This August Little Bigfoot Books is kicking off a picture book biography series called Growing to Greatness starring people from the Pacific Northwest. And what’s their very first title in said series? Just Like Beverly: A Biography of Beverly Cleary. The very first picture book biography of the lady to date.
When I heard that Lisa Von Drasek, the curator of the Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Minnesota had given a home to a new ABC of It (the children’s literature exhibit that Leonard Marcus curated in NYC), I was intrigued. And when she allowed me to interview her about it? I was thrilled. Here’s Lisa explaining how she managed to right a great wrong, and contribute something mighty to the world of children’s literature.
And we’re back to the classics. So far on this podcast show, Kate and I had tackled only one William Steig (Sylvester and the Magic Pebble). I was thinking maybe we should do Shrek next, but then I thought better of it. It seems to me that there’s a lot more fodder in this title.
Nonfiction has something Fiction will never have. Not really. When a work of Fiction is pilloried it can be pulled from the market or, if it’s in its earliest form, rewritten altogether. Nonfiction, in contrast, can wait years and years. Can be completely accurate and important. And then, if it chooses to do so, it can be rewritten.
Boy, howdy. I haven’t done a good old-fashioned Fusenews in a long time. How do these work again? I just sort of throw up the recent children’s literature news from a variety of sources with comments of some sort? Honestly, I used to do these pieces fairly regularly. That is, until I realized that PW Children’s Bookshelf basically had this game in the bag. They know what they’re doing over there. Still, there are always some interesting tidbits that catch my eye. On beyond the usual suspects:
To the year 2019, I hand this middle grade novel. In Eventown by Corey Ann Haydu, you’ll find a marvelous defense of messiness, mistakes, and uncomfortable conversations. We all want to run away from our problems, but it’s like that old phrase says: Be careful what you wish for.
Last year Kate and I discussed three potential Caldecott winners, and two later received medals. This year, Kate and I are discussing Dreamers, Blue, and We Don’t Eat Our Classmates. And as per usual, Kate brings up stuff I never considered before. Questions like, how exactly does Penelope Rex eat her classmates so quickly (does she unhinge her jaw?). What does “caminantes” mean? And does the guy in Blue rename his girlfriend’s dog? Stay tuned!
At this point in the proceedings, after doing a mess of reading, and reviewing, and contemplating, and pondering, you have a sense of how the year has shaped up. What kind of an award year will this one be? Will there be a lot of surprises or familiar faces? What are the dark horse candidates? This year, as with every year, I am going to make my predictions.
In her debut picture book, Mikela Prevost dares to question what happens when we thrust our own wants and needs upon others without their consent. Maybe some dogs like wild parties, but not all dogs are the same. Some dogs are a bit quieter. Some dogs are like Frank.
When Sterling released the debut author’s middle grade novel novel Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, the people who actually went and read the book found it to be rather extraordinary. But where the heck did this book come from? Who was Dusti Bowling? And was there any chance that there would be a sequel? You want a sequel? You got a sequel, my friends. But first, let’s just lob some questions in the direction of Ms. Bowling.
In the course of things, Kate starts looking up what the USDA recommendations are for children, we consider the wackadoodle utensils of the Badger household, what exactly a lobster salad sandwich is, etc. And as Kate points out, this is a perfect New Year’s Resolution book because in the story you are encouraged to try new things and break out of your comfort zone.
On April 4th, Lantana Publishing will release Maryam al Serkal’s tale about a little girl that wishes her curly hair were straight like her mama’s. Filled with vibrant art and images, it’s about embracing your natural hair, no matter where you’re from. I had a chance to ask the author, an Emirati writer in Dubai, about the book’s origins and art.
Guest post author/illustrator Brian Lies discusses the choices he made to both art and text when creating GOT TO GET TO BEAR’S!, and the implications and importance of gender choices in even the sweetest of picture books.
What review journals, publishers, and distribution companies can do to help add authors with lived experience to library shelves.
Oh. We made it, readers. We made it. That was 31 days, all right. 31 days that covered loads of books. Good ones and weird ones, but all of them worth reading in some way. Not a bad book in sight. Nothing to yawn at. And so, as a reward, here are the best beloved. The picture books. The titles closest to the heart of the children’s book community.
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