Debbie Ridpath Ohi's Blog, page 63
July 11, 2015
#BookADay: KOALA HOSPITAL by Suzi Eszterhas (Owlkids Books)
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KOALA HOSPITAL
Written and photographed by Suzi Eszterhas
Launches from Owlkids Books on Oct. 15, 2015
Juvenile: Age (years) from 7 - 10, Grade (CAN) from 2 - 5, Grade (US) from 2 - 5
ISBN-10: 1771471409 - ISBN-13: 978-1771471404
I picked up the f&gs for KOALA HOSPITAL at ALA at the Owlkids booth because (1) the author was there, looking so friendly and welcoming, and (2) the cover of the book was super-adorable.
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I had no idea there was such a thing as a koala hospital until I read this book. Suzi Esterhas's photos are wonderful, giving a young reader a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how koalas are rescued, treated and then released into the wild. Text is engaging and fun, plus there's an excellent section at the end about the conservation of koalas, how young readers can help wildlife in their own neighbourhood, plus a Q&A and glossary.A portion from the sales of the book is being donated to the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, Australia.
More about KOALA HOSPITAL on the BNC Catalist
More about Suzi Eszterhas on her website and Twitter.
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More info: Donalyn Miller's Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts.
July 4, 2015
#BookADay: MINRS by Kevin Sylvester (Simon & Schuster, Sept/2015)
Appropriately enough, I began and finished Kevin Sylvester's MiNRS underground. It was soOooOooOOoo good that I missed my subway stop. Twice.
MiNRS is Kevin's upcoming action-adventure sf book for middle grade ... though honestly, I believe older readers will enjoy it as well. The premise: A 12-year-old boy and his friends have to survive in the mining tunnels after their new space colony are attacked during an Earth communication blackout.
Love the unexpected plot twists.
Loved the action and adventure, sense of real danger. The darker bits are part of what helps set this sf middle grade apart from others.
Love the main character, Christopher, and how his character develops throughout the story. Love the fact that he's just an ordinary boy (no superpowers, etc.) who has to use resources available to him to figure things out and learn how to be a leader.
Loved the depth of the character interactions and complexity of some of the relationships.
Loved the strong female characters.
Loved the fascinating tech/science behind the asteroid mining process.
Just ***LOVED***.
Can't wait until MiNRS comes out this September from Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster.
And Kevin: I want MORE, PLEASE.
Read about MiNRS on the Simon & Schuster website.
Find out more about Kevin and his work at KevinSylvesterBooks.com.
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More info: Donalyn Miller's Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts.
June 19, 2015
Want to support an author's or illustrator's new book but can't afford to buy it? Here's what you can do.
The quandary: You want to support someone's new book and as much as you'd like to buy it, you can't. Perhaps you can't justify the cost of the new book right now. Perhaps your author friend is prolific and has multiple books coming out, and you can't afford to get them all. Perhaps you have so many author and illustrator friends that if you tried to buy all their books, you'd need to sell your car first. Or your house.
Here are some other ways you can show support for an author's book:
First, read the book. How do you read it without buying it? Borrow it from the library. For picture books, you could even read the book AT the bookstore.
Reserve a copy at the library. At least at some libraries, this helps show the library that at least one person is interested in that book. If popular enough, the library may order more copies.
Review/rate the book. Post a rating and/or review in sites like Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon, BN.com or your own blog. If you didn't like the book, don't lie. Nilofer Merchant suggests using a phrase like "this book is not for you if you are xxx" because even this kind of negative review may help others know the book IS for them. Take a few extra minutes to browse the other reviews of the book and then (if the feature's available) Like the reviews that you did like or found helpful.
When you read the book, read it where people can see it. Not sure about the rest of you, but I'm always surreptitiously checking out the covers of books that people read in public. This is where print books have the advantage of digital. Read the book on public transit, in the park, on the beach, at the airport, while waiting in line. You never know when people will decide to check out the book just because they saw you enjoying it.
Recommend the book to others through social media. Including the book cover (either scoop the cover image from the publisher/author/illustrator website or photograph the book cover in the library or bookstore) especially helps. Even just a short "Loved this book!" along with the cover will be appreciated. You can make it even more personal by adding a reason why you loved it. Take the time to tag the author or illustrator; tagging not only alerts the author/illustrator to the post but it also encourages people to click your tag link to find out more about the person.
Share and retweet the author's or illustrator's posts. Be judicious -- don't share/retweet everything, especially if you tend to share/retweet a lot on your feed. To authors and illustrators: make sure your post is PUBLIC if you want it shared. I can't tell you the number of times I've started to share someone's FB post but then discovered that it's a Friends-Only post; even if I shared it, the only people who see it would be our shared friends who already have it in their feed. If you're confused, read this FB support page about how to control who sees your posts.
Post a photo of the book in the wild. Especially around launch time, I find that social media sometimes gets inundated with images of just the book cover. Make your post more personal by taking a selfie of you holding the author's book, or another reader with the book -- photos with people in them always get more Like-love. Or take a photo in a fun setting, like adding a cup of tea beside a picture book about a tea party, for example. Or if you see the book in your local bookstore or library, take a photo and tag the author or illustrator. I can't speak for other author/illustrators, of course, but I always appreciate when someone does this.
If the author or illustrator is on YouTube, subscribe to their channel so you can more easily find out when they upload new trailers or videos.
Talk about the book. Don't underestimate the power of word-of-mouth. Recommend the book to friends, work colleagues, your local bookseller and librarian. When a friend of mine recommends a book they personally like and think I'd like, too, I pay MUCH more attention than when I see a generic "this new book just came out, you should get it!" post on social media.
And meanwhile...
Whether or not you can afford to buy my book(s), THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has supported me and my work! I really appreciate it.
Do you have other suggestions about how to support book authors and illustrators? Please post below.
Related Resources:
How To Support An Author's New Book: 11 Ideas For You - by Chuck Sambuchino on Writer Unboxed
How To Support An Author - by Nilofer Merchant
5 Quick Ways To Support Your Favorite Author - by Dorothy Wiley
How To Support An Author Beyond Buying Their Book - by Erin in Pub Crawl
June 18, 2015
#BookADay: FAMILIES, FAMILIES, FAMILIES by Suzanne Lang & Max Lang (Random House Children's)
FAMILIES, FAMILIES, FAMILIES! by Suzanne Lang and Max Lang is a wonderful celebration of family love, no matter what the size or type. Adorable and goofy family portraits included nontraditional as well as traditional families. Published by Random House Children's Books this year.
Suzanne produces, develops and writes for children's television. Max codirected the film adaptation of The Gruffalo (!) as well as the Oscar-nominated adaptation of Room On The Broom.
Excerpt from a School Library Journal review: "The loud-and-clear message is that “if you love each other, then you are a family.” And imagine the many children who will be reassured because they have found a portrait of a family they will recognize as their own. A solid choice for most libraries."
More about the book on the publisher website.
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More info: Donalyn Miller's Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts.
June 16, 2015
#BookADay: THE BLACKTHORN KEY by Kevin Sands (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster)
One of my favourite recent reads is THE BLACKTHORN KEY, a debut novel from Kevin Sands, coming out from Aladdin/Simon & Schuster this September. Wow. Really, REALLY loved this.
When people ask me for recommendations for good, new middle grade novels, I will not hesitate to list this book. It's a quick/easy read with suspense, humor, action and moving moments. Love the character relationships. PLUS there are secret codes, apothecaries and explosions. What's not to love?
Thanks so much to Simon & Schuster Canada for the advance reader's copy.
You can read a synopsis of the book here.
I couldn't find a regular website for the author but he's on Twitter at @kevinsandsbooks and has a FB Page.
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More info: Donalyn Miller's Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts.
June 10, 2015
Three Questions With Donna Gephart: Advice For Young Writers and Death By Toilet Paper
Donna Gephart is a professional nerd. She's written five novels filled with humor and heart for Penguin Random House, including How to Survive Middle School, Death by Toilet Paper and Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen. She's also written some compelling grocery lists and award-winning Post-it notes to her dogs. For free activity/reading guides, lots of fun info and a singing hamster video, visit DonnaGephart.com. "I'm a big fan of teachers and librarians; let's connect @Dgephartwrites or via carrier pigeon -- whichever is more convenient and poops less."
I first met Donna when she wrote for me at Inklings, my email newsletter for writers back in the early days of the Web. As I prepped her Three Questions interview, I looked back through some of my old archives and found a "Writing Funny For Money" piece she did for me back in 1998(!).
Synopsis of DEATH BY TOILET PAPER:
When the good toilet paper is replaced by cheap, scratchy stuff, Benjamin Epstein realizes his hard-working mom is in deep financial trouble. Ben will do anything (entering contests, selling candy bars, etc.) to help his mom pay the rent and keep a promise he made to his late father. (Toilet and toilet paper trivia head each chapter.) Nominated for Pennsylvania, Maine and Rhode Island state reading lists and winner of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award.
1. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
My friend's daughter creates sculptures of each of my book's characters. Hammy the Hamster from How to Survive Middle School w/his microphone to the right. And Vanessa Rothrock from As If Being 12-3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President on the left. You might notice Vanessa has no pants (nor legs).
They melted on the cookie sheet in my friend's oven because her daughter ran out of clay and used a cheap substitute for the legs. We now refer to her as Vanessa Meltypants.
Our one dog keeps me company every day while I write, while the other dog guards the front window by barking at dangers, such as the UPS delivery person, babies being pushed in strollers and the bunny who sometimes hangs out on our lawn. (Our window blinds will never be the same.)
2. What advice do you have for young writers?
There's some advice on my site from industry professionals and resources for young (and young at heart) writers:
Everyone says: "Write what you know." But I think if you write only what you know, it would be boring. Write what you'd like to know. I purposely create ideas for my novels that require me to research and learn new things. Did you know there are 516,000 bacteria in every square inch of armpit? Your brain weighs about three pounds? And the first stall in a public bathroom is the least used and therefore the cleanest? (You're welcome for that last one.)
Write the emotional truth of what you know. Do you know what it's like to feel lonely, scared, left out, overjoyed? Write about those feelings!
You may not believe this, but the bliss in writing is in the actual writing -- in losing oneself completely in the process of creating something that didn't exist before -- not in the outside rewards one might get from being published, winning an award, etc. Although those things are nice, too. Let everything else go and write with great joy . . . and a pen. A pen definitely helps.
3. What are you excited about right now?
I'm excited to have a wonderful year of school visits, Skype visits and book festivals behind me and a long, lovely summer ahead to daydream, fill up on books and play outside with friends, family and our dogs.
And write.
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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive.
June 6, 2015
Three Questions with Timothy Young: Toy Shelves, Advice For Young Writers/Illustrators and THE ANGRY LITTLE PUFFIN
Timothy Young has been an animator, puppet maker, toy designer, sculptor, art director and graphic designer. He’s designed for Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, the Muppets, Disney, and Universal Studios. Tim is the author/illustrator of 5 picture books with a sixth out this fall, Do Not Open The Box. He lives in Easton, Maryland.
You can find out more about Timothy on his website, Facebook and Twitter.
Synopsis of
The
Angry Little Puffin
(
Schiffer Publishing
):
“Look at the funny little penguin” and “What a silly-looking penguin!” Puffin is upset that he’s constantly mistaken for a penguin. He reaches the last straw and rants about the differences between penguins and puffins until a girl comes along who explains why puffins are her favorite. Just when you are feeling alone and mis-understood, sometimes it only takes the understanding of one small person to turn things around.
1. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
Ok, so I sent a series of photos to put my answer in context. As you can see, I have a lot of “somethings” in my office. I have books, toys, animation models, all kinds of stuff.
Some of them are things I’ve designed or sculpted, some of them are things I’ve collected over the years. So narrowing it down is going to be hard.
Do I choose my copy of The Lorax, signed by Dr. Seuss? Or the Simpsons dolls that I designed and whose heads I sculpted? Pretty much everything on my shelves has a story behind it. I’ll narrow it down to one special thing. This duck.
He sits on a shelf between a giant sloth and a dog. These 3 toys are the 3 toys I’ve owned the longest. I don’t know why I still have them. My parents moved a couple of times and most of my toys were thrown away. The giant sloth is the only one left from my many sets of plastic dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures. The dog is the only survivor from my huge menagerie of little plastic animals. For some reason, this duck is what I’m most fond of. He’s just a cheap little rubber duck eraser. He was probably bought for about 5¢ sometime in the mid to late 60’s. He’s got a puncture wound on his beak from an accident with a pencil. I love this duck. He’s not an identifiable character. He wasn’t from a book or TV show (as far as I know). Many of his brethren were rubbed to death, absentmindedly used to erase some mistake or other. He escaped that fate. He’s just this cool little orange duck that I’ve owned forever.
2. What advice do you have for young writers and/or illustrators?
I like to tell people that I’m an illustrator who figured out how to write. Heck, it wasn’t until after I wrote I Hate Picture Books! that I felt comfortable even saying I was an author. When I was young, I hated writing. I loved reading, I read a lot of books and I loved the pictures in picture books and I loved doing art. I found writing to be a chore. I had lots of ideas for stories but I never thought I’d be the guy to write them.
Two things changed that for me. One was the computer. I found that part of the reason I hated writing was that I could not write with a pen or pencil and get my thoughts out quickly enough or in a way that I could even think about editing. Using a computer to write, I can write very quickly and I can go back and edit easily. I didn’t get a computer until the Apple computers came out just after I graduated college. I might have gotten better grades on essays if they had been invented sooner.
The second thing that taught me that I might be able to write my books was a job I had. I was the design director for a toy company and we were creating these toys called The Meanies.
These toys were parodies of Beanie Babies. Our characters were kind of sick and twisted, like Splat the Road-Kill Kat and the one-footed Lucky the Rabbit. Since Beanie Babies came with poems, we decided to write limericks for The Meanies. Everyone in the office began writing limericks for our characters and then we had meetings to decide which ones to use. Many of mine were chosen. That made me realize that maybe I could write my book ideas.
Ok, I can’t tell that story without giving you one of my limericks.
This is the one I wrote for Heartless Bear.
“I never loved you from the start,
and now I’m afraid we must part”
you said with a grin
as you reached right on in
and yanked out my still beating heart.
So I suppose my advice is, you never know unless you try to write…and write it on a computer.
3. What are you excited about right now?
School visits! I’ve done some great school visits this year and I have six more coming up. I decided at the beginning of the year that I would give a puffin sculpture to every school I visit, in honor of the release of The Angry Little Puffin. I did a Kickstarter to raise some funds to do it. Little did I know how many I’d end up making.
When I got into writing my books I wasn’t really thinking about school author visits. Then I met some educators at various book events and started getting invitations. I’m having so much fun! The students are great, they really seem to enjoy the way I read my books, the interactive drawing demonstration I do and they ask great questions. It gives me an opportunity to travel to towns I’ve never been to before and visit school libraries and i find that talking to students sparks all kinds of ideas for new books.
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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive.
June 5, 2015
#BookADay: CITY OF SAVAGES by Lee Kelly (Saga Press, 2015)
#BookADay: CITY OF SAVAGES by Lee Kelly (Saga Press/Simon & Schuster, 2015). I just finished this strong debut from YA author Lee Kelly; I *loved* the focus and development of the sister relationship throughout, and the dual-narrative works really well. Add a suspenseful plot with some unexpected twists, and it's a book that would make an excellent summer read, especially for sf fans.
Synopsis:
"After the Red Allies turn New York City into a POW camp, two sisters must decipher the past in order to protect the future in this action-packed thriller with a dual narrative.
It’s been nearly two decades since the Red Allies first attacked New York, and Manhattan is now a prisoner-of-war camp, ruled by Rolladin and her brutal, impulsive warlords. For Skyler Miller, Manhattan is a cage that keeps her from the world beyond the city’s borders. But for Sky’s younger sister, Phee, the POW camp is a dangerous playground of possibility, and the only home she’d ever want.
When Sky and Phee discover their mom’s hidden journal from the war’s outbreak, they both realize there’s more to Manhattan—and their mother—than either of them had ever imagined. And after a group of strangers arrives at the annual POW census, the girls begin to uncover the island’s long-kept secrets. The strangers hail from England, a country supposedly destroyed by the Red Allies, and Rolladin’s lies about Manhattan’s captivity begin to unravel.
Hungry for the truth, the sisters set a series of events in motion that end in the death of one of Rolladin’s guards. Now they’re outlaws, forced to join the strange Englishmen on an escape mission through Manhattan. Their flight takes them into subways haunted by cannibals, into the arms of a sadistic cult in the city’s Meatpacking District and, through the pages of their mom’s old journal, into the island’s dark and shocking past."
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More info: Donalyn Miller's Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts.
June 3, 2015
Three Questions with Joyce Wan: Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators, Goal-Setting and THE WHALE IN MY SWIMMING POOL (FSG)
Joyce Wan designed her first greeting card when she was in first grade for a city-wide greeting card design contest. The design won first place and was subsequently sold through a major department store chain. Twenty years later that design would inspire a design studio called Wanart whose products and books featuring Joyce's art are now sold world wide.
I first met Joyce at the SCBWI Summer Convention in Los Angeles, before I got my first children's book contract, and I so appreciated how welcoming and encouraging she was when I was such a nervous newbie.
You can find Joyce on Wanart.com, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Synopsis for THE WHALE IN MY SWIMMING POOL (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015):
One sunny day, a little boy heads outside for a swim, but his pool is already taken. There’s a big whale in the water and it’s not budging! The boy tries everything to get the whale to leave. Nothing seems to work. Not fetch. Not tag. Not even offering his allowance. What’s a boy to do? A picture book about a boy who makes the best of an unusual situation. This colorful whale of a tale from the talented Joyce Wan is sure to inspire giggles from little guppies!
1. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
This is the shelf in my studio containing all the copies of my published books that I use for promotional purposes. I’m still amazed that my first book only came out in 2009. Now, 6 years later, there are 10 different books on that shelf with several more to come in the coming years. The road to getting published can be a long, hard one but once the ball gets rolling, a lot can happen in a short amount of time (I’m sure you can relate Debbie!). I feel blessed every time I look at this shelf.
2. What advice do you have for young writers and illustrators?
Keep a sketchbook or notebook with you at all times to jot down all your ideas. No ideas are too silly or simple. I did not submit my book YOU ARE MY CUPCAKE to publishers until a year after developing the concept. I kept worrying that the idea was maybe too simple. It has since gone on to sell over a couple hundred thousand copies and has turned into a whole line of board books with Scholastic. I often wonder how many wonderful ideas never see the light of day because the creators themselves didn’t give it a chance.
Another tip is to set regular, realistic deadlines for yourself. (ie: complete one drawing/painting every week or complete a rough draft of a story every month, etc.) I am a self-trained illustrator but I started my illustration career with my own greeting card business. What helped me develop a style and improve my drawing skills was I would set regular deadlines for myself (ie: 12 greeting cards every month). Not only did my drawing skills improve but I was able to make the overwhelming task of creating an entire greeting card collection seem more feasible.
I think creative people often feel overwhelmed and paralyzed by self-doubt and the emptiness of a blank page. THINK BIG, ACT SMALL, but ACT nonetheless-ONE STEP AT A TIME towards your goals.
3. What are you excited about right now?
I’m excited about wrapping up a few illustration projects including a new picture book series called PEEP & EGG by Laura Gehl and PUG MEETS PIG by Sue Gallion so that I can switch gears and get back into some of my own author/illustrator projects. The best thing about my job is that no two days are the same.
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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive.
Also see Donalyn Miller's Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts.
June 2, 2015
The Scrabble Addict
In honour of my friend John Chew's birthday today:
