and creative all!

Author and educator Kathy Stemke writes fun, educational books for children. Her titles include Moving Through All Seven Days, Trouble on Earth Day, and Sh, Sh, Sh, Will the Baby Sleep? She's also the author of the Wonderful Water Explorers series. In addition, she's a regular contributor to Helium and Associated Content. For more information about her work and her books, visit her website.

Thanks for the interview, Kathy. Did you always want to be a writer?

Yes, I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. I write poetry for self-expression. I’m working on a book of poems about life from a dancer’s point of view. Here’s an example:

An Empty Stage

Coiled torso frozen on an empty stage,

a living sculpture trapped in place

with no gown of tulle to hide her age

only weeping knees below her waist.



Framed in light, her insides groan

with pent up passion poised for release,

she now waits long and alone

for rhythm to carry her to peace.


But I remember her unencumbered

prance, so light for one held down

by unfulfilled dreams remembered,

floating above her tattered gown.

Tell us about your children's books.

My first book, Moving Through All Seven Days, was an outgrowth of a blog post. This book inspires movement as children learn about the days of the week. The lyrical rhymes also teach them how to spell each day! The activities at the end of the book are designed to reinforce the concepts as well as give impetus to movement exploration.

I plan to write a series of picture books with environmental themes. Trouble on Earth Day is almost ready to be released. This is a fun and educational story about a Squirrel who helps a new friend while learning to recycle. This book is full of great recycling ideas, craft projects, and worksheet pages.

I recently completed the second book in this series titled, Wonderful Water Explorers. This book opens up conversation about water preservation with a story of a thirsty bluebird named Charlie, who has lost his ability to sing due to a lack of water. When he meets up with his squirrel friend, Shelby, they set out on an adventure to find fresh drinking water and to bring back singing to the forest.
Guardian Angel Publishers will publish my book titled Sh, Sh, Sh, Will the Baby Sleep? In this action packed story a boy named Zachary must keep his new baby sister asleep. In the process he finds out that he loves her very much. This book and the activities included in the back focus on teaching children about consonant blends. Teachers will love it.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on my third book of the environmental series, which is about air pollution, as well as a picture book about dancing wood fairies.

I’ve also started my first YA fantasy novel. Although I’m still fleshing out my characters and plot, I’m very excited about this story.

What type of book promotion works for you? Any special strategies you’d like to share?

Because my books have teacher activities in them, I belong to several teacher groups online. This is a great way to keep in touch with what teachers are looking for in t