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Did you see the New Jersey SCBWI Chapter Logo? It was created by illustrator Susan Brand. Congratulations to Susan Brand for her winning entry. The image (see above) incorporates the SCBWI kite symbol but also the New Jersey state bird: the goldfinch—a beautiful icon to symbolize our members taking flight and moving onward and upward in their journey to publication. Congratulations, Susan! You can view Susan’s illustration work here.

The Final Round of voting for the 2013 Crystal Kite Member Choice Awards continues until March 15, 2013. Winners of the 2013 Crystal Kite Award will be notified the following week, and announcement of the winners made on April 30, 2013.  Here are the finalists. Make sure you vote. Go to www.scbwi.org, log in, go to your regional chapter page, then click on the Crystal Kite Award Tab.

Here are the finalist for Pennsylvania/Delaware/New Jersey/Wash DC/Virginia/West Virginia/Maryland Regions.

Ame Dyckman, Boy+ Bot (Alfred A. Knopf (Random House Children’s Books)

Cynthia Grady, I Lay My Stitches Down: Poems of American Slavery (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers)

Lana Krumwiede, Freakling (Candlewick Press)

Anne Marie Pace, Vampirina Ballerina (Disney-Hyperion (Disney Children’s)

Lois Szymanski, Wild Colt (Schiffer Books/Cornell Marime Press)

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

I’m lucky to be good friends with several very important book reviewers.

Like my neighbor, Ashley.

At 3:47 PM each Monday through Friday, as we wait at the bus stop for the big kids to come home, six-year-old Ashley recounts the books read aloud in her first grade classroom that day.

Don’t let the pigtails fool you. You thought Kirkus was tough? You haven’t heard Ashley.

But last month, Ashley bestowed her first starred review:

“It-was-an-old-book-about-a-monkey-who-was-eating-spaghetti-and-the-monkey’s-friend-wanted-to-play-with-her-but-the-monkey-didn’t-wanna-play-because-she-was-eating-spaghetti!”

“And it was really, really good!”

My mouth hung open.

I knew that book.

I loved that book—back when I had pigtails.

Thumbs clumsy with excitement, I fumbled my way through an Alibris search on my phone.

“That’s it!” said Ashley. “Order it!”

I did. And the waiting (and whining) began.

For days, cries of “But why isn’t it here yet?” echoed around our neighborhood.

“Be patient,” said Ashley.

“No,” I pouted.

But finally, the package arrived.

I ran to the bus stop.

I tore open the padded mailer.

And there it was:

MORE SPAGHETTI, I SAY! by Rita Golden Gelman, illustrated by Jack Kent (Scholastic, 1977).

“Read!” commanded Ashley.

We plunked down on the curb. I opened the cover—and two wires in my brain connected.

It had been *mumble mumble mumble* years since I’d held a copy of this book, but suddenly, I remembered the words before I read them.

I remembered the pictures before I saw them.

And I remembered how they worked together.

Humor. Friendship. Rhythm. Repetition. Brevity. The power of the page turn. The fun satisfaction of a mirror story.

All the elements I try to use in my own writing.

And this was one of the places I’d learned it first.

“Wow,” I whispered.

I couldn’t wait to write that night.

Ashley smiled. “Told you it was good,” she said.

So, awesome writers, as you seek inspiration this month while creating the books of the future, don’t forget to revisit the books of your past, too!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to get a little writing done before making dinner.

We’re having spaghetti.

Ame Dyckman LOVES picture books. Sometimes she’ll even put them down long enough to write one of her own: BOY + BOT, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino (Knopf; 2012); TEA PARTY RULES, illustrated by K.G. Campbell (Viking; Fall, 2013), WOLFIE AND DOT (working title), illustrator TBD (Little, Brown; TBD).

Ame lives in New Jersey with her family, pets (including a demanding-but-adorable squirrel named Willie) and book collection. Visit Ame at amedyckman.com, or on Twitter @AmeDyckman, where she Tweets “PB book reviews and random goofy thoughts.”

Ame is giving away a signed copy of BOY + BOT plus SWAG—bookmark, sticker, “Affirmative!” bracelet and mini Frisbee! Comment on this post AND complete the challenge to be entered (you’ll be asked to take the “PiBo Pledge” on December 1st to verify you have 30 ideas). A winner will be randomly selected in early December. Good luck!

You’ve been patiently waiting…so here is the winner of the BOY + BOT AFFIRMATIVELY AWESOME PRIZE PACK which includes the BOT clip, stickers, bookmarks, and a copy of the book!

ConBOTulations, KIRSTEN LARSON!

And these folks win a copy of BOY + BOT:

PENNY MORRISON
JEN MASCHARI

Now, onto our PUZZLED BY PINK winner!

ConPINKulatiolns, MARIA GIANFERRARI! 

(Maria, your email bounced so please get in touch with me at tarawrites (at) yahoo (dot) com.)

I’ll be emailing everyone shortly to collect your postal addresses.

Stay tuned because I’ll be picking our PUGS IN A BUG winner tomorrow! (You’ve still got until the end of today to enter.)

Everyone is so excited for our Ame Dyckman. Her book, BOY + Bot hit the book shelves this month and it has been greeted with rave reviews. In the very beginning, before it was touched by agent or publishers hands, Ame asked me to read her manuscript and immediately, I knew it was a winner. It was a perfect picture book, so I knew it would be snatched up and it was. It is pretty thrilling to see it written up in the NEW YORK TIMES Children’s Book Section.

I thought I would share the article written By PAMELA PAUL about BOY + BOT:

Children’s Books

My Friend the Robot

‘Boy and Bot’ and ‘Beep and Bah’

Beyond its pointed social message about the perils of earthly overabundance and human passivity, the movie “Wall-E” made one thing clear: Being friends with a robot would be awfully fun.
Small children know this already, which is what makes two new picture books, “Boy and Bot” and “Beep and Bah,” so appealing. In “Boy and Bot,” Ame Dyckman’s sweet and playful tale, with deceptively simple gouache illustrations by Dan Yaccarino (“All the Way to America”), a nameless boy is collecting pine cones in his red wagon when he meets a robot. “Want to play?” the boy asks, to which the robot, quite naturally, replies, “Affirmative!”

Boy and robot, who looks like the Tin Man crossed with a squat red rocket ship, gambol about outside until the robot mysteriously stops functioning. Unable to revive the bot, the boy brings him home to offer him care. Later, when the boy goes to bed, the robot (easily revived, it turns out, with the flip of a switch) is shocked to find the boy now malfunctioning (asleep).

The trouble, of course, is a failure in communication, perhaps inevitable, between man and machine. But this is easily remedied, and the two friends reconvene for further play dates. Boy affixes a drawing of Bot to the refrigerator; Bot sticks a picture of Boy on his torso. Boy sips chocolate milk from a straw; Bot chugs oil from the nozzle of a can. It’s a perfectly adorable, age-appropriate friendship. And it’s simply impossible to imagine a 4-year-old boy not wanting to be friends with this book.

Read the rest of the article about Beep and Bah

BOY AND BOT

By Ame Dyckman

Illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

32 pp. Alfred A. Knopf. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 5)

In less than a week BOY + BOT’s Amazon Ranking has pushed it’s way higher and higher.  It is the perfect combination of fun story and entertaining illustrations by Dan Yaccarino.  You can meet both Ame and Dan at this years, NJSCBWI conference. www.regonline.com/njscbwi2012conference  Hope to see you there.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

I am so absolutely thrilled that BOY + BOT releases today because I’ve been waiting for it for a long, long time.

It’s the debut picture book by my good friend, Ame Dyckman—and get this—it’s illustrated by the hugely talented Dan Yaccarino! I mean, this has got to be the best picture book EVER with an author-illustrator team just as lovable as Boy and Bot themselves.

And for this very special day, I’ve got prizes to give away! One AFFIRMATIVELY AWESOME prize pack including BOY + BOT, stickers, bookmarks, and an *exclusive* BOT keychain clip made by author-zoologist-educator-sculptor Jess Keating!

So let’s get on with the fun!

TL: So, Ame, you and I have been friends for a few years now, after meeting at NJ-SCBWI first page sessions. (I knew I had to get to know you, with your spiky pink hair and Lego bracelet.) Is that how you began your kidlit career, attending SCBWI events?

AD: *laughing* Was my hair pink back then? I don’t remember my hair color at the time (it’s blue, now), but I remember thinking, “Wow! This Tara person is funny and nice and she really knows her kidlit! I like her!” BAM! Friends!

And yes, attending SCBWI events–YAY, NJ SCBWI!–started everything for me! When I first joined, I knew I wanted to write picture books, but I didn’t know how. My first manuscripts were REALLY bad, but nobody made fun of me. Everybody was helpful. (YOU taught me how to page a PB, remember? I still have your diagram!) I went to as many events as I could—First Page Sessions, Mentoring Workshops, Networking Dinners, Annual Conferences, etc. I learned tons—still do!—and met lots of amazing industry professionals and made lots of wonderful friends. At the 2009 NJ SCBWI Annual Conference, I pitched BOY + BOT to Super Agent Scott Treimel, and he said, “I love it! Let’s work together!”

TL: I distinctly remember the 2009 conference and a certain editor making goo-goo eyes at you during lunch…but he had read your manuscript and was bonkers over BOY + BOT. I thought to myself, GO AME! You could feel the buzz about that manuscript at the event. You were in deep conversation with several agents.

So we want to know—how did this beep-worthy book idea come about?

AD: The short answer: I love robots! (I used to doodle robots instead of doing my math homework. Even in college!) The long answer: I love robots and unusual friendship stories and mirror stories always make me laugh, so I hoped mine would make other people laugh, too.

TL: So BOY + BOT is your debut and it has something like 347 starred industry reviews! Are you thrilled or what?

AD: I’m SO happy, and really grateful for all the reviewer love. Here’s hoping the little Boys (and Girls!) and Bots that Dan and I made the book for love it, too!

TL: We’re chatting on the eve of your book’s release. Will you be able to sleep tonight? It’s a little like Christmas Eve, isn’t it?

AD: It feels like Christmas Eve and Birthday Eve and Leaving-for-Disney-World-Tomorrow Eve all smooshed together! I was up until 3:45 this morning because I was so excited already! (But, I think I’d better try to

HEADS UP: You can now pre-order BOY + BOT written by our own Ame Dyckman and Dan Yaccarino.

I was there from the beginning.  I heard the story in a First Page Session.  Was there for the first agent rejection.  I knew he was making a big mistake, because it is a perfect picture book – funny, sweet, with a delightful twist.  I was there when Ame signed with agent Scott Treimel found at a NJSCBWI June Conference.  Then the sale and the great addition of Dan Yaccarino.

Anyone who meets Ame is super happy for her success.  She is as much fun as her book.

Ame and Dan are coming out to the 2012 NJSCBWI Conference to talk about the process.  I am hoping I can get her agent and editor to agree to join them.  I think it would be great to hear the whole story from beginning to end, from each person’s perspective.

Here is a little bit about the book:

One day, a boy and a robot meet in the woods.

They play. They have fun. But when Bot gets switched off, Boy thinks he’s sick. The usual remedies—applesauce, reading a story—don’t help, so Boy tucks  the sick Bot in, then falls asleep.

Bot is worried when he powers on and finds his friend powered off. He takes Boy home with him and tries all hisremedies: oil, reading an instruction manual. Nothing revives the malfunctioning Boy! Can the Inventor help fix him?

Of course, Ame & Dan will be signing BOY + BOT book at the Conference Bookfair in June.

Congratulations Ame!

Back in April I posted this contest for Leeza Hernandez’s new illustrated book: Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes For Hungry Minds written by Ann McCallum (Charlesbridge) releases in July.  Leeza had three advance copies up for grabs!

All you had to do is tell us how old Leeza was when she took her O-Level math exam at high school—the mild equivalent to the American SATs. Was she: A) 14? B) 15? or C) 16?

Well, the answer was 15 yrs. old.   Both of us got busy, so we are just getting around to declaring the three winners.   

Leeza wrote down all the names of the people with the correct answers on little pieces of paper and threw them in the air.  The three people who were picked up off her floor where… drum roll please.

Donna Taylor
Darlene Beckman
Rosi Hollinbeck

If you are a winner please e-mail me your address, so Leeza can mail them out to you.

Here is a little bit of Information about Leeza’s book:
This collection of yummy recipes and fun math facts is sure to tempt taste buds and make you hungry for more. Explore patterns in nature while you chomp on Fibonacci Stack Sticks. Amaze your friends with delicious Variable Pizza Pi! Wash down your geometry assignment with some Milk and Tangram Cookies. Topics covered include probability, Fibonacci numbers, tessellations, variability, and more.

Leeza will be leading a craft workshop for our Craft Day November 5th.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy