April 2018

THE APRIL 7 AWARD LUNCHEON HONORING PHILLIP HOOSE

The Children’s Book Guild of Washington, D.C., has selected Phillip Hoose as its 2018 Nonfiction Award winner. The award, given annually since 1977, honors authors or illustrators whose total work has contributed significantly to the quality of nonfiction for children. Hoose will be honored at a Children’s Book Guild award luncheon on April 7, 2018, at Clyde's Restaurant of Gallery Place, 707 7th Street NW, Washington, D.C. Tickets are now available.

Hoose’s books explore important topics through protagonists whose stories compel readers “to turn to the next page because they want to know what’s going to happen to someone or something they care about,” Hoose told Book Links. His protagonists range from teenagers such as Claudette Colvin and Knud Pederson to the tiny red knot bird and the great ivory billed woodpecker. “I like to find stories that have not been told that I think will inspire young readers,” said Hoose.

Hoose has won numerous honors for individual books. Claudette Colvin: Twice toward Justice, the story of an impassioned teenager who refused to give her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, AL, won the National Book Award as well as Newbery and Robert F. Sibert Honor Awards. Hoose won another Robert F. Sibert Honor Award for his most recent title, The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pederson and The Churchill Club, the story of teens who challenged the German occupation of Denmark.

Reserve your seat now!

(If you are unable to attend the April 7 event, please consider purchasing a ticket for a teacher, librarian or friend.)

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Guild Members: Display Your Books at the Luncheon

2. Good Reasons to Attend the April 7 Award Celebration

3. Slate of Officers for 2018-2019 Approved

4. Hena Khan's Books Further Diversity and Inclusiveness

5. Member News

6. A Change in the Guild's Dues Structure
7. Sally Canzoneri's Art on Exhibit in Georgetown

GUILD MEMBERS: BRING YOUR BOOKS TO THE APRIL 7 NONFICTION AWARD LUNCHEON! 

There will be a table at the Nonfiction Award luncheon where Guild members' books will be displayed. Please bring your books (no more than two per member, please) the day of the luncheon and place them on the table when you arrive. (Remember to take them home when you leave.) This is a wonderful opportunity to publicize your work!


GOOD REASONS TO ATTEND THE NONFICTION AWARD LUNCHEON
by Joyce Schwartz

My introduction to the Guild came in 1993, before my coauthor, Ellen Butts, and I became members. As guests of Betsy Kraft, we heard Seymour Simon speak at the award luncheon about writing his engaging science books for kids. Inspired in part by attending that event, Ellen and I wrote two books celebrating American women scientists and became Guild members several years later. 

It may surprise some of our newest members, but the Guild’s Nonfiction Award luncheon has a rich history that highlights our chief mission: to promote excellent literature for children. At a time when children’s nonfiction wasn’t getting the recognition it deserved, the Guild’s Nonfiction Award was the first to honor a body of work by an author, rather than a single book. The Guild began giving its award in 1977, and several years later, the Washington Post agreed to cosponsor the award luncheon in an arrangement that lasted more than 10 years.

Past winners include David Macaulay (the first honoree), Russell Freedman, Jean Fritz, Sy Montgomery and Isaac Asimov, to name only a few from a distinguished list. All of them appreciated being recognized, as their comments show. Sy Montgomery said the award made her “feel like a million dollars.” Kathleen Krull asked, “Do you mean that award with the etched glass cube in my line of sight as I work all day? The one for my body of work?” But my favorite quote comes from Susan Bartoletti: “Holy cow. At my age I’m getting an award for my body.”

As both Karen Leggett and Jackie Jules have so eloquently pointed out in their emails to us, Phillip Hoose, this year’s winner, fits into the tradition of excellence in children’s nonfiction that the Guild has honored for the past 41 years. He writes about the difference young people have made in history “through their sweat, bravery, luck, talent, imagination and sacrifice—sometimes their lives” and will give a talk titled, “It Was Up to the Kid, Not Up to Me.” 

This year's luncheon is a perfect event for the teenagers and young adults in your lives. It's also an opportunity for the public to meet Guild members and learn about their work. Don’t miss out! Whether you work in nonfiction or fiction, whether you are a writer, illustrator or specialist, buy your ticket for the April 7 Nonfiction Award luncheon now. Be inspired by this year’s winner and support your organization in its important work!

Tonya Bolden speaks about her distinguished body of work upon
receiving the 2016 Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award.

SLATE OF OFFICERS APPROVED AT THE ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING

Members of the Children’s Book Guild gathered at the Tenley Friendship Library on the evening of Thursday, March 15, for the organization’s annual business meeting.

As the Nominating Committee, Amy Hansen and Kem Sawyer announced the slate of officers for 2018-2019:

President: Rhoda Trooboff

Vice President and president-elect for 2019-2020: Jean Heilprin Diehl

Treasurer: Terry Catasus Jennings

Recording secretary: Kitson Jazynka

Program chairs: Edie Ching, Kathie Meizner and Wendy Lukehart

The slate was approved, and the candidates were voted in unanimously.

HENA KHAN’S JOURNEY TOWARD INCLUSIVENESS

by Catherine Reef

As a child, Hena Khan felt a connection with the girls in her favorite books—with Laura Ingalls, Ramona Quimby and the March sisters. She loved character-driven stories featuring young people and their families. Yet in all her reading she never encountered a character like herself: an American girl of Pakistani heritage, an American Muslim child. Speaking to the Children’s Book Guild on March 15, Hena said, “I never had that experience of going into a library or bookstore and finding a book that reflected me.” Today, thanks to her popular and award-winning books, children of all backgrounds can enjoy stories with Muslim American kids as their main characters, kids who resemble them or their classmates and friends.

Hena said that the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon affected her profoundly as an American, a Muslim and a new mother. Thinking of her infant son, she asked herself, “What is my child going to face? How will he be received?” Hena, who had been an uncredited contributor to Jim Wiese’s Spy University series, was inspired to write those books that didn’t exist when she was growing up. The first was Night of the Moon: A Muslim Holiday Story (Chronicle, 2008), which introduces Ramadan from the point of view of seven-year-old Yasmeen. Illustrations of children jumping on a trampoline and baking cupcakes to bring to their mosque make it clear that this is a contemporary American story.

Another picture book, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors (Chronicle, 2012), was deliberately not centered on a holiday, Hena said. She explained, “I want to go to a bookstore and see a book about Muslims at any time of year.” Many readers have felt the same way, especially the littlest ones. Hena mentioned that Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns seems to appeal to babies.

It’s Ramadan, Curious George (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2016), however, is a holiday book. In Hena’s story, everyone’s favorite mischievous monkey takes part in Ramadan activities with his friend Kareem.

March 2017 saw the release, to wide acclaim, of Amina’s Voice. Hena’s novel featuring a Pakistani American Muslim middle school student earned several starred reviews and was named a “best book of 2017” by the Washington Post, NPR, the Chicago Public Library and Kirkus. Navigating friendship, school and family and community matters, Amina is “like the Ramonas, or the Lauras, or the Jo Marches” of her own childhood reading, Hena said. Amina also is confronted with a modern-day problem, Islamophobia, when her family’s mosque is vandalized. Amina’s Voice was the first book published by Salaam Reads, Simon & Schuster’s new imprint that produces children’s books with Muslim content for readers of all faiths and backgrounds.

What can readers look forward to from Hena Khan? Two picture books are forthcoming: Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets: A Muslim Book of Shapes will be available from Chronicle Books on April 10, and Under My Hijab will be an October 2018 release from Lee & Low. And Hena’s new middle grade series for Salaam Reads, Zayd Saleem, Chasing the Dream, will debut this spring. With its focus on an American kid who loves to play basketball, the series is sure to have many young fans.

MEMBER NEWS

JACQUELINE JULES is pleased to announce the newest addition to the trade version of her Sofia Martinez series. Every Day Is Exciting contains three stories: "Sofia's Party Shoes," "Hector's Hiccups" and "Lights Out."

LAURA KRAUSS MELMED has a new picture book out this month from Sky Pony Press.  Titled Daddy, Me, and the Magic Hour and illustrated by Sarita Rich, it's the story of a little boy and his father taking an early summer neighborhood walk at twilight. Laura's book received a starred review from Kirkus that will appear in the journal's April 1 review issue.

Three Guild members--LAURA GEHL,MADELYN ROSENBERG and PAMELA EHRENBERG--will all be featured at Temple Micah's People of the Book Fair, on Sunday morning, May 6 (2829 Wisconsin Ave NW, DC).

SUE FLIESS's new book, Mary Had a Little Lab, published on March 1, is getting a lot of love in the library and book community! In this twist on the nursery rhyme, Mary, a budding young inventor and scientist, realizes she is lonely, so she makes herself a pet sheep in her lab. Chaos ensues.

"Fliess's verses include enough of the original poem (but tweaked) to tickle readers' funny bones, and the rhyme and rhythm are spot-on. Girl science power and new friendships make for a good combination." —Kirkus Reviews

"Sue Fliess (How to Trap a Leprechaun) introduces a little girl with brains, ambition and tons of creativity in a rhyming picture book that would make even Dr. Seuss jealous...This focus on a fully formed illustrative world makes the picture book as fascinating visually as it is plotted. Mary Had a Little Lab is an innovatively fun celebration of smart girls." --Shelf Awareness

It's been named to two STEM lists as well: 

• Kidlit TV/Biracial Bookworm's Best New Multicultural Picture Books for STEMinists
• Imagination Soup's Standout STEM Engineering and Invention Picture Books

Check out the interview of Mary by Matthew Winner's Podcast Bunny! 

Watch the book trailer and download the activity kit!

Sue's book How to Trap a Leprechaun was featured in the February Scholastic Book Club flyer, SeeSaw, and the ebook format recently soared to the #1 Bestseller slot on Amazon. 

LEZLIE EVANS's newest book, Daddies Do, published by Sterling Children's Books, will be released May 1. Describing it as a "rhyming ode to all the things daddies do with their children," Kirkus calls Daddies Do "A solid and sweet look at the traditional and expanding roles of a father."


PAM DUNCAN EDWARDS is delighted with the following news from Macmillan, her British publisher: 

Winston Was Worried: rights have been sold to Japan and Korea.

Rude Mule: rights have been sold to Turkey.

Bedtime Story Collection was released in time for Christmas 2017. 

LULU DELACRE has been working to bring books to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. As she explains: "After Hurricane Maria, I connected with Centro Educativo Vedruna, a nonprofit organization that serves kids and families from the projects in Guaynabo, PR. We’ve been able to raise enough money for a part-time librarian for one year ($5,000), and now that the center has hired a librarian, I’m seeking donations of bilingual books or books in Spanish to enlarge the very small collection they have.

"Generous Guild members have contributed signed books. Thank you to AMY HANSEN, KAREN LEGGETT, JACQUELINE JULES and SUSAN STOCKDALE for their donations. The kids get especially excited with signed books. Please contact me if you can spare a copy or two of one of your books or books you receive for review. I will take care of mailing them to the center in my next shipment."

Lulu Delacre with José Morales, director of Centro Vedruna.

Excitement with the latest arrival of books.

NOTICE OF A CHANGE IN DUES STRUCTURE

For the first time in 14 years (since 2004), the Executive Committee has voted to raise the base membership dues. The new dues structure will be as follows:

$75 yearly for all in-town members (authors, illustrators, specialists and organizations)
$35 yearly for all out-of-town members

There will be no extra fees for website maintenance and Guild member pages. All Guild members will be entitled to a member page that will include links to their personal website: https://childrensbookguild.org/index.php/members

The Executive Committee and the membership chair realize that this new dues structure will raise dues for some members and lower dues for others who have been routinely paying website fees. It is believed, however, that these membership fees will simplify the existing dues structure and in the long run benefit all members. Our current system is confusing for many, and our base rate is far below that charged by other literary organizations. (For example, SCBWI charges $95 to join.) 

All Guild members are now entitled to a full webpage on the Guild website as a perk of membership, at no extra charge. Please visit the member pages on the Guild website and see some of the updated pages for examples, such as those of Jacqueline Jules, Kitson Jazynka and Mary Rand Hess: https://childrensbookguild.org/index.php/members

Membership renewal notices will be going out in April. Please respond to the email request and pay your membership fees by June 30. Thank you!


SALLY CANZONERI'S ART AT WASHINGTON PRINTMAKERS GALLERY

Washington Printmakers Gallery is showing “Moving Pictures & Standing Books,” an exhibit of lenticular pictures and sculptural artist books by Sally Canzoneri, from March 29 to April 29.

Lenticular pictures combine two images so that viewers moving by see one picture from one side and a different one from the other side. In some pieces, Sally combines historic photos with present-day images to draw viewers into considering the relationship between events. In others, she combines two versions of the same image. These, Sally says, “are more about using the device of lenticulars to get people to look beyond what is immediately apparent in my pictures–and in the world around them.”

Like her lenticulars, Sally’s three-dimensional artist books use unusual forms to amplify the content of her images, drawing viewers to explore further. As with the lenticulars, what viewers see changes as they move around the pieces. The books also have kinetic elements, with moving parts and the possibility of manipulating them to change their shape and what parts are visible.

Sally invites all Guild members to the artist reception on Sunday, April 8, from 2 to 4 p.m. All are welcome as well on April 15, from 4 to 6, when she will lead a hands-on book-art workshop for all ages as part of the Georgetown Galleries Second Saturdays series. Washington Printmakers Gallery is at 1641 Wisconsin Avenue NW, and is open 11 to 6 Thursday through Saturday and 12 to 5 Sunday. Find more information at www.washingtonprintmakers.com.

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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. April's speakers include FRED BOWEN and KWAME ALEXANDER.