February 2013

IMAGINATION, HARD WORK AND LUCK: RAÚL COLÓN'S FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

Growing up in New York City, Raúl Colón had chronic asthma that kept him housebound for weeks at a time. So he turned to art to entertain himself, filling dozens of notebooks with drawings. “My illness as a child, which kept me from going outside to play, became a blessing," the acclaimed artist has said.

Colón later moved to Puerto Rico, where he studied commercial art. In 1978 he made Florida his home. There serendipity brought him, with portfolio in hand, to the wrong TV studio office at exactly the right time: this studio happened to be looking for an artist! Colón spent the next 10 years there, designing everything from puppets to short animated films for the TV station. Today Colón makes New York City his home. His editorial work includes covers for the New Yorker and illustrations for the New York Times and the New York Transit Museum.

 An award-winning illustrator of more than 30 books for children, Colón was chosen to illustrate Jill Biden’s recently published Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops as well as Frank McCourt’s bestselling Angela and the Baby Jesus. The industry has recognized Colón with a Golden Kite Award, a Pura Belpré Award, and both gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators.

Join us to hear how Colón comes up with fresh ideas for a quick turnaround on editorial work when he can’t wait for inspiration to arrive. And learn about the techniques he’s mastered to create texture and rich, deep colors. An enlightening speaker, Colón is sure to offer a few pointers to help creative minds in their own work!

Date: Thursday, February 21
Time:  11:30 a.m. "social hour"; noon luncheon
Place: Busboys and Poets 
1025 Fifth Street NW (at K Street)
Menu: All choices $22    

:: CHOICE OF SANDWICH (all sandwiches served with a salad of baby greens and house-made kettle chips) ::
• Falafel Sandwich (vegetarian/vegan) with house-made hummus, cucumbers, lettuce, tomato and onion on whole-wheat pita, served with tahini sauce (vegan without tahini sauce) 
• Home-Roasted Turkey Sandwich with Havarti cheese, Dijonnaise, lettuce, tomato and onion on wheat bread
• Grilled Chicken Panini with chipotle mayo, caramelized onions, pepper jack, lettuce and tomato on ciabatta
• Portabella Mushroom Panini (vegetarian) with pesto, roasted red pepper and fresh mozzarella on herb ciabatta  
:: DESSERT ::
Assorted Cookies (family style)
:: BEVERAGES ::
Fountain Drinks (unlimited soft drinks and iced tea), fresh coffee and organic tea

RSVP NOW! 

Save the Date!

Saturday, April 20, 2013

noon to 3 p.m.
2013 Children’s Book Guild
Nonfiction Award Event

HONORING

Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

As art imitates life, their work celebrates art. Among their critically acclaimed titles are:

Place: Clyde’s Restaurant of Gallery Place, 707 7th St NW, Washington 20001 (202) 349-3700

The OTHER WES MOORE 
by Karen Leggett

It’s not too early to think about reading one of the books by our June luncheon guest–or even to consider The Other Wes Moore as a selection for your book club. Wes Moore’s adult book quickly became a New York Times bestseller, and he has now written a young adult version, Discovering Wes Moore. Moore’s list of accomplishments is long: Rhodes scholar, combat veteran of Afghanistan, White House fellow, host of the Oprah Winfrey Network program Beyond Belief. In his books Moore explores the life journeys of  two young men who are close in age and bear the same name. Both grew up in Baltimore, but the “other Wes Moore” is serving a life sentence for murder.  

Commentaries often mention that both boys grew up with single mothers and absent fathers. This statement is technically true, but it conjures up a false stereotype for the family of Moore the author. I knew his parents, Joy and Wes Moore, as consummate professionals and fellow journalists at WMAL Radio in the 1970s and 1980s. The senior Wes Moore died of a sudden and tragic infection when his children were toddlers. Joy Moore raised their children as a young widow, working for many years in communications with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Young Wes and his family now live in Baltimore again, not far from his mom.

In the words of the Publishers Weekly reviewer, Discovering Wes Moore “concludes with Moore's questions and ruminations about how, regardless of limitations and societal expectations, the decisions an individual makes determine who he or she will become.” Moore will be speaking to the Guild on June 13.

The main website for the book is www.theotherwesmoore.com, but there are several that offer discussion questions for book clubs, including http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/14-non-fiction/722-other-wes-moore-moore.  

VICKI COBB'S DEDICATION TO SCIENCE AND LITERATURE 
by Rhoda Trooboff 


At the Guild’s January 2013 meeting, science writer Vicki Cobb treated an appreciative audience to an inspiring talk featuring magic, perseverance, imagination, boundless energy and creativity.

•    The Magic of Science series. Cobb demonstrated that a hands-on magic-trick approach to experiments, lively writing and beautiful illustrations work together to engage children in the “basic, complex principles of science.” She highlighted several of her more than 85 nonfiction books, including Science Experiments You Can Eat, Your Body Battles a Cold, Lots of Rot, Blood and Gore, Bangs and Twangs, I See Myself and This Place Is Cold. She reflected on the power of beautiful hand drawings (e.g., Barbara Lavallee’s illustrations in the 2013 reissue of This Place Is Cold) to shine a “humanistic” light on science writing and make it “literature.”

•    “The Magic Trick of Keeping Her Books in Print.” Guild member Roz Schanzer introduced Cobb with this phrase. Cobb then described how she has worked with many artists, publishers, teachers and children to sustain a successful four-decades-long career in children’s literature since the 1972 publication of Science Experiments You Can Eat, her first science book for children. The audience witnessed Cobb’s passionate curiosity about the everyday experiences that underlie her books and her seemingly tireless efforts to ignite active learning in students and teachers.

•    Breathing New Life into Science Writing for Children. Cobb illustrated the evolution of science writing for children during her lifetime, from dry, “authoritative” textbooks written “by committees” to engaging, fun books that stress the child as discoverer. She noted her pride in enabling the genre of children’s nonfiction to succeed finally so that it no longer occupies a distant third place in the children’s book pantheon, where “picture books and novels are the stars.”

•    Finding Major Trends in One’s Life Experience. Cobb summarized her life story (from being “the child autodidact of bibliotherapy” who enjoyed early schooling at New York City’s Little Red Schoolhouse, through her years as a college zoology major and earning a master's degree in secondary science education, and her jobs as a lab researcher, middle-school science teacher, staff writer for Good Morning America and textbook editor). Her early bio illustrated the limited professional options for women in science in mid-20th-century America and led directly to her 40-plus year career in nonfiction for children.

•    Turning Lemons into Lemonade. Noting that the 2008 recession dried up authors’ earning opportunities and school-visit income, Cobb committed herself to “making school visits a revenue stream for authors, not a revenue trickle.” To that end she has become a “crazed blogger” seeking creative ways to promote her work and generate sales and other revenue. To offset the travel expenses of school visits, for example, she is spearheading the use of interactive video conferencing. Two programs, “Class Acts,” at http://inkthinktank.com/work-with-us, and “Authors on Call,” at http://inkthinktank.com/authors-on-call, connect authors and teachers and bring active learning into science classrooms. In addition, concern that the National Science Education Standards insufficiently honor the work of creative science-teaching materials has led to Cobb’s founding of InkThinkTank (http://inkthinktank.com), a web-based database and blog “that helps teachers find nonfiction trade books to inspire, instruct and inform students across the K-12 curriculum.”


MEMBER NEWS

Once upon a time, before she had written her iconic Dickensian stories, four of which were Mystery Writers of America nominees (with two winning the prestigious Edgar Award), BARBARA BROOKS WALLACE announced to her then agents that she wanted to write a story about a witch. The agents said not to bother because everything that could be written about witches had already been written. Bobbie wrote The Trouble with Miss Switch anyway, and the agents apologized. It seems that everything had not already been written! The book went on to become the highest-rated show when it was televised by ABC for their popular Week End Special series. When ABC asked for a second Miss Switch story, Barbara gave them Miss Switch to the Rescue, which became the second of the two highest-rated shows. Now Bobbie happily announces that a fourth Miss Switch book (preceded by a third, Miss Switch Online) has arrived on the scene: Miss Switch and the Vile Villains. The Publishers Weekly assessment of the earlier books, “fast, suspenseful and funny” may very well apply to this story. The ominous hook on the cover is...well, ominous! 

No English, by JACQUELINE JULES, has won the 2012 Forward National Literature First Place Award for Children's Picture Books. Forward National Literature (FNL) is an independent literary organization dedicated to honoring traditionally published works in 12 categories. FNL showcases both well-known and previously undiscovered authors based on the content, uniqueness and readability of their work.

Pam Edwards has just heard that her book Winston Was Worried, published in England by Macmillan, has been translated into Korean, French and Hebrew.

SUSAN STOCKDALE's Toucan jigsaw puzzle, which features one of her book illustrations, has been published by Pomegranate. Another puzzle, a boxed coloring card set and more note cards with her book images are forthcoming from Pomegranate this spring. Also, an illustration from Carry Me! Animal Babies on the Move that Susan donated to the Mazza Museum is included in the museum's 2013 wall calendar. Now Susan is excited to be off to Costa Rica for a wildlife adventure and to research her next picture book--about spotted animals!

THE READING CONNECTION seeks volunteers for a new Read-Aloud program at Columbia Grove Apartments in Arlington, Va. The Read-Aloud program’s goal is to share the joy and excitement of books with children living in homeless shelters and affordable apartment complexes. The Read-Aloud program at Columbia Grove will be held on Mondays from 6  to 7 p.m., beginning in late February 2013. Volunteers must attend an orientation session, clear a background check and commit to reading once a month for a minimum of one year. All volunteers must be at least 18 years of age. Orientation for Columbia Grove volunteers will be held on Saturday, February 2, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Arlington Central Library, at 1015 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 22201. For more information or to sign up as a volunteer, visit The Reading Connection website: http://thereadingconnection.org/volunteer, or e-mail program manager Stephanie Berman at sberman@thereadingconnection.org. 

Also, The Reading Connection is very pleased to share the news that Guild member Henry Cole will be the Literacy Honoree at TRC's ninth annual Of Wine & Words, on Friday, March 8, 2013, at 7 p.m., at the Boeing Conference Center, 1200 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. There will be a book sale and signing, as well as a brief talk by the honoree. Many Guild members have supported Of Wine & Words in the past as guest authors, donors and attendees. The Reading Connection would love to see any and all Guild members at the event. The cost is $100 for individual tickets or $125 to attend the VIP reception beforehand. For more information, click here: http://www.thereadingconnection.org/contribute/of-wine-and-words

 

Hands Around the Library, by KAREN LEGGETT ABOURAYA and SUSAN L. ROTH,  is a 2013 Orbis Pictus Award Recommended Title.