Photo Friday: Fast Asleep with Her Books

A dear friend sent this image of her daughter fast asleep among her pile of books. Hug Hug! is close by! May your totz drift off among good friends.

Photo Friday: Reading Hug Hug!

Here's a sweet tot, at a local signing, reading my Hug Hug! Adorable!

Happy Photo Friday! Send me your totz pics at readertotzatclearwiredotnet

Photototz: Call for entries

Joan and I are launching a segment called: Photototz! We are inviting all authors/illustrators to send a cover of their latest book AND a photo of when they were a tot. We'll stream these onto the blog and collect the entries in the sidebar. It should be fun!

If you'd like to participate, send your images to readertotzatclearwiredotnet Share a little baby smile and celebrate your recent release!

To get things going, here's mine. I'm a tot of 20 months. :~)

And if you are a parent or grandparent of a tot, feel free to send a photo of you reading together to the above address. We'll be happy to share it with our growing community!

Show us those baby faces, readertotz!

Illustrator Interview: Rebecca Malone

I'm so pleased with the illustrations for my text of Hug Hug! Rebecca's (Becky's) work is absolutely beautiful. I had to ask her a few questions to share the answers with you. So listen in with your totz...

Becky do you want to share your technique?

Sure, Lorie Ann! I use acrylic paint for my illustrations. First, I prepare an illustration board by coating it with two coats of gesso. When that is dry, I put a light coat of cadmium yellow paint over the whole surface to make sure that no white peeks through in the final painting. If some yellow peeks through that's ok -- I think it gives a nice warm feel to the finished illustration. The yellow background also helps me to keep my lights and darks in balance as I'm working.

I transfer my sketch to my prepared illustration board by rubbing the back of the sketch with a soft pencil. I then place it right side up on the board and trace over it.

Next comes the fun part -- putting on the color! I usually use no more than seven tubes of paint -- two blues, two reds, two yellows, and a white. I find that I can mix up almost any color I need with just those few tubes of paint.

Do you have a favorite spread?

Hmmm... I think maybe the owls ("Hugs in the dark.") -- they were fun to paint. I liked thinking about how safe and snug the babies would feel sleeping all together with their mom on that branch, listening to the night sounds in the cool forest air.

Lorie Ann: That's my favorite, too! And yet, I also love the curves of these dear chickens:

Can you tell us about the final painting in Hug Hug!?

Ok, now that one really is my favorite -- because the two people on that spread are me and my son! The stuffed animal that you see there was originally sketched out as a stuffed kitty -- which is my son's bedtime snuggle pal -- but the publisher asked me to change it to a bear. Every time my son looks at that spread he says, "Why didn't you tell them that I sleep with a kitty, not a bear?" -- I have to keep explaining to him that the publishers don't even know that the picture is of me and him... !!

Lorie Ann: And now they do!


Would you like to scan a preliminary sketch to share?

Sure -- here is my original sketch for that last spread of the book ("Hugs while we sleep."). You can see that the original is quite different from the final -- I showed more of the boy's bedroom... there was a lot more detail. I think the illustration that ended up in the book is successful because it really focuses in on what is important -- the mom and the son and the loving hug that they share.

Lorie Ann: I agree!


How will you celebrate Valentine's Day?
I hope to spend the day eating lots of chocolates and inhaling the perfume from the many bouquets of flowers that my husband will buy for me (Mike, if you're reading this... hint hint!).


Who are your favorite people or animals to share a hug with?

That's an easy one -- my husband Mike and my son Ryan are my favorite people to hug and to get hugs from. As for animals, the two that live with us -- our old chocolate lab named Grizz and our new little kitten named Friendly -- are my favorite animals to wrap my arms around.


Anymore books in the hopper?

As of this writing, I have three books under consideration with an editor and am working on a fourth that I hope to have ready to submit within the next few weeks -- it's a counting book featuring an omelette! No hugging in that one... ;^)


Do you have any websites/blogs to share so everyone can see more of your work?

Yes, thank you for asking -- my website is www.rebeccamaloneillustration.com -- if you check it out, you'll find more of my illustrations, some sketches, and even a few interior illustrations from "Hug Hug!".

Even Further Inside Scoop

Lorie Ann: Becky didn't know I had submitted a dummy to illustrate Hug Hug! But the publishing house felt her work was an even stronger fit for my text this round. Here's an illustration from my dummy. It always is so nice when the illustrator has the same vision. This was true throughout. Look at how similar our chickens are!

Many thanks to Becky for gifting my text with such beautiful art. Thanks to Little Simon for combining our strengths!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Randomly, I'll award a comment on this post on Valentine's Day with a copy of Hug Hug! Best to you each!

It's been so fun to see our work in Barnes & Noble this February. Woohoo!

Hug Hug!, by Lorie Ann Grover and Rebecca Malone, Little Simon, 2009

Hug Hug! Press Release

Immediate Release

CO-FOUNDER OF READERGIRLZ AND READERTOTZ CELEBRATES A NEW BOARD BOOK: HUG, HUG!

Author/illustrator Lorie Ann Grover's new board book for babies and toddlers embodies the love of a hug.


December 16, 2008 (Seattle, Wash.) – readergirlz and readertotz co-founder and author/illustrator Lorie Ann Grover's new board book Hug Hug! has just been released from Little Simon. Endearingly illustrated by Rebecca Malone, the work beautifully expresses love from the largest animals to the smallest bug.

Hugs with our noses. (elephants) Hugs in red roses. (ladybugs)

Hugs round the neck. (giraffes) Hugs with a peck. (chickens)

"I loved the thought that we all snuggle and hug each other," says Grover. "It was exemplified as I watched Sumner High School band students greeting each other, and swallows were nesting in the school vents. Pairing a rhyme with each spread was the perfect format to mimic a hug and share this concept with parents and their babies."

Hug Hug! is a sturdy board book which introduces a love of reading to preschoolers and reinforces the comfort of a hug.

About readergirlz, readertotz, Lorie Ann Grover, and Rebecca Malone

readergirlz is the foremost online book community for teen girls, led by six critically acclaimed YA authors. The site is the recipient of a 2007 James Patterson PageTurner Award and the Association for Library Services to Children, ALA, Great Web Sites Award. www.readergirlz.com

readertotz is a blog which showcases infant-toddler books as an important addition to children's literature. http://readertotz.blogspot.com

Lorie Ann Grover is the author of three young adult verse novels (Loose Threads, On Pointe, Hold Me Tight) and three board books (When Daddy Comes Home, Hug Hug!, Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish). http://lorieanngrover.blogspot.com

Rebecca Malone is an illustrator from Massachusetts who enjoys creating beautiful works with acrylic paints. www.rebeccamaloneillustration.com

Contact information:
Email: lorieanngrover@clearwire.net
Website: http://lorieanngrover.blogspot.com