Gene Barretta, Gerald Kelley, Elise Gravel, Vanessa B Newton, and Josée Masse Nominated for CYBIL 2016 Award

October 10, 2016

The Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers Literary (CYBIL) Awards is an award given out every year for juvenile and children’s books that successfully combine literary merit and popular appeal. Every year, a list of nominees is created, and from this list, the winners are chosen. This year, five of our authors/illustrators were nominated for six different books!

Juvenile and Elementary Nonfiction:

• Sky High: George Ferris’s Big Wheel (Step Into Reading), written by Monica Kulling and illustrated by Gene Barretta
• Grover Cleveland, Again!, written by Ken Burns and illustrated by Gerald Kelley
• The Toad (Disgusting Critters Series), written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

Fiction Picture Books/Board Books:

• Mary Had A Little Glam, written by Tammi Saeur and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton

Middle Grade Fiction:

• The Nine Lives of Jacob Tibbs, written by Cylin Busby and illustrated by Gerald Kelley

Poetry:

• Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Josée Masse

Congratulations to our talented authors and illustrators! To find out more about the CYBIL awards and who else has been nominated, visit their site here.

Shout Out for Gene Barretta’s Neo Leo in Booklist Article on Expository Nonfiction

November 2, 2017

Booklist recently shared an article interviewing author and editor Melissa Stewart on the importance of expository nonfiction. Stewart discussed what she felt made a good work of expository literature, how it differs from fiction or from narrative nonfiction, and why this underappreciated genre is so valuable for children. She also shared some children’s literature that she thinks are great examples of expository literature – including Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci, written and illustrated by Gene Barretta.

Neo Leo was included as a great example of the compare and contrast format. Booklist wrote, “Colorful cartoon watercolors, clear and concise text, and an ingenious format that reinforces the compare-and-contrast text structure highlight how the ideas recorded in da Vinci’s notebooks foreshadowed…modern inventions.”

The full article from Booklist is available on their website here. Neo Leo is available for purchase here.

Geekwrapped’s List of 100 Science Books for Kids Includes Five of Our Artists’ Books

April 24, 2017

Geekwrapped, a website that recommends gifts for the geeks and science enthusiasts in your life, recently compiled a list of one hundred best science books for children. Five of our author and illustrator’s books were included on this list, including three written and illustrated by Gene Barretta! These books included…

• If…A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers, written by  David J. Smith and illustrated by Steve Adams. If helps children understand complicated big ideas by comparing them to smaller, common objects.
• Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci, by Gene Barretta. This fun biography introduces children to the famous inventor who laid the groundwork for many of history’s great inventions.
• Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin, by Gene Barretta. Another biography, this one focuses on Ben Franklin and how he and his inventions shaped the modern world.
• The Worm by Elise Gravel. Part of her acclaimed Disgusting Critters series, The Worm is full of fun and gross details about this common creature. Geekwrapped calls it, “Really fun and educational.”
• Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives by Gene Barretta. The third in his series of biographies on inventors, this one shares the successes and failures of Thomas Edison.

Geekwrapped’s full list of science books for children can be found here.

Gene Barretta To Read Neo Leo At 92Y

March 9, 2016

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.

Ashley Spires and Eric Barclay’s New Books Released Today

January 26, 2016

Two of our illustrators have new books out today! The first is Spare Dog Parts, written by Alison Hughes and illustrated by Ashley Spires, a charming story about what makes our pets unique. It can be purchased here. The second is How to Dress a Dragon, a cute instruction of how to get a dragon dressed, written by Thelma Lynne Godin and illustrated by Eric Barclay. It can be bought here. Congratulations to Ashley and Eric, and happy birthday to your new books!

Michael Slack’s Monkey Truck Featured in Brentwood’s StoryWalk Event

September 30, 2016

The town of Brentwood, CA, is holding a StoryWalk event from September 10 to October 1, featuring Michael Slack‘s picture book Monkey Truck. A StoryWalk is an event in which individual pages from a storybook are set out at special stops across a park or town so that participants can read the story as they take a peaceful walk by themselves or with their family. On the last day of the StoryWalk, California local Michael Slack will visit Brentwood himself, guiding anyone who wishes to join in through the StorkWalk and finally stopping by the community center for an author talk and book signing. Anyone in the Brentwood area October first should stop by to join the walk and say hi to Michael!

Find out more about the Brentwood StoryWalk event here. If you haven’t read Monkey Truck yet, you can order it online here!

Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat Across America Released Today!

September 27, 2016

Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat Across America, the next book in Constance Lombardo‘s illustrated middle grade novel series is available for purr-chase as of today! In the latest volume in the aspiring movie star cat’s adventures, Mr. Puffball, El Gato, and his other friends travel across America to promote their newest movie.  Tom Angleberger, New York Times bestselling author of Origami Yoda, calls Mr. Puffball “too crazy to resist!”

Check out the Mr. Puffball book trailer below. Order Mr. Puffball online here.

Linda Bleck’s What’s in My Train? Now Available for Purchase

September 16, 2016

Linda Bleck‘s newest picture book, What’s in My Train?, has been released and is now available for purchase! This follow up to What’s in My Truck? is a lift-the-flap board book showing all the various surprises contained in a train, from cargo to sleeping passengers. With over thirty flaps to lift and bright, simple illustrations, children are sure to love this book.

You can order What’s in My Train? online here.

Jill Dubin Wins Indie Book Award for Over in the Grasslands

May 18, 2017

The 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards have been released! In the “Children’s Picture Book (6 Years & Up)” category, Over in the Grasslands: On an African Savanna, written by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Jill Dubin tied for first place. Set to the rhyme of “Over in the Meadow,” Over in the Grasslands teaches children about the African savanna and the animals that live there. Congratulations, Marianne and Jill!

The full list of Indie Book Award winners is available here. Over in the Grasslands can be purchased here.

Over in the Grasslands, illus. by Jill Dubin, Available for Purchase, Praised by Kirkus

September 14, 2016

Over in the Grasslands, the latest in the Over in the… series, is now available for purchase. This non-fiction picture book, written by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Jill Dubin, educates children about the animals living in a grassland habitat, all set to the tune of “Over in the Meadow.” It also helps to teach the numbers one through ten.

Kirkus wrote a review of the new picture book. They praised the detailed information filling the book and complimented Jill’s paper cut illustrations, writing, “Some brilliant and unusual color choices, along with marvelously textured and patterned papers, make the cut-paper collage illustrations pop.”

You can read Kirkus’s full review here. Over in the Grasslands can be ordered online here.

Bird, illus. by Shadra Strickland, Reissued in Paperback, Included in Stories for All Project

September 13, 2016

The picture book Bird, written by Zetta Elliot and illustrated by Shadra Strickland, tells the story of a young African American boy coping with the loss of his grandfather and brother through his art. It was originally published as a hardcover book in 2008, but now it will be reissued as a paperback. It will be available for purchase in March of 2017.

Even more excitingly, Bird’s publisher, Lee and Low, will join forces with the NEA foundation and First Book to help with the Stories for All project. Bird has been selected as one of the titles that will included in this project. The Stories for All Project is a program that seeks to encourage reading in children in need by making diverse books available to educators and schools at little to no cost. A special edition of Bird will also be published for this project.

You can find out more about the Stories for All Project at their site.

Pirasaurs!, Illus. by Michael Slack, and Mary Had a Little Glam, Illus. by Vanessa Newton, Make 2016 Best In Rhyme List

February 1, 2017

Angie Karcher, a children’s author and blogger, has nominated her top ten rhyming children’s books for 2016, and two books illustrated by our artists made the cut. Pirasaurs!, written by Josh Funk and illustrated by Michael Slack, tells in rhyme the story of a tiny piratical dinosaur. Mary Had a Little Glam, written by Tammy Sauer and illustrated by Vanessa B Newton, takes the story and rhyme scheme of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and retells it as a story of a fashionable little girl and her attempts to glamorize her classmates. Both have been praised for their fun story and playful rhymes as well as their bright, energetic illustrations.

The final award announcements will be streaming on KidLitTV February 12th at 8 pm ET. Make sure to check it out!

The full list of rhyming winners can be found on Angie Karcher’s blog here. Pirasaurs! can be purchased here and Mary Had a Little Glam here.

Gene Barretta, Gerald Kelley, Elise Gravel, Vanessa B Newton, and Josée Masse Nominated for CYBIL 2016 Award

October 10, 2016

The Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers Literary (CYBIL) Awards is an award given out every year for juvenile and children’s books that successfully combine literary merit and popular appeal. Every year, a list of nominees is created, and from this list, the winners are chosen. This year, five of our authors/illustrators were nominated for six different books!

Juvenile and Elementary Nonfiction:

• Sky High: George Ferris’s Big Wheel (Step Into Reading), written by Monica Kulling and illustrated by Gene Barretta
• Grover Cleveland, Again!, written by Ken Burns and illustrated by Gerald Kelley
• The Toad (Disgusting Critters Series), written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

Fiction Picture Books/Board Books:

• Mary Had A Little Glam, written by Tammi Saeur and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton

Middle Grade Fiction:

• The Nine Lives of Jacob Tibbs, written by Cylin Busby and illustrated by Gerald Kelley

Poetry:

• Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Josée Masse

Congratulations to our talented authors and illustrators! To find out more about the CYBIL awards and who else has been nominated, visit their site here.

More Great Reviews for Mary Had a Little Glam, illus. by Vanessa Brantley Newton

September 12, 2016

The recently released picture book Mary Had a Little Glam, has been receiving tons of praise. This rhyming picture book, written by Tammi Sauer and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton, retells the story of Mary and her lamb with Mary as a fashionable little girl who shares her glamour with her classmates and friends. Check out some of the praise below!

“Illustrator Vanessa Brantley-Newton adds diversity not just in the styles of dress, but also in the makeup of Mary’s class.” –The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Mary Had a Little Glam is wonderful book that has a beautiful carefree black girl as the main character. This is a book that promotes having positive self-esteem…Mary Had a Little Glam will make a great addition to any little girl’s library.” –Brown Mamas blog

“I love how the author, Tammi Sauer, and the illustrator, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, tied in bits and pieces of the original story. But Mary was FAB-U-LOUS in this book! Outside of being incredibly cute and glam, I loved how secure with herself she was and how she loved making her friends feel good about themselves as well.” –The Crunchy Mommy blog

You can order Mary Had a Little Glam online here.

Tons of Praise for Mary Had a Little Glam

August 4, 2016

Mary Had a Little Glam has been receiving great publicity and has been featured on multiple blogs and book review sites! Check out some of the awesome praise below.

The Children’s Book Review featured Mary Had a Little Glam author, Tammi Sauer, in a Selfie and Shelfie feature.

The blog Grandma’s Cookie Jar reviewed Mary and is doing a free giveaway of a copy of the book. They called Vanessa’s illustrations “colorful and fun” and praised the diversity of the story.

Picture Book Builders, a blog run by picture book writers including Tammi Sauer, interviewed Vanessa and also ran a giveaway of Mary. Check it out here!

The blog Pickle Corn Jam also ran a giveaway for Mary, and wrote a review. 

HubPages praised Mary in their review.

There Is A Book For That included a review of Mary in their weekly reading round up.

Mile High Reading wrote a review and ran a giveaway.

Here We Read praised Mary highly in their review.

Night Owl Reviews ran a giveaway.

Mama Smith’s Blog included Mary in their annual reading list.

Wonderful Review from Kirkus of Mary Had a Little Glam, Illus. by Vanessa Brantley Newton

July 6, 2016

The upcoming picture book, Mary Had a Little Glam, written by Tammi Sauer and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton, received a starred review from Kirkus. Mary Had a Little Glam is the fun, rhyming story of a fashionable little girl who transforms her drab fairy tale classmates into young fashionistas. Kirkus praised the positive story and smooth rhymes, and wrote that, “Brantley-Newton’s bright, fun-filled illustrations teem with energy and life.” Kirkus particularly pointed out the diversity in the story. “Whether by happenstance or by design, this delightful picture book positively answers the call for more books about children of color.” You can read Kirkus’s full review on their site.

Mary Had a Little Glam comes out August 2nd. Pre-order it here!

Over in the Forest, illus. by Jill Dubin, is Featured in Nonotuck Park’s Story Walk

June 21, 2016

Over in the Forest: Come and Take a Peek, written by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Jill Dubin, is being featured in Nonotuck Park’s new Story Walk feature. Spreads from Over in the Forest are placed on plaques along the park’s Totem Walk so that families can learn about woodland creatures as they walk through the park. Nonotuck Park is located in Easthampton, MA. If you’re in the area and have the time, you should check it out! While you’re there, if you buy Over in the Forest from White Squares Bookstore, they’ll donate ten percent of the proceeds to the park.