Josh Funk's Blog, page 7

Cybils Award Nominations

Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast was recently nominated for a Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Award (The Cybils) along with many other fantastic picture books (see the entire list here) – and thank you to the nominator! And the good news is that you – yes YOU – can still nominate any book that hasn’t already been nominated! Nominations are open through October 15th in the Picture Book category, as well as 10 other children’s and young adult categories.

I nominated Boats for Papa by Jessixa Bagley. Now it’s your turn. Click here to nominate books for the Cybils.

Two for You

(two books I highly recommend)

1. Cat Nights written and illustrated by Jane Manning

Get ready for Halloween with this story of a witch transforming into a cat.

2. Nugget & Fang: Friends Forever – or Snack Time? written by Tammi Sauer and illustrated by Michael Slack

A stunningly illustrated tale of underwater friendship.

October Miscellany

Here’s a quick bullet list of various items I feel are worth sharing:

I’m ‘touring’ southern New Hampshire this weekend. Two Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast storytimes with free activity kits, collectors cards, and more! Stop by, say hi, bring your kids, neighbors, and all breakfast-lovers! I’ll be at:

Nashua Barnes & Noble on Saturday, October 10th at 12pm
Portsmouth-Newington Barnes & Noble on Sunday, October 11th at 11am

Stop by any of my events to get a pair of these collectible cards!

I’ll also be at Wellesley Books on 10/24 at 11am for a superstar storytime with four other awesome authors! Everyone’s invited!

Nancy Tupper Ling, author of Double Happiness
Ammi-Joan Paquette, author of Ghost in the House
Anna Staniszewski, author of Power Down, Little Robot
Jane Sutcliffe, author of Stone Giant


I sent out my Official Author Newsletter the other day. If you didn’t get it, certainly sign up here. If you think you should have gotten it, check your s-p-a-m folder and add the address to your address book (this happened to ME). I’ll be giving away swag in the next newsletter, so don’t miss it!
Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo), Tara Lazar‘s November picture book writing challenge, is only a few weeks away! So get ready! (Hint: I might be posting something. In unrelated news, I must remember to write a post for for someone‘s November picture book something)
A Dear Dragon cover reveal might be coming soon … so be on the lookout.

And I’ll conclude with the tradition I started last post by offering two book recommendations

Two for You

(two books I highly recommend)

1. Kindergarten Luck written by Louise Borden and illustrated by Geneviève Godbout

A positive story with fabulous art reminiscent of Mary Blair.

2. Herman and Rosie written and illustrated by Gus Gordon

A vintage romantic tale by this fine Australian author/illustrator.

My First Podcast Interview: Let’s Get Busy with Matthew Winner

Just a quick note today: if you’ve never listened to the Let’s Get Busy Podcast with Matthew Winner, you certainly should. And today you have TWO reasons … because I am the featured guest on Episode #193 talking about Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast!

In this interview I:

Share my love for Sterling Publishing‘s publicity and marketing departments
Gush over Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast illustrator Brendan Kearney
Reminisce about Sesame Street
Tell the story of how I sold my first books
Name drop:

Kathleen Rushall (my agent)
Rodolfo Montalvo ( Dear Dragon illustrator)
Michael Slack ( Pirasaurs! illustrator)
Jess Keating
Debbie Ohi
Sudipta “Sudsy” Bardhan-Quallen
Tara Lazar
my wife


End with a very uncomfortable moment for a Red Sox fan

I highly recommend you subscribe to the Let’s Get Busy Podcast if you haven’t already. Matthew Winner has so many amazing interviews with fabulous guests in the previous 192 episodes (and many more lined up to come!). And certainly check out his new home for the podcast – All the Wonders, a home for readers to discover new books and to experience the stories they love in wondrous ways.

Also, I decided today to start a new tradition. Because so many of my blog posts are about me, I’d like to share two favorite books by others at the end of every post from this day forward. I’ve decided to very creatively call this:

Two for You

(two books I highly recommend)

1. Boats for Papa written and illustrated by Jessixa Bagley

I love everything about this book. Get the tissues ready, cause it made me start crying in the middle of a bookstore.

2. Snoozefest written by Samantha Berger and illustrated by Kristyna Litten

Great rhymes and illustrations, and starring a sloth.

How can you help an author? I’m so glad you asked…

Several people have asked me how they can support Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast now that it’s out in the world, so I decided to share this info with everyone. If you have a few spare minutes to do any of the items below, that would be greatly appreciated and hugely beneficial.

*Please note that the following information applies to all authors and all books*

Talk about the book with your indie booksellers. Next time you’re in your local indie, ask if they have the book. If they do, it’ll bring it to their attention. If they don’t, maybe they’ll order it or remember next time they’re ordering.
Request that your library purchase a copy. Many libraries have online request systems. But asking your children’s librarian always works (it’s ok. they won’t bite – unless you run. then maybe they will).
Rate and review the book on Amazon here . More Amazon ratings a book has, the more it will get recommended to others. And if you have time to write a text review, it helps even more.
Review the book on Goodreads here . Similar to Amazon, the more Goodreads reviews received, the more potential readers it will reach.
Share the book with your friends. Whether in conversations with real friends or sharing online with e-friends, letting people know about the book is a great way to get it on their radar. Next time they’re in the market for a picture book, they’ll already have one in mind!

I wrote a more in depth post about ways to help authors here if you REALLY have lots of spare time. And THANK YOU for your help and support!

Thank You!!!

Phew! It’s been a whirlwind of a few weeks. After Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast launched, I’ve had events at bookstores, libraries, and schools; it’s been reviewed in some of my favorite blogs and publications; awesome educators have used the book in lesson plans they’ve shared and tweeted to me; I’ve done interviews and guest blog posts (I’m keeping a running list of all reviews, interviews, etc. here); I’ve even received my first bits of fan mail.

One school dedicated an entire week to Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast with classroom activities, meals, sidewalk decorations, and cosplay outfits (see video here).

Frankly, the support and excitement have been overwhelmingly positive beyond anything I could have imagined. And for all of that and more, I want to say:

 

My Guest Post on MuggleNet [My Marriage with Harry Potter…]

I had the fortunate pleasure of writing a guest posting on MuggleNet.com, The #1 Harry Potter Site. I’m also giving away a signed copy of Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast at the end of the guest post. See the excerpt below:

My Marriage with Harry Potter… and Getting Pancakes Published

It’s not what you think. My wife’s name isn’t Harry Potter. Her name is Mrs. Funk. But Harrywas there when we fell in love. And Ron was there when I proposed. And Hermione was at our wedding.

Let me backup. I started reading Harry Potter in 2000 when Goblet of Fire came out. When I started dating the future Mrs. Funk in 2002, she hadn’t yet read Harry Potter, so we read them out loud to each other. I remember one particularly late night when we stayed up reading the last 120 pages of Prisoner of Azkaban until sunrise (because once you hit “Professor Trelawny’s Prediction,” there is absolutely no good stopping point)….

Click here to see the rest of the post on MuggleNet.com.

Book Launched

The Lady Pancake & Sir French book launch at Porter Square Books was fabulous. We sold out of books, including both all that PSB had ordered AND the 30+ I was stockpiling in my car.

If you missed the event, you can still find me by checking my full schedule here.

Wed, 9/9, 10:30am: An Unlikely Story, Plainville, MA
Fri, 9/11, 7pm: The Writers’ Loft, Sherborn, MA
Sat, 9/12, 10:30am: Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, MA
Sat, 10/10, 12pm: B&N, Nashua, NH
Sun, 10/11, 11am: B&N, Newington-Portsmouth, NH
Sat, 10/24, 11am: Wellesley Books, Wellesley, MA
Sat, 11/7, 2:30pm: nErDcamp Long Island, Roslyn Heights, NY
Sat, 11/14, 10:30am: Blue Bunny Books & Toys, Dedham, MA
Sat, 11/21: Writers’ Loft Book Bazaar, Natick, MA
Sat, 12/5, 10am: Wellesley Books, Wellesley, MA
Fri, 1/15/16, 7pm: nErDcamp Northern New England, Falmouth, ME

And rather than tell you about the launch, I thought I’d share pictures (courtesy of Mama Funk, Heather Kelly, Carter Hasegawa, & Pam Vaughan):

Click to view slideshow.

Thank you to everyone who showed up and everyone who’s been supporting me remotely! I hope to see you (again) soon!

It’s finally here!

How to Buy a Picture Book (without Buying a Picture Book)

My first book comes out on Tuesday. Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast. You’re probably tired of hearing about it by now, so lucky for you, I don’t plan on talking about it in this post.

Today it’s how to support picture book authors and illustrators.

One of the best things you can do is buy their book(s).

But what if you’re not in the market for picture books at this time in your life, so the idea of buying one doesn’t really interest you? Maybe it doesn’t fit your budget. Or maybe you have an irrational fear of cute animals and anthropomorphic breakfast foods.

Here are ten ways to support picture book authors and illustrators:

Give the book as a gift. You probably know someone who might like it. Give it to her/him. Or donate it to your library.
Request that your local library purchase a copy. This can be done in person or often in an online form.
Reserve and borrow it from the library. Increased circulation of books is noticed by librarians. They are smart people.
Review the book. On goodreads. On Amazon. On bn.com. Text reviews are even more valuable than just star-ratings.
Talk about the book with librarians and booksellers. There are a lot of great books out there. Get this book on their radar.
Talk about the book with friends. Or parents of your child’s friends. Or your child’s teacher. Or strangers on the street.
Share the book on social media. Tweet about it. Blog about it. Post on Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, MySpace, etc. about it. Share the cover image. If you see it in the wild, snap a picture and share that. And tag the author or illustrator (or both). We love that!
Share the author or illustrator’s posts on social media. Follow them on social media sites and share with your networks.
Read the book in public. Like at the park. Or in a restaurant. Or the airport.
Make your own fan book trailer. And post to YouTube. If that’s your thing.

Note: I’m not the first to write a post like this. Here are a few other posts which have similar and more detailed info. Please check them out:

Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s Want to support an author’s or illustrator’s new book but can’t afford to buy it? Here’s what you can do
Publishing Craw’s How to Support an Author Beyond Buying Their Book
Jen Malone of Writers’ Rumpus’ How to Help an Author (Beyond Buying the Book) Part1, Part 2, and Part 3

Also Note: These ideas can apply to any type of book, not just picture books.

Thanks for reading. And thank you very much for supporting picture book authors and illustrators, however you choose to do so.

#pb10for10 #TeamRhyme

Educators Cathy Mere & Mandy Robek have been running the #pb10for10 event for years now. Basically, pick 10 picture books you simply can’t live without and share today, August 10th, with the hashtag #pb10for10 (see the official rules here).

It’s hard to pick just 10, so to help narrow my field I’m going to stick to my favorite rhyming picture books.

 

Iggy Peck, Architect

written by Andrea Beaty & illustrated by David Roberts

I’ve said it over and over and over again, but this is one of four books that inspired me to become a writer. Advanced rhyming at its best.

 

Snoozefest

written by Samantha Berger & illustrated by Kristyna Litten

Woodstock for the sleepy. And starring a sloth.

 

If I Built a House

written & illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

I could have gone with Circus Ship or any one of Van Dusen’s other rhymers, but I just love the wackiness of this one.

 

Orangutangled

written by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen & illustrated by Aaron Zenz

Sudsy is one of the best rhymers out there, and all her books are great, but this one continues to entertain me and the kids every time we read it.

 

The Library

written by Sarah Stewart & illustrated by David Small

This and The Gardener (which doesn’t rhyme) are two of my favorites ever.

 

Three Ninja Pigs

written by Corey Rosen-Schwartz & illustrated by Dan Santat

Be on the lookout for a third in this series coming in 2016!

 

1 Zany Zoo

written by Lori Degman & illustrated by Colin Jack

The award winning debut from a stellar rhymer!

 

Chuckling Ducklings

written & illustrated by Aaron Zenz

He illustrated Orangutangled (above), but he is also an expert at dishing out rhyming text. This series (including Hug a Bull & I Love Ewe) are AWESOME gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or to a newborn baby!

 

Monster Needs Your Vote

written by Paul Czajak & illustrated by Wendy Grieb

I know it’s not out until August 25th (in 15 days!!!), but I’m a big fan of the Monster & Me series, and this is the first one being published that I helped critique.

 

Guess Again!

written by Mac Barnett & illustrated by Adam Rex

Technically, this isn’t quite rhyming, but if you’ve read it, you’ll get it.

 

And those are my ten for #pb10for10!

My publicist would behead me if I didn’t mention that my debut picture book Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast (illustrated by Brendan Kearney, out on September 1st) also rhymes.

 

That is all. Make sure to check out all the other #pb10for10’s linked up!