Urban Animals

Alligators climbing columns. Elephants supporting flagpoles. Shimmering seahorses. Donkey’s protecting windows. These are the types of creatures one may find when hunting those elusive urban animals. In her wonderful new book, URBAN ANIMALS, Isabel Hill guides us through the city, on the prowl for concrete creatures in their natural habitats.

As with great architecture, the many different elements in URBAN ANIMALS work together to make one fantastic whole. Photographic images are paired with charming rhyme that tip us off to what animal it is we seek; for hunting through URBAN ANIMALS can be a game too. The first page of each rhyme is a zoomed out photo of the building the urban animal lives on. A cute little illustrated creature sits at the bottom of the page as a clue to help readers know what sort of animal they are looking for. On the opposite page we zoom in on the animal we seek.

Isabel Hill has smoothly written architectural words into each rhyme. Words like bracket, cornice, and medallion. In back, the Architectural Glossary gives us definitions to spur further discussion. A simply illustrated city map shows the types of buildings these urban animals live on. Plus there’s a list of Animal Habitats. We get to find out exactly where each animal lives, including the building’s name, address, and the year it was built.

My older kids loved this book for the cool architecture and were interested in the new vocabulary words they discovered in the rhymes. My little one had lots of fun trying to find the hidden animals. My librarian loved the book for all that it offers to children. We all wished we had such beautiful and fun architecture where we live. URBAN ANIMALS is a great book to use to introduce kids to the beauty of architecture. They're bound to start looking closely at the built world around them. And who knows what they may find?

Urban Animals by Isabel Hill is published by Star Bright Books.

The Big Debate

Who Should Control The Virtual Library? This is a great interview with a Google representative on NPR's talk of the nation that I know will interest all my writer friends. Google wants to scan books and make them available online. They want writers to have to opt out. The interview is about 20 minutes long. I love the writer that called in.
Click here to go to the interview.

Adventure at the Post Office

I took my fresh, clean, nicely printed and packaged submission package to the post office today. As usual, they didn't quite get it. The post office really needs to be trained to work with authors. Don't get me wrong, I actually love my post office. The people that work there are really nice (except for that one person, and yes, all of us that go there know who that person is.)

Is it that strange that I need a stamp for the envelope that goes inside the manila envelope with enough postage to send all the papers back? Seems simple enough(although hard to explain sometimes!) Would it kill them to put the stamps on straight? I mean, really, it's not a big deal, right? RIGHT? I just spent time making sure the rest all looks nice. Who cares if the stamp looks like I let a two-year-old put it on.

I'm getting pretty used to it. Barely cringed when the stamp was slapped on the manila envelope too. But then... what the heck? I watched in horror as the postal worker flipped my manila envelope over and ripped off the clasp! She looked at me and said, "it costs more with the clasp because they have to put it through a different machine." Okay, well I would have paid more, if I was given the choice! As I looked at the near hole she had put on my envelope I was thankful she didn't rip through the entire thing. Then she tossed it into the pile and smiled.

I've tried to talk to the postal clerks about what I do and why I need to do things this way. Some of them care. Okay, one of them cares. The rest, well... they have a lot to do, I'm sure.

Juggling

You know how when you're a kid you always, at some point, want to be a juggler. Of course, I wanted to be other things, but juggling is so cool. At least it looks like it is when done well. Who doesn't want to throw numerous things up in the air and have them land and take flight at a neat, organized pace.



And who knew when I grew up I'd actually be a juggler? I didn't, because I still can't throw things up in the air and keep them going round and round in a high-flying show of gravity defiance. No, I do not juggle bean bags, bowling pins or chairs. I juggle--writing. Ta da!

Right now I am revising a story collection and a non-fiction series, I have a few new manuscripts to type up (yup, I'm old school. I dig the pen and paper), I'm researching and querying agents and thinking about doing the same with publishers, plus a friend and I really want to write a book together if we can swing it (she just found out she's pregnant though, so we'll see), plus my husband wants to start up the screenplay again as soon as the weather cools, which is soon. I will not even begin to talk about the stinkin' reality show proposal we wrote and should be doing submission research on. Then there's keeping up with the critiquing, twitter, facebook, jacketflap, linkedin, Verla Kay's chatroom, and such. I am supposed to be creating a new website. Hopefully I will get to that someday.

Oh, and this blog! So okay, I'm not the best juggler. Neat and organized I am not. I drop things a lot. I don't get them done in the time frame I always want. But, when the papers or the plans go flying, I just pick them up and keep on juggling. I bet you do too.

I've Got the Blues, The Daddy Longlegs Blues.

Even at first glance, I’m digging THE DADDY LONGLEGS BLUES, a groovy picture book written by Mike Ornstein and illustrated by Lisa Kopelke. On the front is an old school record covered with bugs and a laid-back Daddy Longlegs. I’m thinking most kids won’t even know what a record is, but this cover will give parents an opportunity to go old school and tell the little whippersnappers about the good old days. Makes me feel like digging out the old record player, blowing off the dust, and singing the blues.



This Daddy Longlegs, he’s got a reason for the blues, and boy does he play them. The multitalented Daddy plays a plethora of instruments and he never stops rambling. Lisa Kopelke’s fun illustrations keep us watching Daddy Longlegs, always on the move, playing a new instrument at every turn. He never loses his groove. It’s no wonder he’s a legend.

THE DADDY LONGLEGS BLUES, has a nice rhythm that keeps the flow bee-boppin along. Mike Ornstein’s fun humor may give you a giggle. Plus, he’s woven the fiction with facts in a way that isn’t intrusive or didactic, it’s just part of the fun. Did you know that daddy longlegs are opiliones? My little one does now.

The book also has a couple of great features after the story. There’s a glossary of blues terms defining words like funky and soul. The list of musical instruments played by Daddy Longlegs and their definitions is fun. Then there’s a page about “Daddy Longlegs and the Blues” which starts out, “Like many blues players, Daddy Longlegs are ramblers, wandering through life to their own funky rhythm.” Now that’s really bringing it all together.

THE DADDY LONGLEGS BLUES, written by Mark Ornstein and illustrated by Lisa Kopelke is published by Sterling Publishing.

Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?

For my picture book display at the library this week, I tried to go with a Labor Day theme. It proved to be a little difficult, but I managed to come up with a fun display. After all, there are lots of different kinds of workers in any given place. My people in the neighborhood list includes firefighters, postal workers, a garbage man, store clerks, a librarian, bakers, musicians, a principal, a Zamboni driver, and of course, a mad scientist. Here’s what I found:


TRASHY TOWN written by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clamesha, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. This is a classic story about the trash man with a great rhythm plus it encourages child participation, which is always fun. If you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for?



FIREFIGHTERS TO THE RESCUE by Kersten Hamilton and Rich Davis. A firefighter story. Kids love em.

PENGUIN POST by Debi Glori, about a little penguin who has to take over delivering the mail for his penguin parents—and ends up delivering himself a surprise.

BEBE GOES SHOPPING written by Susan Middletown Elya, illustrated by Steven Salerno. I know, I’m pushing it with this one, but there is a grocery store clerk in it, and he’s very nice.

NOTHING by John Agee. This story has a funny concept that challenges our way of thinking. Buying nothing? Absurd!

THE LIBRARY DRAGON by Carmen Agra Deedy. Hey, every librarian’s got to be a little bit of a dragon sometime, except for me, of course.

HAZEL NUTT: MAD SCIENTIST written by David Elliot and illustrated by True Kelley. Every town has a mad scientist, doesn’t it?



SUN BREAD by Elisa Kleven. Elisa’s books are always beautiful. And there’s a baker in this story that brings the whole town together.

MY FAMILY PLAYS MUSIC by Judy Cox, illustrated by Elbrite Brown. Where would we be without musicians?

SAM THE ZAMBONI MAN written by James Stevenson, illustrated by Harvey Stevenson. The Zamboni man is especially important around here. Lots of hockey lovers.

MR. TANNEN’S TIE TROUBLE by Maryann Cocca-Leffler. Mr. Tannen is one tie loving principal. I wish he would have been my principal when I was in school. He’s awesome.

I wanted to include police officers(Like OFFICER BUCKLE AND GLORIA by Peggy Rathman), doctors, dentists, truck drivers, teachers, the list could go on and on. Any favorites out there I should keep in mind for my next people in the neighborhood display?

Interview with Author/Illustrator Carin Berger

Have you ever seen a book cover and fallen in love with it? That's what happened the first time I looked at Carin Berger's picture book, OK GO. The bright, whimsical characters made me want to pore through the book and see what it was about. I wasn't disappointed.

Carin is an award winning illustrator, author, and designer. Her latest book, OK GO, was published by Greenwillow Books this spring. It is a beautiful book about going green, full of wonderful images made with recycled materials and inspiration for kids (and their grown-ups) to do their part to help take care of the environment. Carin has stopped by today to talk about her writing and her beautiful collage illustration style, and I am so happy to have her!

Which comes first for you, the story or the art?

The story or at least the idea for the story almost always comes first.


I love your quirky collage illustration style. How did you develop it?

When I first started playing around with illustrations for a set of poems that I had written [what was to become Not so True Stories and Unreasonable Rhymes], I thought that I would make paintings. But then a friend, who knew I had a passion for ephemera, gave me a box from an old barn that was brimming with a half century’s worth of old papers. It was an absolute treasure trove calling out to be used and it set me on the path to collage.


How does your process of collage work?

I start by making thumbnail sketches and then tiny dummies of the book. Once everything is working I do very tight full size final line drawings which look very different than the final collages. I then make each section of the collage and put it together almost like a puzzle. I might cut five different cars out before I have the one in the color and gradation that I’m happy with. The materials that I use are very pedestrian. In addition to the ephemera [which might be something old but could also be the receipt from the dry cleaner with great printed numbers on it], I use old magazines and catalogs. [Clothing catalogs are a great source for buttons!] I also use plain white glue and scissors and my trusty x-acto knife. Sometimes I add a bit of paint to the background.


Are there any artists whose work inspires you?

Oh yes! There are so many it’s hard to know where to start. I look at absolutely everything for inspiration. Paintings, textiles, furniture design, architecture, folk art, photography, old scientific inventions…

I love the work of Hilary Knight, Charley Harper, Bill Peet, Jonny Hannah, Calef Brown, Lane Smith, Sara Fanelli, Maurice Sendak, Mary Blair, Takei Takeo, and Helene Guertik, to name a few favorites.


About how long does the process of writing and illustrating a book take you?

It varies. Ideally I like to have 5-6 months for a project.


You illustrated BEHOLD THE BOLD UMBRELLAPHANT by Jack Prelutsky. Can you give us some insight on how illustrators are paired with manuscripts?

That’s a bit of a mystery to me. The art director at a publishing company is responsible for making those decisions.





When did you know you wanted to be an illustrator? What drew you to children’s books?

I’ve always been smitten with children’s books. I love how the words and pictures work in tandem to tell a story. I made my first picture book for my cousin when I was 10. And I started collecting them back then as well.


Have you had any artistic training? Any training for writing?

I studied graphic design and illustration at college, and I have worked as a designer in London, New York City and San Francisco. For the last decade or so I have designed book jackets, which I still enjoy doing along with making picture books. Writing is something that I have always done for my own amusement.


What advice would you give to aspiring illustrators?

I think it’s important to do what you love, and to allow yourself to experiment and to find your own “voice”.



Your first picture book, NOT SO TRUE STORIES AND UNREASONABLE RHYMES, was published by Chronicle Books in 2004. How did you break in to the market?

I was tremendously lucky. I had a set of poems that I wrote and illustrations that I made to go with them, but I didn’t really know what to do next. A writer friend suggested that I send them to an agent that he knew. She generously took the project on, and, miraculously, managed to sell it. That became my first book, Not so True Stories and Unreasonable Rhymes, Chronicle Books, 2004. It was a very fluid process, and, I now realize, atypical and extremely fortunate.


What inspired you to write your latest book, OK GO?

Remember “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute” from the 70s? I do. That early message to be responsible for the environment somehow resonated deeply for me. I think that kids have a very strong moral compass and an intuitive connection to nature. It’s great to reinforce that. Plant the environmental message early!





What are you hoping readers will get out of the story?

First, fun.

Second, the opportunity to start a discussion about taking care of the planet, and, hopefully, some passionate young green advocates!


What are you doing to support the publication of your book? Where can we find you?

I find visiting schools and doing readings very rewarding.

Also, I have a website: www.carinberger.com

and a fan page on facebook: Carin Berger

and I’ve met all sorts of interesting people on twitter: http://twitter.com/CarinBerger


What’s next for you?

I do have a new picture book coming out early in the new year that I am excited about. It’s called Forever Friends and it’s about enduring friendship. It’s kind of a companion book to The Little Yellow Leaf. [Hint: look at the front and back covers of The Little Yellow Leaf and you will find the two friends in Forever Friends!]



That's exciting news, Carin. You have a definite Little Yellow Leaf fan here at my house. My little guy loves tracing the path of the yellow leaf and his friend as they dance through the sky. We'll be waiting for Forever Friends.

Want to know what else Carin is up to? Stop by her blog: carinberger.blogspot.com