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Petook : An Easter Story

By Caryll Houselander; illustrated by Tomie de Paola

I recently stumbled upon this Easter book from 1988, and recognizing the author as Caryll Houselander, spiritual author, counselor, and artist, I was doubly surprised to see its illustrator was none other than  renowned author/illustrator, Tomie dePaola.

For parents and grands looking to introduce the “new life” Christian story of the resurrection, minus some of the details that young readers may not be ready to hear, this is a book that handles it well.

Listen to Tomie’s note at the book’s rear:

                 We chose Petook because

                 of its Easter message of birth,

                 rebirth, and resurrection.

                 Petook’s joy at the emergence of

                 new life from the egg certainly

                 echoes the  joy of Christ’s

                 emergence from the tomb.

                 It also breathes new life into

                 the age-old symbol of the Easter

                 egg, helping the reader become

                 aware that it is more than just

  the tasty chocolate treat that we

 associate with Easter today.

                 Without symbols such as this,

                 Christianity becomes pale.

 

Tomie de Paola

August 15, 1987

Meet Petook, a proud and happy father of a brood of twelve newly hatched chicks in a vineyard. New mom, Martha, is just as proud:

            As for his wife Martha, the brown-

           speckled hen, plain and homely soul

           though she was, she had become all

           grand and important.

Amid all this joy and celebration, a stranger enters the vineyard. There are the clear impressions of a child’s feet coming from the road to Jerusalem. Petook’s fatherly concerns are evident:

              I am sure that they were a

              boy’s footsteps and boys are

              sometimes careless, even when

              they’re not cruel. He might tread

              on one of the chicks.

Trodden and crushed fruit in the vineyard confirms the intruder.

But, Petook need not have worried about this young visitor.

He displays gentle wonder at the sight of Martha gathering the chicks under her wings.

                His hands, which were thin

                and golden-colored, were

                spread out like protecting

                wings over Martha. His lips

                were slightly parted, his eyes

                shining. So rapt was he that

                Petook thought, “It must be

                the first time that he has seen

                a hen gathering her chickens.”

Instinctively, Petook knows that someone and something amazing visited the vineyard, and he reacts in typical rooster fashion:

                  Petook preened himself.

                  He strutted up and down,

                  and round and round. He

                  noticed every detail of the

                  day, just as people notice

                  every detail of a picture if

                  it is rare and lovely and one

                  which may not be seen again.

                  …Suddenly for sheer joy,

                  Petook lifted his head and

                  crowed.

Years pass and Petook is now quite old, and yet he is aware of something in the air on a particular day that is an unease, and in the distance is the hill of Calvary where …the three tall trunks always stood. Only when someone was to die were they there.

Ms. Houslander’s picture book does not belabor the death of the now grown young visitor of the vineyard from years before, as it is seen by Petook distantly.

His reaction is one of sadness, yet expectant hope at the new batch of chicks that wife, Martha, is about to hatch.

New life emerges from an egg for Petook and Martha on Easter morning, just as it does from another place of resurrection, seen in the distance, simultaneous to the hatchling’s arrival:

                 Petook threw back his head

                and crowed and crowed and

                crowed. His red comb burned

                in glory, the white feathers in

                his plumage dazzled in the light,

                the new chicken danced at his

                feet. He crowed again and again.

 

                     It was Easter Morning.

For young parents attempting to emphasize the holyday aspects of the celebration of Easter, here is a thoughtful picture book  allowing young readers a view of the miracle of resurrection through their faith beliefs, yet it is also mirrored and played out simultaneously in the relatable miracle of nature, providing the continuance and hope of new life.   

More Irish Tales and Stories

If you’re searching for some tales on St. Patrick himself, who by the by was NOT Irish, but British, look no further than that sweet leprechaun Tomie de Paola, and his picture book, “Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland.” It’s a wonderful collection of stories of a saint that returned to the land of his Irish kidnappers – to convert them. Talk about forgiveness during the Lenten season!

And Tomie also has a slew of books that define the Irish picture book folk tale, namely “Fin M’coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill”, “Jamie O’Rourke and the Giant Potato” and “Jamie O’Rourke and the Pookah.” Any of these are as grand as a fine Irish mist to charm your young reader.

My entry for the Tomie dePaola Award.

Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs

By Tomie de Paola

Earlier this week, our parish suddenly lost its pastor, Very Reverend Leonard J. Gilman, O.Carm. I lost a friend. His passing was sudden and swift.

I learned a lesson that I had always instinctively known, but never fully intuited; that nothing is promised, except life, and love, which is eternal.

Picture book authors have tried for years in many iterations to make some sense of death to the children that it touches. They attempt to couch death and its loss in ways that enable children to cope, process and understand its concept. Yet, even for adults, it’s a very long learning curve.

I am thinking of the 8th grade class from the parish Academy about to graduate on Friday with joy and promise, and in an instant, their friend and pastor is gone. For it is still a mystery that we ponder; how one moment someone is here and full of life; and the next, they are not. Nothing is promised.

Let me amend that. Life is promised, as pure gift, during the time we have it. It is full of hope, opportunity, growth, challenge and most of all, love. We must teach that also to our children.

One of the earliest picture books to treat the concept of death for children was Tomie de Paola’s 1973 “Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs.”

This autobiographical picture book resonated its larger theme to young readers everywhere. And it still does today. It’s a classic. I think I will reread it today.

Every Sunday young Tommy visits his two grandparents. Busy downstairs, his first floor grandma is all bustling activity, and upstairs his 94 year young great grandmother is confined to bed.

When his upstairs great grandmother dies he is bereft, yet his mother comforts him with these words, “..she will come back in your memory whenever you think of her.” So long as a person’s name is uttered and spoken of in memory, they live on. Fine words for young readers to hold onto in the face of such a mystery.

Death is a universal theme in books, but I hope young readers take hold of the idea also that a person’s presence while here leaves ripples in other lives, far beyond their own. They were here, they influenced us and loved us – and that too is a reality they should be encouraged to embrace.

Fr. Leonard’s ripples will be forever felt, but they are also printed in words on the plaque near the front door of the church community he served:

                    “No matter who you are,

                     no matter what you’ve done,

                     no matter where you’re from,

                    no matter where you’re going,

                     no matter how good or bad

                     things may seem, you are

                     always welcome.”

Life is blessed by the people that pass our way. Let’s pass that concept along to our children, too.

More Irish Tales and Stories

If you’re searching for some tales on St. Patrick himself, who by the by was NOT Irish, but British, look no further than that sweet leprechaun Tomie de Paola, and his picture book, “Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland.” It’s a wonderful collection of stories of a saint that returned to the land of his Irish kidnappers – to convert them. Talk about forgiveness during the Lenten season!

And Tomie also has a slew of books that define the Irish picture book folk tale, namely “Fin M’coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill”, “Jamie O’Rourke and the Giant Potato” and “Jamie O’Rourke and the Pookah.” Any of these are as grand as a fine Irish mist to charm your young reader.

We miss him but Lin's Skype interview with Tomie was fantastic! Hardly any technical difficulties!

Lin starts by telling us Tomie has published 250 or so books over fifty years, she asks him the secret of sustaining a lifelong career.

Tomie: Courage!

Lin: Courage to...

Tomie: Just courage! I get up in the morning and I have to face a blank piece of paper and my brushes all clean and ready to go. I panic, I freeze, I know I'm going to make a mistake... By then it's the afternoon! 

Without scaring anybody, I think it gets worse! The more you know. You know, fools rush in, now it's all of these pressures that come from the outside, it's really hard to put them in their place. I'm so aware of the responsibility I have for creating something for young people.

Lin: When you were starting out were you aware of that responsibility? Or did you just really want to make picture books and felt your art was suitable?

Tomie: It was a bit of both. You know, the 'fame mosquito' buzzes around for a while, and you want that in the early days. 

And eventually you will have a HUGE disappointment in your career, and you ask yourself why you are doing this?

Why are you doing books for children?

And I realized it was because they'd been important to me, in my life as a child, and I wanted to be that for new generations. I was lucky to have this epiphany early on.

Lin: Is there something you hope your books say to kids? Or is it that you want to create an atmosphere of something beautiful for them. 

Tomie: All of that. I want kids to fall in love color and line and character, I want to make people laugh and cry...

Lin: Your books have such a present sense of childhood, what you do you think gives you that fresh sense?

• Don't ever try to illustrate something you don't like.

• You and your art director speak the same foreign language.

• Don't get so busy with your work (Tomie's speaking to artists and art directors here) that you stop looking at others' art and going to shows. Have your household gods, surround yourself with images you love.

• You should be able to tell the story of a picture book just by looking at the pictures.

• Try reading The Courage To Create, modern society almost doesn't understand the creative act. So know you'll probably be misunderstood and try to make something anyway.

I've found that the best of these books spoke to my kids when they were pre-readers, but still continue to draw them back again and again, as they uncover more in the multilayered stories. So without further ado, here are the Fitzgerald family's Top 5 Wordless Books.

Little Poems for Tiny Ears

Poems by Lin Oliver; illustrations by Tomie de Paola

After a long harsh winter, spring beckons with an invitation to warmer days and newness in nature and it’s all on the cusp of a special delivery by Mother Nature. So why not celebrate spring AND National Poetry Month come April, with some great introductory books to rhythm and rhyme for your young readers.

Little Poems for Tiny Ears is a great place to start, presenting poems by Lin Oliver, New York Times bestselling author of some twenty-five books and co-founder of the Society of Children’s Book Writers. And the book’s illustrations dovetail charmingly and fittingly with the lively material and are rendered by none other than that “living treasure” of picture book fame, one Tomie de Paola.  He is the recipient of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his contributions to children’s literature, the Regina Medal, the Smithson Medal from the Smithsonian AND the 2012 Original Art Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Illustrators. How could you go awry with a picture book “curriculum vitae” from headliners of such imagination as these two?  Both poems and art deliver the goods.

And speaking of deliveries, these poems are designed to deliver the wonder of poetry to the newest picture book devotees in the neighborhood – tiny tots. The titles and subject matter for the poems are perfect for the experience of joy found in the everyday awaiting the youngest among us. We, adults tend to forget as we are distanced from childhood, that everyday becomes not so commonplace when experienced for the first time or remembered from our own childhoods. When set to rhyme those experiences become even more immediate and memorable. And, we get a chance to experience some of the firsts all over with, and through the eyes and voice of a child in these poems.  

In the story hour that I have weekly with three, four and five year olds, I am introducing them to many Mother Goose rhymes. Last week we did The Three Little Kittens. Remember those kitties that lost their mittens? These tots loved the rhythm and energetically acted out the story of finding, washing and drying those lost and dirtied mittens so they may partake of the pie. I remember lots of nursery rhymes from my own childhood and I do believe that they fire up the imagination early to begin fueling it for a lifetime of reading. Isn’t it sad that so many of these early introductions to poetry have been lost in the race to the chapter book?

But never fear; there are still many Mother Goose rhymes to be shared if you are so inclined, and also new entry vehicle books for sharing and seeding the love of poetry with a young reader. Small Poems for Tiny Ears is a good place to start this April!

Here are but a few of the titles of the poems within this book for the tiny-eared set. Even for a slightly older reader, they can be used to reminisce about their younger days when things like My High Chair, Peekaboo, and Belly Button loomed large in their world.  The poems include titles of time honored tot-relatable subjects such as Blankie, My Mobile and In My Stroller.

Tomie de Paola’s softly hued borders for the poems add the perfect poetic punch to his calming and comforting illustrations. Great job, Tomie!

If you want a book that has wonderfully imaginative poetry, complemented by illustrations brimming with the discovery of  “tot-topia”, all spoken through the tiny voices of its discoverers, Little Poems for Tiny Ears is EAR RESISTIBLE! Here’s a sample.

My High Chair

 

I like to drop food from my chair.

It lands kerplop, but I don’t care.

I watch it fall down to the floor.

It’s so much fun, I toss some more.

 

 

My mom says no, my dad says please

Stop launching bits of toast and cheese.

They’re right – I will try hard to stop.

But first….just one more small kerplop!

 

And this book provides the PERFECT gift, too, as the back flap, covered with sensational complementary designs by Tomie de Paola, wraps around the front, and when sealed with the included stickers, your gift is good to go! Gift your own young reader or a young friend you may know with Little Poems for Tiny Ears this April!

I have a sister.  Did you know that?  Tis true.  She’s not a librarian and her interest in children’s literature pretty much begins and ends with me, which is probably why she hasn’t come up before.  One thing she is?  Crafty.  Crafty as all get out.  And the kicker is that she’s just started this new blog called The How To, How Hard, and How Much to Your Creative Products.  Here’s how she describes it:

What if there was a blog out there that took Pinterest ideas and showed people how to do it, how much time it took, how much money was spent, and had a level of expertise (1-5). Maybe even sell the final product. Is this something people would read? Has it already been done? How could I rope guys into doing it (other than if it involved mustaches and bacon)? I’ve never blogged before but I feel like it might be helpful, especially since the holiday season is quickly approaching. People could even send me recommendations and I could do those as well.

And make it she has.  Amongst other things she has a wide range of Halloween ideas including spider cookies, 5 minute ideas, and my personal favorite, the cleaver cupcakes.  In fact, if you could just repin those cupcakes onto your Pinterest boards she’d be mighty grateful (there’s a contest she’s entering them into).  But of special interest to the blog (aside from outright nepotism) was her recent posting on literary jewelry where she turned a book of mine into a bracelet.  Nicely done, l’il sis.

• I attended the Society of Illustrators event the other day (did you know the place is free on Tuesdays?!) and the New York Times Best Illustrated results are on the cusp of an announcement soon.  Both lists are chosen by artists as well as librarian types, and so one could consider them the form with which artists are allowed to voice their opinions about the best of the year (just as the National Book Awards are how authors talk about writing).  Still, there are those that have disliked the Caldecott from the outset because it is decided not by artists but librarians.  Robin Smith recently dug up a 1999 interview with Barry Moser voicing just such a concern.  A hot little discussion then emerged in the Horn Book comments.  Go!  See!

• Brian Biggs + Jon Scieszka + 6 way auction = interesting.

• I think a fair number of us have seen Business Insider’s Most Famous Book Set in Every State map by this point, but I’d just like to mention that what pleases me the most about it is the fact that they included children’s books as well as adult.  Six children’s and one YA novel by my count.

• Let’s Talk About Dav Pilkey, Captain Underpants, and Misogyny.  So says author Lynn Messina.  Interesting title, no?

• And since we’re on an interesting title kick, let’s throw out another one.  True or False? Multicultural Books Don’t Sell.  We’ve all heard that argument before.  Now an actual honest-to-god bookseller tackles the question.  You may normally know Elizabeth Bluemle from the ShelfTalker blog at PW, but here she’s guest talking at Lee & Low.  Cleverly, she specifies whether or not we are talking about how they don’t sell to kids or how they don’t sell to adults.  Without giving anything away, let me just say that her experiences mirror my own in the library.

In other press release news, I am shocked and appalled that I wasn’t aware of this until now.  I mean, I knew that Kate Beaton, the genius behind Hark, A Vagrant, was working on children’s books.  What I did not know was how close to fruition my dream of shelving her in my children’s sections truly was.  The Wired blog Underwire, of all places, was the one with the scoop when they interviewed Ms. Beaton.  She discusses the book, which contains her most famous creation (the fat pony) and a princess.  Says she about princesses in general, “. . . for little girls historically [princesses] are the only people like them who had any power at all. It’s not just oh, princes and dresses. It’s also, here’s a person with agency. Is she just someone who wants a pretty dress and prince? Or is she a warrior living in a battle kingdom? I think it just depends on how you depict what a princess is.”  I think we know the direction Ms. Beaton will go in.  And I waaaant it.  Thanks to Seth Fishman for the link.

• As slogans go, this might be one of my favorites: “Kill time. Make history”.  How do you mean?  Well, NYPL is looking for a few good bored folks. Say they, “The New York Public Library is training computers how to recognize building shapes and other information from old city maps. Help us clean up the data so that it can be used in research, teaching and civic hacking.”  Sometimes I just love my workplace.

• Me stuff time.  Or rather, stuff I’m doing around and about the world that you might like to attend.  You see, on November 6th I’ll be interviewing legendary graphic novelist Paul Pope at 4pm at the Mulberry Street library branch here in NYC.  If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Pope’s name, all you really need to know is that he’s a three time Eisner Award winning artist who wrote the recent GN Battling Boy and whose work is currently on display at the Society of Illustrators on their second floor (which just means I get to tell you again that you can get in for free on Tuesdays).  This event will also be free.  If you’ve ever wondered what the “Mick Jagger of graphic novels” would look like, you’ll find out soon enough.

• Also going on in NYC, they have transferred Allegra Kent’s Ballerina Swan to the stage for kids.  Makes perfect sense when you put it that way.

• This is utterly delightful.  Recently Picture Book Month’s Education Consultant Marcie Colleen contacted me with this awesome PDF entitled Picture Book Month Teacher’s Guide: Why Picture Books Belong in Our Classrooms.  It was so useful, in fact, that I tapped her for an upcoming Children’s Literary Salon about the Core Curriculum.  More about that later, though . . .

• My reaction to finding out that Henry Selick was going to direct Adam Gidwitz’s A Tale Dark and Grimm was simple.  The best possible person is doing the best possible thing and is making everyone happy in the process.  My sole concern?  Selick’s going live action on this.  What was the last live action film he directed?  Monkeybone, you say?  Ruh-roh.  Thanks to PW Children’s Bookshelf for the link.

Here is my entry to the annual Tomie dePaola Award.

He gave us all the challenge to produce an illustration in black & white – something I don't normally do. But I'm always up for a challenge!

We were to choose a passage, line or description from one of the following classic books to illustrate: “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, or “The Yearling” by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

I chose this passage from "Little Women":
As Christmas apporached, the usual mysteries began to hunt the house, and Jo frequently convulsed the family by proposing utterly impossible, or magnificently absurd ceremonies, in honor of this unusally merry Christmas. Laurie was equally impracticable, and would have had bonfires, sky-rockets, and triumphal arches, if he had had his own way. After many skirmishes and snubbings, the ambitious pair were considered effectually quenched, and went about with forlon faces, shich were rather belied by explosions of laughter when the two got together. Several days of unusually mild weather fitly ushered in a splendid Christmas-day. Hannah “felt in her bones that it was going to be an uncommonly plummy day,” and she proved herself a true prophetess, for everybody and everything seemed bound to produce a grand success. To begin with: Mr. March wote that he should soon be with them; then Beth felt uncommonly well that morning, and, being dressed in her mother’s gift, – a soft merino wrapper, – was bourne in triumph to the window, to behold the offering of Jo and Laurie. The Unquenchables had done their best to be worthy of the name, for, like elves, they had worked by night, and conjured up a comical surprise. Out in the garden steed a stately snow-maiden, crowned with holly, bearing a basket of fruit and flowers in one hand, a great roll of new music in the other, a perfect rainbow of an Afghan round her chilly shoulders, and a Christmas carol issuing from her lips, on a pink paper streamer: – 

“THE JANGFRAU TO BETH. 
“God bess you, dear Queen Bess! 
May nothing you dismay; 
But health, and peace, and happiness, 
Be yours, this Christmas-day. 

“Here’s fruit to feed our busy bee, 
And flowers for her nose; 
Here’s music for her pianee,–
 An Afghan for her toes. 

“A portrait of Joanna, see, 
By Raphael No. 2, 
Who labored with great industry, 
To make it fair and true. 

“Accept a ribbon red I beg, 
For Madam Purrer’s tail; 
And ice cream made by lovely Peg,– 
A Mont Blanc in a pail. 

Their dearest love my makers laid 
Within my breast of snow. 
Accept it, and the Alpine maid, 
From Laurie and from Jo.” 

How Beth laughed when she saw it! How Laurie ran up and down to bring in the gifts, and what ridiculous speeches Jo made as she presented them!

It was kind of a kooky idea, I admit it.  I’ve seen plenty of sites where artists will reinterpret someone like Maurice Sendak in their own styles.  What I wanted was something a little different.  I wanted to see what would happen if great children’s book illustrators illustrated one another.  If a Lobel illustrated a Bemelmans.  If a Carle illustrated a Silverstein.  Trouble is, famous folk have a way of not bothering to illustrate one another (to say nothing of the fact that a bunch of them are dead as doornails).  The solution?  To offer a silly fun challenge.  And so the Re-Seussification Project was offered: To re-illustrate any Dr. Seuss book in the style of another illustrator.

Now there was some question at first about revealing the identities of the people making the mash-ups.  Some folks thought this fun contest was unfortunate because I wasn’t celebrating the great talents of up-and-coming artists.  So as a compromise, I’ll present the art first and then the names of the artists at the bottom of the page.  Makes it a little more streamlined anyway.

And now . . . the moment you’ve all been waiting for . . . in the order of the faux artists, here’s the lot!

So, we’re all friends here, right?  Right off the bat I’m going to make a confession.  In offering this contest all I really wanted was for someone somewhere to do an Eric Carle.  It was a lot to ask since we’re talking about an artist dealing in the medium of cut paper.  It looked like it wasn’t going to happen.  Then, last night, the final submission was sent in and it was . . .

1. GREEN EGGS AND HAM IN AN ERIC CARLE STYLE

A brilliant way to start us off!

Next up, I’ve fond memories of this book.  As a child of Kalamazoo I was slightly obsessed with any and every mention of my hometown, no matter where it might be.  Dr. Seuss was one of the few authors to understand the true glory of my hometown’s name and for that I shall forever be grateful.  It lifts my heart a little then to see him memorialized in the form of . . .

2. HORTON HATCHES THE EGG IN A LAURENT DE BRUNHOFF STYLE

I particularly like how worried Babar appears.  One thing’s for certain.  That elephant bird is gonna be one snappy dresser.

This next image didn’t go the easy route, no sir.  Some illustrators have styles that are easier to imitate than others.  For this next one I was incredibly impressed by the sheer details at work.  From the border to the font to the colors to the fact that this looks like an honest-to-gosh watercolor.  Hold onto your hats folks, for you are now in the presence of . . .

3. GREEN EGGS AND HAM IN A TOMIE DEPAOLA STYLE

The best part is that his name is signed with dePaola’s customary little heart.  THAT is the attention to detail I crave.

The National Education Association (NEA) has teamed up with the NEA Foundation to host “The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse Charity Auction.”

The proceeds derived from the Internet auction will benefit the NEA Foundation’s “Art Inspires Learning, Learning Inspires Art” initiative. This project funds arts education grants for teachers. Follow this link to check out the artwork.

Here’s more from the release: “This initiative was inspired by Eric Carle‘s picture book The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, which celebrates imagination and artistic freedom. Each donated piece of art will feature that artist’s interpretation of a horse and celebrates imagination and the many and varied ways that each artist sees the world around him/her. The auction will include three waves of art: Group 1 will take place October 17th-27th. Group 2 will take place October 31st-November 10th. Group 3 will take place November 14th-24th.”

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: October 1, 2011

Here’s the scoop on the most popular destinations on The Children’s Book Review site, the most coveted new releases and bestsellers.

David Teague: Professor, Author, Dreamer

Best Halloween Books for Kids: Scary, Spooky, and Silly

20 Sites to Improve Your Child’s Literacy

Review: Scat by Carl Hiaasen

Where to Find Free eBooks for Children Online

THE NEW RELEASES

The most coveted books that release this month:

Heroes of Olympus, The, Book Two: The Son of Neptune

by Rick Riordan

(Ages 9-11)

Ranger’s Apprentice: The Lost Stories

by John Flanagan

(Ages 9-12)

If You Give a Dog a Donut

by Laura Numeroff (Author), Felicia Bond (Illustrator)

(Ages 3-7)

The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse

by Eric Carle

(Ages 0-5)

The Mysterious Benedict Society: Mr. Benedict’s Book of Perplexing Puzzles, Elusive Enigmas, and Curious Conundrums

by Trenton Lee Stewart, Diana Sudyka

(Ages 8-12)

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: January 10, 2011

As announced by the American Library Association (ALA), the “Laura Ingalls Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. The 2011 winner is Tomie dePaola, author and illustrator of over 200 books, including: “26 Fairmont Avenue” (Putnam, 1999), “The Legend of the Poinsettia” (Putnam, 1994), “Oliver Button Is a Sissy” (Harcourt, 1979) and “Strega Nona” (Prentice-Hall, 1975).”

Congratulations, Mr. dePaola!

We invite our readers to revisit our 2008 interview with Tomie dePaola …

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By: Katie B., on 11/20/2009
Blog: First Book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Frank Bruni, Unfriend, Bark for Books, Robert B. Parker, Strega Nona, Nick Hornby, Books & Reading, Kate Jacobs, Literacy Links and Articles, Word of the year, New Oxford American Dictionary, Tomie dePaola, Add a tag

Kids books: A conversation with ‘Strega Nona’ author Tomie dePaola
Tomie dePaola, author of “Strega Nona’s Harvest,” talks about the grandmotherly Italian witch/folk healer and her magic pasta pot.

What to Give & What to Get
More than 40 Penguin authors are sharing book recommendations for holiday gift-giving as part of Penguin’s What to Give & What to Get campaign. Check out videos of authors Nick Hornby, Kate Jacobs, Robert B. Parker and Frank Bruni who share favorite books on camera.

Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend
The New Oxford American Dictionary chose Facebook’s  “unfriend” as its 2009 Word of the Year, according to the OUP blog.

Bark for Books
A fun-filled, literary, family event with author readings, illustration workshops, and opportunities to buy books signed by the authors and illustrators (or “pawed” by protagonists) — just in time for the holidays! The books make thoughtful gifts for the animal-loving children in your life, and extras can be donated to the League’s Read-2-Me program, which provides humane-themed books to classrooms, school libraries and students.

Word Play: Going global
Interested in more than what the U.S. children’s market has to offer? The LA Times shares new imports from British, Dutch and French authors.

Overdue library books returned half century later
A high school librarian in Phoenix says a former student at the school returned two overdue books checked out 51 years ago along with a $1,000 money order to cover the fines.

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By: Maxwell Eaton III, on 9/29/2009
Blog: Maxwell Eaton III (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Tomie dePaola, Tom Wolfe, Mister Frog, Add a tag

Is it just me or does Tomie dePaola's character, Mister Frog, look a lot like Tom Wolfe?

0 Comments on Mister Frog and Mister Wolfe as of 9/29/2009 5:33:00 PM

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By: SCBWI, on 8/10/2009
Blog: The Official SCBWI 10th Annual New York Conference Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  craft, Richard Peck, Tomie dePaola, SCBWI Master Class, Add a tag

A clip of the SCBWI Master Class with Richard Peck is being shown as conference goers filter into the ball room, on this, our last day of the conference.




Master Class DVDs can be ordered soon through the SCBWI MARKETPLACE. There are two: Richard Peck and Tomie dePaola, two men who could be listened to all day long. But, if you are lucky enough to be here, you can pick them up in the bookstore.

POSTED BY JOLIE STEKLY

4 Comments on SCBWI Master Class, last added: 8/10/2009

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Sarah said, on 8/10/2009 12:15:00 PM

these clips are great! and i think it is hilarious that before they begin their mouths are covered with the "play arrow", as if they are being censored. LOL. Love it. Love 'em.

Sarah said, on 8/10/2009 12:16:00 PM

btw, i think more comments would be here but there is something "quirkY' goin' on with the post comment button. It always tells me "error" 2 or 3 times before I get my comment to post...

Steve Brezenoff said, on 8/10/2009 1:42:00 PM

I just want to recommend that Richard Peck DVD. It's positively brilliant and genuinely helpful. I watched in on the flight back from the NY SCBWI in February, right after buying it, and find it invaluable. When I'm stuck on something, I often pop it in again.

Kristin Tubb said, on 8/10/2009 3:20:00 PM

I agree with Steve - the Richard Peck DVD is wonderful! I bought it in NY as well, and it is so inspirational.

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