Jamie Michalak's Blog, page 11

The Little Crooked Bookshelf

Race Car Count by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, illustrated by Michael Slack
This week's pick is from cottager Kara LaReau.

What it's all about
Red light, yellow light, green light, GO! Start your engines — as ten race cars speed around the track, every moment counts, literally!

Why it's on The Little Crooked Bookshelf…
We're a family of car fans (if you didn't already know), and my little one is all about spelling and counting these days. So this racy little number by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Michael Slack is currently #1 in our house!

Our favorite lines…
"Race car 10 has finished last. Still, his wheels were lightning fast."

Our favorite illustration…




Why kids will love it…
With a cast of cool crazy characters (or would those be CAR-acters?) by Michael Stack and a rollicking text from Rebecca Kai Dotlich, this story is sure to get little engines revving.

Why grown-ups will love it…
It's a wheely fun read-aloud with lots of visual interest, without focusing too much on winning and losing. GO-GO-GO check it out!

The Little Crooked Bookshelf

Rock-A-Bye Romp
by Linda Ashman
Illustrated by Simona Mulazzani
This week's pick is from Cottager Anika Denise.
What it's all about . . .
A clever take on the classic lullaby Rock-A-Bye-Baby—with gorgeous illustrations.

Why it's on The Little Crooked Bookshelf . . .
Have you ever thought about how oddly dark the original Rock-A-Bye-Baby is? We have. And so we especially appreciate Ashman's weaving of a lighthearted fantasy around the soothing melody, yet undeniably weird imagery, of a baby falling out of a high treetop.
Our favorite lines . . .
"Sweet little Baby, rocking with me—Who'd put a cradle high in a tree?Babies in trees are fine in a song. . .But you, little one,are where you belong."
Most swoon-worthy illustration. . . 

Why kids will love it . . . It's quirky and sweet, and those familiar the original song will appreciate the humor.
Why grown-ups will love it . . .
Ashman's whimsical rhyme and Mulazzani's dreamy night scenes will soothe little ones to sleep—like a good lullaby.

Quote of the Week

The Little Crooked Bookshelf

THE QUICKEST KID IN CLARKSVILLE 
by Pat Zietlow Miller
Illustrated by Frank Morrison  This week's pick is from Cottager Jamie Michalak.
What it's all about . . .
Ata, the quickest kid in Clarksville, Tennessee, can't wait for the parade tomorrow. Her hero, Olympic gold medalist Wilma Rudolph, will be riding on a float! But what happens when a new girl with shiny new shoes challenges Ata to a race?

Why it's on The Little Crooked Bookshelf . . .
We immediately got swept up in Pat Zietlow Miller's timeless story about how heart and determination -- not squeaky new shoes -- win races. She expertly weaves together many subtle lessons about dreams, hard work, and friendship. The story is perfectly matched by Frank Morrison's energetic, watercolor illustrations. Go, Ata!

Our favorite lines . . .
"Got me some new shoes," Charmaine says.
Boy-howdy, does she ever.
Brand-new, only-been-worn-by-her shoes with stripes down the sides and laces so white they glow.
 
Why kids will love it . . . 
The Quickest Kid in Clarksville is a rhythmic, lively read-aloud. Kids will enjoy chanting along with the sidewalk beat of Ata's worn sneakers: "Wil-ma Ru-dolph. Wil-ma Rudolph."

Why grown-ups will love it . . . 
An excellent choice for those seeking to inspire young readers. The Author's Note highlights Wilma Rudolph's victories, including her major role in the first racially integrated event in Clarksville history.

Quote of the Week

MR. PIG LIVE. . . with Ella and Penguin!

Hello, all you lovely readers out there. Welcome back to my award-winning daytime talk show. . . 

MR. PIG LIVE! 

(*Applause*)

Today's guests are friends of a feather. 
They stick together—
through thick and thin,
rain and shine,
in light... and even... in the DARK!

Please give a warm Crooked Cottage welcome to. . . 


ELLA AND PENGUIN! 
(*Applause*)
Ella and Penguin are the stars of Megan Maynor's debut picture book ELLA AND PENGUIN STICK TOGETHER, illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet.

Let's introduce ourselves, shall we? I'm your host, Mr. Pig. What are your full names? 
Penguin: This is my friend Ella.
Ella: And this is my friend Penguin.

Now onto more pressing questions: Do you have belly buttons?
Ella: Yes. See?
Penguin: *checks tummy* Ah! Oh no! Ella, I LOST my belly button! Ahhh! Where did it go?!

Ahem, lets change the subject. What's the best thing about being you?
Ella: Having Penguin for a friend. I do all the best things with Penguin.
Penguin: Snuggling with Ella.

What's the worst thing about being you?
Ella: I am not tall enough to reach all the things we need for our plans.
Penguin: Sometimes Ella has to do things—gulp—without me.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what would you bring?
Penguin: Fish, fish crackers, gummy fish, and fish sticks.
Ella: Penguin

What is your idea of the perfect day?
Ella: Dance with Penguin. Put on a show with Penguin. Build a fort with Penguin. Make a snack with Penguin. Sing with Penguin. Snuggle with Penguin.
Penguin: Wake up. Play with Ella. Eat snacks. Take a bath for a hundred hours. Put on footie pajamas. Snuggle with Ella.

illustration (c) 2016 Rosalinde Bonnet
What are you reading right now?
Ella: The ABC book.
Penguin: I’m still learning, so Ella reads to me.

What is your favorite word?
Ella: Tah-dah!
Penguin: Ella.

What is you least favorite word?
Ella: Bath time.
Penguin: Bedtime.

What is your favorite sound?
Ella: The kind of music that’s good for twirling and leaping.
Penguin: The freezer door opening.

What is your least favorite sound?
Ella: Penguin crying.
Penguin: *sniff*. Oh, that’s so sad. *sniff* I hope I never hear that sound! Oh, boo hoo hoo!

Share one thing that most of our readers don’t know about you.
Penguin: I am an expert at rolling down hills.
Ella: I’ve seen him. He’s very good.

If you could dine with three characters from other books, who would they be?
Ella and Penguin: Frog & Toad, Cowboy & Octopus, George & Martha. (There are two of us, so we each picked three.)

If a genie gave you one wish, what would you wish for?
Ella: That kind of finger paint that has glitter in it.
Penguin: Fish sticks. In a box that was never empty. Never-ending fish sticks.

If you have a pocket, what is in it right now? 
Ella: A sticker, a stone, half a crayon, two candies, and some yarn.
Penguin: Ah! I also lost my pocket! First my belly button, now my pocket?! Everything is lost! Oh boo hoo hoo!
Ella: It’s okay, Penguin. I’ll share what’s in my pocket.
Penguin: *sniff* Thank you.

illustration (c) 2016 Rosalinde Bonnet
What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
Ella: My special recipe: Yogurt mixed with cereal.
Penguin: Toast cut into the shape of a fish.

What is your most embarrassing moment?
Penguin: When I got my head stuck in a lampshade.
Ella: When I called Penguin “Mom.” Remember that?
Ella and Penguin: Ahhhh! Mom! Hahahahah! (both fall over laughing)

What is your pet peeve?
Ella: People who think Penguin is cute.
Penguin: I’m not cute?
Ella: Oh no. You ARE cute. But you’re not JUST cute. Some people think you are only cute and not important. And you are EXTREMELY important.
Penguin: *nods* Extremely. *whispers* (What does “extremely” mean?)

What was it like working with Megan Maynor?
Ella: Exhausting. She had us go on SO MANY adventures before she settled on one for the book.
Penguin: She still owes me some fish sticks.

Fish sticks are delicious! Speaking of delicious, our caterer, Nina, from Mamabelly's Lunches with Love, has whipped up a delightful Literary Lunch for us today. Scroll down or click here, for a peek at her scrumptious creation!

Megan Maynor is a former advertising copywriter and author of picture books ELLA AND PENGUIN STICK TOGETHER and ELLA AND PENGUIN: A PERFECT MATCH (coming 2017), both from HarperCollins Children’s Books. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and three children.

For more about Megan and her books, visit her website: http://www.meganmaynor.com.



Rosalinde Bonnet loved to draw when she was little. She would often get into trouble in school because she doodled all over her notebooks during class. After high school, she studied at the Versailles School of Fine Arts for two years then at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris for another four years. Since her graduation in 2004, she has written and/or illustrated numerous children's books published in France, in England and in the United States.

Visit Rosalinde's website: http://www.rosalindebonnet.com to see more of her work!

* Praise for Ella and Penguin Stick Together:

"Maynor, making her debut, backs up her perceptive premise with solid comic writing; even though Ella and Penguin’s search for a nonscary, semidark viewing environment proves unsuccessful, their attempts (which include sitting under a laundry basket and shielding the stickers from the light with frog- and bear-shaped umbrellas) have the authentic ring of kid ingenuity at work. Working in watercolor and pencil, Bonnet (Poppy’s Perfect Paper) makes the repartee between the friends natural and appealing, and when Ella and Penguin finally screw their courage to the sticking place and enter the closet, the unleashed glowing is a payoff worth waiting for. " 
—Publishers Weekly

Literary Lunch - Ella and Penguin Stick Together

Nina, from Mamabelly's Lunches with Love , read  Ella and Penguin to her family, then whipped up this tasty treat, complete with glow-in-the-dark stickers... er... cheese!


All you need sometimes is a friend that makes you feel strong and brave. Ella has a surprise for Penguin: glow-in-the-dark stickers. But to see the stickers glow, the friends must go where it is dark. And dark can be... really dark. They try everything to see the stickers glow in the light, but nothing works. Will they find a way to stick together and face the dark to see something beautiful?

Find out in Ella and Penguin: Stick Together written by Megan Maynor and illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet . A charming and sweet book about friendship, with gorgeous illustrations!

Nina from Mamabelly.com made this lunch using:an Ella sandwich with chocolate and jelly decorations,a penguin sandwich with chocolate and jelly decorations and a yellow pepper beak,and the most important: cheese glow-in-the-dark stickers.

A Day at ALA

Hello, friends. Kara here. I'm a little bit tired this morning, and my throat's a bit sore (not sure if I'm getting sick, or just recovering from all of yesterday's schmoozing), but I'm going to do my best to tell you all about our day at the American Library Association Midwinter Convention in Boston yesterday!

It was raining yesterday, yet unseasonably warm. Somehow, my intrepid traveling partner and fellow Cottager Anika Denise and I managed to dress ourselves in appropriate-yet-relatiely-attractive layers. Our train to Boston was fifty minutes late, and our cab driver dropped us off at the wrong place (where we happened upon a biker convention AND a bridal convention), but eventually, we made it to the ALA exhibit hall. I always feel a rush when I first see all the booths — it's kind of like Christmas morning, but for book nerds.

Anika and I split up for a little while — she went off to connect with the editors of her upcoming books, Monster Trucks and Starring Carmen. And she managed to run into none other than Mr Schu!


While Anika rubbed elbows with kidlit luminaries, I made my way to the Candlewick Press booth, where I caught up with some former publishing friends, and rendezvoused with my editor, Sarah Ketchersid, who took me out for a lovely lunch. We talked about all sorts of things, including my new chapter-book series, The Infamous Ratsos, due to launch this August. Apparently the jacket art for the first book just came in from genius illustrator Matt Myers — I can't wait to see it!

After lunch, I went to the Abrams booth and met more than a few amazing peeps, including Tamar Brazis, who is editing my upcoming middle-grade series, The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters. Before I knew it, I was having my picture taken and was making a promotional video right there in the booth!

Then I met up with my agent, Barry Goldblatt; even though we email and talk on the phone all the time, we realized we hadn't seen each other in person in almost TWO YEARS. It was great to catch up, and to walk the floor with him a little. We stopped by the Macmillan booth where I enjoyed a little reunion with my editor, Neal Porter. He showed me several upcoming titles from his imprint — they were all amazing, of course, but this one in particular really knocked me out:


Amazing art and super-funny text from renowned author-illustrator Antoinette Portis. Can't wait to get my hands on this one, so I can share it with my little one!
After all that, I hit a bit of a wall, so I retired to a cozy chair in a remote corner of the convention hall; Anika soon joined me and we regrouped for a while. Then, it was time to check out some books. As we walked the aisles together, we browsed the latest and greatest from all of our favorite publishers. Here are just a few we loved (there were many, many more, but as I mentioned, we were very, very tired!)

Have I mentioned I am a HUGE fan of Steve Light's work? Add that to the fact that my son (like his father) loves cars, and you'll see why this board book caught my eye. Love the fun trim size!


Sorry about the slight blurriness here, which may have been due to my enthusiasm for this upcoming title by Lucy Ruth Cummins. No spoilers — let me just say that this story features a ravenous lion, several adorable (and unsuspecting) friends, and more than one unexpected turn of events. If you know me (and my book, UGLY FISH), you know how much I love surprises, not to mention dark humor. This book has both, and then some!



Anika checked out this title earlier in the day. Super-sweet, and illustrated by fellow Rhode Islander Jen Corace!

We both loved this one — gorgeous art, and a nice new twist on the are-you-my-mother theme. 
By this point, the exhibit hall was shutting down, which meant only one thing — it was time to PARTY! We hopped in a cab with some friends and made our way over to a swanky little restaurant called Pastoral, for a Kidlit Drinks Night event. So nice to reconnect with old friends, make new friends, and enjoy a glass (or two) of bubbly!

Here we are with Josh Funk, Emilie Boon, and Jennifer Pulver Goldfinger (please note that all the empty glasses on the table were water glasses, ahem). Thanks so much to Sam Musher and any and all others who helped make this event such a success!

Thankfully, Jennifer gave us a ride to the South Station, and before we knew it, Anika and I were back on the train, completely exhausted but SO HAPPY we made the trip, even if it was only for one day. Next time, we're thinking of getting a Cottager hotel room, so we can stay longer, party harder, and of course, have a place to NAP.

Hope you enjoyed this little snapshot of our trip!

Quote of the Week

"Love and a set of watercolors can solve any problem."—Terry Shay, founder of International Dot Day
Pin it!

The Little Crooked Bookshelf

LILY AND BEAR
by Lisa Stubbs

This week's pick is from Cottager Anika Denise

What it's all about . . .
Lily likes nothing better than to imagine and draw the things she loves. She draws cats and birds and boats and houses, and one day she makes a very special drawing of a bear who comes to life.

Why it's on The Little Crooked Bookshelf . . .
Charming and simple text combined with loosely drawn screen printed, acrylic, watercolor and pencil crayon illustrations give the book a classic story time feel. We especially love the texture and bold childlike line in the art, as well as Lily's fabulous red tutu.

Our favorite lines . . .
But best of all,they sang reallyloudy, whileBear played the banjobrilliantly.

Our favorite illustration. . .

Why kids will love it . . .Lily and Bear are hard to resist. Their friendship is sweet and true. And what kid won't love to imagine a favorite drawing coming to life? Especially one who plays banjo brilliantly. 
Why grown-ups will love it . . .It's a charming and satisfying read aloud perfect for snuggle time or story time. We'd recommend pairing it with Kelly Light's Louise Loves Art for a drawing or imagination themed story hour.