Danitra Brown, Class Clown by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by E.B. Lewis (Amistad/Harper, 2005). It’s back to school for best friends Zuri Jackson and Danitra Brown, and Zuri’s full of worry–about the new teacher, about the note Luther snatched, about her mom’s health, her math homework, and more. But Danitra is always there–loyal and true.
Continue Reading Danitra Brown, Class Clown by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by E.B. Lewis »
Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Ho Baek Lee (Clarion, 2005). An exuberant, rhyming picture book told from the perspective of a hungry young girl during her family’s preparations to eat bee-bim bop (rice topped with vegetables and meat or “mix-mix rice”) for dinner. Lee’s illustrations are warm and add humor,
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Gentle’s Holler by Kerry Madden (Viking, 2005). From the flap copy: “The sixties may have come to other parts of North Carolina, but with Mama pregnant again, Daddy struggling to find work, and nine siblings underfoot, nobody in the holler has much time for modern-day notions. Especially not twelve-year-old Livy Two, aspiring songwriter and self-appointed guardian of little sister Gentle,
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I had the pleasure of interviewing my very cute husband, author Greg Leitich Smith, for Smartwriters.com (click link and scroll to read).
Greg talks about writing companion books, alternating point of view, his diverse casts, writing comedy, and his upcoming projects. He is the author of Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo (Little Brown,
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From my recent post on the childrens-writers list serv at yahoogroups.
As a writer of “contemporary” stories, I’ve found it impossible not to date my books somehow.
A complete lack of current slang is often said to result in a “timeless” story, but in reading such prose, I often find myself thinking, “Wow, you can really tell a babyboomer wrote this.”
The hands-down best bash at ALA/Chicago was Walter M. Mayes’ AKA Walter The Giant Storyteller’s birthday party in celebration of, well, himself and his new picture book, Walter the Giant Storyteller’s Giant Book of Giant Stories, illustrated by Kevin O’Malley (Walker, 2005).
Complete with cake, an iced-cream bar, and a resplendent birthday boy,
Prepared by the EMIERT Children’s Services Committee
June 27, 2005 Chicago ALA Annual Conference
This selected bibliography represents a sample of humorous or light hearted picture books and fiction for children. Books selected for this list include multicultural and multi-racial literature. Stories with animals as main characters and folklore are not included.
Continue Reading The Humor in Multicultural Literature: A Bibliography »
Cubanita by Gaby Triana (HarperCollins, 2005). Unlike Mami, Isa is no Cubanita. Of course she loves her family, but the U.S. is the only home she knows. What’s more, Isa has broken up with her boyfriend, is busy teaching kids art at a summer camp, and is not getting involved with any boy so as to leave for the University of Michigan with a clear head.
Greg and I had the pleasure of speaking at the ALA national conference in Chicago earlier this week with Miss Cecil Castellucci.
Miss Cecil was wonderful! Charming, energetic, and on target! She gave a thoughtful and inspiring speech on the role of humor in literature, film, and the world. She also was great in the Q&A that followed.
LizB over at A Chair, A Fireplace, and A Tea Cozy blogs about A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson (Henry Holt, 2005), which she describes as the “best” book she’s read this year (see June 25 post). Congrats to Mary on a great blog recommendation and thanks to LizB for mentioning my cynsations interview with MEP.