Art from A PENGUIN'S WORLD Helping to Support Free Expression at BEA

"Penguin's First Swim" from A Penguin's World (PictureWindow Books, 2006)

A book is challenged in a school or library in the United States almost every day. Just this month the Chicago Public Schools banned Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis in middle school classes.

The good news is that the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE)--the bookseller's voice in the fight against censorship, is leading the fight against book censorship. Its Kids' Right to Read Project (KRRP), co-founded with the National Coalition Against Censorship, is providing critical support for the students, parents, teachers, and librarians who are fighting challenges in their local communities.

That's why ABFFE has agreed to co-host the 19th Annual Children's Book Art Silent Auction at BookExpo America. Proceeds will support ABFFE's defense of the free speech rights of young readers. The event will be held on Wednesday, May 29, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the River Pavilion of the Jacob Javits Convention Center.  There will also be an online auction. It begins on Saturday, May 18 at 9am and closes on Friday, May 24 at 9pm. It can be found here: http://myworld.ebay.com/abffe. Feel free to spread the word. ;) For more info, please visit the auction's website.

I have donated "Penguin's First Swim" from my book A Penguin's World (Picture Window Books, 2006) to the auction.  It will be available in the online auction. Check it out!
And, if you are planning to attend BEA, please stop by ABFFE.

Celebrating 20,000 Views!

This week the number of views of this blog passed the 20,000 mark!  Hooray!  I'm pleased to know that there is an audience for news about my books and art and appreciate it when people make comments.  The stats indicate that people from all over the world are reading the blog.  The top ten countries in order are the United States, Russia, United Kingdom, India, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, Latvia, and Brazil.
Thanks to all of you for your support!

Kristin Fontichiaro and Roger Sutton at the CLC Spring Workshop in South Pasadena

Last Saturday I went to hear Kristin Fontichiaro, Clinical Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the School Library Media Program at the University of Michigan School of Information, and Roger Sutton, Editor in Chief of The Horn Book Magazine, talk about the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and how they are going to affect school and public libraries--and already are.  This was the spring workshop of the Children's Literature Council of Southern California, held in the wonderful, spacious library at the South Pasadena Middle School.

Kristin's lively talk, peppered with "I'm going to Italy!" in anticipation of her participation in an international conference on this subject in Rome, focused on the features of Common Core and some of the practical and political issues surrounding its implementation.  She discussed 10 things you (meaning librarians) can do to support the folks implementing CCSS and their students. The slides for her talk are on the web and you can see them here.  Roger focused on how the CCSS are going to impact the publishing of books for children.  The emphasis in Common Core is on nonfiction and developing skills for close reading of nonfiction texts--which may mean an increase in the number of nonfiction books being published.  Good nonfiction, he said, has a point of view and is scrupulously researched.  For nonfiction authors like me, it sounds like nothing has changed--we still must write the very best books we can!

Too Hot? Too Cold? at Children's Book of the Month Club

I just learned that my book, Too Hot? Too Cold? is now available at the Children's Book of the Month Club. "Offering members exclusive access to a rigorously curated selection of bestselling and quality children's titles, Children's Book of the Month Club selects only the best of the best in recent releases to offer to their patrons through monthly mailings."
I'm thrilled to have even more readers become familiar with my book!

Mixed-Up Animal Writing and Art Activity

My two tall tale books, The Terrible Hodag and the Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers, feature a creature with the “head of an ox, feet of a bear, back of a dinosaur, and the tail of an alligator.”  (The first Hodag stories were  invented about a hundred years ago in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. My books are variations on those tales.)  On a recent visit to my brother’s third grade class in Novato, California, I asked the children to invent their own mixed-up animals.  They created some remarkable creatures, complete with illustrations! One of my favorites had the head of a fly, feet of a chicken, back of an albatross and tail of a leopard.  It's favorite food is bats! I hope that some of the students will now use their invented animals to write their own tall tales!

A WARMER WORLD, Now in Korean

I recently received a copy of my book A WARMER WORLD translated into Korean.  I am always thrilled to see my books translated into other languages and often surprised to discover that what takes so many letters to write in English can be expressed more succinctly in another language.  Over the years a number of my books have been translated into other languages. Except for The Skeletal System (El Sistema Oseo), which is available from Lerner Publications, and A Zebra's World (El Mundo de las Cebras) available from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, the foreign language editions are available only in the countries where they have been published.

 

Spanish

The Skeletal System (Lerner, 2007, hardback and paperback)

A Zebra's World is available in Spanish as El Mundo de las Cebras (ISBN 978-0-547-13232-7) from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers.

Korean

A Warmer World (BIR/MINUMSA Publishing Group, Korea)
Birds Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines (Gilbut Children's Publishing Company, Korea)

Super Swimmers (Sigongsa Company Ltd., Korea)

Wiggle and Waggle (Hemingway, Korea) 

Japanese

A Guide Dog Puppy Grows Up (Japan UNI Agency, Inc., Tokyo)
When Mammoths Walked the Earth (Shinjusha Ltd., Tokyo, 2005)

Celebrate Earth Day!

Next Monday, April 22nd, is Earth Day!  Celebrate by doing something to help our planet.  Here's a repeat of my post on A Warmer World.  Check out the blog for other news about what people are doing to help prevent global warming.







Here are some ideas for ways you can celebrate.

1. Get your hands dirty!
Volunteering is a great way to contribute on Earth Day and meet new friends in the process. Find out about volunteering opportunities in your community, by checking out the Earth Day Network.
2. Donate to the Canopy Project.
Planting a tree is one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve the environment ­and your quality of life. If you don’t have the opportunity to plant trees in your community, you can simply donate to the Canopy Project. For every $1 you contribute, they’ll plant a tree.
3. Pay the “earth-friendly” way!
Save natural resources by enrolling in online bills and statements. You’ll avoid paper, stamps, envelopes, and the fossil fuels used to transport the mail, which are all contributors to our damaged environment.
4. Creative commuting.
Every gallon of gasoline your car burns emits about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. Leave your car at home for the day, and try car pooling, mass transit, biking and walking to school or work if possible. Even just one day a week is significant!
5. Become a year-round Earth ambassador.
Share your personal “green initiatives” with family and friends! When you inspire others to celebrate Earth Day and make environmentally conscious decisions year-around, you have truly made a difference.