A quick note, if you’ll indulge me. I have been gone for a few days, thanks to the lupus. The fatigue alone was, well, tiring. The disease in unpredictable in many ways, especially when it will cause trouble.  Nothing to fret about, but I didn’t want you to think I’d abandoned ship. I am excited …

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Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

(Still haven't solved the link list problem, so today's post is both here and on the new site!  http://susannahill.com/blog/)

Today is one of those days I love.  Not only do I get to share a truly delightful picture book, it happens to be by an author whose friendship I value and whose work I am already a fan of.  AND I got to read an advance copy, which means it's like a secret - practically no one else has gotten to read it yet.  I'm like a member of a super special secret club :)  Maybe we should have a secret handshake... Ooh! or a password...! but I digress... :)

Come on!  Quick!  You're going to love this one! :)

Title: Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep
Written By: Robin Newman
Illustrated By: Chris Ewald
Creston Books, Fiction, April 12, 2016

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: problem solving, communication, fractured nursery rhyme/fairy tale, humor

Opening: "There's a little-known secret about Hildie Bitterpickles.  She needs her sleep.
Every night Hildie brushes her teeth, puts away her spell book, and goes to bed with her cat, Clawdia.
Until the night when Hildie's quiet neighborhood changed.
Someone moved in next door.  A very loud someone."

Brief Synopsis: What's a desperate-to-sleep witch to do when an elevator-clanking giant, an old woman with a shoe full of noisy children, and a roof-blowing big bad wolf move into her previously quiet neighborhood? Checking the real estate listings and moving seems like the answer, until she learns that a little communication can go a long way and it's better to deal with your problems then run from them.

Links To Resources: Fabulous Teacher's Guide!; discuss with your kids or students what things might bother them while they're trying to fall asleep or do other activities and how they might constructively cope with those annoyances

Why I Like This Book: First off, Hildie Bitterpickles and Clawdia!  Who could possibly not want to read about characters with names like that? :)  The story is tons of fun.  Poor Hildie gets grumpier and grumpier and more and more discouraged, until she comes full circle back to a very familiar spot.  She learns an important lesson (in a not-at-all-preachy way!) about the importance of facing problems rather than running from them.  And she comes up with some clever solutions that solve problems for everyone.  Plus there is a whole spread in the middle showing a page from The Daily Witch that will tickle your funny bone :)  Favorite line in the book?  When the wolf says, "My specialty is demolition, but I could give repair work a try." :)  Appealing art in soft fairy tale colors for daytime and rich night-time hues round out the book perfectly.  Pre-order your copy, encourage your local library to do so as well, and/or write a really great Valentiny Contest story and possibly win a signed copy! :)

And if you haven't seen the trailer...



For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!  And keep a weather eye on the... well... on the weather, since the most important weather prediction day of the year is coming up next week! You all know what day THAT is... :)

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In a Village by the Sea
By Muon Van
Illustrated by April Chu
Creston Books
$16.95
ISBN: 978-1-939547-156
Ages 4-6
On shelves now

We talk a lot about wanting a diverse selection of picture books on our library, bookstore, and home shelves, but it seems to me that the key to giving kids a broad view of the wider world (which is the ultimate effect of reading literature about people outside your immediate social, economic, and racial circle) is finding books that go into formerly familiar territory and then give the final product an original spin. For example, I was just telling a colleague the other day that true diverse literature for kids will never come to pass until we’ve a wide variety of gross out books about kids of different races, abilities, genders, etc. That’s one way of reaching parity. Another way would be to tackle that age old form so familiar to kids of centuries past; nursery rhymes. Now we’ve already seen the greatest nursery rhyme collection of the 21st century hit our shelves earlier this year (Over the Hills and Far Away, edited by Elizabeth Hammill) and that’s great. That’s swell. That’s super. But one single book does not a nursery rhyme collection make. Now I admit freely that Muon Van and April Chu’s In a Village by the Sea is not technically a nursery rhyme in the classic sense of the term. However, Merriam-Webster defines the form as “a short rhyme for children that often tells a story.” If that broad definition is allowed then I submit “In a Village by the Sea” as a true, remarkable, wonderful, evocative, modern, diverse, ultimately beautiful nursery rhyme for the new Millennium. Lord knows we could always use more. Lord knows this book deserves all the attention it can get.

On the title page a single brown cricket grabs a rolled piece of parchment, an array of watercolor paints and paintbrushes spread below her (to say nothing of two soon-to-be-necessary screws). Turn the page and there a fisherman loads his boat in the predawn hour of the day, his dog attentive but not following. As he pushes off, surrounded by other fishermen, and looks behind him to view his receding seaside home we read, “In a fishing village by the sea there is a small house.” We zoom in. “In that house high above the waves is a kitchen.” The dog is now walking into the house, bold as brass, and as the story continues we meet the woman and child inside. We also meet that same industrious cricket from the title page, painting a scene in which a fisherman combats the elements, comforted by the picture of his family he keeps beside him. And in another picture is his village, and his house, and in that house is his family, waiting to greet him safely home. Set in Vietnam, the book has all the rhythms and cadence of the most classic rhyme.

When it comes to rhymes, I feel that folks tend to be fairly familiar with the cumulative form. Best highlighted in nursery rhymes likes “The House That Jack Built” it’s the kind of storytelling that builds and builds, always repeating the elements that came before. Less celebrated, perhaps, is the nesting rhyme. Described in Using Poetry Across the Curriculum: A Whole Language Approach by Barbara Chatton, the author explains that children love patterns. “The simplest pattern is a series in which objects are placed in some kind of order. This order might be from smallest to largest, like the Russian nesting dolls, or a range of height, length, or width . . . A nursery rhyme using the ‘nesting’ pattern is ‘This Is the Key to My Kingdom’.” Indeed, it was that very poem I thought of first when I read In a Village by the Sea. In the story you keep going deeper and deeper into the narrative, an act that inevitably raises questions.

Part of what I like so much about the storytelling in this book is not just its nesting nature, but also the questions it inspires in the child reader. At first we’re working entirely in the realm of reality with a village, a fisherman, his wife, and their child. But then when we dive down into the cricket’s realm we see that it is painting a magnificent storm with vast waves that appear to be a kind of ode to that famous Japanese print, “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa”. When we get into that painting and find that our fisherman is there and in dire straits we begin to wonder what is and isn’t real. Artist April Chu runs with that uncertainty well. Notice that as the fisherman sits in his boat with the storm overhead, possibly worrying for his own safety, in his hands he holds a box. In that box is a photo of his wife and child, his village, and what appears to be a small wooden carving of a little cricket. The image of the village contains a house and (this isn’t mentioned in the text) we appear to zoom into that picture and that house where the sky is blue and the sea is calm. So what is going on precisely? Is it all a clever cricket’s imaginings or are each of these images true in some way? I love the conversation starter nature of this book. Younger kids might take the events at face value. Older kids might begin to enmesh themselves into the layered M.C. Escher-ness of the enterprise. Whatever draws them in, Van and Chu have created a melodic visual stunner. No mean feat.

For the record, the final image in this book is seemingly not of the cricket’s original painting but of the fisherman heading home on a calm sea to a distant home. What’s so interesting about the painting is that if you compare it to the cricket’s previous one (of the storm) you can see that the curls and folds of the paper are identical. This is the same canvass the cricket was working on before. Only the image has changed. How is this possible? The answer lies in what the cricket is signing on the painting’s lower right-hand corner. “AC”. April Chu. Artist as small brown cricket. I love it.

So who precisely is April Chu? Read her biography at the back and you see that she began her career as an architect, a fact that in part explains the sheer level of detail at work in tandem with this simple text. Let us be clear that while the writing in this book is engaging on a couple different levels, with the wrong artist it wouldn’t have worked half as well as it now does. Chu knows how to take a single story from a blue skied mellow to a wrath of the gods storm center and then back again to a sweet peach colored sunset. She also does a good dog. I’ll say it. The yellow lab in this book is practically the book’s hero as we follow it in and out of the house. He’s even in his master’s family photograph.

One question that occurred to me as I read the book was why I immediately thought of it as contemporary. No date accompanies the text. No elements that plant it firmly in one time or another. The text is lilting and lovely but doesn’t have anything so jarring as a 21st century iPhone or ear bud lurking in the corners. In Van’s Author’s Note at the end she mentions that much of the inspiration for the tale was based on both her family’s ancestral village in Central Vietnam and her father’s work, and mother’s experiences, after they immigrated to American shores. By logic, then, the book should have a bit of a historical bent to it. Yet people still fish in villages. Families still wait for the fisherman to return to shore. And when I looked at April Chu’s meticulous art I took in the clothing more than anything else. The mom’s rubber band in her hair. The cut of the neck of her shirt. The other fishermen and their shirts and the colors of the father’s. Then there was the way the dishes stack up next to the stove. I dunno. It sure looks like it’s set in a village today. But these things can be hard to judge.

There’s this real feeling that meta picture books that play with their format and turn the fourth wall into rubble are relatively new. But if we look at rhymes like “This Is the Key to the Kingdom”, we can see how they were toying with our notion of how to tell a story in a new way long long before old Stinky Cheese Man. I guess what I like most about “In a Village by the Sea” is how to deals with this duality. It manages to feel old and new all at the same time. It reads like something classic but it looks and feels like something entirely original. A great read aloud, beautifully illustrated, destined to become beloved of parents, librarians, and kids themselves for years to come. This is a book worth discovering.

On shelves now.

Source: Final copy sent by publisher for review.

Like This? Then Try:

• A New Year’s Reunion by Li-Qiong Yu
• Over the Hills and Far Away, edited by Elizabeth Hammill
• Hush! by Minfong Ho

Professional Reviews:

• The New York Times
• A star from Kirkus
• A star from Publishers Weekly,

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Quick note: Not surprisingly, the motherboard died one last time, just days after arriving home from its last death. I am at the library and running out of time. Please excuse the unfinished post. I will get all images and links up as son as I can. I hope you enjoy the review, such as it is. ~Sue
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The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake
Written by Robin Newman
Illustrated by Deborah Zemke
Creston Books          2015
978-1-939547-17-0
40 pages            Age 7—9
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“When food goes missing on Ed’s farm, Detectives Wilcox and Griswold do what it takes to track down the thieves. In this case, Miss Rabbit’s carrot cake has disappeared. Has it been stolen? Or eaten? Or both? Who dunnit?” [publisher]

Review
Oh, my, a carrot cake has gone missing and Miss Rabbit, besides being crumbed by cake from head to toe (she did bake the now missing carrot cake), is hopping mad. Good thing the MFI’s are on the case, with Captain Griswold and Detective Wilcox as lead investigators. These two small Missing Food Investigator mice may have experience, but the layered Case of the Missing Carrot Cake just might be unsolvable.

I know detectives do not want to be viewed as cute, but cute is an apt word. From their gruff-looking MFI badge pictures, to their droll 1950’s cop-speech—think Friday of Dragnet—Griswold and Wilcox are all business, but adorable. The two made me laugh each time they spoke. Kids may not know who Sargent Friday was, but if a parent were to channel Sargent Friday while reading Detective Wilcox’s story, their children will at least get part of the joke.

“It was 10:00 Monday morning. The captain and I were working the day shift when we got our first call . . . Every day food goes missing from the farm. Sometimes it’s lost. Sometimes it’s stolen. Sometimes it just runs away.”

The first four chapters introduce the usual suspects: Fowler, the Owl (Alibi. He was picking up his dinner in the field); Porcini, the Pig (a convicted corn robber, he was with Miss Rabbit—she refused a refreshing hot cup of slop); Hot Dog, a dog (evidence is found! Hot Dog is, according to Wilcox, “in as pickle”); and . . . uh, oh. Where did suspect number four hide? I know there is a fourth, but, unlike Detective Wilcox, I am no missing food investigator.

The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake will delight readers. Kids will love the goofy characters, the illustrations, and the oft-used humor. Adults will also laugh, and sometimes groan, but always appreciate the humor and Wilcox’s Dragnet performance.

“Just give us the facts and nothing but the facts . . . “

The illustrations enhance the story on every page. The short chapters, just right for readers learning to read on their own, and illustrations that make each page come alive, kids will begin viewing reading as entertainment, rather than something one only does in school. Each of the seven characters is well-developed with distinctive personalities. I love Hot Dog, who towers over the detectives, yet gives them all due respect. Twists do occur, so do not get cozy with your solution to this case.

Will the MFI solve The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake? Will the residents of Ed’s Farm ever be safe from bakery thieves? To find out, check out Newman’s debut chapter book. I hope there are more cases to solve. The MFI detectives can delight readers again and again . . . they just need missing food to find.

THE CASE OF THE MISSING CARROT CAKE. Text copyright © 2015 by Robin Newman. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Deborah Zemke. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Creston Books,

Purchase The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake at Amazon—Book Depository—iTunes—Creston Books.

Learn more about The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake HERE.
Meet the author, Robin Newman, at her website:
Meet the illustrator, Deborah Zemke, at her website:
Find more chapter books at publisher, Creston Books, website: http://www.crestonbooks.com

Review Section: word count = 473

Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved
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Filed under: 5stars, Books for Boys, Chapter Book, Debut Illustrator, Favorites, Library Donated Books, Reluctant Readers Tagged: beginning to read on your own, book for boys, Creston Books, Deborah Zemke, Dragnet, mystery, Robin Newman, The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake, whimsical, witty

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Thank goodness it's Friday!

I've been waiting for MONTHS to share this book with you (because I was lucky enough to get an advance copy), and it's finally officially out, so I can finally post it for Perfect Picture Book Friday!

Not only that, but I have a signed copy to give away to one lucky commenter!  All you have to do is bake me cookies er tell me and Lori which farm animal you are and why in the comments :)

I, for example, would be the horse because I am beautiful and graceful and I can run like the wind...

*snort*

Yeah, I didn't think anyone would buy that :)  I can't even sell it to myself :)  But I do really love horses - that should count for something!

If it's too hard to think of yourself as a farm animal on Friday morning at the end of a long week, you can just tell us who you'd like the book for.  That will be less sporting and some people might judge you for wimping out, but not me!  Nosirreebob!  I will not think any less of you if you don't have the gumption to declare to the world that you belong in the donkey shed!

Title: Cock-a-Doodle Oops!
Written By: Lori Degman
Illustrated By: Deborah Zemke
Creston Books, May 2014, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-8

Themes/Topics: friendship, helping others, jobs, animals (farm)

Opening: "Farmer McPeeper was such a deep sleeper;
not even an earthquake could shake him.
A poke or a pinch wouldn't budge him an inch,
'cause only his rooster could wake him."

Brief Synopsis: Poor Rooster!  He's tired of getting up so early every morning!  What he needs is a vacation.  Leaving the other animals in charge, Rooster heads for the beach.  Animal after animal tries their best, but no one can wake Farmer McPeeper.  Rooster's return is greeted with relief, but he's caught a cold.  How will they ever get the sleepy Farmer up now?

Links To Resources: Teacher's Guide to Cock-A-Doodle Oops,  Farm animal coloring pages, classroom activities to learn about volunteers, emergency animal rescue, what do I want to be when I grow up, workers and the work they do.  Talk about jobs kids are familiar with and what kind of skills are necessary to do those jobs, or what personality traits would be helpful.  Talk about friendship and what kinds of things friends might do for each other.  Enjoy the YouTube video where Marissa Moss reads the story aloud HERE.

Why I Like This Book:  This book is fun from start to finish!  The rhyme is expertly written, catchy, and fun to read aloud.  The attempts of the various animals to wake the sleeping farmer are hilarious, and kids will enjoy calling out the different crows - cock-a-doodle moo, cock-a-doodle baa, etc.  The illustrations are bright and colorful and a perfect match for the story.  When Rooster returns from his vacation with a cold, the animals have to come up with an inventive solution to get the farmer out of bed.  When at last the farmer is up, he delivers a surprise ending that is clever and funny... but I can't say what it is here because that would be telling :)  Just mosey on out and get yourself a copy.  You won't be sorry.  It's delightful :)

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Lori and I were going to do a little interview or something to go along with this post, but it appears we didn't quite get our act together in time.  I don't know how that happened.  I am the epitome of organization.  Ask anyone.  And please ignore the rapidly increasing length of my nose :)

So anyway, at the very least, here's Lori :)

You can also see a wonderful interview with her over at Laura Sassi's HERE, another review of Cock-A-Doodle Oops at Sue Morris's HERE, and another terrific interview at Carrie Brown's HERE.

Now then, my little chickens, get thee to the comments and tell us which farm animal you are and why (or just tell us who you'd like the book for), and one lucky commenter will get a signed copy of this fabulous book!

OR...

Ooh!  How 'bout this?

If you REALLY want to impress us, you can write your own crowing line!  Examples from Lori's book are:
Her cock-a-doodle-cluck didn't have any pluck
His cock-a-doodle-bleeeeat just couldn't compete
Her cock-a-doodle-whoooooooo just didn't ring true
What kind of rhyming crow can you think up for the farmyard animal of your choice??? :)
Please leave your comment by Sunday May 18 at 5 PM EDT and then random.org will choose the winner and I will announce it on Monday.

PPBF bloggers, please leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you and see what treasures you have to share this week!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!!! :)

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Minnie and Moo: Hooves of Fire

by Denys Cazet

Creston Books     2014

978-1-939547-08-8

Age 8 to 12     206 pages

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“It’s a perfect day for the First Annual Hoot, Holler, and Moo Talent Festival. The sun is shining in a warm autumn sky and the stage is set. Mr. and Mrs. Farmer are away on vacation, Minnie and Moo are dressed in their togas, Elvis has his bagpipe, the hyenas their jokes, the fox his magic tricks, the sheep a protest poem, and the cash box is stuffed with money from ticket sales. A perfect day. Wait a minute . . . Where is the cash box? Why are those coyotes on motorcycles? And who pushed those port-a-potties down the hill?”

Opening

“It was Indian summer on the farm. The air smelled of damp leaves and fallen apples.”

The Story

Minnie and Moo are on the stage looking over their First Annual Hoot, Holler, and Moo Talent Festival when Minnie begins worrying. Whenever Minnie thinks, she worries. First up on the stage are Zeke and Zack, formerly conjoined turkeys, to sing a turkey poem in two-part harmony. Wait, who is that with the greasy, slicked back hair pushing the turkeys off stage. It’s Elvis the rooster, with an ego bigger than the farm. He will steal the show all day long and when kicked off, again, he will go reluctantly with two words, “Geeze Louize.”

Meanwhile the coyotes are starting trouble, the weasels are conniving, and both want the cash box that is supposed to buy the farmer a new tractor. Throughout the day little catastrophes will occur. Moo will take it all in stride sure things will work out. Minnie worries. She wants to call off the festival. Now the hyenas have joined the coyotes and the weasels and that means just more trouble for Minnie to worry about . . . but then the cash box does go missing. It’s those hyenas, or those coyotes, or those weasels, or maybe all three. Minnie and Moo must get the money back, clean up the festival grounds, and get back to their animal homes before Mr. and Mrs. Farmer return home, just hours from now. Will they make it, or will all the hard work be for naught and Minnie right, they should have canceled the festival?

Review

Minnie and Moo are quite a pair. They complement each other. One is of the mind that everything will work out fine, the other worries about everything. They are also two of the funniest cows in togas middle grade readers will ever meet. The cast of characters are right out of a slapstick movie. Most are the good guys, but then there are the bad guys who only want the moneybox. Then there is Elvis, a rooster performer that tries to steal and keep the stage as long as possible. Jokes are plenty, slapstick flies all over the stage, and sarcasm will have kids rolling on the floor. The animals have their eccentricities, all played for laughs.

The writing is very good. The author uses lots of dialogue, which speeds up the story. Minnie & Moo:  Hooves of Fire is a fast, enjoyable read, with loads of black and white illustrations to help the reader visualize the story. It was never difficult to see in my mind’s eye what was happening, but the illustrations are a nice break from the fast-paced story.

This is the newest of several Minnie and Moo stories, including Minnie & Moo and the Seven Wonders of the World. This is not a series in the traditional sense. Book 1 does not lead to book 2 into book 3 . . ., instead each are separate stories that stand on their own. The one advantage to reading the first book is knowing the characters, and there are a lot of them, prior to starting Hooves of Fire. Marketed as a middle grade book, Minnie & Moo:  Hooves of Fire could easily have been an early reader. The vocabulary is not difficult, nor is the plot hard to follow. Reluctant readers might even find Minnie and Moo an agreeable read.

I fell in love with these two adorable cows who only want to help their farmer get a needed tractor. The weasels are wonderful as villains with trickery, smart-aleck remarks, and a talent for smooth talking Moo into complacency—until Minnie begins to think and worry. Kids will find Minnie & Moo:  Hooves of Fire fun, funny, and frivolous in a good way. This is the kind of story a teacher could read aloud, one chapter at a time, with students eager for the next chapter. If these two moos are not the stars of a third book, I will miss them.

 

MINNIE & MOO: HOOVES OF FIRE. Text and illustrations copyright © 2014 by Denys Cazet. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Creston Books, Berkeley, CA.

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Learn more about Minnie & Moo:  Hooves of Fire HERE.

Buy your copy of Minnie & Moo:  Hooves of Fire at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Creston Books—your local bookstore.

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Meet the author / illustrator, Denys Cazet, at his blog:    http://www.dailypretzel.com/

Find ore books at publisher Creston Books’ website:    http://www.crestonbooks.co/

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Also by Denys Cazet

 

 

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Filed under: 5stars, Children's Books, Favorites, Library Donated Books, Middle Grade, Series Tagged: children's book reviews, cows, Creston Books, Denys Cazet, farms, festivals, humor, light-hearted fare, slapstick, weasels coyotes and hyenas

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DROP EVERYTHING (YOU’RE DOING) AND READ,

D. E. A. R.

Today is Drop Everything And Read Day celebrating children’s books and reading. The folks at the official website have this to say, “Our assertion around here is that reading, whether you’re on your own or cozied up on the couch with your kids, is so much more fun and rewarding than just about anything else . . .”

So, stop what you are doing and go read with a kid or by yourself. Read and then come right back here . . . you still have this review to read. OR, BETTER YET! Read this review and then go read a book. Reading is reading, right?!

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Don’t Turn the Page!

by Rachelle Burk & Julie Downing, illustrator

Creston Books               6/10/2014

978-1-939547-06-4

Age 4 to 8              32 pages

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“Like most children, Sami puts off going to bed for as long as possible. But reading a story about Little Bear’s bedtime ritual inspires Sami, just as the young reader will be inspired by this soothing story and clever book-within-a-book conceit. A bedtime book that both parent and child will relish reading one more time, Don’t Turn the Page! features a surprise ending that reinforces the sense that it’s bedtime for everyone.”

Opening

“’How about a bedtime story?” Mama asked. Sami shook her head. “I don’t want to go to bed. I’m not tired yet.’”

The Story

Sami is not tired and not ready for bed. Mama reads her a story, but Sami only wants her to read one page. In the story, the Little Bear is yawning and getting ready for bed. After the first page, Sami said, “Don’t turn the page.” Mama places a bookmarker between the pages and closes the book. Then Sami asks a question about how bears get ready for bed, but Mama doesn’t know. They must read one more page, but only one more. Sami continues to ask questions and Mama reads the bedtime book slowly, page-by-page, and question-by-question. Soon, Sami becomes interested and allows Mama to read one more page, but only one more “don’t turn the page,” while Sami brushes her teeth. In the story, Little Bear gets a goodnight kiss from his mama.  Sami is ready and says, “Don’t turn the page.” Will Sami ever go to sleep?

Review

Don’t Turn the Page! It’s time for the review, so please do not turn the page. Sami and the bear stories are both bedtime stories about going to bed. Sami is not ready, or so she says. Her body language is saying something different. Mama is patient and seems to be letting Sami make the decisions. The story of Sami the hedgehog is simply adorable as is that of Little Bear. The two stories mirror one another. As Little Bear puts on his jammies and fuzzy slippers Sami puts on her jammies and fuzzy slippers.

It is difficult enough to write one publishable story but the author wrote two for this picture book. The story of Little Bear could be a solo book kids would love. I suppose the question to ask is which story do you like best? That of Little Bear or of Sami Hedgehog? Kids and parents might differ but I choose them both. The illustrator did a fantastic job on both stories. Each are different in style and color. I really like the turned up page corner on Little Bear’s right side page. It is just waiting for Sami to tell her Mama to turn that page. The ending is quite a surprise and may have you thinking about reality. At the very least it will give you a huge smile, as will the back of the book.

Young children and parents will love this dual bedtime story. The story of Sami going to bed and the story of Little Bear going to bed, flow well together as you read from one story to the next. For those kids not ready for bed, not yet tired, or simply determined to stay awake, Don’t Turn the Page will send them off to where sweet dreams lay waiting. Mama, or Daddy, will enjoy ready this story in a story. The title, Don’t Turn the Page, is possibly not the best title because all you will want to do is turn the page. I’m betting your little one will want these pages turned as well. However, don’t be surprised if the new stalling tactic in your house is “Don’t Turn the Page!”

DON’T TURN THE PAGE! Text copyright © 2014 by Rachelle Burk. Illustrations copyright C) 2014 by Julie Downing. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Creston Books, Berkeley, CA.

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Learn more about Don’t Turn the Page HERE.

Buy your copy of Don’t Turn the Page at Amazon—B&N—Creston Books—your local bookstore.

Meet the author Rachelle Burk at her website:   http://www.rachelleburk.blogspot.com/ 

Meet the illustrator, Julie Downing at her website:    http://www.juliedowning.com/

Find more Creston Books at the publisher’s website:    http://www.crestonbooks.co/

 

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Also by Julie Downing

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Both reviewed here soon!

 

Filed under: 5stars, Children's Books, Favorites, Library Donated Books, Picture Book Tagged: bedtome stories, children's book reviews, Creston Books, hedgehogs, Julie Downing, Rachelle Burk, ready for bed, teddy bears

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Cock-a-Doodle-Oops!

by Lori Degman & Deborah Zemke

Creston Books   5/13//2014

978-1-93954-07-1

Age 3 to 9   36 pages

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“When the rooster is away, who is there to ring in the day? Cock-a-Doodle Oops! is the humorous tale of a community of farm animals who band together to help out a rooster who is badly in need of a vacation. How hard can it be to wake up a sleeping farmer? While the rooster is gone, the pig, cow, sheep, and other farm animals attempt to rouse Farmer McPeeper with “cock-a-doodle SQUEAL,” “cock-a-doodle MOO,” and “cock-a-doodle BAAAA,” with hilarious results.”

Opening

“Farmer McPeeper was such a deep sleeper, not even an earthquake could shake him.

A poke or a pinch wouldn’t budge him an inch, ‘cause only his rooster could wake him.”

The Story

Rooster had planned a beach vacation and the time had come to leave. He was excited to be able to sleep as late as he pleased. All the animals were worried.

“If you go, who will crow?”

Rooster had a plan. Each animal would take over one morning and waking up Farmer McPeeper. On Monday, Pig knew he could do it and with the others looking on Pig gave his best.

“Cock-a-doodle-SQUEAL!”

On Tuesday, Sheep took her turn. Wednesday Cow, with much ego, told the others to step aside as he gave a morning wake-up for Farmer McPeeper. Chicken, also sure of himself—he and Rooster were birds of a feather. She stood atop the fence and gave her very best, which wasn’t very good. Chicken blamed it on the weather. Mule filled in on Friday and Goat did his best on Saturday. Finally, Owl, with much confidence, tried to wake up Farmer McPeeper. When Rooster arrived home, all the animals gathered around urging him to wake the farmer. But something was wrong .

Review

Cock-a-Doodle Oops! had me laughing starting with page one. Poor Rooster, worn out from his morning job, he needs a vacation. For one week, Rooster is going to the beach and someone else will have to wake up Farmer McPeeper. Every page will delight kids. Those reading will enjoy all the opportunities to sound like a cow, or a mule, or a sheep. Storybook hour will explode with laughter.

The illustrations deftly show the animals cock-a-doodle-doing their hearts out for Rooster and Farmer McPeeper as the other wide-eyed animals look on. The animals take on a life of their own as they spew out their wakeup calls. From the farmhouse a short ways away, all that one can “hear” are the z’s of McPeeper’s sleep. Even his dog stays by his side, asleep, waiting for the Rooster to arouse him and his master. Just getting through the week of substitute morning calls will delight the children. But there is more. There is an unexpected twist, or rather, a double-twist!

I know young children will love Cock-a-Doodle Oops! The fresh story has a cartoon flare and the illustrator makes sure the delightful story stands out from the crowd. The ending is cartoon-comical. I want so badly to tell you the crazy twists, but no endings here.* The rhyming story is easy to read, which is good since kids are going to want Cock-a-Doodle Oops! read to them nightly. And don’t forget those voices. Your kids definitely will not. Find a home on a shelf for Cock-a-Doodle Oops! It’s a keeper.

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Find out more about Cock-a-Doodle Oops! HERE!

Laugh at the wild ending after you get a copy at Amazon—B&N—Creston Books—your neighborhood bookstore.

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Meet the author, Lori Degman at her website: http://www.loridegman.com/loridegman.com/Home.html 

Meet the illustrator, Deborah Zemke at her website:  http://www.deborahzemke.com/

Find more great books at Creston Books’ website: http://www.crestonbooks.co/ 

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COCK-A-DOODLE OOPS! Text copyright © 2014 by Lori Degman. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Deborah Zemke. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Creston Books, Berkeley, CA.

ALSO BY LORI DEGMAN

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– Won 2010 Cheerios New Author Contest

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ALSO BY DEBORAH ZEMKE

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Filed under: 5stars, Children's Books, Favorites, Library Donated Books, Picture Book, Poetry Tagged: children's book reviews, Creston Books, Deborah Zemke, farm animals, Lori Degman, rhyming text, Rooster, waking up

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Rotten Pumpkin
By David M. Schwartz
Photos by Dwight Kuhn
Creston Books
$16.99
ISNB: 978-1-939547-03-3
Ages 4-8
On shelves now.

Every October you walk into your bookstores and your libraries and you see the overwhelming swath of seasonal fare pelt you from every side. Apples and pumpkins, scarecrows and black cats. You begin to wonder if it’s possible to do anything that’s both new and autumnal anymore. Then you turn around and you see the book most likely to make you back away in true, abject fear. Rotten Pumpkin: A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices is basically what you’d get if you took Paul Fleischman’s Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices or Laura Amy Schlitz’s Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village and turned those bugs and people into molds, slugs, and other creepy crawlies. I have never been so overwhelmed with a desire to wash my hands after reading a book as I have reading Schwartz’s latest. That’s a compliment, by the way.

It doesn’t start off all that badly. On Halloween night a triumphant little pumpkin merrily grins at the reader. “Here I stand, bright with light, proud and round. Tonight is my glory night. Call me Jack.” Its hubris doesn’t last long. The first unwelcome visitor is a chomping chewing mouse. The next a squirrel. Then come the slugs, a fly, and most dramatically the black rot. Once the rot’s set in it’s just a question of how quickly Jack will disintegrate. Schwartz fills his story with plenty of useful information, like the fact that low temperatures don’t slow most of the fungi that eat pumpkins. Or the strange nature of the plasmodium and its odd ways. By the end we see how life begins anew, thanks in large part to the creatures that help with decomposition. A glossary of terms and useful “Classroom Investigations” are found at the end of the book.

When we think of books told in a variety of different voices, our minds instantly think of some of the loftier titles for kids out there. Award winners. Collections of monologues. That sort of thing. So I think it would be particularly refreshing for kids to embody the characters in this book. I’m suddenly envisioning the world’s grossest school play, wherein our hero, the pumpkin, is eaten and devoured by his/her classmates, piece by piece. The characters, if you can call them that, aren’t delineated in the text by anything more than their images. Sections run together without chapter titles. I was also a bit sad that the photos were separate from the text, when it would have been nice to see the two integrated. That said, I did like the writing. It does a good job of telling a story, conveying some really interesting factual information, and grossing you out. Surprisingly, this is the book that actually explained Penicillium to me better than anything else I’ve ever read. Not being much of a scientist I confess that I’d always been a bit fuzzy (no pun intended) on what precisely it is that Penicillium does. I know the story of how it was discovered, but not why it works. Now I do.

It’s hard for me to pinpoint what the most disgusting moment of this book really is. Was it the title page with its leering jack-o-lantern leering, bedecked with a black mustache of pure mold? Was it instead the yeast swimming in the fermenting pumpkin, an almost peach colored jelly packed with white rods? No. For me, without a doubt, the honor lies squarely on the spores. We have photographer Dwight Kuhn to thank for that. Having worked on “more than 140 children’s books on nature and biology”, Kuhn had his work cut out for him when it came to some of the shots in this book. The squirrel was keen, the mouse divine, and the slugs sluggy, but the shot that impressed me the most was the extreme close-up of the fly. *shudder* You’d have to see it for yourself to understand why.

Who says the scariest Halloween books for kids are strictly fictional? With Rotten Pumpkin you’ve all the thrills of a typical horror story, laden with facts along the way. The hero at the top of his game. The downfall. The insidious, frankly disgusting, forces that eat away at him until he’s nothing left but a blackened husk of his former self. Oh, it’s thrilling stuff. With applications in the classroom, in the home, and on the stage, there’s nowhere this rotting corpse of a pumpkin doesn’t belong. So this holiday season don’t bother handing the kids yet another copy of Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark when they beg you for child-friendly horror fare. Just load them down with a little Rotten Pumpkin. Guaranteed to make hypochondriacs out of even the stiffest souls.

On shelves now.

Source: Final copy sent from publisher for review.

Like This? Then Try:

• A Little Book of Slime by Clint Twist

• The Dirt on Dirt by Paulette Bourgeois

• Pumpkin Shivaree by Rick Agran, illustrated by Sara Anderson

Other Blog Reviews:

• Mrs. ReaderPants
• The Armchair Librarian
• Second Bookshelf on the Right
• Cozy Little Book Journal
• Kid Lit Frenzy
• Novel Nutritious

Professional Reviews:

• A star from Kirkus
• Publishers Weekly

Interview: David M. Schwartz answers his own questions about the book.

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I am an architect with an architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley. I currently reside in Oakland, California. Most important, I love illustrating and storytelling and it all started when I was very little…

One of my most vivid and earliest memories as a young child was my drawing of an old man sitting on a stool. I couldn’t believe how lifelike he turned out! I showed my grandmother who immediately told my mom, “Did you know your daughter can draw?!” I fell in love with drawing ever since. Everyday after school I would watch cartoons and then try to create my own characters and stories. My school notebooks were often filled with more outlandish doodles than actual notes.

Here’s April:

Before I do any sketching at all, I will read a manuscript over and over many times.  Sometimes I even close my eyes and just brainstorm ideas.  This step is important to me because this is when all the initial images and emotions I get from a story start forming in my head.  I also start doing research and compiling photos at this point as I did for Summoning the Phoenix: Poems and Prose about Chinese Musical Instruments.

Then I start on rough thumbnail sketches.  Since I have a hard time drawing at a very small scale, my thumbnails are usually at half size.

Next I refine my thumbnail sketches.  I know that for this particular spread, I wanted the background to have a grandiose feeling of wind, waterfalls, and mountains that was reminiscent of a traditional Chinese painting.  This was the imagery that popped into my head when I did my initial brainstorming.

Sometimes I have a couple of options with different compositions.

Once the final thumbnail sketch is chosen, I will work on the final, full size sketch.

I scan the image into my computer and color in Photoshop.  Here is a final illustration of a girl playing the guzheng from Summoning the Phoenix: Poems and Prose about Chinese Musical Instruments (Shen’s Books, 2013).

How long have you been illustrating?

I have been drawing since as far back as I can remember.  I was definitely that kid in school that had her notebooks, binders, and backpack covered in doodles.  So technically I have been illustrating for almost my entire life.  But professionally, I started in January 2012.

I see you are an architect. When did you decide you wanted to illustrate a children’s book?

After being in the architectural profession for many years, I realized that I could never be totally passionate about building design.  I needed to do something that gave me the freedom to be more creative and whimsical.  So in 2009 I enrolled in a children’s book illustrating course at UC Berkeley Extension and I instantly fell in love with the combination of storytelling and art.  I knew this was the direction I wanted to go in.

Did you go to school for art? If so, where and what did you study?

No, I studied architecture at UC Berkeley.

What was the first thing you did where someone paid you for your artwork?

I recently had an art exhibit at a local ice cream parlor for the Oakland Art Walk.  I sold a few pieces from that show.

Have you done any work for children’s magazines?  

No, but I would love to!

I see that you are represented by Kendra Marcus at BookStop Literary Agency.  How did that come about?

Kendra was one of the speakers at the South San Francisco SCBWI Illustrator Day last September.  Her straightforward attitude and experience in the children’s book industry really stood out to me.  Another huge plus is that her office is located in the Bay Area.  Although I didn’t formally meet her at the event, I invited her to check out my art exhibit a few weeks afterwards.  It turns out she remembers my work from the Illustrator Day (which is always a good sign) and a week later we met up for coffee.

It looks like you have a signed a contract with Creston Books. Will this be your debut book?

No, the contract with Creston Books has a longer schedule (release date Fall 2014) so my debut book will actually be with Shen’s Books (2013).

Can you tell us a little bit about the book and how that contract came about?

Creston Books is a young, local publishing house started up by author and illustrator Marissa Moss.  In fact, the debut list of books is coming this Fall.  I met Marissa at her children’s book party this last summer.  At the time she was looking for an illustrator for a manuscript she had acquired.  She sent me the story to see if I would be interested.  The fictional story is comprised of beautiful, minimal text and strong imagery about a family living in a fishing village.  Once I read it, I accepted the offer.  The book is appropriately titled Village by the Sea.

It looks like you also are illustrating a non-fiction book with Shen’s Books.  How did that contract happen?

The author Emily Jiang picked up my postcard from the SCBWI LA Conference last year and thought that I would be a good fit to illustrate her book, Summoning the Phoenix: Poems and Prose about Chinese Musical Instruments.  Luckily, the publisher agreed.

Do you have any desire to write and illustrate your own book?

Yes, I would love to write and illustrate my own book.

Have you put together a portfolio geared for the children’s book industry?

Yes, I prepared a portfolio for the SCBWI LA Conference last year.  It’s a work in progress because I am constantly switching out and adding new pieces to it.

Have you made any book dummies to show off?

Yes, I have a couple of book dummies for stories that I have written and illustrated.  One story is about a magical fish ball called Little Me and the other is about an adventurous beagle called Frank the Monster.

Not counting your paint and brushes, what is the one thing in your studio that you could not live without?

My computer, but my coffeemaker would come in at a close second!

Do you try and spend a certain amount of hours every day working on your art?

It seems like for the last year, I haven’t gone one day without working on some kind of art project for at least a couple of hours.  Lately I have been working like crazy to meet the deadline for my first book.  I actually have to remind myself to get up and stretch every so often.  It’s hard to step away when I am really immersed in my work.

What is your favorite medium to use?

At the moment, it’s pencil and digital.

Do you take pictures or do any research before you start a project?

Researching is very important to me before I begin a project especially for the nonfiction book about Chinese musical instruments I am working on with Shen’s Books.  In this case, researching on the Internet was not adequate since I needed to have a good detailed look at each instrument.  Fortunately, there is a local Chinese youth symphony that allowed me to take photos during their practice.  I was able to get a firsthand look at how the musical instruments were played, what they sounded like, and what they looked like in real life.  All those elements eventually shaped the final artwork.

Do you think the Internet has opened doors for you?

Yes, the Internet is definitely a great marketing tool and is a convenient way for people to view my portfolio.  I was really opposed to social media sites at first but then I came to terms with the fact that it’s a necessary evil because it’s one of the main ways that people interact and stay connected nowadays.  So now I have learned to embrace it and to have fun with it.

Do you use Photoshop with your illustrations?

Yes, I scan my pencil drawings and then color them in Photoshop.

Do you own or have you ever tried a graphic Drawing Tablet? 

I own a Wacom Bamboo tablet.  It’s pretty basic but does the trick so far.

Do you think your style has changed over the years? Have your material changed?

I am constantly learning new things and refining my craft.  So I have definitely evolved as an illustrator but there are certain elements of my style that has carried through.  Initially I was set on being a traditional artist.  My medium of choice was either watercolor or colored pencil.  Then I ventured out and tried using Photoshop to tweak and then color the illustrations.  To me, it’s just another artist’s tool and I have never looked back since.  Now I am more comfortable with experimenting with other materials or I may even go back to using watercolor in the future.

How do you market yourself?

Besides using the Internet (updating Facebook, Twitter, my blog), I attend SCBWI events, hand out postcards, participate in art shows, and enter in art contests.  Bottom line is I try to get myself out there as much as possible because I never know who is going to see my artwork.

Do you have any career dreams that you want to fulfill?

I often daydream that I would follow in the footsteps of illustrators that I admire: Chris Van Allsburg, Brian Selznick, Shaun Tan…just to name a few.  Not only do they all have long lasting careers, but their work has also branched out into the world of film and animation.  If you’re going to dream, why not dream big!

What are you working on now?

I am working on my two book illustration projects, submitting a proposal for another art show, and developing some of my own stories and illustrations.

Do you have any material tips you can share with us? Example: Paint or paper that you love – the best place to buy – a new product that you’ve tired – A how to tip, etc.

I could not function without my iMac, Photoshop, Epson large format scanner, and Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffeemaker.

Any words of wisdom on how to become a successful illustrator?

I strongly believe that if you work hard and stay focused, you can achieve anything.  Success will follow naturally.  Stay inspired and don’t be discouraged because the path to success is different for everyone.  Last but not least, remember to have fun!

Thank you April for sharing you journey and process with us.  Please let us know when you picture books come out. We’d love to see them and cheer you on. You can visit April at: www.aprilchu.com

If you have a moment I am sure April would like to read your comments.  I enjoy reading them, too, even if I don’t have time to reply to all of them. Thanks!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Filed under: Advice, authors and illustrators, Illustrator's Saturday, inspiration, Interview, picture books, Process Tagged: April Chu, Creston Books, Illustrator Saturday

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Darlene Beck-Jacobson debut middle grade book contract was listed this past week in Publisher’s Marketplace.  Congratulations Darlene!  Here is the announcement:

Darlene Beck-Jacobson’s THE CARRIAGE MAKER’S DAUGHTER, set in the early 1900s in Washington, DC, racial intolerance, social change and sweeping progress create a turbulent stage for a twelve-year old, who prefers Papa’s carriage barn and the symphony of the blacksmith’s hammer to the proper expectations of females, and finds the strength to defend what she believes in when her comfortable way of life is threatened by racist neighbors, pitched as reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie, the girl to Marissa Moss at Creston Books, in a nice deal, for publication in Fall 2014, by Liza Fleissig at Liza Royce Agency (World English).

Gayle Krause’s YA Historical Romance, “The Storyteller’s Daughter” is the lead story in the Timeless Anthology, released this month from Pugalicious Press. It’s a mash-up of Scherazade, Aladdin and the real ancient Iranian Queen Homay. Love stories that transcend time. From a thousand years ago to the unknown future, Timeless will show how love is timeless. This anthology of love stories contains “The Storyteller’s Daughter” by Gayle C. Krause, “And The Nightingale Sang” by Kip Wilson, “A Light Of Victory” by Jennifer Carson, “The Angel Of The Bastille” by J.R. Sparlin, “Stella’s Hero” by Kristine Carlson Asselin & Ansha Kotyk, “In This Moment” by D. E. Atwood, and “It Lies Beneath” by Magda Knight.  Congratulations, Gayle!

Kristin Ostby has joined Simon & Schuster for Young Readers as editor. She was most recently a senior editor for Albert Whitman.

Longtime president and publisher of Viking Children’s Books Regina Hayes will relinquish that position and serve as editor-at-large, just as she celebrates her thirtieth anniversary at Penguin. Writers House agent Ken Wright will take over as vp and publisher of Viking Children’s on August 27, reporting to Penguin Children’s president Don Weisberg.

Keating Literary and Brick House are “formalizing what has been organically emerging over the past few years as a strong alliance” between the two and joining together to form Union Literary. Trena Keating and Sally Wofford-Girand are joined by Brick House senior agent Jenni Ferrari-Adler and newly promoted agent Kezia Toth under the new banner.

Kathy tomorrow,

Kathy

Filed under: Agent, authors and illustrators, awards, Editor & Agent Info, News, Publishing Industry Tagged: Creston Books, Display Comments Add a Comment