Strike up the band, dear friends! It’s time to celebrate a new book!!! And how perfect that today, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we are sharing a book about community and coming together through music and song. I think Dr. King would have loved this book!
What a beautiful book! Written by one of my favorite kidlit peeps, Jyoti Rajan Gopal, and lovingly illustrated by Sonia Sanchez, and published by Candlewick.
Here’s a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page: In an ode to the power of music and community, this vibrantly illustrated picture book steps out on the balcony for a shared moment of spontaneous joy and celebration.
In a quiet neighborhood, a single note trills through the air. Another note joins, and then another. One by one, curious people are drawn to their windows, doorways, and balconies to support the medley. Professional musicians play instruments from around the world, while others bang pots and pans. All are welcome as the notes swirl and dip and crescendo, coming together to make one sweet song. And when the music fades and this diverse neighborhood is once again silent, the reverberations of unity remain. Written by a kindergarten teacher and inspired by the balcony singing in Italy during the pandemic—with a countdown from one to ten and back gently woven in—this rhythmic synergy of text and art is a buoyant, global-minded celebration of how music connects us, even in the darkest of times.
It’s a story about community and helping each other, with a counting layer added in…what could be better for our youngest lovers of stories!
I know that Jyoti is at Books of Wonder in NYC, celebrating the launch of this fabulous book. And I’m sorry we can’t all be there to support her. But we can help this book succeed! We can: Buy the book Review the book Place the title on our Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf Tell friends about the book (PLEASE share on social media) Ask our local library to purchase copies for their collection.
I’ve put it on my Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf and I’ll review it on Amazon and I’m sharing it on my social media. What can you do?
I hope you all have a beautiful week! Thank you for spending your precious time with us.
What a perfect time to have a baby…a book baby, that is! And it was love at first sight…for me and for School Library Journal who gave it a STARRED review!!!
Written by Kris Tarantino – Illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld – Published by Waterbrook
Now this is a cover that puts you in a good mood, right? It looks like party-time at the monster’s house but someone’s not happy. Kids need a bit of silliness and joy these days. Here’s a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page:
A hilarious and heartwarming picture book about a sweet little monster who really wants to celebrate a not-so-monstery holiday: Valentine’s Day.
“There are powerful messages about the nature of love on almost every page.”—School Library Journal (starred review)
Snoodle is an unusual monster. She loves candy hearts, fun parties, fuzzy kittens, fancy hats, sparkly stickers, and . . . valentines! There’s just one problem: Monsters don’t do Valentine’s Day! And when Snoodle tries to throw a Valentine’s Day party for her monster friends, nothing goes right. Every attempt to show them what love looks like turns into monster mayhem! With each disaster, Snoodle tries to be patient and kind, and to not be rude or get easily angered. But if the party isn’t perfect, how can Snoodle convince the other monsters to be her Valenslime?
Debut author Kris Tarantino and New York Times bestselling illustrator Cori Doerrfeld bring to life a wonderful cast in this laugh-out-loud exploration of the true meaning of love.
And we are so lucky! Debut author Kris Tarantino was kind enough to stop by to share the inspiration for the story, plus the challenges and humorous moments on the path to publication. PLUS, she and her publisher are offering a giveaway, so please make sure you leave a comment.
ME: WELCOME, KRIS! THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY TO SHARE YOUR PATH TO PUBLICATON WITH US.
KRIS: THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME ON YOUR BLOG, VIVIAN! I’M THRILLED TO CELEBRATE MY BOOK BIRTHDAY HERE.
Inspiration for this book:
The inspiration for Be My ValenSLIME came together after years of experiencing people who repeatedly demonstrated a lack or void of love and kindness. I found myself saying, This doesn’t feel like love. What’s love anyway? Then the idea of exploring What’s love anyway kept rolling around in my head. And I thought what better way to get down to the kid-level on the topic of ‘love’ than with the opposite kind of character—a mash-up of monsters (typically viewed as a nasty unloving group). But they all couldn’t be monster-y. Then Snoodle burst on the page, along with the fun title, and the rest was history.
Challenging moments: I had a multi-step challenge with the acquisition of Be My Valenslime.
I met both my agent and editor at an online conference (covid time). During my One-on-One with the editor, I chose to spend my time pitching her as many of my stories as time would allow. I wanted to gauge her interest on each story because we all know that writers are only allowed to send one manuscript to a faculty member post-conference. It turns out she was looking for holiday books and lit up when I pitched Be My ValenSLIME. She asked me to send her the manuscript post-conference (which I did). And then said they only work with agented authors. Gulp. I told her I was working on that part.
Post-conference, I signed with my agent. Hooray! As this was happening, the editor got back to me and said there was internal interest and would I be willing to revise and resend? Then reminded me that they only work with agented authors. I replied that yes, I’d be happy to do an R&R, and told her I just signed with an agent!
First, my agent and I went through two months of revisions. After the R&R was sent, the editor said she took it to an acquisitions meeting. The group was very interested, but no offer, yet. They wanted to see more storylines developed with Snoodle and the monsters. There was talk of making this into a picture book series, maybe, no promises. Did I hear that right? A possible series?!
I had to think of 6-8 additional story summaries. I’d never done this before, but I was determined to try. So, after another 4 weeks, the series ideas were done and sent. Shortly after that we received a formal offer! Even though the offer ended up being for one book (and not a series) the acquisitions group still thought a series was a future possibility.
Surprising editorial moment: At the editorial kick-off meeting, I learned that there had been even more internally discussion about the monsters. The original story that sold had Snoodle (the main character) and groups of other non-specific monsters. My editor asked that I develop a few of the monsters, have them appear alongside Snoodle as secondary characters, and give them personalities and character traits. Enter in—Iggy, Zee-Zee, and Fleck. There were other changes to the story as well. Overall, we went through three rounds of revisions over two months. My editor’s vision ultimately made the story much stronger!
Surprising amazing incident: Once the manuscript was ready for art, my editor asked me to put together a list of illustrators who I thought would be a perfect fit for the story. I was shocked. Afterall, it’s well-known in the industry that the author doesn’t pick the illustrator, the art director and editor do. I was honored and delighted that they asked for my input, even if they decided to pick someone else. So, I poured over all my favorite picture books and put together a list of illustrators, including why I liked their style, and how it could best fit Snoodle and her monster friends.
And here’s the cool part. My editor put together a list too. And Cori Doerrfeld was on both of our lists! How amazing is that? I love it. And, it turns out that one of Cori’s favorite things to draw is… you guessed it—monsters!
ME: Oh my gosh! Kris! What an AMAZING story of how your story came to be. Lots of writing and rewriting! Lots of patience and perseverance! We are so proud of you!!
Dear friends, here’s a little bit about Kris, although with all that she shared with us, I bet you feel like you know her already. Kris Tarantino is a children’s book author. She’s member of SCBWI and the 12×12 Picture Book Writing Challenge. She has participated as a faculty speaker on several SCBWI Writer/Illustrator Panels, and has won numerous writing and mentor awards. Kris holds a B.A. in Business, Marketing, and Art. Prior to writing children’s books, she worked in marketing, licensing popular characters for companies that make fun products like toys, books, and balloons. Kris is represented by Keely Boeving at WordServe Literary. You can find her online at www.kristarantino.com, as well as Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin.
Thank you so much for spending your precious time here with us. Please make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of BE MY VALENSLIME – and please share on your social media to spread the word. Other things you can do: Buy the book Review the book Put the book on your Goodreads WANT TO READ SHELF Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection.
This is the last planned post of the year, dear friends. Stay safe as the New Year approaches…find joy, be kind, and love each other.
Hip, hip hooray! Two more book babies are born! One is for our littlest story-lovers because…it’s a BOARD BOOK! I’m so excited to share COUNTING ON SHABBAT, written by my dear friend and long-time CP Nancy Churnin (who has six books that launched this year to add to her already huge pile of award-winning titles) and illustrated by Petronela Dostalova and published by Kar-Ben.
Here’s a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page:
Shabbat brings 1 table, 2 candles, and 3 braids in the challah, kittens waiting to be fed, friends knocking at the door, smiles all around, and more. Count from 1 to 10 as you get ready for Shabbat.
And the other book is a nonfiction picture book biography: VALENTINES FOR ALL: Esther Howland Captures America’s Heart, illustrated by Monika Roza Wisniewska and published by Albert Whitman.
Here’s a little bit about VALENTINES FOR ALL:
How an enterprising woman helped establish a tradition that Americans still observe today.
When Esther Howland first saw the fancy valentine her father brought home from England, most Americans thought Valentine’s Day was a waste of time. But through the card, Esther felt how much her father loved her. Could she help others express themselves in the same way?
She won the 2021 National Jewish Book Award and 2022 Sydney Taylor Honor for Dear Mr. Dickens, a true story that is the subject of an educational program offered by The Charles Dickens Museum in London, and two Sydney Taylor Notables, for her 2021 A Queen to the Rescue, the Story of Henrietta Szold Founder of Hadassah and 2018 Irving Berlin, the Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing. Born and raised in New York City, Nancy lives in the Dallas area. Among her other book honors: National Federation of Press Women First Place Award; Texas Federation of Press Women First Place Award; the South Asia Book Award; Sakura Medal finalist; Books for a Global Society Notable; two Junior Library Guild selections; multiple Social Studies Notable Trade books for Young People; multiple Kids Choice Awards finalists; multiple Silver Eureka Award-winners; multiple Bank Street College Best Children’s Book List books; multiple A Mighty Girl books; 10 books featured on socialjusticebooks and starred reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly. All her books come with free teacher guides, resources and projects on her website, nancychurnin.com
And here’s a little bit about illustrator Petronela Dostalova: Petronela was born in the former Czechoslovakia. She grew up in a little village called Borša, surrounded by woods and vineyards. From the age of 14 she studied at a boarding school in Košice.
When she was 18, Petronela decided to live and study in Suffolk, UK where she received her arts degree. Soon after graduation she decided to enroll in the MA Children’s Book Illustration course at the Cambridge School of Art. She currently lives in scenic Tattingstone with her partner Dan and dog Haribo. Petronela loves exploring the coasts and estuaries of Suffolk. Her client list now include Child’s Play International, Scholastic, CBeebies, Yeehoo Press, Lerner Publishing, Reycraft. Petronela is represented by Robbin Brosterman at The Bright Agency. You can find out more about her here: https://www.petroneladostalova.co.uk/
And here’s a little bit about illustrator Monika Roza Wisniewska from her website: I’m a freelance illustrator and character designer from Poland, based in Porto area in Portugal. I specialize in character-driven illustrations for young adult, romance, and fantasy. I have experience working in illustration with publishers from around the world. I’m also passionate about character design for animation and have experience working with cut-out animation. When I’m not drawing, I like to read books, watch TV shows, and admire the palm trees that don’t grow in my home country. If you want to work with me, you can reach me at monika.r.wisniewska@gmail.com Clients include: Scholastic, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Callisto Media, Magnard, Albert Whitman, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Polish Humanitarian Action, BluBlu Studios, Letko Links: LinkedinArtstationInstagramFacebook
Magic happens when there is a great combination of author and illustrator…and that’s what happened with both of these books. COUNTING ON SHABBAT is such a sweet book…and so is VALENTINES FOR ALL…and you might WIN a copy – just leave a comment on this blog post, tell me which book you would prefer to receive, and do at least ONE of these other things – which are all things that help new books become successful. 1. Buy the books 2. Review the books 3. Put the books on your Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf 4. Tell friends about the books by sharing this post on Social Media 5. Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection
By the way, Nancy and I will be at NCTE next week, on a panel with Kathy Halsey, Ellen Leventhal, and Pamela Courtney. Plus we both have book signings, so, if you are planning to be at NCTE, please stop by to say hello.
Thank you for spending your precious time with us. I hope you all have a beautiful week!
VIVIAN KIRKFIELD - Writer for Children 