CANDACE FLEMING, WINNER OF THE GUILD'S 2014 NONFICTION AWARD
Fleming has authored more than 20 children's books in different genres, including the following acclaimed biographies: Amelia Lost (2012 Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction), The Great and Only Barnum, The Lincolns (Boston Globe-Horn Book Award), Our Eleanor and Ben Franklin's Almanac.
Fleming's versatility extends to historical picture books that nurture curiosity and love of history. Rooted in carefully researched historical background and enlivened by Fleming's creative story spinning are Imogene's Last Stand; A Big Cheese for the White House; Boxes for Katje; Gabriella's Song; Westward Ho, Carlotta! and The Hatmaker's Sign.
The 37th annual Nonfiction Award presentation is sponsored by Turning the Page, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit linking parents, teachers, students and community to enhance children's learning.
Date: Saturday, April 5
Time: noon to 3 p.m.
Place: Clyde's Gallery Place Restaurant
701 7th Street NW
Washington, DC
Tickets: $35
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Susan Roth's Letter from Copenhagen
2. Brenda Randolph Nominated for Membership
3. Report on the Annual Business Meeting
4. Susan Stockdale's Discussion of Her Picture Books
3. Report on the Annual Business Meeting
4. Susan Stockdale's Discussion of Her Picture Books
5. Member News
6. Book-Signing Opportunity
by Susan L. Roth
Dear Book Guilders!
Hello from my new home away from home. I’m in Copenhagen
again, and I have a story to share with you.
A few million years ago, when I was in high
school in San Francisco, my father hired a Danish artist to assist him in his
graphic-design studio. The artist’s name was Ib Olsen, and I still sort of
remember him.
Yesterday I was walking along the edge of the
royal palace, on the way to a museum, when I passed a small building attached
to the grounds. It turned out to be a gallery carrying the children's book
illustrations (and other illustrations) of one Ib Spang Olsen.
I texted my brother in Oregon, who by miracle
responded immediately: yes, of course I remember him. Check him out!
I went into the gallery. A lovely man, Rolf Petersen, was running the
place. He thought that the early 1960s chronology fit. He knew that Ib Olsen had
worked all over the world, so the California connection sounded plausible.
Sadly, he said, Olsen died two years ago, well into his nineties, having worked
hard to the end. Petersen is a close friend of the Olsen family—he grew up with
the Olsen children. He manages the gallery and the legacy, which is huge, especially
here.
 |
| Rolf Petersen in the Galleri Ib Spang Olsen, Copenhagen |
The walls of the gallery were covered, floor to
ceiling, with Olsen’s original artwork. There were big piles of books containing his utterly
charming illustrations. Olsen won the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1972
and plenty of other honors throughout his long career. He wrote many of the
books himself, but he also collaborated on many with one of Denmark's best and
best-known poets, Halfdan Rasmussen.
Olsen worked in pen and ink until late in his career, continuing, a
bit after the technology took over, to do his own color separations. Many of
these spectacular original drawings were there, and Petersen was delighted to
show them to me. Olsen always worked on heavy vellum, on mylar-like sheets, Petersen
said, because he was very concerned about accurate reproduction. Apparently
this heavy, plastic-like translucent stuff suited his purpose better than other papers did. The old
separations reminded me of Japanese prints with their multiple wood blocks, all
perfectly aligned.
Books are outrageously expensive in Denmark,
and the ones offered for sale in this gallery were no exception. Forty dollars or
more for a picture book that I can't read? Ouch!
(A children's book publisher I met with
yesterday told me that children's picture books are so expensive here that even
grandparents hardly ever buy even one
for favorite grandchildren, not even for birthdays or Christmas presents! You
have to be the kronprincesse for that
kind of luxurious present, he said.)
 |
| Illustration from Ib Spang Olsen's book Little Locomotive (Grafodan Offset, 1999), Karen's birthday present |
And so I went back, weakened, and bought a few
treasures. And before I left the gallery Petersen presented me with a double
treasure: a numbered and signed poster by Ib Spang Olsen himself. Petersen is working on a new website for Olsen. It should be up in the next few weeks. I hope you'll check it out!
 |
Illustration from Ib Spang Olsen's book Old Mother Hubbard and Her Dog
(Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1976)
|
Brenda received the François Manchuelle Award for innovative
work promoting the cause of African Studies. (Dr. Manchuelle was an Africanist
historian who died in the crash of TWA flight 800 in 1996.) She has also
received the National Outreach Council Award of Appreciation for CABA.
For many years, Brenda attended the Guild’s Nonfiction Award
luncheons. She has recently been a frequent guest at monthly luncheons, easily
networking with member authors, illustrators and fellow librarians. She brings
a vast knowledge of an important realm of children’s literature as well as
experience promoting a valuable national award that often does not receive the
attention it deserves. Brenda’s ideas, passion and energy will be an asset to
the Guild’s purposes and projects.
Dara LaPorte, whose Open Book Foundation worked extensively
with Brenda and last year’s CABA winners, seconds the nomination.
Brenda shares the following about herself and her interest
in joining the Guild:
Over the years I have
attended a number of events sponsored by the Children’s Book Guild of
Washington, D.C. Each experience has helped me grow professionally. I am eager
to join the Guild and contribute my skills and knowledge to the organization.
Membership would also give me the opportunity to work with people who share my
passion for children’s literature.
I am a graduate of
North Carolina Central University, where I majored in history, with a minor in
library science and education. I earned a master's degree in African studies
from Howard University and a master of library science degree from the
University of Maryland, College Park. I have worked as a library media
specialist in schools in Virginia, Massachusetts and Maryland.
In the early 1980s I
created the Title VI African Studies K-12 Resource Center at Howard University.
The center introduced K-12 educators to quality materials on Africa. In 1989 I
founded Africa Access, a 501 c (3) organization created to help schools, public
libraries and parents improve the quality of their K-12 collections on Africa.
Our online journal, Africa Access Review,
provides scholarly reviews of children’s and young adult books that focus on
Africa. More than 100 African studies scholars are members of our review team.
In 1991 Africa Access,
in collaboration with the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association,
founded the Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA). Each year CABA recognizes the best children’s
and young adult books on Africa published in the United States. More than 70
awards have been presented to authors and illustrators.
I am the assistant editor
of Sankofa Journal, a peer-reviewed
journal published annually by the Department of English and Language Arts at
Morgan State University, Baltimore. Sankofa includes scholarly articles on
emerging trends in African and African-diaspora juvenile literature and in-depth
reviews of books nominated by U.S. publishers for CABA.
In 2001, I received
the François Manchuelle Award for innovative work promoting the cause of
African studies in the K-12 community. The award is given in memory of Dr.
Manchuelle, an Africanist historian who perished in the crash of TWA Flight 800
on July 17, 1996. In 2007, on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the
African Studies Association, I received the National Outreach Council Award of
Appreciation for outstanding service and commitment to promoting the teaching
of Africa through the Children's Africana Book Awards.
THE GUILD MEMBERSHIP'S ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING
by Jennifer O'Connell
THE GUILD MEMBERSHIP'S ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING
by Jennifer O'Connell
On the evening of Thursday, March 20, the Guild’s
annual business meeting took place at the Bethesda Public Library. Guild
President Fred Bowen read the list of 2014-2015 Executive Board nominees put
forth by Paige Billin-Frye and Laura Melmed of the Nominating Committee.
Unanimously approved were: president: Susan Stockdale; vice president:
Amy Hansen; treasurer: Debbie Levy; recording secretary: Betsy Kraft; and Program
Committee members: Dara LaPorte, Heidi Powell and Joyce Schwartz.
The upcoming Nonfiction Award luncheon on April 5 was also
discussed. Luncheon Chair Ellen Butts reported that tickets are selling well,
but seats are still available. Fred Bowen reminded everyone present that the award
luncheon offers a great opportunity for members to get in touch with
teachers, librarians and friends to invite them to attend. Tickets can be
purchased until April 1.
On the day of the award event, Ellen could use a member with MAC
experience for tech backup help. Anyone interested should contact her at
ellenbutts@gmail.com.
SUSAN STOCKDALE ON BRINGING HER PICTURE BOOKS TO LIFE
by Jennifer O'Connell
During the Guild’s March 20 business meeting, author/illustrator and
Guild president-elect Susan Stockdale provided fascinating insight into how she
creates her nature-themed picture books.
Susan discussed how her love of
the outdoors was influenced by her childhood years in Miami and Ireland.
Equally influential was her mother, a published poet who made up witty rhymes
for her five children throughout the day. This love of words and their sound is
very evident in Susan’s lyrical picture books. “I say words out loud as I write them, listening for
the best rhythm and rhyme,” she explained. She also
described her passion for pattern and color, showing us samples of fabric she
created while working as a freelance textile designer before her book career
began.
Susan focused on how she created
two picture books: her recent Stripes of All Types and her ALA Notable
book, Bring on the Birds. Each step in her process, from consulting
scientists about the animals and their habitats to painting the minutest details, required
meticulous work. She conveyed her dedication to presenting accurate information
in both her text and illustrations, adding that she traveled to Costa Rica and
the Galapagos Islands to research these two books.
Susan also talked about her
experience in licensing her illustrations for other products. She said she
always brings full-color promotional cards of her picture-book art to
conferences such as Book Expo. She makes a list of exhibitors that publish “sideline” products
at these events and visits their booths to chat with their reps and leave her
card behind. One such encounter resulted in the publication by Pomegranate of
10 products featuring her artwork; these included puzzles, coloring books and a
wall calendar.
Susan’s talent, work ethic and commitment to accuracy are
truly impressive. Her sense of whimsy and delight is evident in her books as
well. It’s no wonder that her award-winning picture books are loved
by children, parents and teachers everywhere.
Thank you, Susan, for an extremely
informative and inspiring presentation. We can’t
wait to see your forthcoming picture book, Spectacular Spots!
MEMBER NEWS
JACQUELINE JULES, CYNTHIA COTTEN, DEBBIE LEVY and MARY QUATTLEBAUM are all pleased to announce that they have poems in the newly released Poetry Friday Anthology for Science. This K-5 anthology contains 218 poems integrating science, reading and language arts. Each poem has an accompanying "Take 5 Teacher's Activity." The anthology is edited by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong and published by Pomelo Books.
ERICA S. PERL's middle-grade novel Aces Wild is a finalist for the Virginia Readers' Choice Book Award (2014-2015 list). And her new picture book, Goatilocks and the Three Bears, illustrated by Arthur Howard, comes out in June from Beach Lane (Simon & Schuster)!
LAURA MURRAY's picture book The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School will be featured with a special book promotion on boxes of Little Debbie Gingerbread Cookies this year. Laura is so excited to see the dapper little guy in the grocery stores! Watch out, though: this little cookie tends to get loose!
KAREN LEGGETT is excited to announce the publication of her second book, Malala Yousafzai: Warrior with Words, by StarWalk Kids (Seymour Simon’s company). It is available as an eBook and paperback. Kirkus calls it "a moving real-life story, well-told and beautifully illustrated."
Karen will present Hands Around the Library at the Library of Congress's Young Readers Center on April 9, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Her husband, Tharwat Abouraya, will read the story in Arabic. Also, on behalf of the Baltimore-Washington Friends of the Alexandria Library, Karen and Tharwat are leading a virtual book drive (http://supporters.firstbook.org/goto/booksforegypt) with First Book Global to raise funds for children’s books for the library in Alexandria, Egypt.
SUSAN ROTH will be one of the keynote speakers at Salisbury University's annual Children's and Young Adult Literature Festival. Susan will speak at the Eastern Shore Reading Council dinner Thursday, April 10, and then again at the "Literature Across the Curriculum" conference on Saturday, April 12. KAREN LEGGETT and SUSHMITA MAZUMDAR will team up to run an exciting session on storytelling at the Saturday event. ERNIE BOND is organizing the festival, which also features Coretta Scott King Award-winners Bryan Collier and Rita Williams-Garcia, as well as other notable authors and illustrators, including Shelley Rotner, David Hyde Costello, Frane Lessac and Mark Greenwood (coming from Australia). For more information, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Ernie Bond at elbond@salisbury.edu or visit the website at http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~elbond/childlitfestival.htm
AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS WANTED FOR BOOKSTORE SIGNINGS
BookNuts BookStore, located in White Plains, Md., is looking to schedule authors and/or illustrators for book signings in 2014. BookNuts is primarily a used bookstore, but it maintains a stock of new books by local authors and regional material. In the past, signings have had between 100 and 300 attendees, and authors (all genres) typically have sold between five and 20 copies. Sales after an event usually are in the range of one to three per month. The store gets a larger turnout (and sales!) when the authors' books are recently released but will gladly consider back titles as well if the author has not been hosted previously.
Guild members interested in showcasing theirr books locally should contact John Warsinske at
301-836-6236, or by email at john@BookNutsBookStore.com.
301-836-6236, or by email at john@BookNutsBookStore.com.
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Tweet Your News!
Do you have a publication date for a new book, a local appearance coming up or an award nomination to tout? Don't be shy! The Guild has its own Twitter account (@ChildrensBookGuild) and is looking for news to tweet. Just send your news to Caroline Hickey (carolinesmithhickey@gmail.com
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