It's the perfect to time to enjoy the season with Welcome Spring! Jill Ackerman describes the joys that a child might encounter. She might smell the flowers, hear the birds, or have raindrops land on her nose. But regardless of the experiences, the child is "safe and dry in Mommy's arms."
Nancy Davis' stylized, flat, sharp-edged imagery is captivating in it's simplicity and brilliance.
Inserted textiles add dimension to the work as well. Satin flowers, silver smooth rain, and plastic rain boots are fun to touch. An additional flap reveals the child and mother happy under the red umbrella. Be sure to note that the rain and sun cause the tulips to open and the butterflies to appear.
Welcome spring with your readertotz!
Welcome Spring by Jill Ackerman Illustrated by Nancy Davis Design by Pamela Notarantonio Scholastic, 2008
This just in from Paula Yoo, writing Moms and Dads. Have FUN!
NATIONAL PICTURE BOOK WRITING WEEK ("NaPiBoWriWee") 7 Picture Books in 7 Days! Sponsored by www.paulayoo.com
In the spirit of National Novel Writing Month ("NaNoWriMo") where people across the country try to write a complete novel in one month, the fine folks at www.paulayoo.com have decided to start the first ever National Picture Book Writing Week, affectionately nicknamed "NaPiBoWriWee."
The goal? To write 7 picture books in 7 days.
To summarize, the basic rules:
1. Midnight May 1st to 11:59 p.m. May 7th: Write 7 separate and complete picture books. 2. You are NOT allowed to write the same picture book in 7 variations. Each book must be complete and separate. 3. No minimum word count. Instead, each book must have a clear beginning, middle and end. 4. You are allowed to brainstorm and research book topics before May 1st. 5. You are NOT allowed to write a single word of your draft until midnight May 1st. 6. There is NO minimum word count required. The fine folks of NaPiBoWriWee require nothing but your word of honor. We will embrace the Honor Code. If you say you have written 7 complete picture book drafts in 7 days, we will believe you. Besides, why would you lie to us? You're writing picture books for little children! Picture Book Authors are nice, honest people who would never lie! 7. Please register on http://paulayoo.com/ in order to write comments on Paula's blog every day with your progress and questions. 8. If you plan to blog about your NaPiBoWriWee journey, please include a link to: http://paulayoo.com/ 9. A winner will be chosen from random of all the people who comment from May 1-7 on http://paulayoo.com/. That winner will receive an autographed copy of Paula Yoo's latest picture book biography, "SHINING STAR: THE ANNA MAY WONG STORY" (Lee & Low Books 2009) by June 2009 when the book is released. 10. For those of you attending the national Society of Children Book Writers & Illustrators (http://scbwi.org/) conference in August, let me know and I'll arrange for an informal gathering during the conference so we can meet in person and celebrate our first NaPiBoWriWee!
Mother's Day is May 10th! Drop a comment for a chance to win Joan’s board book, Glorious Grandmas. Good luck, and don’t forget to check back to see if you’ve won next Wednesday (May 6) when we'll announce the winner and also post a new contest for yet another book!
Congratulations PoloPony, you're the winner of Marvelous Moms in last Wednesdays Win! Please email joanholub at aol dot com with a snailmail to send to.
I've been a Biscuit fan since the first I Can Read early reader titled Biscuit was released in 1997. I remember precisely how I first became aware of the book. I was standing in a Barnes & Noble store in Seattle when I overheard two young girls talking about Biscuit and saying how much they loved him. Of course, I took a look at the book myself after that and fell in love with the simplicity and charm of this character. It's not easy creating a book with minimal text that still manages to hold the attention and garner the love of young readers. Yet there's a need for these books. (This one's cited for ages 2-6.)
Since then, there have been many more early readers and board books featuring Biscuit, the little yellow puppy. Now we have Biscuit Visits the Petting Zoo. Biscuit and his girl go to a petting zoo where they meet various other animals who have woolly, fuzzy, silky, etc, features which young readers can stroke to learn what 'woolly' and 'furry' feel like. I'm a fan of touch-and-feel books and totz seem to love them, too!
Intery, mintery, cutery corn, Apple seed and apple thorn; Wire, brier, limber-lock, Five geese in a flock, Sit and sing by a spring, O-u-t, and in again.
Your totz can help birds build their nests. Have them place brightly colored pieces of yarn or string about 2-3 inches long (or clothes dryer lint) outside on tree branches and shrubs. In the following days, your totz can watch for nests made with their help.
Mother's Day is May 10th! Drop a comment for a chance to win Joan Holub's fuzzy board book, Marvelous Moms. Good luck, and don’t forget to check back to see if you’ve won next Wednesday (April 29) when we'll announce the winner and also post a new contest for yet another book!
Get ready for giggles and wiggles as you sit down to read Beware the Tickle Monster! with your totz!
Author Craig Yoe encourages the reader not to be worried about cyclops, dragons, or trolls. Do be worried about the "four-eyed, three-horned, little, furry tickle monster!" With alliteration and assonance that build, your child will be anticipating that last spread where he "gets you!"
Aaron Zenz does a wonderful job creating these characters in a way that they remain playful and fun, rather than frightening. This is not an easy task! The softer palatte and round shapes help achieve this end, as well as the delicate hatching and cross hatching.
Each page presents a parent and child monster. The center spread of the boogiemen is just hilarious!
The added feature of a hole cut through the entire book takes the interactivity to another level. You and your totz can wiggle your fingers though the holes and see how your additions become dragon tails, monster horns, or things that might come out of a boogeyman's nose!
Beware the Tickle Monster! is a fun read that will be requested again and again. Check out this most excellent review by Aaron's children.
At the Construction Site stands out to me because of it's layered pages. What a smart format to display the vehicles at work. Turning the unusual shapes and discovering how each spread relates to the next is engaging. Referencing the cover, the green front loader is the shape of the first page; the yellow backhoe, and the red dump truck are others. P. Migliani's simple, clean illustrations will appeal to your totz totally into construction.
Ace Landers' straight forward text introduces the various trucks on site. The reader is taken from the bulldozer which clears the site, all the way to the crane which builds. My heart still goes to the cement truck. They've always fascinated me!
There are a few perspective shifts that the format creates, but I believe they will be overlooked by construction fans. Enjoy, At the Construction Site!
At the Construction Site Ace Landers, Author P. Migliani, illustrator Scholastic, Cartwheel Books, 2007
There was a hippopotamus Who hiccupped quite-a-lotamus. And every time he got’emus. . . . . . He’d fall upon his bottomus.
Wordplay is one of my favorite things, and it abounds in this clever picture book by author-illustrator, Aaron Zenz. When hippopotamus gets hiccups, his friends employ various “helpful” methods of assisting him to overcome them. (His friends include a yellow elephant, and a rhinoceros using dental flosserous.)
After much hilarity as well as trial and error, hippo is finally cured. And then. Hic! Hic! Hic! His friends come down with cases of hiccups themselves as shown in this page, rendered in Prismacolor pencil:
Inside Scoop: Multi-talented Aaron Zenz has worked as a fine artist, graphic designer, multimedia designer, and illustrator. He’s also the author of one of my favorite blogs, Bookie Woogie, which he creates with his children. It's a VERY entertaining format which provides an informative view of what kids really think and say about books as they're reading them.
Drop a comment for a chance to win this infant-toddler book, Whiskerville Grocery. A random winner will be chosen and posted Thursday morning. Don’t forget to check back to see if you’ve won.
I found this board book in my library and was immediately drawn to the adorable illustrations and the diaper on the front cover. The diaper is actually white terrycloth, adding a nice tactile experience for young readers. Once I got past the cool cover, I was pulled into the story in which two friends learn by imitating one another.
As the story opens, diaper-wearing Ducky visits her friend Piggy, hoping to play. Piggy informs her through the closed bathroom door that he’s on the potty. The art shows us he’s passing the time reading.
So Ducky waits, playing alone in Piggy’s room. She knocks again, almost immediately, asking if Piggy can “come out now.” Alas, Piggy informs her that he’s still on the potty.
Soon Ducky begins to notice that her diaper is uncomfortable. It’s wet and cold. She wriggles out of it and kicks it away. I like the action here, which puts Ducky in charge of this decision.
Then Ducky knocks yet a third time, telling Piggy she needs to use the potty herself. Surprised, Piggy protests that she wears diapers, to which she replies, “Not anymore.”
Piggy dresses, washes his hands (a helpful reminder), and then lets Ducky in. Piggy goes to play with his toys and books while Ducky uses the potty. In a humorous role reversal, Piggy eventually calls through the bathroom door to Ducky, asking her to “come out and play.” Of course she’s the one who’s busy now, sitting on the potty.
William's simple, charming illustrations do a wonderful job of capturing the characters’ emotions with a few active strokes of a black pencil. Piggy’s protesting expression as he informs Ducky that he’s still busy, is accomplished with the sparest of lines. Ducky’s grimace when she eventually demands to use the potty is right-on.
Ford’s non-rhyming prose empathizes with the characters as it captures a moment when toddlers are called upon to cope with developmental growth and change. No More Diapers For Ducky Bernette Ford (Author) Sam Williams (Illustrator) Boxer Books, 2006 Ages Baby to Pre-school
I had a little nut-tree, nothing would it bear But a silver nutmeg and a golden pear; The king of Spain's daughter came to visit me, And all because of my little nut-tree. I skipped over water, I danced over sea. And all the birds in the air couldn't catch me.
Catch the full roundup at Carol Wilcox at Carol's Corner.
Welcome to readertotz Wednesday's Win! Drop a comment for a chance to win Five Spring Fairies, a pop-up book written by Joan Holub and beautifully illustrated by Kathy Couri (Little Simon). A random winner will be chosen and posted Thursday morning. Don’t forget to check back to see if you’ve won.
Joan and I are receiving wonderful works from publishers. Of course there are far more picture books being printed than board books. To share the very best, occasionally, we'll offer a review titled "More, More, More!" as Vera Williams so eloquently put it. We still remain a board book blog. But this will keep our content fresh!
The revised edition of If I Could by Susan Milord and illustrated by Christopher Denise came to my attention. It's absolutely dear. The original cover is above and the revised is below. I prefer the revised! It's bright and active.
On one ordinary day, a raccoon mother and child share their wishes for each other. Each endearment could be spoken by either character.
"If I could, I'd rouse the sun and make it shine till day is done."
The lasting note is:
"I couldn't love you more than I do. But if I could, I would."
With delightful layered illustrations in acrylic and charcoal, your heart will be stirred along with your totz'.
If I Could by Susan Milord, illustrated by Christopher Denise Candlewick, 2009, revised
When I pick up a DK book, I'm always hoping for those amazing layouts filled with photos of beautiful items and imagery. Sure enough, I Can Eat a Rainbow by Annabel Karmel did not disappoint me!
Each page is a different color filled with fruits and vegetables that will delight your totz. Included are photos of animals constructed from the featured foods on each spread. The purple elephant is made from a red cabbage, beets, and an eggplant. The white sheep is made from cauliflower, onions, and a potato.
Eyes are added to random food items along with numbers, dotted lines, and bold and regular fonts. Occasional food facts are included. How can fruits and veggies be so fun? With Annabel's creativity, that's for certain.
You can look forward to a first page devoted to parents with activities and helpful tips. Even that material is displayed attractively for totz' interest.
Annabel is a leading children's food expert. Check out her website and look for her Mom and Me Cookbook and Toddler Cookbook. I'll most likely be reviewing them as well, soon!
CO-FOUNDER OF READERGIRLZ AND READERTOTZ CELEBRATES THE RELEASE OF RAINY DAY SLUG IN PAPERBACK!
Illustrator Lorie Ann Grover's Northwest staple marks its ten year anniversary from creation with a paperback edition.
April, 2009 (Seattle, Wash.) – readergirlz and readertotz co-founder and illustrator Lorie Ann Grover's Rainy Day Slug has just been released in paperback from Sasquatch Books. With text by Mary Colborn, this Northwest favorite will continue to be found and loved by toddlers and slug lovers alike. From the Space Needle to Safeco Field, where it is read to the Mariners' children during the games, this picture book brings smiles to Seattle and beyond.
"One rainy day, a slug left it's garden for a walk in the wide, wide world."
"I love the thought that this work will still have a presence and will now be even more affordable," says Grover. "It was a joy to revisit the illustrations and provide a brand new cover for this edition."
Rainy Day Slug is a beloved book of the Pacific Northwest and can be found nationally in the homes of slug lovers.
About readergirlz, readertotz, Lorie Ann Grover, and Mary Colborn
readergirlz is the foremost online book community for teen girls, led by five 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) and has illustrated the picture book Rainy Day Slug. http://lorieanngrover.blogspot.com
Mary Colborn is an author and horticulturist who lives in Port Orchard, Washington.
Drop a comment for a chance to win this infant-toddler book, Maisy Goes to the Museum in paperback. A random winner will be chosen and posted Thursday morning. Don’t forget to check back to see if you’ve won.
Just as flowers need seeds, earth, sun, and spring showers to grow, Five Spring Fairies is a book that needed an author, editor, and illustrator to see it truly bloom. I wrote the story--sowing the seeds in the earth--as a board book originally titled Five Fairy Babies. It's a countdown from five to one (with flaps and pop-ups), in which we see flowers eventually bloom:
Five spring fairies crown a queen. One goes to make the leaves turn green.
Four spring fairies playing ball. One goes to tell the rain to fall.
When I submitted it as a manuscript to Erin Molta at Little Simon, she showered it with her savvy marketing expertise--adding the word "spring" to let readers know immediately that it was about spring flowers as well as fairies. She also thought it would make a great pop-up book because we'd be able to see the fairies and flowers bloom.
She brought Kathy Couri on board as the artist, and her illustrations really shine. I'd first seen her work in The Night Before Easter, and I've adored her ever since.
We'll be giving a copy of this book away in our new weekly feature, Wednesday's Win, sometime in April.
As we approach the end of March we recommend North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley for the teen sibling of your totz. With three starred reviews, this work will challenge you to talk about the concept of beauty with your adolescent.
Terra plans to leave her small town in the Northwest and escape to college, but she is under the thumb of her controlling father. As she searches to define herself with a facial birthmark, an accident places Terra in Jacob’s path, and the Goth boy tests her beliefs about herself, beauty, and life. With a visit to China, Justina's characters journey to find their own north of beautiful.
Justina is offering a Find Beauty Challenge wherein she will donate $10 for cleft palate surgeries for each video entry that defines beauty. Here's the one I created!
And here's Justina's:
Challenge yourself and distill your thoughts on beauty. Help totz around the world smile with confidence!
I asked Justina a few questions, and here are her answers:
Lorie Ann: Justina, NOB is our pick for teen siblings of totz. I myself have a brother ten years my junior. Are you from a family with a wide age span between children?
Justina: There's a 10-year age gap between my oldest brother and my little sister. Interestingly, my brothers (both older than me) share the same birthday.
Lorie Ann: How many totz do you have?
Justina: I have 2 amazing, wonderful, beautiful, not-so-small-anymore totz.
Lorie Ann: Are there any totz in your novel?
Justina: I snuck in a few totz in my novel: the first to appear is Jacob's little brother. I took inspiration for him from my son at that age, 3 or 4. Then there's a pivotal scene in the novel set at a Chinese orphanage filled with totz. One in particular had a life-changing impact on Terra, the protagonist.
Lorie Ann: Terra travels to China in NOB. Have you traveled extensively with your totz?
Justina: Luckily, my kids inherited a sense of adventure. I've been fortunate to be able to take them to Japan, Europe, China, Canada, and around the country here at home.
Lorie Ann: What discussions might you hope to engage between parent and teen as they read NOB?
Justina: I hope NOB sparks discussions about the meaning of true beauty, the elements of a good relationship, honesty and tough decisions, separating from parents, standing on our own.
Lorie Ann: Can you tell us a little more about the Find Beauty Challenge that is going to aid many totz?
Justina: I tie community service to every book I publish. So with North of Beautiful, I decided to host the Find Beauty Challenge, asking people to tell the world in a 90 second video what true beauty means. For every uploaded video, I'm donating $10 (up to $1000) to fund reconstructive surgeries for kids with cleft lips in the third world. The videos people have created are powerful statements about beauty. I'm inspired!
Lorie Ann: Thank you so much for your time, Justina. Here's to true beauty!
I was searching for a nursery rhyme this week for Poetry Friday and thinking about my novel currently being submitted for publication. It's set in Korea. So I thought to share a Korean nursery rhyme. I found this on Mama Lisa's site. Here's to spring with your totz!
Springtime Outing
Lily, lily, golden bell, Pluck it, put it in your bill. Bunch of chickies, hop, hop, hop! Springtime outing, off they go.
Yoon Suk-Joong
Catch the full roundup at Julie Larios' site! The photo is from the Tisawee blog and the chicks are one week old. :~)
Drop a comment for a chance to win this infant-toddler book, Little Penguin Finger Puppet Book. A random winner will be chosen and posted Thursday morning. Don’t forget to check back to see if you’ve won.
A photo-illustrated board book has to be really exceptional to grab my attention. I usually expect to find them from DK, so I was delighted to find Baby Nose to Baby Toes from Random House.
What is it that popped this work for me? Certainly the charming photos that compare babies to animals. Who can resist the tippy-top of a baby's head or a duckling's? Or the:
"Wrinkly, crinkly, saggy, baggy,"
behinds of a baby and elephant! The pastel colors that frame both color and black and white photos are appealing. The varying viewpoints continue interest. How encouraging that both author and publisher were confident to include the photo of a baby nursing. It's refreshing to see truth shared without embarrassment.
But the text also enriches this work. From near-rhyme, to rhyme, to repetition, the ear is engaged as much as the eye.
Enjoy Vicky's contribution with your totz! You will ooooooo and ahhhhhh and have much to discuss together! Baby Nose to Baby Toes by Vicky Ceelen Random House, 2009
I'm sitting in Virginia Mason Hospital this morning waiting for my father's heart tests to be completed. So I thought this was appropriate! Good health to you and your totz!
Doctor Foster
Doctor Foster went to Gloucester In a shower of rain. He stepped in a puddle Right up to his middle, And never went there again.
Drop a comment for a chance to win this infant-toddler fuzzy board book, Joan Holub's Somebunny Loves Me. A random winner will be chosen and posted here Thursday morning. Don't forget to check back to see if you've won.
Being hard at work for rgz Operation Teen Book Drop, 09 (TBD '09), I'm so sorry to have missed Share a Story-Shape a Future and the collection of resources and ideas! But I'm very happy to see the content that was generated! Check out Share a Story-Shape a Future. Click on the image below to page through the awesome kit.
readertotz will look forward to participating in a great capacity next year! Brava, blogosphere, for this work to promote reading aloud!
Simple and adorable, Little Bunny is part of a series of 7-page chunky board books about 4.5 x 4.5 inches square--a perfect size for very small hands. A fuzzy finger puppet bunny pokes through each sturdy page, making this part toy, part book, and totally entertaining. I found Little Bunny in Barnes and Noble last weekend, along with Little Bee, Little Mouse, Little Puppy, and other books in this series. The kid in me was instantly captivated.
A wonderful addition to any Easter Basket or for springtime fun with your totz!
Happy Poetry Friday! In honor of my new crown and visit to the dentist this week, I post a video of Shel Silverstein reading Crocodile's Toothache. Ha!
The flash bounced! It says Child's Play. Forgive the photos, but I couldn't find imagery on the web. Once I describe this work, you'll understand. Consult their website for purchase!
A book in a box? A Roly Poly Ocean? I was delighted to unroll this work!
Roly Poly Ocean simply unfolds over and over into one long showcase. Your totz will encounter an ocean, from surface to floor.
"Watch out for Crab's claws! Manta Ray soars silently."
Kees Moerbeek's paper engineering is so well done and should withstand many unfoldings and foldings. With clean vibrant colors that pop, especially the red octopus, and your own adventure in a submarine, everyone will be engaged. No one has been able to walk past it without investigation in my house.
I wonder if the entire open work could be mounted on a wall? This book will probably end up hanging in my teen's room. In conclusion, beware of the big bite at the end! There's always a shark, right? Doodoo, doodoo. Doodoo, doodoo.
Sigh...I wish My Dance Recital had been around when I was taking ballet and tap as a young child. I would have studied every detail of this book, over and over . . . and over again.
Each of its twelve interior pages is interactive, beginning with Mom and daughter heading for the recital. Between them, they're carrying a duffel bag, snack box, and hanging costume bag. Flaps on each lift to reveal what's inside. Next, we see the young girl-narrator in the hair/make-up chair. A rotating wheel allows us to see her in various stages of preparation for tonight's recital: hair straight, hair in rollers, curly hair, and best of all--curly hair with a crown. How fun! We open doors to see them getting costumed, then there's practice time, another group performs, and finally, the narrator performs:
We go onstage. The music starts. I remember all my steps. I do a twirl...
With the action of opening this spread, a length of thread winds and unwinds around a 'spool' causing the narrator to actually twirl! I like the reassurance the text offers to readers here--that this young dancer remembers her steps on her big night. On the last spread, the narrator wears a lovely pink fabric-net tutu as she takes her final bow on the last spread. Maryann has beautifully captured the primary phases of a dance recital in this book that will delight young girls. Bravo!
A readertotz Exclusive -- Inside Scoop from Maryann Cocca-Leffler:
My inspiration for My Dance Recital came as I waited for my own daughter, Kristin, to perform at her dance recital. I sat for hours watching dancers flutter across the stage. I especially enjoyed the spontaneity of the tiny dancers, (when the audience were never sure what would happen next.) On this night, six fairy ballerinas prepared to come on stage. From behind the curtain the audience could hear crying, “Daddy, I can’t!” When the curtain opened there were six small dancers dressed in pink along with one large dad doing all the steps. The audience was in hysterics. (What we do for our kids!). I then shuttled backstage to help keep the dancers on task. It dawned on me that a Dance Recital is monumental occasion filled with make-up, costumes, laughter, nerves and lots of backstage waiting, not to mention unpredictable moments. I realized that the Recital event would make a great subject for a book.
Back in my studio, I began sketching. About the same time, I saw a blurb in the SCBWI Newsletter introducing a new novelty pop-up line at Random House called “Robin Corey Books”. I thought that the action of a dance recital would certainly make an interesting interactive book. I emailed Robin and told her my idea and asked if she might be interested. She said yes. Now it was time to get my idea into dummy form, so I could show Robin how I perceived the book. Having never done a pop-up, flap book before, I visited my local bookstore and “played” with all the interactive books, looking closely at the paper engineering. It became apparent that my dummy would be a very poor prototype. Robin assured me that if I can express what I wanted the book to do, a REAL paper engineer would make it happen. (That was a relief, seeing that I wanted my ballerina to spin!)
There were many steps between submitting the dummy and the printed book including, writing the text, sketches and finished art. Not to mention the back-and-forth’s with my art director and paper engineer to tweak the flaps and pop-ups. Now finally, My Dance Recital has hit the “stage”. Enjoy the performance!
