Elise Gravel‘s latest book, I Want A Monster!, is now available for purchase! I Want A Monster! tells the story of a little girl who longs for a monster as a pet and her process of finding and learning to care for her monster. The School Library Journal calls it, “A fun, spirited read-aloud for storytime or classroom use.” A French version, Je Veux Un Monstre, has also been released.
You can order I Want A Monster! online here.
Bank Street has released their 2016 edition of the Best Children’s Books of the Year, and not one but five of our author/illustrators were included! These are children’s books published in 2015 that the Children’s Book Committee feels had excellent literary quality, emotional impact, and educational quality, as well as beautiful presentation.
Under Five:
Welcome Home, Bear by Il Sung Na
Five to Nine:
Frederick’s Journey, written by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by London Ladd
Sunday Shopping, written by Sally Derby and illustrated by Shadra Strickland
One Plastic Bag, written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon
My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay, written by Cari Best and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton
Nine to Twelve:
Poems in the Attic, written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon
You can find the full list of winners here.
K. G. Campbell will be doing a book signing at the L.A. Times Festival of Books on Saturday, April 9th. The Festival of Books is an event celebrating books and authors, dating back to 1994. It is located on the University of Southern California campus, April 9th to 10th. General admission is free.
K. G. Campbell will be one of this year’s featured authors. Congrats, K.G.! He will be signing and doing a reading of his upcoming children’s book, Dylan the Villain, starting 2:30 pm at the Penguin Booth. If you’re in the area in early April, make sure to check him out!
You can find out more information about the Festival of Books here. Dylan The Villain doesn’t come out until March 8th, but you can pre-order it here.
Both Il Sung Na‘s new picture The Opposite Zoo and K.G. Campbell‘s recently released Dylan the Villain were named as best books of the month by Amazon! The Opposite Zoo was included on a list of best March books for babies to age 2, and Dylan was included on the list of best books for ages 3-5. Congratulations, Il Sung and K.G.
You can see all of Amazon’s best books of the month at this link, and you can order The Opposite Zoo here and Dylan the Villain here.
As part of the 92nd St Y‘s Seven Days of Genius program, Gene Barretta has been invited to present his book Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci. The Seven Days of Genius is a program meant to honor historical geniuses throughout history, so Gene’s children book on the great inventor and artist, Leonardo da Vinci, is a perfect fit. Gene’s reading will be at the 92nd St Y in New York, April 4th at 10:30 am. Anyone in the area should definitely stop by! You can find more information at this link.
A live stream will also be available on the day of the event here.
The wait is finally over! K. G. Campbell‘s latest picture book, Dylan the Villain, comes out today. Dylan the Villain tells the satirical story of a little boy born to be a super villain and his adventures at a school for villainous children. Dylan only came out today, but it’s already received plenty of advance praise and attention. The subscription service MyBookBox is featuring Dylan as their March picture book selection, the Children’s Book Review named it one of the Best Kids Books of March, and it was chosen for the Spring 2016 Kids’ Indie Next List.
“Young fans of Disney TV’s The Descendants and kids who adore the cinematic Minions will find the villainous Dylan particularly appealing.” – BCCB
“Campbell’s depictions of Dylan’s antics are filled with humorous details…Soft watercolor and colored pencil illustrations counterbalance the story’s nefarious undercurrents for a playful take on first experiences with competition.” – Booklist
You can order Dylan the Villain online here.
Il Sung Na was interviewed by Mashable, a media/entertainment site, about The Opposite Zoo, his newest picture book, about a zoo filled with opposing creatures. Il Sung told Mashable that a book of opposites had been on his list of books he wanted to write about for a long time. Mashable praised The Opposite Zoo as, “A beautiful lesson in contrast and contradictions,” and shared some exclusive illustrations from the book. To read the whole article, check out this link. The Opposite Zoo is coming out March 8th, but if you just can’t wait for it, you can pre-order it here.
Good Reads With Ronna, a blog dedicated to reviewing children’s books, interviewed illustrator London Ladd on his recent book, Frederick’s Journey, written by Doreen Rappaport. Good Reads described Frederick’s Journey as an “expertly crafted crafted picture book,” and asked London questions ranging from what medium he likes to work in to his research for this book to the importance of art in general. To read the interesting interview, check out Good Reads’s post about it here. You can order Frederick’s Journey online here.
February is Black History Month, and in honor of that, the online magazine Bold and Fearless made a list of 28 Books Every Black Girl Should Read This Black History Month. Not only did Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, written by Katheryn Russell-Brown and illustrated by Frank Morrison, make this list, it’s the featured book! Little Melba tells the story of Melba Doretta Liston, a famed African American jazz musician in the 1900s, and it’s a great book for celebrating Black History Month. For the other recommended Black History books, check out the full list here. You can purchase Little Melba and Her Big Trombone online here.
Ashley Spire‘s new children book, Over-Scheduled Andrew, was recently reviewed by The New York Times. Over-Scheduled Andrew is the cautionary tale of a little bird who signs up for way too many clubs and classes at school. The New York Times praises Ashley’s “digitally drawn creatures…with big heads and tiny paws and wings” and her “small details,” and remarks on the timeliness of her message in this age of over-scheduled children, calling it, “a sneaky kind of cautionary tale.” You can read the full review on The New York Times website and you can buy Over-Scheduled Andrew online here.