Summary: The authors of the hit Goddess Girls series put a fun and girly twist on another super-popular theme: fairy tales!
Once upon a time, in faraway Grimmlandia…
A Grimmtastic girl named Cinderella is starting her first week at Grimm Academy on the wrong foot. Cinda’s totally evil stepsisters are out to make her life miserable. The Steps tease Cinda, give her terrible advice about life at the academy, and even make her look bad in front of her new friends, Red, Snow, and Rapunzel! But when Cinda overhears the Steps plotting a villainous deed that could ruin Prince Awesome’s ball, Cinda, her new friends, and a pair of magical glass slippers have to stop them–before the last stroke of midnight!
Grimmtastic Girls #2: Red Riding Hood Gets Lost by Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams (Scholastic Inc., Ages 8-12), Publication Date:March 25, 2014 Pages: 192
Summary: Red Riding Hood might have a terrible sense of direction, but her grimmtastic friends are always there to help!
Once upon a time, in faraway Grimmlandia…
Red Riding Hood is thrilled to try out for the school play. Acting is her dream, and she’s great at it–too bad she has stage fright! After a grimmiserable audition, Red decides to focus on helping her friends Cinda, Snow, and Rapunzel save Grimm Academy from the E.V.I.L. Society. But when Red gets lost in Neverwood forest and runs into Wolfgang, who might be part of E.V.I.L., she needs her magic basket and a grimmazingly dramatic performance to figure out what’s going on!
About the Authors: Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams
Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated more than 130 children’s books, including Little Red Writing (illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet) and Zero the Hero. She lives in NC and is online at www.joanholub.com
Suzanne Williams is the author of nearly 50 books for children, including the award-winning picture book Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg). She lives near Seattle, WA and is online at www.suzanne-williams.com
Co-authors Joan and Suzanne have written the Goddess Girls, Heroes in Training, and Grimmtastic Girls series. Though they live in different states and hardly ever get to see each other, they spend lots of time together in Grimmlandia.
Prize: $50 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice)
Contest ends: April 23, 11:59 pm, 2014
Open: Internationally
How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the authors, Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.
A JOURNEY THROUGH THE MUSIC CENTER & A 4PACK TICKET GIVEAWAY
Studies have shown that engaging children in music education from an early age can help improve their focus as well as their academic achievements and may even impact their emotional health. But how many schools offer such an enrichment opportunity?
To fill that need, California’s longest-continuing free arts education initiative, The Blue Ribbon Children’s Festival, returns to The Music Center for its 44th year, on April 9-11, 2014. This Festival responds to the challenges facing schools that continue to see significant cuts in arts and music programs. This year, students participating in the Festival will experience a performance by the Paul Taylor Dance Company. The company’s choreographer, Paul Taylor, is one of America’s greatest living pioneers of modern dance.
After the performance, the students will join with their peers from all over Los Angeles County on The Music Center Plaza in a dance inspired by Paul Taylor’s work and choreographed just for them. Every student who attends the Festival will receive a copy of the book, A Journey Through The Music Center, which introduces them to The Music Center and various aspects of the performing arts. The Music Center is offering Good Reads with Ronna readers an opportunity to get a copy of A Journey Through The Music Centerfor free; the book has traditionally been available only to students who attend the festival. A Journey Through The Music Centeris available in limited quantities for a limited period of time. Parents/guardians can visit The Music Center’s web site to request a copy at http://www.musiccenter.org/education/Blue-Ribbon-Childrens-Festival-Book/
This keepsake book makes information about the performing arts very accessible and understandable. Parents and students will especially appreciate the book’s attention to the vocabulary words. What is an oboe? What is a resident company? What does it meant to strike the set? What does a theater house manager do? Students will be able to answer those questions and more as they enjoy the book’s beautiful photographs and illustrations, storylines and special attention to personalizing the experiences associated with the performing arts.
HOW TO ENTER GIVEAWAY:
To celebrate the performing arts, beginning today, Wednesday, March 19th, we’re offering readers the chance to win one family four pack of tickets to the April 11, 2014 opening night performance at 7:30 p.m. of the Paul Taylor Dance Company at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Click here for more info about the performance.
Simply LIKE us on Facebook and also send us your name and contact info in an email by clicking here by midnight PST on April 2, 2014 to be entered to win. Remember to write MUSIC CENTER in the subject line. This winner and three guests will attend the Friday, April 11, 2014 opening night performance at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at Will Call on the evening of the performance for collection. The winner will be selected by Random.org and notified on April 3, 2014. Good luck!
Read on to learn about a cool new Grosset & Dunlap contest along with a Good Reads With Ronna giveaway!
Let’s celebrate Women’s History Month together!
Who Is Jane Goodall? by Roberta Edwards with illustrations by John O’Brien, Grosset & Dunlap
When I was growing up the biographies for kids were awful. They looked like they had been on our local library’s shelves for decades, in other words, as old as the famous people they were about! Plus, they weren’t engaging, and there’s nothing worse than a boring biography (insert yawn here). Had they pulled me in the way the Grosset & Dunlap Who Was…? biography series for young readers does, who knows, I might have become an historian. That’s also why the contest Grosset & Dunlap is running is not-to-be-missed!
CONTEST: WHO WAS…? 100th Book Contest! (Scroll down for the GRWR giveaway, too!)
Who Was Harriet Tubman? by Yona Zeldis McDonough with illustrations by Nancy Harrison, Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap’s Who Was…? series, with over 50 titles featuring famous thinkers, politicians, and history-makers published to date, is particularly interesting. This past summer I reviewed Who Is Bob Dylan? by Jim O’Connor and learned a lot of things I didn’t know about the musician and song writer. (Click here to read the review.) A recent fave is Who Was Christopher Columbus? by Bonnie Bader. The eclectic biography collection includes everyone from George Washington to Walt Disney to Dolly Parton. With their quirky cover art, interior illustrations, and novel-like prose, the books make learning about important figures exciting and accessible for middle-grade readers, both in the classroom and at home. The success of the series has inspired the spin-offs What Was…? and Quien Fue…?, for Spanish language readers. And now having Common Core Curriculum in 45 states makes these nonfiction books all the more relevant. Click here to learn more about the What Was…? series.
Who Was Frida Kahlo? by Sarah Fabiny with illustrations by Jerry Hoare, Grosset & Dunlap
WHAT:Penguin Young Readers recently announced that the subject of their 100thWho Was…? biography (to be published in Summer 2015) will be chosen by their readers! How cool that kids can have a hand in helping to select who will be written about. Perhaps they’d like to see a biography written about former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor or author Louisa May Alcott? Think hard. Will it be Diana, Princess of Wales or maybe scientist and two-time Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie? They can choose from Mother Teresa, Margaret Thatcher or Catherine The Great. There are so many deserving individuals and these are just the women. Kids can also choose an important male, but since we’re celebrating Women’s History Month, I just picked female candidates. Believe it or not, they can even cast a vote for a teacher, an athlete, a rockstar, a movie star or their very own mom or dad. Click here to find out more.
WHEN: From March 1 – June 1, 2014, readers will be able to cast their vote for the figure of their choice. Voting will take place at bookstores, libraries, schools, book fairs, and online at www.whowasbookseries.com. The winning subject will be announced on July 1, 2014.
Good Reads With Ronna Giveaway
Who Was Eleanor Roosevelt? by Gare Thompson with illustrations by Nancy Harrison, Grosset & Dunlap
In conjunction with Grosset & Dunlap’s 100th Who Was…? book contest, we’re happy to offer our readers a Women’s History Month giveaway (for US only, through the end of March) – 1 prize pack of 3 women’s history titles. The winner will receive a copy of Who Was Frida Kahlo?, Who Was Eleanor Roosevelt? and Who is Jane Goodall? To be eligible to win, you must first LIKE us on Facebook or FOLLOW us on Twitter. Doing both gives you an extra entry. Click here to enter via email and give us your address. Remember to also write Who Was…? in the subject. This giveaway will run through March 31, 2014. One winner will be chosen on April 1, 2014 by Random.org and notified via email. Good luck!
Weston is the author of the popular Melanie Martin novels, AND the woman behind the “Dear Carol” advice column in Girl’s Life magazine! Weston joins us as part of her Ava and Pip(her latest tween book) Blog Tour. If you didn’t read Rita Zobayan’s review of Ava and Pip, here’s the link to bring you up to speed. Also, be sure to scroll down all the way for our giveaway details.
“Have you ever done something you never wanted anyone to know about? Quirky word-obsessed fifth grader Ava did, and now she’s about find out what happens when you let things get too far. Get ready to have fun with Ava who’s ready to do anything to help her older sister Pip finally come out of her shell.”
But now, without further ado, Carol Weston shares her thoughts on a topic confronting many kids, tweens and teens today, and yes Virginia, even when we were growing up in the Dark Ages before social media!
GRWR asked Carol Weston a question and here’s what she wrote.
“As for your tough question …
– ‘Have you ever done something you wish you could take back?'”
Oh man, haven’t we all? That said, while Ava and Pip is about a good kid who does a bad thing, I myself am not racked with guilt about having been a bully or committed any crimes. This is not to say I was a goody goody as a child. I was not, and I will now tell a story I’ve never told before.
When I was in fourth grade, I was a Girl Scout. One day, a dozen of us in forest green dresses and dark green sashes went on a Girl Scout field trip. I’m not sure what badge we were off to earn, but we all arrived at the police station in Westchester, north of New York City, where I grew up. A policeman met us and showed us around.
I was not a little klepto. But apparently back then, I did have a thing for thumbtacks. Not the flat silver kind. The colorful plastic pushpin kind. Yellow! Red! Green! Blue! Well, that day the policeman showed us a giant bulletin board dotted with bright pushpins. I was dazzled. When the policeman started leading our troop into the next room, I lingered behind, looked both ways, and pocketed a few. I truly did. I stole thumbtacks from a police station while wearing a Girl Scout uniform! Was it a bulletin board that showed crime scenes? If so, after I’d done my deed, it may have seemed like there was less crime in Scarsdale, New York, when in fact a little criminal was right in their midst!
Soon afterward, my young friends and I got into making phony phone calls and ringing doorbells and running. In math class, if we were taking a hard multiple choice test, I sometimes took a seat by a math whiz so I could compare my answers with his or hers. And when I worked at a drugstore for minimum wage, I’ll confess that I pocketed a lipstick. Maybe even two. (Three?)
Ava and Pip, (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, $15.99; ages 8-12), is a book rich with characters, storylines, and themes. It is simultaneously a word nerd’s vocabulary haven, a parent’s guide to sibling dynamics, and a cautionary (and ultimately uplifting) tale about the power of words.
Enter to win a copy of the book by clicking here. Please include your name and address and write Ava and Pip in the subject line. Giveaway ends at midnight PST, on March 13, 2014. Entrants from US and Canada only. Winner selected and notified on March 14th. Please like us on Facebook for an extra entry. Good luck!
Ava Wren is an outgoing ten-year old whose world is full of words. Her father is a playwright, and the whole family constantly plays palindrome and homonym word games. She even has a special souvenir pen that her father brought from Ireland. As full as Ava’s life is, all is not well. Ava loves her older sister, Pip, but is frustrated by Pip’s introverted nature and the resulting attention Pip receives from their parents. When a new girl, Bea, throws a party on the same night that Pip does, Ava decides to “help” her sister by submitting a story about a mean new girl who steals other people’s friends. What Ava doesn’t realize is that people aren’t always what they may seem and that her story is about to have bigger consequences than she imagined. Carol Weston does a wonderful job of seeing the world from a young female’s perspective. That’s no surprise, as Ms. Weston is an advice columnist for Girl’s Life. This insight allows her to present the situations, feelings, and vernacular of both the adults and adolescents authentically.
“Fine,” I said. But it wasn’t fine. Sometimes it seems as if Mom cares more about Pip than about me. Pip, her precious firstborn. Here are three pieces of evidence:
1. Mom always buys Pip her favorite snacks (like pretzels and mangoes), but doesn’t buy me mine (like grapes and cheddar cheese).
2. Mom gives Pip an allowance, but I have to take the garbage out for nothing.
3. Mom praises Pip’s sketches more than my writing—not that I ever show her my writing, but still.
I didn’t even tell Mom that I got another 100 in spelling (or that I got a 79 on the math quiz).
Told in a diary form, Ava and Pip explores many dynamics: parent-child, siblings, friends, enemies, and even first crushes. Even words have a life of their own, which is what Ava discovers when her story gets more attention and not in a positive manner. This is an excellent book for children to read by themselves or for parents to read along with their children. Teachers and counselors can use the book as a discussion builder on the power of words and of misinterpretation. I give a Y-A-Y for Ava and Pip.
Today Good Reads With Ronna andLondon Ladddiscuss how, as the illustrator of Under The Freedom Tree(Charlesbridge, $16.95, Ages 6-9) by Susan VanHecke, he came up with the illustrations for this picture book which we’re highlighting for African American History Month (also known as Black History Month). If you didn’t see yesterday’s post where we interviewed author Susan VanHecke, please clickhere to read it.
BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY
We’re joining other reviewers this week as part of a special Charlesbridge Publishing blog tour and hope you’ll take the time to visit all the bloggers’ sites. We’re also delighted to be giving away one copy of Under The Freedom Tree, so enter by clicking here for a chance to win. This giveaway ends at midnight PST on February 24, 2014. Please be sure to write Freedom Tree in the subject line and include your address. Like us on Facebook for an extra entry. A winner will be chosen by Random.org and notified via email on February 25th. Good luck!
REVIEW Under The Freedom Tree shares the story of three captured slaves, Frank, James and Shepard, during the Civil War, who take an enormous risk to escape across dangerous waters in Virginia to reach the Union Army on the other side only to discover they are still not totally free. However, with the help of clever General Butler, a lawyer before the Civil War, the three fugitives are able to remain with the Union side on a technicality. The winds of change were beginning to blow in the right direction.
VanHecke delivers a powerful tale told poetically in free verse and based on actual accounts of the creation of America’s first “contraband camps.” After word of Frank, James and Shepard’s successful escape, others followed suit. First hundreds then thousands.
Runaways.
Stowaways.
Barefoot, mud-crusted.
Better forward than back.
Former slaves built a community in what was known as Slabtown, or the Grand Contraband Camp. By day they worked for the Union, but they were freer than they’d ever been, some living in a home of their own for the very first time. Silent witness to this all was the majestic old oak tree, the Freedom Tree. Illustrator Ladd conveys so much spirit and emotion in every spread, whether by depicting children being taught under the shade of the oak or the joyful gathering of the community to hear the reading of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. “Lives forever changed under the Freedom Tree.”
Be sure to sit down with your kids and read this fantastic picture book that helps shed light on a little-known yet inspiring event of the Civil War. Also included are a bibliography and author’s note at the end providing more historical information that helps place many of the events in Under The Freedom Tree in context.
INTERVIEW WITH LONDON LADD
Good Reads With Ronna:When a publisher approaches you with a book to illustrate, do you see the completed manuscript or is it still rough round the edges? I’m curious because I wonder if your illustrations have ever influenced the direction a book can take?
London Ladd: It depends on the publisher. Most of the time I’ll get a completed script, but there have been a few times I will get something that’s in the last stages of editing. It’s minor wording that doesn’t affect my ideas.
Good Reads With Ronna:What is your illustration process, i.e. do you research the subject matter, then sketch and finally paint the art to be used?
London Ladd: I’ll usually read and reread the manuscript, then I do a few small quick thumbnail sketches. After that I start diving into the research and this is the most fun because I get to learn new things, but sometimes I get so involved I get lost and have to pull myself back into focus. After gathering myself I do more sketches to storyboard all the pages. Then I take A LOT of reference photos. I draw the final sketches and send to the publisher for feedback and after things are approved I paint the final artwork.
GRWR:In terms of medium for Under the Freedom Tree, did you use acrylics and combine them with pastels and colored pencils like your bio describes or did you try something different with this book?
Ladd: I primarily use acrylic paint, but recently for Under the Freedom Tree, I’ve combined colored pencils and pastels. I feel it adds more depth to the art and creates a signature look. When I’m working I get messy so my clothes will get covered in paint. It’s a bad habit I’ve tried to stop but I get so locked in I can’t help it. In the past I’ve tried oils on top of the acrylics but when it got on my skin I had bad reactions and discontinued use.
GRWR:What is your favorite illustration in Under the Freedom Tree?
Ladd: That’s a difficult answer because I really love each illustration in this book for various reasons. If I had to pick one right now it would be the first page with them running because when I first read the manuscript that page came alive so clearly in my mind’s eye and heart. I could vividly hear the sound of the crickets chirping, the pounding feet of the three men in the tall grass, the hurried sound of their breathing in the night as they sneak off. If you watch the book trailer that’s exactly how I saw it in my head.
GRWR:Which was the most difficult to complete and why?
Ladd: I think the page where the people are rebuilding after the Confederate soldiers torched Hampton. I didn’t know how to approach it. What do I show? How do I convey in my illustration the words effectively? When I traveled to Hampton to do more extensive research and see landmarks like Emancipation Oak, Fort Monroe and Sewel’s Point (the spot where the men escaped from) I stopped in the Hampton History Museum and they had this amazing exhibit from that era. There was a replica of a burnt brick wall with an actual photo of Hampton after the fire in 1862. When I saw that I knew exactly how that page should look. It’s funny because without visiting I would have never created that page.
GRWR:Is it difficult as an illustrator to try to capture a unique moment in time and have your illustration convey a mood or incident?
Ladd: Wow that’s a good question. I guess it depends on the project. For March On I wasn’t born during the march on Washington so wanted to capture the moment. What would it be like if I was there and to be a part something so special? For Oprah I felt a connection to her story. I’m also an only child who had a fierce determination to better myself and succeed. With Under the Freedom Tree it was a spiritual experience for me as an African American. The issue of slavery can be a sensitive subject, that’s why it was so important for me to visit the sites and gain a deeper understanding of what I’m illustrating. To see the Emancipation Oak, a 400 year old tree that still stands to this day in person at Hampton University, and to stand on the very shore in Norfolk, VA and look across the Chesapeake Bay, filled me with so many ranges of emotions. The contraband slaves are not widely known in history so I wanted to illustrate their amazing story of bravery, courage and strength with honor.
Today Good Reads With Ronna and Susan VanHecke discuss how the seeds of a story were planted for her new picture book, Under The Freedom Tree(Charlesbridge, $16.95, Ages 6-9) with illustrations by London Ladd,which we’re highlighting for Black History Month.
BLOG TOUR
We’re joining other reviewers this week as part of a special Charlesbridge Publishing blog tour and hope you’ll take the time to visit all the bloggers’ sites. We’re also delighted to be giving away one copy of Under The Freedom Tree, so enter by clicking here for a chance to win. This giveaway ends at midnight PST on February 24, 2014. Please be sure to write Freedom Tree in the subject line and include your address. Like us on Facebook for an extra entry. A winner will be chosen by Random.org and notified via email on February 25th.
Under The Freedom Tree shares the story of three captured slaves, Frank, James and Shepard, during the Civil War, who take an enormous risk to escape across dangerous waters in Virginia to reach the Union Army on the other side only to discover they are still not totally free. However, with the help of clever General Butler, a lawyer before the Civil War, the three fugitives are able to remain with the Union side on a technicality. The winds of change were beginning to blow in the right direction.
Under The Freedom Tree by Susan VanHecke with illustrations by London Ladd, Charlesbridge Publishing, 2014.
VanHecke delivers a powerful tale told poetically in free verse and based on actual accounts of the creation of America’s first “contraband camps.” After word of Frank, James and Shepard’s successful escape, others followed suit. First hundreds then thousands.
Runaways.
Stowaways.
Barefoot, mud-crusted.
Better forward than back.
Former slaves built a community in what was known as Slabtown, or the Grand Contraband Camp. By day they worked for the Union, but they were freer than they’d ever been, some living in a home of their own for the very first time. Silent witness to this all was the majestic old oak tree, the Freedom Tree. Illustrator Ladd conveys so much spirit and emotion in every spread, whether by depicting children being taught under the shade of the oak or the joyful gathering of the community to hear the reading of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. “Lives forever changed under the Freedom Tree.”
Be sure to sit down with your kids and read this fantastic picture book that helps shed light on a little-known yet inspiring event of the Civil War. Also included are a bibliography and author’s note at the end providing more historical information that helps place many of the events in Under The Freedom Tree in context.
INTERVIEW
Good Reads With Ronna:Susan, I had no idea the story would be anything other than straightforward prose, but it was so much more. It was poetic and flowed like the water that carried the three slaves to their eventual freedom. How did you decide upon this form of storytelling?
Susan VanHecke: Thanks so much, Ronna, and your imagery is beautiful! You know, I struggled for quite a while (a couple of years, actually) trying to write the contraband slaves’ story in prose. But it was just too dry, too flat, too distant. I didn’t think it would hold young readers’ attention or get them feeling exactly what was at stake.
Then one day I picked up a collection of the late, great author Virginia Hamilton’s essays and speeches. In it, she described a concept she called “rememory,” an “exquisitely textured recollection, real or imagined.” I liked that idea, especially the texture and imagination parts. I decided to make a personal visit to the Freedom Tree. There in the summer quiet, under those sprawling, sheltering branches, I could feel all those heart-pounding emotions, I could imagine all those daring events, that took place under or near Emancipation Oak.
It was a powerful moment for me, and it definitely shook loose the words. My “rememory” came in the form of free verse. I owe a debt of gratitude to Ms. Hamilton.
GRWR:Did you happen upon the history of Frank, James and Shepard accidentally or was their story one you had heard about and always wanted to share with youngsters?
VanHecke: It was totally by accident. Do you ever get those local lifestyle magazines in the mail that are really just slick vehicles for home improvement ads? I was flipping through one of those when it opened to a photo in the back. It was a stunning, sepia-toned image of a spectacular tree. The caption underneath said that this was where area contraband slaves learned to read and write and heard the Emancipation Proclamation, what some consider the first Southern reading of that important document.
I was astonished that I’d never heard of this history, especially since Emancipation Oak is just a few miles from my home. As I researched the full story, I knew I wanted my kids and their classmates to know this exciting, little-known aspect of the Civil War.
GRWR:Under the Freedom Tree is a reminder that even in many places in the North, freedom for slaves was not readily embraced. How did some African American former slaves get to be free while others remained “contraband” until the 13th Amendment?
VanHecke: I’m certainly no expert, but it’s my understanding that former slaves could become free through manumission (emancipated by their owner, usually by “purchasing” themselves) or escaping to the free states of the North. Of course, slave hunters were always on the prowl—in the North and South—and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 created harsh punishments for those who assisted runaways in any way.
That’s what made Union General Benjamin Butler’s “contraband” decision so important. Virginia was a slave state, so by law (the Fugitive Slave Act), Butler had to return to their Confederate owners those three brave souls who rowed under cover of night to Fortress Monroe. But Butler, a lawyer himself, found a loophole: Virginia had just seceded from the United States, so U.S. law no longer applied to it. Virginia was now an enemy of the United States. Therefore, clever Butler was able to declare those escaped slaves “enemy contraband,” since they were being used in the Confederates’ effort to wage war on the Union.
As word spread, more and more slaves escaped and made their way to the Union line, where they too became “contraband.” They weren’t free, and in fact labored for the Union for many months before they were eventually paid for their work. But contraband surely seemed—and ultimately was—one step closer to free.
Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by 2014 Newbery Medal Winner, Kate DiCamillo, with illustrations by K. G. Campbell, Candlewick Press, 2013.
A huge thank you goes out to Candlewick Press for this fantastic opportunity. (Plus, read what DiCamillo’s publicist, Tracy Miracle, has to say about working with this two-time Newbery Medal winner.) Three contest entrants chosen at random will receive a set of two award-winning books, Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo (2014 Newbery Medalist) with illustrations by K. G. Campbell, together with Journey, a wordless picture book (2014 Caldecott Honor Book) by Aaron Becker.
Enter by clicking here. Include your name and address please. Remember to write 1000+ in the subject line. Contest ends at midnight PST on Tuesday, Feb. 18 and three winners will be selected and notified on Weds. Feb. 19, 2014. For eligibility, entrants must first follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Contest rules also available here. Good luck!
“In addition to interviews with Kate DiCamillo, K. G. Campbell and Aaron Becker, we’ve been delighted to have both Flora & Ulysses and Journey reviewed on our site. So, it simply made sense to offer our readers a chance to share the enjoyment we’ve gotten from reading both these brilliant books. We’d also be remiss if we didn’t use this occasion to thank all our followers for their continued support. We love bringing our favorite books, authors and illustrators to our readers’ attention.”
– Ronna Mandel, founder Good Reads With Ronna
“Working at Candlewick is an embarrassment of riches for any book publicist, honestly. There are too many wonderful books and authors, it can be overwhelming!
But working with Kate DiCamillo is a singular privilege that I can honestly say is one of the defining aspects of my career in publishing. Over almost a decade now, we have worked and grown together, and her books have continued to surprise and impress me at each publication. Not to mention, she’s a good person, and who doesn’t want to see a really, genuinely good person do well?
While no longer an underdog by any means, she’s still easy to root for. And I count myself among her biggest cheerleaders — ever.”
Return to the World of Avonlea
With an Anne of Green Gables Contest
“One of the most extraordinary girls that ever came out of an ink pot.” – The New York Times
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, Sourcebooks Fire, 2014.
Did you know that Anne of Green Gables was written over 100 years ago (1908 to be precise) and has sold over 50 million copies worldwide? When did you receive your first copy? Well, it’s time to revisit this classic courtesy of Sourcebooks who will be publishing both paperback and e-books of the beloved author’s works. In addition to delightful new cover art, the books will contain an introduction by the Canadian author’s granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler.
So mark your calendar now for the release of the Anne of Green Gables series in February 2014! Sourcebooks is proud to be the new home of L.M. Montgomery’s beloved novels and will continue to publish gorgeous brand new editions of all her classics throughout March and April.
Bookpage is hosting a contestfor theAnne of Green Gables series through January 31, 2014 called Kindred Spirits Sweepstakes, where all entries will have a chance to win the following:
· 1 Grand Prize Winner will win 2 Tiffany & Co. sterling silver key pendants
· 5 Second Place Winners will receive a full set of the Anne of Green Gables series from Sourcebooks Fire (6 books)
· 10 Third Place Winners will receive a copy of Anne of Green Gables
Visit their website here for a list of official rules. Submit your entries on the same page, or click here to enter and then tell others about this exciting contest. Plus, you can tell Sourcebooks about your experiences and send them the links so they can share them on their social media sites.
What memories do you have about reading Anne of Green Gables?
How did Montgomery’s stories inspire you?
Dive deeper into L. M. Montgomery’s world by “Montgom-ifying” your name, entering giveaways, downloading posters and excerpts and so much more on the Anne of Green Gables page on the Sourcebooks website.
“The books I read most as a child were by Lucy Maud Montgomery…”
The Night Before My Birthday by Natasha Wing with illustrations by Amy Wummer, Grosset & Dunlap, 2014.
We’re delighted to be part of Natasha Wing‘s blog tour for her new picture book The Night Before My Birthday (Grosset & Dunlap, $3.99, Ages 3-5). with illustrations by Amy Wummer. Wing’s written more than fifteen books in this popular series and at just $3.99 each, it’s easy and affordable to collect them all. I can even see giving a copy of the book instead of candy to each party guest. Parents will be pleased and kids will have something to enjoy long after the birthday has ended.
We’re also giving away two copies of the book. Winners will be selected by Random.org so email us by Friday, January 24th midnight PST to make sure you’re in the running. Like us on Facebook for an extra entry. Click here to submit your entry. Please be sure to write Night Before in the subject line and include your name and address in your email submission. Good luck!
So what’s the book about? Told in rhyme by a gender neutral narrator (readers can picture themselves as the main character!), The Night Before My Birthday is about the preparation leading up to a birthday celebration, and the joyous anticipation every youngster feels before his or her big day.
The invites were out. The streamers were strung.
The presents were wrapped. The banner was hung.
Natasha Wing, author of The Night Before My Birthday.
And in keeping with Clement Moore’s Night Before theme, Wing does an excellent job of incorporating infectious language like “visions of birthday gifts” dancing in the child’s head at bedtime, a clatter in the kitchen and a mad dash to the store for cartons of ice cream. Kids will love the adorable ginger tabby included in almost every illustration and will be surprised that it’s involved in a melty mishap that could cause chaos for the party. When what “to my wondering eyes should appear” well, I won’t say, but it’s a real treat.
Filled with humor, cheerful artwork and even a picture of a birthday cake with room to fill in a child’s age, The Night Before My Birthday may become a treasured birthday read and tradition for your child’s preschool years.
WHAT PRICE POPULARITY?
GLITTER GIRL GUEST BLOG & GIVEAWAY
Glitter Girl by Toni Runkle and Stephen Webb, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2013.
I’m delighted to turn this post over to guest bloggers, Toni Runkle and Stephen Webb (click here for website), authors of Glitter Girl (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, $7.99, ages 10 and up, also available as an ebook). Runkle and Webb, writing partners for close to a decade, and parents of young daughters, also call Los Angeles home. Today they’ll be addressing an all too common tween topic which incidentally is the premise for their terrific debut middle grade novel, Glitter Girl, featuring Kat Connors. There’s lots of great stuff to glean from this post so read on.
Friendship and loyalty vs. popularity – what works, what doesn’t and why is this such a big issue for girls?
Now I ask you readers and parents of girls, who amongst you has not had to deal with this troublesome tween dilemma? Ahhh, if only I’d had this book to hand to my daughter when she went through the trials and tribulations of tweendom. But you can have it!
Click here now to enter for a chance to win a free copy of the book courtesy of Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. Giveaway ends December 16, 2013 at midnight PST. Be sure to write GLITTER GIRL in the subject line and include your address. You can also enter on Facebookby posting a comment, but you’ll need to LIKE us for entry to be valid. Good luck! – Ronna
LIFE IN THE FAB LANE
Hi! I’m Kat. Welcome to my blog. I may be from a small town but I’m also Glitter Girl Cosmetics’ newest trendsetter. Thanks to my flair for fashion and my popular style blog, I’ve been chosen to be an Alpha Girl, which means I get to try out all the Glitter Girl products before they hit the stores.
Forty-eight hours after she blogs about the goodies in the new line, every girl at Kat’s school is sporting the gear. Kat’s popularity skyrockets, but Jules—Kat’s BFF—seems to be the only one who’s not buying into the Glitter Girl lifestyle. Is Kat willing to sacrifice her friendship for life in the fab lane?
RUNKLE & WEBB: Ah, the friendship and loyalty vs. popularity question. The age-old decision faced by adolescent girls since the beginning of time. We’re pretty sure there are cave drawings in northern Spain depicting this struggle.
We are parents of young daughters so we have seen this struggle first hand. Also, despite what our daughters may think, we used to be young once, and while that was many moons ago, the scars of adolescence still linger. It’s an exceptional person who doesn’t have them. Mythical, in fact.
This is because as kids reach adolescence, an emotional drama begins to unfold. They become more – no, actually they become painfully, self-aware. They examine every detail of their being, down to the pores on their noses. They are trying to figure out who they are, where they belong – if they belong. It can be a very difficult time. There is a great deal of insecurity. Add to the mix the emergence of the “mean girl mentality” that begins at about age 11 or 12 and continues into middle school and girls have a particularly rough road into their teen years.
So of course, what adolescent girl wouldn’t want to be popular? The allure of everyone knowing your name, looking up to you, even liking you – the idea of not only fitting in, but standing out – not only is it intoxicating, it allows you bypass all the angst that comes with being the misfit.
Review of The Eighth Menorah & 2 Book Giveaway Opp!
The Eighth Menorah by Lauren L. Wohl with illustrations by Laura Hughes, Albert Whitman & Company, $16.99, ages 4-7, 2013.
The Eighth Menorah, (Albert Whitman & Company, $16.99, Ages 4-7) by Lauren L. Wohl with illustrations by Laura Hughes, is reviewed by Ronna Mandel.
Growing up, I had one favorite menorah. It looked ancient to me with its pretty patina of brass and oxidized green brass, covered with assorted lava-like formations of old wax. My family also had an electric menorah we’d display in our front window. As a parent I now have four menorahs, one my husband and I were given as a wedding gift, a mini travel one, and the two my children made in Sunday school.
That’s why when Good Reads with Ronna was invited to participate in this special opportunity from Albert Whitman & Company, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. And to celebrate the early arrival of Hanukkah this year, we’re giving away two (2) autographed copies of The Eighth Menorah, a terrific new picture book reviewed here today just in time to share with the family!
TO ENTER:
Just LIKE our Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter first. For your chance to win, send an email by clicking here to enter. Please remember to include your name and address and write MENORAH in the subject line! This giveaway ends on 11/21/13 at midnight and two (2) winners will be selected on 11/22/13. For detailed rules click here. HAPPY HANUKKAH and good luck!
With The Eighth Menorah, Wohl has created an amiable young character in a just-right-to read-aloud picture book. Sam is a Sunday school student who’s reluctant to participate in his class project. Mrs. Zuckerman, Sam’s teacher, has asked the students to make a menorah from clay using stones, marbles and buttons, but Sam knows his family already has seven menorahs at home. He’s convinced an eighth menorah is simply not needed.
The colorful and emotive illustrations by Hughes show Sam’s close relationship with his grandmother with whom, via telephone, he sort-of shares his Sunday school secret. Sam says the secret’s about something the kids are making in Hebrew school without revealing exactly what that something is. “It’s a secret, Grammy.” When soon after Sam learns that safety rules at Grammy’s new condo do not allow open flames unless they’re in the community room, Sam thoughtfully invites his grandmother to join him at home for the first night of Hanukkah.
Having been instructed to bring the menorah home and hide it before presenting it to his family, Sam now realizes he has a clever and caring solution for the one-too-many menorahs. I hope when you read this super spirited holiday story, you’ll note the significance of the eighth menorah and rejoice in the way it lights up so many people’s lives!
Click here for a fun activity – a dreidel game that’s at the end of the book.
Illustrator and author, K. G. Campbell discusses Flora & Ulysses, The Illuminated Adventures
and more with Ronna Mandel!
Illustrator and author K. G. Campbell
I had the good fortune to sit down with K. G. (Keith) Campbell earlier this month when he joined Kate DiCamillo for a Flora & Ulyssesbook event at Vroman’s in Pasadena. He’s a charming L.A. local with an intoxicating accent who’s not only an extremely talented and versatile illustrator, but an author, too. This Q & A focuses mostly on his artwork.
WIN:
Click here now to enter our giveaway. Thanks to Candlewick, we’re giving away 3 copies of Flora & Ulysses, The Illuminated Adventures (Candlewick Press, $17.99, ages 8-12). Please write FLORA in the subject line, include your address and enter by midnight on Sunday, November 10, 2013.
INTERVIEW:
GRWR:A quote I read called you an “up and coming illustrator.” How do you know when you’re no longer up and coming, but have arrived? What’s changed?
K. G. CAMPBELL: Well I think that’s a description from Candlewick Press and at the time I’d had only published one book, Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters for which I won the (2013) SCBWI Golden Kite Award. But since then I won the Golden Kite and an Ezra Jack Keats (New Illustrator) Honor for Lester. Flora & Ulysses had just come out and also Tea Party Rules by Ame Dyckman had also just released. I think you know you’re no longer up and coming when you no longer have to search for work. Candlewick just came to me recently and offered me another project
GRWR:Did you take it?
K. G.: Yes, actually. And also I’ve turned down a few. I guess that’s when you know – when you don’t have to pound the pavement.
GRWR:Tea Party Rulesis with which publishing house?
Tea Party Rules by Ame Dyckman with illustrations by K. G. Campbell, Viking Children’s Books.
K. G.:Tea Party Rules is with Viking. My second picture book with Kids Can Press, which is my manuscript, is due to come out next spring. It’s called The Mermaid and the Shoe.
GRWR:Can you please tell us the process when you try to develop the characters after after receiving Kate’s (DiCamillo) manuscript and how long it takes?
K. G.: So obviously the first thing that you do is read the manuscript. You try and get a feel for the characters which isn’t difficult for Kate because her characters are so three dimensional, quirky and hilarious. You look for visual clues you have to be really careful to see if there’s any physical descriptions in there. And you go from there.
Kate DiCamillo’s Flora & Ulysses from Candlewick Press with illustrations by K. G. Campbell.
Being an LA local, what I tend to do is a little casting. I go in search of the perfect Flora or the perfect Phyllis or whoever it is. But unlike a casting director, I can select from anyone who’s ever lived. They can be friends or family, they can be famous actors They can be TV actors. They can be film actors. They can be theatre actors. They can be fictional. I try to find a type that will fit that character. Then that sort of gives me a feeling how they’re going to react physically in any given situation they’re faced with, expressions and all that stuff. And then I do the sketches based on that. And then, in this case, but it’s not always the case .., well, they always go through the art director and the art director has some input as to whether they think that physical manifestation of the character is appropriate. In this case, because Kate is Kate, they (the sketches) also went to her. Often, usually in fact, they wouldn’t go to the author. The author has very little input in the illustrations. But Kate had something to say. Some characters were modified from my original sketches. Now they are what they are so that’s perfect.
GRWR:Who was the most difficult character to draw or create?
K. G.: I think the most difficult was probably Ulysses himself, because, and it’s actually technical reasons. It’s a middle grade novel so the format is quite small. All of the images are printed as 5×7. I drew them very slightly larger just so it would crisp up as it was reduced, but I didn’t want to draw so much larger that I didn’t know what was going to happen to them. Ulysses is a squirrel and everybody else is a human being and human beings are much larger than squirrels. And in fact, I made Ulysses slightly larger than real life so that he would be visible. So getting the amount of character that we wanted to into Ulysses when his scale was so small, that was the most difficult part.
Flora, Ulysses and neighbor Mrs. Tickham with the Ulysses Super Suction vacuum as illustrated by K. G. Campbell. Candlewick Press.
GRWR:Who was the easiest to draw?
K. G: Phyllis.
GRWR:I love the look of Phyllis. I feel like I’ve met her before.
K. G.: I wanted someone with a crazy, curly hairstyle, girlie, melodramatic. And I actually had a person in mind for Phyllis. She was inspired by a Broadway actress. Phyllis is like my original sketch. Some changed a bit, some changed a lot. But not Phyllis.
GRWR: What medium do you work in?
K. G.: I usually work in water color and colored pencils combined but Flora & Ulysseswas executed entirely with colored pencils, no water colors.
GRWR:You’ve lived in Kenya, Scotland and California. Is one locale particularly more inspiring for you as an artist?
K. G.: Yeah, I would say Scotland, probably. The weather and the atmosphere make it a less attractive place to live, but it’s definitely a very romantic and gothic setting. And it makes for a good location for the kind of gothic stories that I like. Not that Scotland was the setting for either Lester or Ulyssses. It wasn’t. But in my future writing I think some of it will be set there.
GRWR:Since you do not consult with the author, is it scary interpreting their vision or is that a challenge you enjoy?
K. G.: It’s definitely more difficult illustrating for other people’s manuscripts than my own. Obviously not all illustrators are in my position. Not all illustrators write as well so they may not make that comparison. For me I do have that comparison and it’s definitely more difficult and more time consuming because you have more parties involved who make changes, so it becomes a bit more difficult. I wouldn’t say it’s more intimidating or daunting, but it’s more of a challenge.
GRWR:Do you prefer to illustrate others’ books or do the entire book yourself.
K. G.: It’s easier to illustrate my own, but illustrating other people’s work does take me to places that I wouldn’t have gone. So in that sense the product that emerges at the end is perhaps more surprising and unexpected. It becomes something of a team effort almost like a play, I suppose, or when you have several screenwriters working together it becomes a collaborative process and the creation is the product of that.
GRWR:You studied art history, did interior design yet always felt the call to illustrate even as a child. What stopped you from pursuing that from the start?
K. G.: Well that’s quite a complicated answer. And to be honest I’m not 100% sure that I have an answer to that. I was flattered and encouraged to take an academic route as I graduated from high school. My academics were pretty strong and I wound up going to a fairly prestigious school which is Edinburgh University. And really at that point I made the decision not to go to art school and I put down the pencil and I didn’t pick it up again for decades. I got onto a different path.
Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters written and illustrated by K. G. Campbell, Kids Can Press.
GRWR:But it was always tugging at you to return to it?
K. G: Yeah. And the more I delved into exploring children’s literature and illustration, the more I felt compelled to do it, the more I felt very strongly that I had the talent and the skill to participate in that world. So I began to take it more and more seriously and so here I am.
GRWR:At that point, did you go back to school?
K.G.: No. As an artist I’m more or less self-taught. I’ve done some life drawing classes. Obviously I’ve done a bit of research on the materials and stuff online, but on the whole you would call me a self-taught artist. I did however go to UCLA and Art Center Pasadena for some night classes in creative writing, in children’s writing and specifically in illustrating. I did a class with Marla Frazee who’s a well-known children’s writer and illustrator who lives here in L.A. She teaches at Art Center. While it wasn’t an art class per se, it wasn’t teaching you to draw, it was teaching you how to use whatever skills you had and whatever style you had to illustrate and how images participate in a book and how they enhance a text. I did a great writing class with Barney Saltzberg who’s another local author/illustrator who has had a string of books published. He teaches a night class at UCLA in writing for kids basically.
GRWR: Did you find when you weren’t working in the field of children’s books that you were still drawn to it, that you still loved wandering around the children’s books department of a bookstore?
K. G.: Oh all the time! In fact I never really stopped reading children’s literature which a lot of my adult peers find a little odd. But definitely my favorite books probably are children’s books or perhaps adult books that have a fairy tale quality to them to some degree. I love sort of sophisticated middle grade novels. Philip Pullman, who wrote The Golden Compass, is one of my favorites.
GRWR:Which illustrators have most influenced you?
K. G.: Edward Gorey, Tim Burton and Lisbeth Zwerger, an Austrian artist.
GRWR:How many hours per day do you devote to your projects?
K. G.: Well, I try to do a full workday. I am my own boss. I’m probably not working a full eight or nine hours, but maybe about six or seven hours a day. And depending on where I am in a project will dictate how much of that time is allocated to illustrating and how much is allocated to writing. An ideal scenario is kind of half and half – three and half hours writing and three and half hours illustrating. Something like that. But in the real world, as deadlines loom for my illustrating projects, I find that the writing has to take a back seat to some extent because the illustrations have to get done and that’s what happens.
GRWR:Any advice for new illustrators?
K.G.: I would certainly say if you haven’t, then take a class, some classes, in illustrating specifically because it is a distinct branch of artistic output and it’s about bringing to a text something that perhaps the text doesn’t already contain. But it has to be complementary. And in many cases, especially in picture books, you’re telling a story along with the text. Sometimes you are a carrying a subplot as well, and you can throw in characters, usually a pet or something, that aren’t mentioned in the main text and you can have things going on, a whole storyline, that’s purely visual. So I think understanding what illustration is is very important. It’s more important than any level of artistic skill or style.
Vampire Baby by Kelly Bennett with illustrations by Paul Meisel from Candlewick Press.
IF YOU THINK YOUR BABY SISTER’S A VAMPIRE BABY…
Don’t let her nuzzle your neck!!
The old adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” came to mind when I first saw Vampire Baby (Candlewick Press, $15.99, ages 3-7) . With Halloween right around the corner, it’s the perfect book for all of the little monsters in your life, yet it’s SO much more. Together author Kelly Bennett and illustrator Paul Meisel offer comic relief to the sometimes sensitive new-sibling-on-the-scene situation (in this case blood sucking’s the issue rather than rivalry), give it a new twist and take the bite out of a biting baby.
Tootie, like most newborns, is an adorable, chubby-cheeked baby. She coos and gurgles and captures her big brother’s heart. When Tootie gets her first teeth, (which happen to be upper canines), develops a widow’s peak, favors red foods, and bites everything in sight, her brother is convinced she is a vampire baby! He wastes no time trying to find Tootie a home with a vampire family. However Brother sees red when Tootie is yelled at by the new family’s vampire boy after she has bitten his nose. Only then does he realize that even if she is a vampire baby, she’s his vampire baby.
Interior artwork by illustrator Paul Meisel from Vampire Baby written by Kelly Bennett.
GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY!!
3 lucky winners could receive a free signed copy of Vampire Baby + swag. Just LIKE our Good Reads With Ronna Facebook page, then follow instructions below on how to enter. This great giveaway from Kelly Bennett ends 10/31/13.
Just in time for Halloween …
Prizes include an autographed copy of VAMPIRE BABY by Kelly Bennett for your little ghost or goblin – along with fun VAMPIRE BABY swag such as a bookmark, postcard, and fangs.
Today’s guest reviewer, MaryAnne Locher, majored in education and went on to teach pre-school before having children of her own. As a young child, she would create picture books to popular songs, then read them to her family. Now that her two daughters are grown, she has again pursued a career in writing. A New Jersey native, MaryAnne now calls Southern California home.
Lulu in LA LA Land (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, $6.99, ages 9 and up) by Elisabeth Wolf
I haven’t read a book so quickly in ages. Was it the fun script format or was it the main character? Both! In 10-year-old protagonist Lulu Harrison, author Elisabeth Wolf has created an immensely likable and relatable character despite her being the daughter of two Hollywood celebrities. Lulu narrates the story using a screenplay she has written rather than a traditional journal, but before that readers get a good feel for what Lulu’s all about in a prologue Wolf’s provided.
Lulu in LA LA Land by Elisabeth Wolf from Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky.
In that prologue Lulu explains that she’s not your typical L.A. tween. In fact she calls herself a “Not Fitter Inner.” Despite living in posh Bel Air, California, Lulu says her life’s not all “pampering and parties.” This alone drew me into the story, but then what kept me reading was how genuine Lulu felt. Unlike her trend-crazed older sister, Alexis, Lulu really just craved her busy parents’ attention, the one thing she found most difficult to get. Certain to get even the most reluctant readers engaged, Lulu in LA LA Land is the kind of novel I imagine one friend passing along to another so they can share and discuss it like they do with an episode of their favorite TV program.
This delightful romp around L.A. includes lots of well-known boulevards and boutiques, perfect for locals and L.A. wannabes. The descriptions of shopping jaunts seem spot on although frankly, I’ve only ever been inside one of the “in” stores Wolf mentioned. I’m still traumatized by the memory of the three figure price for a t-shirt! What works with Lulu in LA LA Land is that Lulu is also not into all the glam of the Hollywood scene despite it being her parents’ profession. Instead, Lulu enjoys her garden, the simple pleasures in life like baking, devouring a delicious taco, and spending time with her best friend, Sophia.
The premise of Lulu in LA LA Land is that Lulu decides, on her sister’s urging, to throw a SPA-tacular birthday party for herself to get her parents interested in showing up. What Lulu didn’t plan on was her party’s date conflicting with the movie industry’s biggest event, the Oscars. Add in the fact that Alexis wanted Lulu to invite only a certain type of girl and that type did not include BFF Sophia and you have two major dilemmas Lulu must handle so her party doesn’t become a SPA-disaster!
Today’s interview is with L.A. local author, Elisabeth Wolf, who has also signed a copy of Lulu in LA LA Land for our giveaway. The giveaway begins today, Friday, October 11, 2013 and runs through Sunday, October 20th ’til midnight. One winner of (1) one copy of Lulu in LA LA Land– will be selected via Random.org and notified on Monday, October 21st. Send your name and address to Good Reads With Ronna by clicking here. Be sure to write Lulu Giveaway in the subject. For an extra entry, please LIKE our Facebook page by clicking here.
Q & A With Elisabeth Wolf
GRWR:When did the story idea first hit you?
EW: The idea of writing Lulu hit me twice. First, during the countless hours reading to my children, I realized that New York had Eloise. Paris had Madeline. Los Angeles, however, didn’t really have anyone! I checked in bookstores and only found a book about a dog in LA. Second time happened thanks to my daughter visiting the set of TV show Sonny With A Chance and watching an episode tape. Before she left, the producer gave her a copy of the script signed by the actors. For the next week, she sat in bed reading and re-reading the script. Late one night, prying it from her hands, I had my Eureka moment! What better way for a girl to write about her life in LA than to write it as a screenplay?!
GRWR:At your book launch you mentioned that you and Lulu Harrison, the book’s protaganist, shared some common traits. What are they and why did you choose those in particular?
Author of Lulu in LA LA Land, Elisabeth Wolf.
EW: I made Lulu a little like me and, of course, a little better! Here’s what Lulu got from me: love of gardening, especially growing native plants, fruits and vegetables without using too much water or any chemicals; love of nature, bird watching, protecting trees, and keeping beaches clean; love of spicy, cheesy foods, especially Mexican food; and a love of baking and experimenting in the kitchen. She also has a healthy disinterest in keeping her hair looking picture perfect (to put it mildly). I chose those traits because gardening, nature, and creative cooking are all, actually, very LA; however, when girls hear or read about LA, it’s mostly focused on shopping, celebrities, Hollywood Boulevard, and grooming and glamming (which is, of course, why I had to add the part about never bothering to brush her hair).
GRWR:Have you always wanted to be a writer or did you do something else before you decided to write Lulu in LA LA Land?
EW: I just talked to the librarian at Warner Avenue Elementary School to arrange a visit. She and I chuckled because I attended that school, but spent most of my time there daydreaming about being a writer. The problem for me, however, is that I really never knew how to be one. So, I worked for many years in politics and government as a communications director and press secretary. Finally, one day I decided, “Hey, if I could write for politicians, I’ve got to also have the ability to write for children.” Both types of writing require clear, straightforward ideas, simple sentences, and a point of view.
GRWR:Is it hard to pick out all the different names of the characters and their hobbies or jobs?
EW: Actually, it wasn’t hard. I read lots and spend time listening to children and grown-ups from all backgrounds and places. I store up information from conversations. Things like names and activities or hobbies that make people happy or sad, swirl around my head all the time.
GRWR:When you were growing up, did you know any kids who felt ignored by their parents and who tried outrageous ways to get their parents’ attention like Lulu has to do to make her parents stop and take notice?
EW: Sadly, I knew lots of kids whose parents were too busy doing things to notice when their son or daughter needed more than superficial parenting. Once I was at my friend’s house, and she suggested that I cut her hair. I told her I didn’t really know how (I’d only given my dolls haircuts), but she said it didn’t matter. I thought she better check with her mother, who was home though we had not seen her all afternoon. My friend came back after a few minutes and said that her mother said, “fine.” I snipped per my friend’s instructions and the result was a botched bob. Needless to say, her mother had never approved the plan and the mother’s first look at her daughter’s new hair got her full attention.
GRWR: What part of the book did you enjoy writing the most? Which was the hardest part?
EW: Actually, the part I liked writing the most was when Lulu repairs her relationship with her best friend. Apologizing is difficult at any age so learning how to say you’ve done something wrong when you’re young is important. I had fun figuring out how Lulu should apologize, but not make it so heavy that fixing a mistake was something kids wouldn’t ever try.
The hardest part to write was making a mean girl turn nice. Writing about children acting unkindly to each other is difficult but necessary because it happens daily. Bullies come in all shapes and sizes. Turning a bully into a buddy took some reorganizing of plots and scenes. It also required me to think very hard about why children act in mean ways to each other.
GRWR:Did your daughter help you get a lot of the tween vernacular correct?
EW: One afternoon I was driving my daughter, Emmie, and my friend’s daughter, Amelia. I asked them for words and expressions they used at school. They hurled so many at me, I had them stop and start texting them to me asap!
There is NO way I would know the expression, “Totes Adorbes” without their help.
GRWR:Who were your favorite authors when you were a kid?
EW: My favorite writers then are still among my favorites now. I would still read any of their books. Enid Blyton. She wrote the Famous Five series. The fact that the stories took place in the wild English countryside made them even more fantastic. E.B. White. His imagination and his language made me want to be a writer.
GRWR:Which of your contemporaries is your go-to author today?
EW: Jeanne Birdsall. The Penderwicks Series. Sheryl & Carrie Berk. The Cupcake Club.
GRWR:How long did your entire writing and publishing process take from concept to finished book?
EW: At first, everything took a LONG time. I did not treat writing like my job. Once I decided to focus on this project and really work, everything went quickly. It was about a year from the time Sourcebooks wanted Lulu to the when they released it.
GRWR:What is Lulu’s next adventure?
EW: Lulu in Honolulu. Her parents are making a movie on location and Lulu just may have to save the entire production.
GRWR:What tips can you share with kids interested in writing, but with no story idea in mind? How do they choose what to write about? Where should they look for inspiration?
EW: Deciding what to write can be so hard it keeps you from starting to write. Either you have too many ideas or none at all. If you have NO ideas for a story, come up with a feeling. Mad. Scared. Fun. Sad. Think about that feeling. Think about what causes that feeling in you or others. Doing that, can help you come up with a story idea.
I have always had the opposite problem. I have too many ideas floating around. Always was and always will be a daydreamer.
For a long time I wanted to write a story about a girl who sells make-up in New York. Her brother is a spy and is kidnapped in India. She goes to rescue him. I could never start. I realized the problem was: I’d never been to India. I’d never lived in New York. My brothers are the most honest, open people and couldn’t spy a sleeping puppy without giggling. Oh, and when it comes to make up, I don’t know the difference between blush and eye shadow. One day, rather than linger over a story based on things I knew nothing about, I decided to write what I knew: being a girl in LA can be tough for the Not-Fitter-Inner.
Summary: The authors of the hit Goddess Girls series put a fun and girly twist on another super-popular theme: fairy tales!
Summary: Red Riding Hood might have a terrible sense of direction, but her grimmtastic friends are always there to help!
Today’s guest reviewer, MaryAnne Locher, majored in education and went on to teach pre-school before having children of her own. As a young child, she would create picture books to popular songs, then read them to her family. Now that her two daughters are grown, she has again pursued a career in writing. A New Jersey native, MaryAnne now calls Southern California home.
