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!
readertotz co-founder and author/illustrator Joan Holub’s new picture book has just been released from Albert Whitman & Co.
Enjoy the simple fun of apple-picking as nineteen kids + their teacher venture forth on their class field trip to an apple farm, counting down from 20 to 1 along the way. Young readers will be swept up in this story, which teaches basic math concepts such as grouping and simple addition as well as instructions on how to pick an apple and apple facts.
“Twenty apples with our names,” says James. “I see a tag for me,” says Lee. “Nineteen kids get on our bus,” says Russ. “I share with Mr. Yee,” says Lee. “Eighteen miles till we’re there,” says Claire. “Eight miles, turn, then go ten,” says Ben.
“Until recently, I lived in Washington state—the state that grows the most apples,” says Holub. “I went on a class trip to an apple farm in eastern Washington one October--the month when most apples are picked. Picking and eating the apples was the most fun. We saw cows and ducks and learned apple facts, which I share in the book. For instance, did you know apples float because they are 25% air? Or that an apple has a five-pointed star inside, each point having 1 or 2 seeds, for a total of 5 to 10 seeds in every apple?”
About readertotz, Joan Holub and Jan Smith:
readertotz is a blog which showcases infant-toddler books as an important addition to children's literature. http://readertotz.blogspot.com
Joan Holub is the author and/or illustrator of over 120 books for children (Knuckleheads; Bed Bats & Beyond; Why Do Cats Meow?), including a chapter book biography titled Who Was Johnny Appleseed? She began her career in children's books at age six, when she created her first book dummy, and she has since worked as an art director at a major publishing company.
Jan Smith is an illustrator from England, who has illustrated over fifty titles, and enjoys salsa dancing.
Apple Countdown by Joan Holub, illustrated by Jan Smith Albert Whitman & Company isbn 9780807503980 / $16.99 / 32 pages / ages 5-8 Contact information: Email: joanholub@aol.com Website: www.joanholub.com
"A disabled CBeebies presenter has been the victim of a disturbing campaign after parents complained that she was scaring toddlers.
They claimed that host Cerrie Burnell - who was born with one arm - is not suitable to appear on the digital children's channel.
...Incredibly, one father said he wanted to ban his daughter from watching the channel because he feared it would give her nightmares."
The article goes on to say that Cerrie has replied: "It can only be a good thing that parents are using me as a chance to talk about disability with their children."
Michael Carrington, controller of CBeebies, said: "Cerrie is warm and natural and we think that in time all mums and dads and children will love her as much as we do."
readertotz gives a shout out to Cerrie Burnell for withstanding the prejudice and continuing to do an excellent job!
My girls and I have always been a huge fan of Lucy Cousins. In fact, I may have to dig out our all time fav to review soon. But, Maisy's Fire Engine recently came to my attention, and I wanted to share it first.
So, yes, boys love books about transportation. Girls may also find an interest in books about vehicles. But why not combine a book about a fire engine with an emotional story? This is exactly what Lucy has done! All totz will be engaged. Best of all, Maisy is at the wheel. Girl power!
As Maisy and Cyril check the fire engine, Little Black Cat is scared and flees to the roof of a nearby house. Through the fire fighters help, there's a rescue and then a fun ride together. All the action occurs in eight full bleed spreads.
With her trademark bright, flat colors and heavy black outlines, Lucy tells a simple compelling story for your readertotz. I'm a great lover of her simple lettering and bold backgrounds.
Before there was Captain Underpants, there was Dragon, the endearing star of three early chapter books by Dav Pilkey that began with A Friend for Dragon. It's rare and wonderful when a book tugs at both my heart and my funny bone. This is one of those books.
Dragon longs for a friend. After being turned down by several candidates he approaches, he's ripe for the practical joke a snake-in-the-grass plays on him. When an apple falls from a tree and hits Dragon on the head, the snake tricks him into believing the apple can speak. Not only that, the apple announces that it wants to be Dragon's friend.
"At last," said Dragon. "A friend."
Dragon and apple have some good times together, but when apple is eaten by a stranger, Dragon is devastated. I felt a true sense of loss when this happened. Amazing that Pilkey could pull this off, but he does! I think my love for Dragon has something to do with the fact that he is so believably goodhearted and gullible in the way of many young children, which made me want to protect him from hurt.
Dragon buries his pal the apple and mourns him. Time passes and a new apple tree grows, bringing new friends to a delighted Dragon.
"He wished for a friend. Suddenly something fell out of the tree and hit Dragon on the head. It was an apple."
Inside Scoop: True to form, Dav Pilkey created his bio as "adventures" in cartoon style, depicting himself as having artistic inclinations immediately upon his birth, much to the dismay of a hospital nurse. If your totz' siblings are eager for more, his site also has a variety of games and a text bio, which I particularly enjoyed.
Big sister and Baby Bundt are an appealing duo in Yum Yum, Baby Bundt, a sturdy new board book that's billed as a "Recipe for Mealtime." Its first two pages offer a list of ingredients for baby's lunch beginning with: "1 hungry Baby Bundt; 1 bib, washable; 1 high chair; Handful of toys; 1 plastic plate; 1/2 cup noodles with sauce;" and so on. I think this is an interesting format. When I was little, I loved make-and-do activities with steps to follow, and this is somewhat like that in concept.
This felt like a story the big sister was telling rather than a story told by an adult, something I appreciated. The interaction between Big Sis and Baby as she helps with feeding is light-hearted fun, and Sis often gets creative as shown in the illustration below.
Yum Yum may very well prompt your totz into offering to help with a younger sibling's feeding time.
Inside Scoop: A former pastry chef, Jamie Harper is obsessed with scrapbooking, as you can see at her blog. If you're like me and have a fascination with seeing the workplaces of authors and illustrators, you'll enjoy Jamie's photos and notes about her studio and how she works.
