Two Days Late

Happy 83rd birthday, Maurice Sendak!

I'll be looking forward to his new book coming out this fall, Bumble-Ardy.

The Quiet Book

My latest bedtime book for Joseph: The Quiet Book. I love it. Renata Liwska's soft illustrations are perfect for this cozy little story. I'm happy to have this in his library.

Sendak, Picturing Mortality

A great little interview with Maurice Sendak forwarded to me by an uncle. My favorite part:

He knows kids respond to this darkness. "I take kids seriously," he says. "They have a lot of things wrong. They protect their parents. Children are brave little creatures."

ICBD

Happy Children's Book Day!

Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, 2 April, International Children's Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books.

Scholastic Book Clubs Launches Monthly Children's Books Bestsellers List

Scholastic Book Clubs Launches Monthly Children's Books Bestsellers List:

Scholastic Book Clubs today announced the launch of a monthly bestsellers list designed to inform parents, teachers, librarians, book sellers and book lovers about which children's books are most popular with kids.

Accessible online on Book Talk, the official Scholastic Book Clubs blog, the Scholastic Book Clubs bestsellers list will be issued on the second Tuesday of each month, starting January 2011, and lists the five most popular children's books based on books purchased through Scholastic Book Clubs in each of the following categories: Picture Books, Transitional Readers, Early Chapter Books, Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Nonfiction.

Cool Discovery

Roald Dahl's unfinished, unpublished work:

Dahl wrote the two-page story 28 years ago as part of a Finish-It-Yourself book, where authors would kick-start a story and children could make up the rest themselves. However, publishing stalled and the book never came out. Dahl's contribution, which garnered the author $200, told the story of two children and their creepy neighbor Mr. Croaker.

Children's Books in an iPad Age

Children’s Books in an iPad Age: A Publishers Weekly Webinar: 

After an illustrator asked how tech-savvy children’s book artists need to be, Wilson said Nosy Crow is “working with people with a range of technical ability,” but that the most important thing is to have “the spark of imagination. [Artists] have to understand what a truly interactive app is and does. Once they’ve done that, it’s possible to introduce other people... who can help make that process happen.”

Scholastic's Ten Trends in Children's Books 2010

Scholastic Experts Issue List of "Ten Trends in Children's Books from 2010."

A bit of a disappointing trend for picture books:

The shift in picture books: Publishers are publishing about 25 to 30 percent fewer picture book titles than they used to as some parents want their kids to read more challenging books at younger ages. The new trend is leading to popular picture book characters such as Pinkalicious, Splat Cat and Brown Bear, Brown Bear showing up in Beginning Reader books.

NYT Best Selling Picture Books This Week

Here are the NYT best selling picture books this week:

1. LLAMA LLAMA HOLIDAY DRAMA, written and illustrated by Anna Dewdney. (Viking, $16.99.) When the suspense is too much, Llama Llama turns to you-know-who for comfort. (Ages 2 and up)
2.  FABULOUS FASHION BOUTIQUE, by Jane O’Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. (HarperCollins, $17.99.) Fancy Nancy takes an entrepreneurial approach to haute couture. (Ages 4 to 7)
3. FABULOUS FASHION BOUTIQUE, by Jane O’Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. (HarperCollins, $17.99.) Fancy Nancy takes an entrepreneurial approach to haute couture. (Ages 4 to 7)
4. KNUFFLE BUNNY FREE, written and illustrated by Mo Willems. (Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, $17.99.) A little girl and her well-loved companion take a trip that leads to unexpected discoveries. (Ages 3 to 7)
5. HEADS, written and illustrated by Matthew Van Fleet. (Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster, $17.99.) Animal noggins with tabs to make them move. (Ages 2 and up)
6. LEGO STAR WARS, by Simon Beecroft. (DK, $21.99.) An annotated visual dictionary. (Ages 7 and up)
7. OLIVIA GOES TO VENICE, written and illustrated by Ian Falconer. (Atheneum, $17.99.) A piglet prone to big ideas wants to live on the Grand Canal. (Ages 3 to 7)
8. IT'S A BOOK, written and illustrated by Lane Smith. (Roaring Brook, $12.99.) It doesn’t tweet or need recharging. (Ages 6 and up)
9. ART AND MAX, written and illustrated by David Wiesner. (Clarion, $17.99.) Two artists mix methods and media. (Ages 5 to 8)
10. DC SUPER HEROES, THE ULTIMATE POP-UP BOOK, by the DC Comics staff and Matthew Reinhart. (Little, Brown, $29.99.) Comics, in 3-D. (Ages 3 and up)
11. WHEREVER YOU ARE, MY LOVE WILL FIND YOU, written and illustrated by Nancy Tillman. (Feiwel & Friends, $16.99.) All about the tenderness a parent feels for a child. (Ages 4 to 8)

Another List

Here are Publishers Weekly's best children's books of 2010.

The picture books:

Shark vs. Train
Chris Barton, illus. by Tom Lichtenheld (Little, Brown)
This is one of those elementally brilliant ideas that evokes a "Why didn't I think of that?" response. By pitting a cartoon train and shark against each other in a series of increasingly ludicrous challenges (the train's heft is a liability in a hot air balloon race, but very effective on a seesaw), Barton and Lichtenheld tap into kids' innate ability to turn anything, anything into a competition.

There's Going to Be a Baby
John Burningham, illus. by Helen Oxenbury (Candlewick)
Though they're married, this is the first collaboration between these two children's book icons, and it's a marvelous one: a dynamic and realistic exchange between a mother and her son as they await the arrival of a new family member. The soon-to-be big brother's insecurities and nervousness emerge through their conversations, yet Oxenbury's crisp ink vignettes make it clear that their tender bond will be in no way threatened by the imminent addition.

Farm
Elisha Cooper (Scholastic/Orchard)
At a time when the farm-to-table movement has never been stronger, Cooper's understated and unromantic portrait of farm life is especially resonant. He pairs breathtaking watercolor panoramas, which portray endless expanses of farmland, with matter-of-fact prose that takes readers through a year of planting, caring for crops and animals, harvesting, and preparing to begin the cycle once again.

The Boss Baby

Marla Frazee (S&S/Beach Lane)
"From the moment the baby arrived, it was obvious he was the boss." Frazee takes a sublime metaphor for the havoc that a baby can wreak, and runs with it; new parents and siblings will be laughing every step of the way (most likely through exhausted tears). Those who question whether child care is a full-time job, "with no time off," will quickly have their answer.

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring
Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, illus. by Brian Floca (Roaring Brook/Flash Point/Porter)
An inspired vehicle to demonstrate the dividends that collaboration can pay, this story of the making of the classic American ballet, Appalachian Spring, is both accessible and fascinating. Greenberg, Jordan, and Floca are as in synch as were their subjects—Graham, Copland, and Noguchi—building on each other's contributions to craft a memorable tribute to creative power.

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)
Barbara Kerley, illus. by Edwin Fotheringham (Scholastic Press)
Based on the 130-page biography of Twain that his 13-year-old daughter Susy wrote, Kerley's superb study of Twain's life presents aspects of the writer seldom seen, as Susy describes his "fine" and "not-so-fine" qualities alike ("Papa uses very strong language"). Fotheringham's visual flourishes, as well as the inclusion of "journal" booklets of Susy's writing, complete this entertaining behind-the-scenes account.

Bunny Days
Tao Nyeu (Dial)
This trio of stories is as silly as it is subversive, as a group of hapless bunnies have unfortunate run-ins with mud, a vacuum cleaner, and a pair of scissors. Despite the shock of seeing "bunnies without tails and tails without bunnies," Nyeu's cartoon world is always comforting and warm. In each instance, Bear is able to set things right thanks to a washing machine, fan, and sewing machine, so that in the end, "Everyone is happy."  

Béatrice Rodriguez (Enchanted Lion)
Wordless books are all about the details, and so it is with Rodriguez's debut, a story that appears straightforward (fox steals chicken; rooster and co. give chase), yet is anything but. Rodriguez's cartoons convey much emotion, and in so doing reveal that the fox's intentions are in no way malicious. Unexpected moments of romance, humor, and heartbreak add to a story that could be told in 1,000 words, but doesn't even need one.

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors
Joyce Sidman, illus. by Beckie Prange (Harcourt)
While many animal books try to top each other by highlighting progressively obscure creatures, Sidman and Prange take another tack with this absorbing study of species that have stood the test of time (think millennia). Covering bacteria, mollusks, and (much) later humans, Sidman writes affectionate poems about the various animals; paired with factual information and Prange's graceful linocuts, it's an expert fusion of art and science.

Mirror, Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse
Marilyn Singer, illus. by Josée Masse (Dutton)
Singer and Masse are in perfect step with this clever and highly original collection of "reverso" poems (a form Singer developed), which can be read forward or backward—with significant impact on the fairy tale featured in each one. Masse plays with symmetry and dueling perspectives just as much as Singer does, giving the project a thematic cohesiveness and challenging readers to look at classic stories in an entirely new way.

It's a Book
Lane Smith (Roaring Brook)
Via a hilarious conversation between a technophile and a booklover, Smith delivers a pitch-perfect and timely ode to the tenuous relationship between printed words and those that appear on-screen. Smith's message is as much for parents as it is for kids, yet children will readily recognize the absurdity of, say, trying to translate Treasure Island to textspeak. And in case Smith's stance isn't clear: this one's not available as an e-book.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Philip C. Stead, illus. by Erin E. Stead (Roaring Brook/Porter)
What goes around comes around, in the best possible way, in this story of a zookeeper who gently tends to the animals in his care (playing chess with the elephant, reading stories to an owl), then gets similar treatment when he falls ill. As depicted in Erin Stead's delicate and precise illustrations, the friendship is made all the more poignant by inclusion of an elderly protagonist, an underrepresented demographic in picture books.

The Quiet Book
Deborah Underwood, illus. by Renata Liwska (Houghton Mifflin)
To turn a concept as intangible as "quiet" into a full-length picture book is ambitious, but Underwood and Liwska nail it with a collaboration that has an overall muted quality yet finds surprising depth in its nearly silent subject matter. From the solitary mystery of "swimming underwater quiet" to the uneasiness of "top of the roller coaster quiet," the book conveys a wealth of emotion in life's less in-your-face moments.

City Dog, Country Frog

Mo Willems, illus. by Jon J Muth (Hyperion)
Expectations are understandably high for a superstar pairing like this, and Willems and Muth more than deliver with an understated story of friendship between a dog and a frog that unfolds across the four seasons. The idea that the seasons (and life) inevitably end is counterbalanced by the subtle humor evident in both text and paintings, as well as the promise of a new friendship when spring returns.

Knuffle Bunny Free
Mo Willems (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray)
Willems's conclusion to his Knuffle Bunny trio is as heartfelt and emotionally true as its predecessors, bringing Trixie's relationship with her stuffed rabbit to a moving conclusion that feels inevitable in the best of ways. Willems writes with respect, honesty, and empathy for Trixie, as her inner confidence (very) gradually takes the place of the external comfort Knuffle Bunny has unfailingly provided.

Art and Max
David Wiesner (Clarion)
Although three-time Caldecott–winner Wiesner's latest can be read simply (and enjoyably) as the story of the Odd Couple–style friendship between two lizards, it's as much a meditation on the nature of art (aided in no small way by the fact that one lizard is named Art). Their adventure in painting takes turns both surreal and slapstick, matching plentiful laughs with contemplative insights about friendship, creativity, and identity.

NYT Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2010

This is a great yearly New York Times guide to illustrated children's books.

Amazon Top Ten

Here are Amazon's top ten picture books of 2010.

NYT Best Selling Picture Books This Week

NYT Best Selling Picture Books This Week:

1. LLAMA LLAMA HOLIDAY DRAMA, written and illustrated by Anna Dewdney. (Viking, $16.99.) The suspense is too much, so Llama Llama turns to you-know-who for comfort. (Ages 2 and up)
2. SCAREDY-CAT, SPLAT!, written and illustrated by Rob Scotton. (Harper/HarperCollins, $16.99.) Splat aims to scare his cat school pals on Halloween. (Ages 3 to 7)
3. FABULOUS FASHION BOUTIQUE, by Jane O’Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. (HarperCollins, $17.99.) Fancy Nancy takes an entrepreneurial approach to haute couture. (Ages 4 to 7)
4. ZEN GHOSTS, written and illustrated by Jon J Muth. (Scholastic Press, $17.99.) Stillwater the panda with a Halloween-themed tale of Eastern wisdom. (Ages 5 to 8)
5. KNUFFLE BUNNY FREE, written and illustrated by Mo Willems. (Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, $17.99.) A little girl and her well-loved companion take a trip that leads to unexpected discoveries. (Ages 3 to 7)
6. IT'S A BOOK, written and illustrated by Lane Smith. (Roaring Brook, $12.99.) It doesn’t tweet or need recharging. (Ages 6 and up)
7. OLIVIA GOES TO VENICE, written and illustrated by Ian Falconer. (Atheneum, $17.99.) A piglet prone to big ideas wants to live on the Grand Canal. (Ages 3 to 7)
8. LEGO STAR WARS, by Simon Beecroft. (DK, $21.99.) An annotated visual dictionary. (Ages 7 and up)
9. ART AND MAX, written and illustrated by David Wiesner. (Clarion, $17.99.) Two artists mix methods and media. (Ages 5 to 8)
10. THE THREE LITTLE DASSIES, written and illustrated by Jan Brett. (Putnam, $17.99.) A retelling of "The Three Little Pigs," with Namibian flavor. (Ages 3 to 5)

NYT Best Selling Picture Books This Week

NYT Best Selling Picture Books This Week:

1. KNUFFLE BUNNY FREE, written and illustrated by Mo Willems. (Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, $17.99.) A little girl and her well-loved companion take a trip that leads to unexpected discoveries. (Ages 3 to 7)
2. FABULOUS FASHION BOUTIQUE, by Jane O’Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. (HarperCollins, $17.99.) Fancy Nancy takes an entrepreneurial approach to haute couture. (Ages 4 to 7)
3. SCAREDY-CAT, SPLAT!, written and illustrated by Rob Scotton. (Harper/HarperCollins, $16.99.) Splat aims to scare his cat school pals on Halloween. (Ages 3 to 7)
4. ZEN GHOSTS, written and illustrated by Jon J Muth. (Scholastic Press, $17.99.) Stillwater the panda with a Halloween-themed tale of Eastern wisdom. (Ages 5 to 8)
5. ART AND MAX, written and illustrated by David Wiesner. (Clarion, $17.99.) Two artists mix methods and media. (Ages 5 to 8)
6. OLIVIA GOES TO VENICE, written and illustrated by Ian Falconer. (Atheneum, $17.99.) A piglet prone to big ideas wants to live on the Grand Canal. (Ages 3 to 7)
7. LEGO STAR WARS, by Simon Beecroft. (DK, $21.99.) An annotated visual dictionary. (Ages 7 and up)
8. THE LION AND THE MOUSE, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. (Little, Brown, $16.99.) A fable of reciprocal kindness, redrawn. (Ages 3 to 6)
9. MY MOMMY HUNG THE MOON, by Jamie Lee Curtis. Illustrated by Laura Cornell. (Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins, $16.99.) A child waxes poetic about Mom’s amazing achievements. (Ages 4 to 8)
10. THE THREE LITTLE DASSIES, written and illustrated by Jan Brett. (Putnam, $17.99.) A retelling of "The Three Little Pigs," with Namibian flavor. (Ages 3 to 5)

SCBWI-C Fall Conference Update

As I expected, the SCBWI Carolinas Fall Conference this weekend was an informative, enriching, and inspiring experience. 

Most of the sessions I attended were lead by the incredibly talented, accomplished, friendly, and funny Laurent Linn, the art director for Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. His compliments and advice about my work during the workshops were invaluable.

I invested in a few books that have been on my wish list for some time: Illustrating Children's Books by Martin Salisbury, the 2011 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market (I have the 2008 edition), and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books by Harold Underdown. All worth it.

These conferences are well worth the investment in time and resources, and I plan to make many improvements and changes to my work based on what I learned this past weekend.

And I thank my dear husband for attending this conference with me and spending his time doing freelance web and graphics work from our hotel room while I was attending conference sessions.

SCBWI-C Fall Conference Illustration Intensive

This weekend I will be attending the SCBWI - Carolinas fall conference in Charlotte, NC. I did this painting for an illustrators' workshop with the art director of Simon & Schuster. 

This should be a very informative weekend, and we're looking forward to visiting Charlotte for the first time since moving to North Carolina back in December.

Tomie dePaola's Birthday

Today was Tomie dePaola's 76th birthday.

Roald Dahl's Birthday

Today would be Roald Dahl's 94th birthday. Here is an interesting series of articles about him (forwarded to me by one of my uncles):

Part I: Roald Dahl's Darkest Hour

Park II: Roald Dahl: The Spy Who Love Me

Park III: Roald Dahl: The Plane Crash that Gave Birth to a Writer

NY Times Children's Books This Week

The NY Times bestselling picture books this week:

1. LEGO STAR WARS, by Simon Beecroft. (DK, $21.99.) An annotated visual dictionary. (Ages 7 and up)

2. HEADS, written and illustrated by Matthew Van Fleet. (Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster, $17.99.) Animal noggins with tabs to make them move. (Ages 2 and up)

3. IT'S A BOOK, written and illustrated by Lane Smith. (Roaring Brook, $12.99.) It doesn’t tweet or need recharging. (Ages 6 and up)

4. STAR WARS, written and illustrated by Rufus Butler Seder. (Workman, $14.95.) Action scenes are set in motion when you turn a page. (Ages 8 and up)

5. HOW ROCKET LEARNED TO READ, written and illustrated by Tad Hills. (Schwartz & Wade, $17.99.) Reading is as much fun as chewing a stick. (Ages 3 to 7)

6. THE JUNKYARD WONDERS, written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco. (Philomel, $17.99.) A child with reading problems is placed in a special class. (Ages 6 to 9)

7. DOG LOVES BOOKS, written and illustrated by Louise Yates. (Knopf, $16.99.) Dog opens a bookstore, and when no one comes at first, devours the books himself. (Ages 4 to 8)

8. BATS AT THE BALLGAME, written and illustrated by Brian Lies. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99.) Bats, the mammals, swing bats, as in baseball. (Ages 3 to 6)

9. CITY DOG, COUNTRY FROG, by Mo Willems. Illustrated by Jon J Muth. (Hyperion/Disney, $17.99.) Friendships transcend seasons and city limits. (Ages 3 to 6)

10. LADYBUG GIRL AT THE BEACH, by David Soman and Jacky Davis. Illustrated by David Soman. (Dial, $16.99.) Lulu, a k a Ladybug Girl, is both enthralled and frightened by the sea. (Ages 3 to 5)

The Missing Golden Ticket and Other Splendiferous Secrets

A new Dahl book:

Miranda Mary Piker, described by author Roald Dahl as “a horrid little girl who was disgustingly rude to her parents and also thoroughly disobedient,” is one of several “nasty children” who didn’t make it into the final version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when it was published in 1964. Fans can make her acquaintance at last in The Missing Golden Ticket and Other Splendiferous Secrets, which includes “Spotty Powder,” the deleted chapter featuring Miranda. Due from Puffin next month with a 75,000-copy first printing, the book also contains biographical and autobiographical tidbits about Dahl’s life and writing, as well as art by Quentin Blake.