IFEOMA ONYEFULU BRINGS AFRICA TO YOUNG READERS
Ifeoma Onyefulu was born into an Ibo
family and grew up in eastern Nigeria. When she was a teenager, she wanted to
be a lawyer like her father. But after going to court with him one day, she
decided that law was not the career for her. Instead, she completed a business-management course, trained as a photographer, worked as a press photographer for
several publications and started a family, all while living in London.
Her first child inspired her to write
books for children, because she wanted him to know what it was like to grow up
in Nigeria. At the time, most children’s books about Africa focused on its
wildlife rather than its people and their cultures. Her first book was A Is
for Africa, which one reviewer described as “like stepping from a darkened
room straight into noon sunshine.” She has since written 22 more, including One
Big Family: Sharing Life in an African Village, Here Comes Our Bride
and Ikenna Goes to Nigeria. For each of her books, Onyefulu travels
to a different African country, where she takes photographs and writes the
text.
Onyefulu has won many awards for her
books, including two Children’s Africana Book Awards, one for Here Comes our Bride in 2005 and one for
Ikenna Goes to Nigeria in 2008. One Big Family was a 1997 ALA Notable
Book for Children. On October 16, she will discuss her books and workshops
for children and show her photographs.
Date: Thursday, October 16
Time: 11:30 a.m. "social hour"; noon luncheon
Place: Busboys and Poets
1025 Fifth Street NW (at K Street)
Menu: All choices $25 ($26 when paid online via PayPal)
:: 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
:: GLUTEN-FREE OPTION ::
Beans and Wild Rice with fresh guacamole and pico de gallo (vegan and lactose-free without the sour cream served on the side)
:: DESSERT ::
Assorted Cookies (family style)
:: BEVERAGES ::
Fountain Drinks (unlimited soft drinks and iced tea), fresh coffee and organic tea
The Children's Book Guild is pleased to announce Steve Sheinkin, the author of acclaimed history books for middle-grade and young-adult readers, as its 2015 Nonfiction Award winner. The award is presented annually to an author for a body of work that has "contributed significantly to the quality of nonfiction for children."
In selecting Sheinkin for this honor, the Guild's Nonfiction Award Committee recognizes and celebrates his superb ability to find the heart of the story; to narrate nonfiction with passion, veracity and accuracy; to engage young readers; and to provide them with front-row seats as witnesses to history.
The committee specifically praised four of Sheinkin's books: The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights; Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—The World’s Most Dangerous Weapon; The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery; and King George: What Was His Problem? The Whole Hilarious Story of the American Revolution. Committee members included Guild members Kathie Meizner, librarian, Montgomery County, Md., Public Libraries (chair); Rebecca Jones, author (chair emeritus); Rebecca Purdy, librarian, Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Va.; and Roz Schanzer, author/illustrator.
Sheinkin will be honored on Saturday, April 25, 2015, during the Guild’s 38th annual Nonfiction Award ceremony, in Washington, D.C. Details will be posted at www.childrensbookguild.org and at facebook.com/childrensbookguild.org. Please plan to attend! You can learn more about Steve Sheinkin at www.stevesheinkin.com.
The Nature Generation, a D.C.-based nonprofit created to inspire environmental stewardship, celebrated its tenth anniversary with a series of events that highlighted its signature youth and education programs, including presentation of the national Green Earth Book Awards and the Read Green Festival. The Nature Generation is also marking its first decade of success with a donation of 10,000 books with a message of environmental stewardship to area schools.
“Being able to deliver engaging material about the environment in such a big way is a perfect representation of our first decade of success,” said Ian Kline, chairman of the board. “We’ve engaged thousands of students with books, outdoor classrooms and even a student-designed nature trail. The impact is incredible–we’ve seen children of all ages embrace environmental responsibility through our programs.”
The celebration kicked off with the official announcement of the 2014 winners of the Green Earth Book Awards, which give national recognition to authors and illustrators whose books best inspire young readers to appreciate and care for the environment. Also in its tenth year, the award has five categories. The 2014 winners are:
- Jennifer O’Connell: The Eye of the Whale: A Rescue Story (picture book)
- Kathi Appelt: The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp (children’s fiction)
- Suzanne Goldsmith: Washashore (young-adult fiction)
- Melissa Stewart and Higgins Bond: A Place for Turtles (children’s nonfiction)
- Teena Ruark Gorrow and Craig A. Koppie: Inside a Bald Eagle’s Nest: A Photographic Journey Through the American Bald Eagle Nesting Season (young-adult nonfiction)
The authors led the Read Green Festival on September 18 by visiting five schools in and around the nation’s capital. They met with students to talk about environmental literature and what students can do to be environmental stewards, and to answer students’ questions about their books. The festival culminated at Patterson Elementary School in Southwest D.C., where all the authors gathered to work with students to create an environmental time capsule.
“In the past decade, we are proud to have bestowed the national Green Earth Book Award to over 100 critically acclaimed books and have donated thousands of these books to children and young adults,” said Amy Marasco Newton, founder and president of the Nature Generation. “During the festival, a special magic begins when we bring our new winning eco-authors into the classroom--they make a deeper connection with the students and bring the message of stewardship alive.”
Following the festival, the Nature Generation and its Read Green committee members, including NBC 4 news anchor Wendy Reiger, honored the authors at its annual Green Tie Reception. NPR’s Richard Harris delivered the keynote speech, emphasizing the educational links to addressing climate change and encouraging sustainability.
On Saturday November 8,
2014, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (NMAA) will host the
22nd annual Children's Africana Book Awards (CABA). CABA is sponsored by
Africa Access and the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association (ASA)
to honor authors and illustrators who have produced exceptional books on Africa
for young people. Six current winners, including two from Ghana,
will be on hand to sign books.
November 8, 201411:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
* Dance performances * Art activities
* Book sale and signing * Refreshments
BEST BOOKS FOR OLDER
READERS
Monica Edinger and Robert Byrd
(illus.): Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad. Candlewick
Press.
Anna Cottrell, Agbotadua Togbi Kumassah and Kwabena Poku (illus.): Once
Upon a Time in Ghana: Traditional Stories Retold in English. Afram
Publications Limited (Ghana).
BEST BOOKS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and
Douglas Abrams, A.G. Ford (illus.): Desmond and the Very Mean Word: A
Story of Forgiveness. Candlewick Press.
Mubina Hassanali Kirmani and Tony Siema (illus.): Bundle of Secrets: Savita Returns Home. CreateSpace.
Mubina Hassanali Kirmani and Tony Siema (illus.): Bundle of Secrets: Savita Returns Home. CreateSpace.
Children Africana Book Awards Dinner
Hosted by Africa Access
Meet and
Greet CABA Winners
Thursday, November 6,
2014, at 6 p.m.
Busboys and Poets,
1025 5th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
Register: http://africaaccessreview.org/childrens-africana-book-awards-dinner/
Proceeds to benefit
Africa Book Project and Read Africa
THE SEPTEMBER LUNCHEON WITH MARK GREENWOOD AND FRANÉ LESSAC
by Betsy Harvey Kraft
Dorothy’s lions, tigers and bears
are nothing compared to what Mark
Greenwood and Frané Lessac
encounter in their pursuit of a good children’s story. If anyone thinks
research into history and aboriginal cultures calls for hours buried in dimly
lit museums and libraries, this husband/wife-author/illustrator team proved
otherwise to Guild members during their September luncheon presentation.
In Washington to promote their latest picture book, The Mayflower (Holiday House), the two shared a few of their hair-raising and heart-warming adventures as they dug deep into the backstories of events and legends they have brought to life for young readers.
Now residents of Freemantle, a small city in southwestern Australia, Lessac and Greenwood are true citizens of the world. Their research and enthusiasm have taken them to Gallipoli, Turkey, where they scrambled up the same cliffs scaled by soldiers during World War I’s horrific battle there. The two were in search of firsthand information and scenes related to the story of a donkey and its owner who rescued hundreds of wounded soldiers from the hilltop battlefield. During their exploration, they were surprised by an unplanned encounter with a descendant of the famed donkey, bearing the same birthmark as its heroic ancestor. It all proved rich material for Lessac’s illustrations and Greenwood’s text for Simpson and His Donkey (Candlewick).
Then there was Greenwood’s persistent quest to gain the trust of an aboriginal tribe in the far-off mountains of northeastern Australia. Wanting to preserve in a book the myths and legends of the indigenous people of his home country, he spent four years visiting with them in their villages, attempting to prove his merit to the tribal elders in order to gain their permission to retell their stories. The tests of his worthiness included wading into a river filled with beady-eyed crocodiles, descending for hours into a dark mountain tunnel and drinking muddy water from a sink hole.
Lessac’s passion for painting began when she lived on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean. Out of her love for the place she created her first book, My Little Island, which was later published in the United States as Our Little Island (Harper Collins). Lessac and Greenwood created another book about a different Caribbean island when they collaborated on Drummer Boy of John John (Lee and Low). Set in Trinidad, it features a boy who wins a much-wanted prize at carnival by playing on a steel drum fashioned from parts found at a junkyard.
Lessac shared her stories of school visits to remote villages in Australia, trips often involving hours of driving down dusty roads in the wake of a meandering emu or flights in precarious-looking airplanes. Once at her destination, she works with aboriginal people, helping them write their own stories about their communities. Her art always plays a big part in her visits. In one town, participants painted a mural on the blank wall of a building, attracting scores of townspeople, including the local policeman. On another visit, the kids encouraged her to let them work outside, where they drew with sticks on the white shores of a salt sea, their images showing through the sand from the red dirt underneath.
Closer to home, Lessac has illustrated three of Guild member Laura Melmed’s books: New York, New York! The Big Apple from A to Z; Capital! Washington D.C. from A to Z; and Heart of Texas: A Lone Star ABC. She also illustrated The Book Boat’s In, by Guild member Cynthia Cotten.
Lessac and Greenwood love presenting their books, talents and enthusiasm for children’s books with classrooms full of kids. They are particularly fortunate, they say, to have strong support from the Australian government and private industries, which fund their programs and travels.
Inevitably, one question pops up at every presentation: “Where do you get the ideas for your stories?” Greenwood, harkening back to his years as a musician, answers with a quote from Keith Richards, who co-wrote many songs for the Rolling Stones: “Ideas are everywhere. You just have to keep your antenna up.” Lessac and Greenwood are clearly doing that.
In Washington to promote their latest picture book, The Mayflower (Holiday House), the two shared a few of their hair-raising and heart-warming adventures as they dug deep into the backstories of events and legends they have brought to life for young readers.
Now residents of Freemantle, a small city in southwestern Australia, Lessac and Greenwood are true citizens of the world. Their research and enthusiasm have taken them to Gallipoli, Turkey, where they scrambled up the same cliffs scaled by soldiers during World War I’s horrific battle there. The two were in search of firsthand information and scenes related to the story of a donkey and its owner who rescued hundreds of wounded soldiers from the hilltop battlefield. During their exploration, they were surprised by an unplanned encounter with a descendant of the famed donkey, bearing the same birthmark as its heroic ancestor. It all proved rich material for Lessac’s illustrations and Greenwood’s text for Simpson and His Donkey (Candlewick).
Then there was Greenwood’s persistent quest to gain the trust of an aboriginal tribe in the far-off mountains of northeastern Australia. Wanting to preserve in a book the myths and legends of the indigenous people of his home country, he spent four years visiting with them in their villages, attempting to prove his merit to the tribal elders in order to gain their permission to retell their stories. The tests of his worthiness included wading into a river filled with beady-eyed crocodiles, descending for hours into a dark mountain tunnel and drinking muddy water from a sink hole.
Lessac’s passion for painting began when she lived on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean. Out of her love for the place she created her first book, My Little Island, which was later published in the United States as Our Little Island (Harper Collins). Lessac and Greenwood created another book about a different Caribbean island when they collaborated on Drummer Boy of John John (Lee and Low). Set in Trinidad, it features a boy who wins a much-wanted prize at carnival by playing on a steel drum fashioned from parts found at a junkyard.
Lessac shared her stories of school visits to remote villages in Australia, trips often involving hours of driving down dusty roads in the wake of a meandering emu or flights in precarious-looking airplanes. Once at her destination, she works with aboriginal people, helping them write their own stories about their communities. Her art always plays a big part in her visits. In one town, participants painted a mural on the blank wall of a building, attracting scores of townspeople, including the local policeman. On another visit, the kids encouraged her to let them work outside, where they drew with sticks on the white shores of a salt sea, their images showing through the sand from the red dirt underneath.
Closer to home, Lessac has illustrated three of Guild member Laura Melmed’s books: New York, New York! The Big Apple from A to Z; Capital! Washington D.C. from A to Z; and Heart of Texas: A Lone Star ABC. She also illustrated The Book Boat’s In, by Guild member Cynthia Cotten.
Lessac and Greenwood love presenting their books, talents and enthusiasm for children’s books with classrooms full of kids. They are particularly fortunate, they say, to have strong support from the Australian government and private industries, which fund their programs and travels.
Inevitably, one question pops up at every presentation: “Where do you get the ideas for your stories?” Greenwood, harkening back to his years as a musician, answers with a quote from Keith Richards, who co-wrote many songs for the Rolling Stones: “Ideas are everywhere. You just have to keep your antenna up.” Lessac and Greenwood are clearly doing that.
MEMBER NEWS
KEM KNAPP SAWYER and her husband, Jon Sawyer, have co-authored an e-book called Congo's Children, which has been published by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. It tells the story of the country's young people, who have seen their lives threatened, their families torn apart, their schools destroyed and their futures compromised. Theirs is also a story of tough resilience. “The stunning photographs and deeply moving text of this book offer a fine introduction to the suffering—and hopes—of people in a part of the world we know far too little about,” said Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold's Ghost. Congo's Children is available on ITUNES (for iPads), AMAZON (for Kindles), and CREATAVIST (for desktop and laptop computers).
At 3 p.m. on Friday, October 3, SUSAN L. ROTH and coauthor Cindy Trumbore will accept the Américas Award for their picture book Parrots over Puerto Rico in the Pickford Theater, in the Madison Building of the Library of Congress. Presented by the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs, the award recognizes children's books published in the United States in English or Spanish that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean or Latinos in the United States.
CAROLINE HICKEY has written four books for a Simon & Schuster middle-grade series called Sew Zoey (ages 8-12). The main character, Zoey Webber, is an aspiring fashion designer who makes her own clothes, runs a fashion blog and deals with the everyday ups and down of middle-school life. The books are published under the pseudonym Chloe Taylor.
LAURA MURRAY is honored to announce that her picture book The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School won the 2014 Virginia Reader's Choice Award and the Illinois Monarch Children's Choice Award. It has also been nominated for the Indiana and Iowa Children's Choice Award for 2015. She is also excited to announce that Merry Makers, Inc., has optioned rights to make a Gingerbread Man plush toy to go with the picture book. Laura comments, "He's so cute, I just want to hug him!"
Also, Laura's "fired-up follow-up," The Gingerbread Man Loose on the Fire Truck (book and audio book), will be featured in Scholastic's school book orders and fairs this school year.
JACQUELINE JULES appeared at the Baltimore Book Festival on Saturday, September 27, on the Enoch Pratt Children's Stage, with her new picture book, Never Say a Mean Word Again. Jacqueline will also be presenting with other poets from the Poetry Friday anthologies at the NCTE Convention at National Harbor in a master class called "Reading Poetry Across the Curriculum."
SUSAN STOCKDALE will present “Creating Picture Books About Nature: A Wild and Wonderful Adventure!" at the 2014 Maryland Association of School Librarians Conference in Linthicum Heights, Md., on Saturday, October 17. She will also participate in a picture-book author/illustrator roundtable discussion at the 2014 SCBWI Mid-Atlantic Fall Conference in Sterling, Va., on Saturday, October 25.
G. P. Putnam's Sons published KRISTIN LEVINE's third historical novel, The Paper Cowboy, in September. It has received a starred review from Kirkus.
BARBARA ANN PORTE's newest story, "Great-Great-Auntie-Uncles," appears in the current issue of PRAXIS (vol. 24, no. 1/2; Women's and Gender Studies Department, SUNY College at Oneonta). The story takes the form of a purported interview with a pair of Jewish, hermaphroditic conjoined twins from Tashkent who, among other things, attended school in Talladega, Ala., in the early 1900s.
In time for Halloween, BRENDA SEABROOKE is happy to announce republication of the Edgar-finalist Cemetery Street at Amazon.com. The cover, in Machinima, is by Brenda's daughter Kerria Seabrooke.
Morgan Reynolds has released Arthur Miller, a biography by CATHERINE REEF. Writing in Booklist, Michael Cart called it "an insightful, highly readable portrait of one of America's greatest playwrights."
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
*********
NOTE ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S BOOK GUILD NEWS: Would you rather print your newsletter than read it online? Current and past issues now available for printing on the Guild's website at http://www.childrensbookguild.org/guild-newsletters. Look for the "Newsletter" tab on the left side of the Guild website. There is also a "Printer Friendly Version" link on the top left hand side of this blog.
***********
***********
No comments:
Post a Comment