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Tag Archive for James Preller
COMING SOON: Two Birds and a Moose!
This Saturday, 11/6, You Can Zoom Into the Rochester Children’s Book Festival — from Anywhere — and It’s Free!
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A FREE VIRTUAL EVENT
The Rochester Children’s Book Festival goes VIRTUAL this Saturday, November 6th for a full day of FREE panel discussions and readings with a diverse assortment of children’s book writers and illustrators.
I’ll be staggering around in Room 2 at 2:00pm, moderating a (hopefully!) lively and (hopefully!) entertaining conversation about chapter books and series writing with Michelle Knudsen, Laurie Calkhoven, and Judy Bradbury. See below for a full list of participating authors and events.
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You can also order signed book from all participating authors through the festival website.
REGISTER NOW by clicking this link and following the instructions.
Here’s the schedule for the day:
10:00 AM
ROOM 1
Read To Me Corner – Picture Book Stories Read By The Author
Annette Dunn
Susannah Buhrman-Deever
Unseld Robinson
ROOM 2
Picture Books: How Are You Feeling? Coping With Emotions
Heidi Stemple
Jane Yolen
Susan Verde
James Howe
11:00 AM
ROOM 1
Graphic Fiction: Drawing Demonstration (Interactive – Pencil And Paper Required)
Frank Cammuso
Steve Ellis
Brian Yanish
ROOM 2
For Our Younger Book Lovers: Stories and Songs (Interactive)
Iza Trapani
Tiffany Polino
Margaret Pence
ROOM 1
Fantastical Fantasy for Middle Grade Readers
Vivian Vande Velde
Sheela Chari
Bruce Coville
Historical Fiction – Fact and Fiction Storytelling
Keely Hutton
Elizabeth Falk
Susan Williams Beckhorn
Marsha Hayles
ROOM 1
Diverse Themes in Middle Grade Literature
Alex Sanchez
MJ and Herm Auch
Leslie C. Youngblood
ROOM 2
How Authors Use Poetry and Verse To Tell A Story
Linda Sue Park
Joseph Bruchac
Nikki Grimes
2:00 PM
ROOM 1
Picture Books: Fiction and Non-Fiction
Susannah Buhrman-Deever
Kevin Kurtz
Mylisa Larsen
Get Hooked on Chapter Books: Mysteries, Non-Fiction, and Humor
James Preller
Laurie Calkhoven
Michelle Knudsen
Judy Bradbury
3:00 PM
ROOM 1
Doing It All: Writing and Illustrating Your Books
Jeff Mack
Frank Cammuso
ROOM 2
How Picture Book Authors and Illustrators Work Together
Peggy Thomas
Kathleen Blasi
London Ladd
Yuko Jones
4:00 PM
ROOM 1
How To Write Non- Fiction That Middle Graders Want To Read
Ronny Frishman
Rose O’Keefe
Andrea Page
Sally Valentine
ROOM 2
Read To Me Corner – Picture Book Stories Read by the Author
Mylisa Larsen
Yuko Jones
Kathy Blasi
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THANK YOU
FOR SUPPORTING THE ARTS
IN THESE CHALLENGING TIMES!
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Sneak Peak: Final Art & Sketch from ALL WELCOME HERE, Coming in June!
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Sneak peak at a spread from our upcoming picture book, ALL WELCOME HERE, illustrated by the great Mary GrandPre. Coming in June (we think!), from Macmillan. It’s a first day of school story, told in connected haiku. Do yourself a favor, click on the image to see it larger and appreciate the colors and details in Mary’s artwork. She is best known, of course, for doing the art in the U.S. editions of the Harry Potter books. So talented — and kind, too!
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Just for comparison, here’s the rough sketch Mary submitted to the publisher. Here’s where much of the most important work takes place: the thinking, the plotting, the visual organization. Here Mary takes two separate haiku and unifies them in one “moment” that captures several distinct realities, if you will. As much as I admire Mary’s palette and technique, I might most respect her intellectual rigor. The way she thinks about her work before dipping a single brush into paint.
Sometimes in this business you just get lucky. That’s how I feel about Mary doing the artwork for this book. Lucky me.
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Good News: Green Earth Award Nomination for BEE THE CHANGE
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“A fresh new series
nudging emerging readers towards social change
and kindness toward others.”
— Booklist.
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I never expected this. Bee the Change, the 3rd book in my “Big Idea Gang” series (all published in 2019), was nominated for an actual award.
Where I live, being nominated is an award. So, yeah, I’m just going to eat a whole bag of marshmallows now. Back in sec.
Whoa, chest pain. Back to the good news!
But win it? I don’t think so, and that’s okay, it’s nice just to be recognized for contributing something positive, and earth-friendly, for young readers.
There’s literally a zillion books nominated for the “long list,” so I encourage you to JUMP ON THIS LINK for the complete lowdown on about 100 titles (not quite a zillion, admittedly), ranging from picture books to young adult, including fiction and nonfiction.
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ABOUT THE GREEN EARTH BOOK AWARD
The Green Earth Book Award is given annually to children’s and young adult literature that best conveys the message of environmental stewardship. They have bestowed the award for the past 15 years to bring national recognition to important works and their authors with its highly qualified “seal of approval” for environmental literature. The winners are chosen by a panel of literary, environmental and educational professionals.
“Now, more than ever, these and many other eco-authors are delivering the goods that our younger generation hunger for –- how to make our planet healthy and sustainable,” said The Nature Generation President Amy Marasco.
The 2020 Green Earth Book Award Short List and winners will be announced on April 22, 2020 – Earth Day. Winners will be awarded in the fall at the Salisbury University Children’s & Young Adult Literature Festival.
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ABOUT THE “BIG IDEA GANG”
First: oh yeah, I like that, “eco-authors.” Nobody ever called me that before. It’s catchy.
The series grew directly out of our current political reality. These are simple stories about empowerment, about a diverse group of young people making a small difference in our world. And by featuring persuasive writing as a subtext, the books help provide some of the tools that are necessary for changing minds, for becoming powerful instruments of positive change. Hopefully these little books (grades 2-4) will help inspire a new generation of budding activists. The books intentionally focus on kindness and cooperation, on compassion and friendship, on seeing the world at an extremely local level and working together to make it better.
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–FROM BOOKLIST . . .
“Preller addresses topics such as kindness, activism, immigration, community involvement, and the dangers of gossip in an approachable way for a young audience. Readers will appreciate the numerous cartoon illustrations, short chapters with snappy titles, and large print with wide page margins . . . A fresh new series nudging emerging readers towards social change and kindness toward others.” — Booklist.