February 2018

ELIZABETH ZUNON: AWARD-WINNING ILLUSTRATOR AND FIRST-TIME AUTHOR

The Guild's February 15 luncheon speaker will be illustrator Elizabeth Zunon. Zunon was born in Albany, NY, but spent her childhood in her father’s home country, Ivory Coast. She describes the bright colors that surrounded her in Ivory Coast as a great influence on her art. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, Zunon worked in New York, where she began attending meetings and events sponsored by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. There she met her agent and landed her first contract, to illustrate the picture book My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey, by Jeanne Walker Harvey.

She has illustrated several other picture-book biographies, including The Legendary Miss Lena Horne, by Carole Boston Weatherford, and A President from Hawaii, by Dr. Carolan and Joanna F. Carolan. Zunon has also illustrated two Children’s Africana Book Award winners: One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia, by Miranda Paul; and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba, which is Kamkwamba's memoir of his life as a 14-year-old inventor. Her latest book project, Grandpa Cacao, is the first she has both authored and illustrated. Scheduled by Bloomsbury for release in May 2019, it tells the story of Zunon's grandfather and his Ivory Coast plantation.

Date: Thursday, February 15

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 (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) 

• Honey-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 

• Avocado panini with roasted red peppers and melted cheese on multi-grain bread

RSVP NOW!

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Debbie Levy Wins a Crystal Kite Award

2. Four Guild Members Win Sydney Taylor Honors

3. Donations Needed for the Award-Luncheon Gift Baskets

4. Neal Porter's January Program

5. Member News

THE GUILD CONGRATULATES DEBBIE LEVY, CRYSTAL KITE AWARD WINNER

Members of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators in the Atlantic region chose Debbie Levy to receive the Crystal Kite Award for her book I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark. Congratulations, Debbie!

FOUR GUILD MEMBERS ARE SYDNEY TAYLOR AWARD SILVER MEDALISTS

JACQUELINE JULES has been awarded a Sydney Taylor Award Silver Medal for Younger Readers for her book Drop by Drop: A Story of Rabbi Akiva (Kar-Ben Publishing). Silver medals for Older Readers went to MADELYN ROSENBERG and WENDY WAN-LONG SHANG for This Is Just a Test (Scholastic) and to TAMMAR STEIN for The Six-Day Hero (Kar-Ben Publishing). Congratulations, all!

The Sydney Taylor Awards, presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries, recognize "books for children and teens that exemplify high literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience." Guild member SUSAN KUSEL chaired the 2018 Sydney Taylor Award Committee.

BOOK DONATIONS FOR THE NONFICTION AWARD LUNCHEON BASKETS

It’s that time of year again—please help fill the book baskets that will be given to designated local schools (TBA) at the April Nonfiction Award luncheon, on Saturday, April 7. Joan Waites has graciously agreed to assemble the baskets again this year and is ready to accept your donations. Members can bring donated books to the February luncheon and to the March business meeting. If you prefer, you may bring the books to Joan at 9715 Fairway Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20906, or mail them to her there. Please make sure that all books reach Joan by March 30, so that she has time to put together the baskets.


EDITOR NEAL PORTER REFLECTED ON HIS CAREER AND OFFERED ADVICE
by Tammar Stein

Beloved children’s book editor Neal Porter usually speaks off the cuff. But for his talk to the “wild women” (and men!) of the Children’s Book Guild, he decided to follow Guild member Kathie Meizner’s advice and respond to 10 burning questions that she (correctly) guessed most people wanted answered. Questions like: What is some advice you would give to old or new authors? What is something you’re proud of? What was it like working with Madeleine L’Engle?

Porter, famous for giving encouragement and support to some of the finest authors in the field, shared correspondence between himself and one of his illustrators, Eric Rohmann. He kept the room in stitches reading out loud alternating emails from Rohmann, who wrote with growing frustration and desperation, pleading to be allowed to quit a daunting project, and Porter’s own firm and kind insistence that Rohmann not give up. The resulting book, Giant Squid, with text by Candace Fleming, went on to win a Robert F. Sibert Honor Award for informational writing.

A recurring theme throughout Porter’s talk was the need for trust. Trust between an editor and his or her author. Trust in one’s instincts. Trust in the story, and trust in the process of revision. (In the advice column: Ignore trends. Write what matters to you. Trust that it will resonate with readers and editors more than a book following any trend.)

As for Madeleine L’Engle, Porter shared a hilarious story that showed just how far a dedicated editor will go for an author: When L’Engle’s beloved Time series was re-released with new covers, the publisher wanted her to sign several hundred posters. L’Engle, however, had plans to be away. “You sign them,” she suggested to Porter. And sign them he did, carefully studying her signatures and the “fine art of forgery.”

Porter also shared with the Guild two new pictures books yet to be released. Blue, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, a meditation on the color and on the love between a boy and his dog, drew tears from many in the audience and from Porter himself. Dreamers, by Yuyi Morales, is a deeply moving tribute to the libraries, books and stories that were a lifeline for a young immigrant family. It is based on Morales’s own experience as a new immigrant, learning English from the books she read to her young son at the public library.

Porter closed his talk by reminding everyone how the “death of the picture book” had been foretold years ago. Yet, there we were, years later, seeing brilliant picture books written and illustrated by brilliant authors and artists being published and devoured by audiences. 

MEMBER NEWS

LAURA GEHL's fourth Peep and Egg adventure, Peep and Egg: I'm Not Using the Potty, releases February 13. According to Kirkus, this is a "good book to help little ones who feel a bit chicken about using the potty."

JACQUELINE JULES is pleased to announce two new titles in the Sofia Martinez series, released January 1, 2018: Sofia's Party Shoes and Hector's Hiccups.

Jacqueline is also excited to announce that My Fantástica Family was nominated as a Cybils Finalist in 2017, in the Early Chapter Book/Easy Reader category: http://www.cybils.com/2017-early-chapter-book-easy-reader-finalists.

Amina's Voice, by HENA KHAN, is a 2017 Cybils Finalist in the category of Middle Grade Fiction: http://www.cybils.com/2017-middle-grade-fiction-finalists.

ERICA PERL's newest novel, All Three Stooges, was released on January 9 by Knopf.

Erica will be traveling to Lusaka, Zambia, in February to spend a week as the primary school author in residence at the American International School of Lusaka. She will stay on for an additional week to see more of the country, with some of her family joining her. Then, as soon as she readjusts to being home, it will be time for Erica to board another plane. In March she will be touring Israel as part of a 20-author delegation sponsored and organized by the P.J. Library. In April she plans to stay put… mostly!

The Gingerbread Man and the Leprechaun Loose at School, by LAURA MURRAY, finally hit the shelves January 9. “Fo-Fiddley-Fee! You can’t catch me!” A sneaky leprechaun is making mischief and wreaking havoc throughout the school. But the Gingerbread Man and the kids from class 23 are on the case. When the tricky little mess-maker’s next stop turns out to be their classroom, the Gingerbread Man cooks up a homemade trap to try to catch the crafty little elf. A humorous chase and a wee bit of classroom chaos ensue as the Gingerbread Man and the leprechaun match wits in this rhyme-riddled read-aloud.

Laura's book The Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo has been nominated for the Bill Martin, Jr. Picture Book Award (Kansas Reading Association).

Victoria: Portrait of a Queen, by CATHERINE REEF, was included on end-of-year "best" lists compiled by the International Literacy Association, the Denver Public Library and the website "A Mighty Girl."

SUE FLIESS's book We Wish For a Monster Christmas got a mention in the New York Times in December! 

Sue's upcoming book, Mary Had a Little Lab, to publish this March, now has a book trailer. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/AirlrZeEtks

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NOTE ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S BOOK GUILD NEWS: Would you rather print your newsletter than read it online? Current and past issues are 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.

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LITERARY EVENTS SPONSORED BY POLITICS AND PROSE: The literary calendar at Politics and Prose lists many upcoming programs that may be of interest to Children's Book Guild members: http://www.politics-prose.com/events. February's speakers include Laura Elliott, Laurie Halse Anderson and Jason Reynolds.