Cover Reveal: ELSA’S CHESSBOARD

Posted on February 17, 2025 by viviankirkfield

I feel so lucky that I meet so many amazing kidlit authors and illustrators. Sometimes I meet them at conferences. Sometimes our paths cross during an online class. And other times, mutual friends bring us together.

That’s how I connected with Jenny Andrus. She’s in the #Kidlit Foxes author promo group with a couple of other folks I know – and when she reached out and I heard the story behind her debut picture book, ELSA’S CHESSBOARD that releases from Neal Porter/Holiday House on April 29, I just knew I had to help spread the word…and the COVER!

Illustrator Julie Downing has created a cover that truly engages and informs! Look at the background. We can tell right away that this is a book about a time in the past. And look at where the focus is…right on this young girl…and look how the artist has made her active. She’s not just sitting at a chessboard…we can see she is involved in an on-going game! I can’t wait to open the book and turn the pages and read the story…and I’m sure that’s how young children will feel, too.

Here’s a little bit about the book:
Elsa’s Chessboard
Jenny Andrus (author)
Julie Downing (illustrator)
Neal Porter Books/Holiday House
Launch date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780823454082

ME: I asked Jenny what inspired her to write the story.

JENNY: My grandmother (we called her Oma) lived with us when I was growing up, and we were very close. I could talk to her about almost anything–except chess. Even though Oma was passionate about the game, I resisted her every effort to teach me how to play. There was always something else that I would rather do. Eventually, she gave up trying. How I wish I could go back in time and take her up on that offer. Since that’s not a possibility, I went with the next best option: I wrote a book celebrating her life and the game she loved.

Here’s a short summary of the story

Growing up in 1900s Vienna, Elsa loves watching her brothers play chess. “No girls!” they tell her when she first asks to learn; but she wears them down, and soon she’s such a pro that they give her a special chess set of her own. Elsa carries her chessboard with her everywhere, always ready for a game. She even gets to know her future husband over games in the park. But when World War II grips Europe, the young Jewish family flees to America, where they find themselves surrounded by unfamiliar languages. Luckily, Elsa knows one language that can always bring people together: chess!

And here’s a little bit about Jenny:

Jenny Andrus is an author, children’s book reviewer, and librarian. She has written stories for newspapers and magazines, and co-authored a book for new parents, Bay Area Baby. For 14 years, she was a K-8 school librarian, where her favorite part of the job was sharing picture books with kids.

And here’s a little bit about the illustrator:

Julie Downing is the author and illustrator of Hello, Moon; Hello, Sun; and Night in the City. She has illustrated over forty-five picture books, including Cubs in the Tub: The True Story of the Bronx Zoo’s First Woman Zookeeper by Candace Fleming. She has won many awards and citations, including a Parents’ Choice Award, the New York Public Library’s Best Books, APAAL Best Illustrated Book, and the Irma Black Silver Medal.

To find out more about the creators of this beautiful book:
Social media links / website
Instagram:
Jenny: @jennyandruswrites
Julie Downing:@juliedowning

Bluesky
@jandrus.bsky.social

Facebook
@jenny.andrus.94

Websites
Jenny: https://jennyandruswrites.com/
Julie: https://www.juliedowning.com/

Preferred Pre-Order Sales Links
Bookshop.org
Barnes & Noble
Amazon

Reviews welcome on the store sites, as well as on:
Goodreads
Edelweiss

Thank you, everyone, for spending your precious time with us. I’ll be away for the next 2 weeks – and will return JUST IN TIME for #50PreciousWords which takes place right here on the blog on March 2 and March 3. Our wonderful judges are all ready to read your fabulous stories…have you written yours yet? As always, the prizes are amazing! Check out the Heads Up post for guidelines and prize list: https://viviankirkfield.com/2025/02/01/heads-up-the-50preciouswords-2024-international-writing-contest-is-coming-soon-2/

Perfect Picture Book Friday: PERFECT MATCH

Posted on December 6, 2024 by viviankirkfield

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends! I’m so very excited about today’s featured book BECAUSE I know the author and met her at a conference TEN YEARS AGO and I got to see the manuscript before it became a book!!! That’s always fun, right? And the story is especially relevant today because it touches on racial and religious discrimination – and ALLYSHIP!

PERFECT MATCH

Written by Lori Dubbin

Illustrated by Amanda Quartey

Published by Kar Ben Publishing (September 10, 2024)

Ages: 6-11

Themes: Discrimination, courage, tennis

Synopsis: From Amazon:
When Althea Gibson first dreamed of joining the big American tennis leagues, she was denied because she was Black. Angela Buxton dreamed of joining the best tennis clubs in Britain, but she was rejected because she was Jewish. When Angela heard that Althea was coming to Britain to compete, she skipped school to see the match. If Althea didn’t let hatred stop her from playing the game she loved, Angela wouldn’t either.

At the French Championships in 1956, Angela told Althea about her dream of winning Wimbledon with a doubles partner. To win as a team, they would have to stick to their strengths―together.

Why I Love This Book:
1. I love that this is a true story about two women who encouraged and supported each other – and proved to the world that allyship wins over racial and religious discrimination!
2. I love the well-written text – filled with action and suspense – and lots of heart!
3. I love the lively illustrations that help bring the story to life and help connect the reader with the characters!

The book has received wonderful reviews, including being a Junior Library Guild Selection.

And guess what!! Author Dubbin and illustrator Quartey stopped by to chat with us and share a little bit about the story behind the story…and I know we all love that!
Welcome, Lori and Amanda!

LORI: In writing PERFECT MATCH, I found it harder to write about two people instead of just one. I wanted to be able to give Althea and Angela the same amount of time and space in the manuscript…as much as I could. It took a while to find just the right balance for two main characters. Althea and Angela were seven years apart and Althea was already playing in tournaments when Angela was still in high school. I finally figured out I needed to show glimpses of each of them separately, bring them together when they met on tour, and then keep Althea and Angela’s friendship and doubles partnership front and center. That’s when I finally started to hear “the ping of the ball in the racquet’s sweet spot” in the manuscript.

Then during the production stage of the book, I was delighted when I saw Amanda’s illustrations. She captures both players beautifully and takes the heart of the story to another level – by highlighting the warmth of Althea and Angela’s friendship and emphasizing the power of their partnership on the court.

AMANDA: Perfect match challenge
The most challenging part of working on this project was coming up with the initial illustrations for the book. As someone who is not the most familiar with tennis and its history, I made sure to do as much research as possible before hand on both Angela and Althea in order to simulate their real life friendship. While working on ‘Perfect Match’ I was enlightened to many tennis facts which I was not formerly aware of – like the fact that tennis balls used to be white!

It’s fascinating to know that even with the many challenges that pop up on the path to publication, in the end, there will be a beautiful book!

Here’s a little bit about the author:
Lori Dubbin is a writer and former early childhood educator. She enjoys researching and writing about people just outside the framework of history who have made extraordinary contributions to the world and who model kindness, compassion, and perseverance for young readers. When Lori isn’t researching or writing, she likes taking walks, solving crossword puzzles, and reading with her grandson. Her children’s picture book, Perfect Match, The Story of Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton is a Junior Library Guild Selection.
Twitter/X: @LoriDubbin
Website: loridubbin.com

And here’s a little bit about the illustrator:
Amanda was born and bred in London. At the age of 14 she moved to Ghana and studied art at school and later returned to the UK to study graphic design. Her artistic path deviated slightly when she studied Classics at University; and then later started working in finance. But over the years, in a bid to return to her artistic roots, Amanda has built a professional illustration portfolio and is now loving every bit of her illustration career!

And here’s a few ways we can help this important book succeed:
We can buy a copy
We can review the book
We can place the book on our Goodreads Want to Read Shelf
We can tell friends about it (please share this post on your social media)
We can ask our local library to purchases copies for their collection

Thank you all for spending your precious time here with us. Just like Althea and Angela, we can support and encourage each other through challenging times, sharing light, love, and laughter.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!