Picture Book Month 2017

I hope you'll join us each day of Picture Book Month for insightful interviews and encouraging posts centered around the world of picture books: the people that create them, the people that read them, and the people that love them.

Grab a color-your-own or full color version of this year's calendar of speakers.

Thanks to Elizabeth Dulemba, Joyce Wan, and others for the PBM calendar and logo and heartfelt prayers to Captain Deadeye and his family.

The Perfectly Crafted Story

“A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it.”
— Samuel Johnson



Swan bookplate by Walter Buchmann

Attention CYBILS Judges!

Warm up your library card and polish your reading glasses, it's time for the 2017 CYBILS Awards.

Call for judges!

Book bloggers, there is a need for competent, devoted judges for both first and second round judging in every category. Check out the requirements and apply before Monday to secure your spot.

I was privileged to be a first round judge in the non-fiction picture book category in 2016. It was one of the most taxing yet rewarding experiences of my literary career. If you can dedicate your time, attention, and expertise to this award, I highly recommend the experience. 

Library Card Sign Up Month

Sign-up for a library card 

during the month of September!

Grab some Titans swag for your library!

The American Library Association sponsors events all year long. This is the month to raise awareness for the power of libraries. This year's super poster bears the Teen Titans (not MY Titans of course, but respectable and well-loved heroes for today's kids.)

The ALA has listed creative ways to showcase the comics theme and bring patrons into the library. If you're not ready to hold a cosplay event or don't know a local comics artist, try something more straightforward. Take the neighborhood kids on a field trip to the local library. Get them their own library cards, and watch magic happen.

The ALA store has plenty more magical media, from Newt Scamander to Batgirl. Buy. Keep. Trade. Donate. There are no losers when we increase circulation for our community library systems.

How will you celebrate this month?

Read to Be Unexpected

“By reading…we gain knowledge and skills others don’t expect from us."
—Gene Luen Yang*




Don Quixote bookplate by Peteris Upitis

*Via Susie Rolander on the Nerdy Book Club

May Events



There are a host of great bookish activities at the beginning of May, but I've committed to


Join Screen Free Week May 1-6, 2017

As part of my pledge to be screen-free, there will be no Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, Wednesday Quote, or Perfect Picture Book Friday postings this week. There are a host of bookish online and community activities you should know about if you aren't eliminating the tech.

Children's Book Week

Support Every Child A Reader
Poster by Christian Robinson

7 mauscripts in 7 days
Paula Yoo's NaPiBoWriWee

Star Wars Day

If you are interested in celebrating screen-free, I've rounded up some suggestions.

• Green Child has a checklist of 50 non-tech activities for you and your family.
• This is the perfect week to catch up on your reading, dabble in some of those crafts or recipes on Pinterest, or create some lasting family memories.
• If you haven't prepped ahead of time, take a trip to the book store: there's nothing better for getting your kids on board than letting them pick out a new book. If it's DIY, then follow up with a trip to the craft or hardware store.
• Stuck inside? Visit your local game café to get addicted to the latest tabletop offerings.

My recommendations? Build a tree fort, bake cookies, play Zooloretto, or dive into a new book series like The Uncommoners, by Jennifer Bell.

 

And don't forget to stock up on Star Wars comics and games for May the 4th!

 





What are you waiting for? Get off the internet and get screen-free!
See you on May 8th.





D.E.A.R. 2017

Happy birthday, Beverly!

Drop Everything And Read

D.E.A.R. is a month-long celebration of reading, but today most of us are trying to drop everything and read...without guilt.

What I wouldn't have given for this holiday during my school days!
Courtesy K. W. Barrett

You'll find my TBR stack on Instagram.

Building Better Readers

"There is ample evidence that one of the major differences between poor and good readers is the difference in the quantity of total time they spend reading."
— National Reading Panel, 2000*



Cat on shelves bookplate
Curtesy Miss Jacobs Library

*Via Read Faster

Open a Book

"The magic begins when a child or grown-up reader opens up the book."
—Debbie Ridpath Ohi*

Designed by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
for International Book Giving Day

*Via Inkygirl

Picture Book Month 2016

Grab you promo kit, because November is


Check-in daily to hear what Kidlit creators have to say.

Why are picture books important?

As a child I spent hours staring at the pages of my favorite Golden Books, Whitman oversized stories, and Berenstain Bears almanacs. Later I lost myself in the pages of picture story books. These were my first windows on the world.

Picture books are beautiful. They show us beauty in many forms: nature, humanity, or art itself. Ernest Shepherd and Trina Schart Hyman shaped my artistic tastes, but I learned to appreciate Ezra Jack Keats and Marcia Brown, Quentin Blake and Marilyn Hafner.

Picture books inspire creativity. Honestly, I didn't read much. I used my books to make up my own stories. I loved the maps and double page spreads featuring complex scenes. I wanted to know who all those characters were, hiding in the background. Which house did they live in? Which path did they travel to school? Who worked at the bakery and what did it smell like? When I didn't like a plot point, I imagined a new one.

Picture books imitate life. I remember making lists of how to clean up messy rooms, like Goose's in Sweet Pickles. It was much more fun to procrastinate, thinking how I'd NEVER let the ice cream melt on her kitchen counter or throw dirty socks on the floor, all the while I lounged in a pile of school papers and discarded drawings, surrounded by stuffed animals.

Picture books prepare us for what is to come. It didn't matter that I wasn't a bear, or a pig, or a princess, I could imagine my life as if I were, down to the last detail. I still use those skills as a writer and illustrator, but I used them as a student, parent, teacher, and librarian. I was bookish and shy, but dominated the drama scene once I learned to project. I didn't study education, but was able to develop useful curriculum and worksheets. I was terrified by babies, but raised three amazing kids.

Were picture books really responsible for all those successes? Unequivocally, yes. They told me, not who I was, but who I could be if I dared. They still do.

Star Wars Reads 2016

Say what you want about the Disney Company, but I am thankful they are using their formidable licensing power for good. In this case, it looks like Star Wars Reads Day has turned into Star Wars Reads Month. 

Check out the Star Wars website for history, posters and printables, and look for an event near you.



BB-8 rolls into reading! See what's happening on Facebook

Better yet, share a Star Wars book like Barnes and Noble's top 10, Brightly's picks for pre-K through YA, or one of the books below. After all, literacy surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together.



Cozy Classics, Epic Yarns

Abrams, Origami Yoda

DK's Incredible Cross-Sections

Be Cool

Got a library card? Get one today!

Oops! I forgot. It's library card sign-up month.

Sign up for a card, so you can dive into the stacks at your local library.

• Support your library.
• Support your community.
• Support your dreams.

The path to your dreams begins at your local library.

Bookish Escape

"Occasionally, I just need to escape from my work or be reminded of the comparative bliss of my own life so I pick up a novel."
 —David Macaulay*

Art nouveau bookplate courtesy Briar Press

*Via Publishers Weekly

Marvelous Adventures

“Keep reading. It’s one of the most marvelous adventures that anyone can have.”
~Lloyd Alexander*



Ship bookplate by Franklin Booth
Courtesy Pratt Institute Libraries

* Via Beth Cato

The Book in My Head

“One always has a better book in one’s mind than one can manage to get onto paper.”
~Michael Cunningham*

Bookplate by Andy English

* Via Beth Cato

Summer Reading Goals

"When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else."
— Zadie Smith*

Bookplate courtesy Laura Lestrade

*Via Brainpickings

Literacy Grants Wings

"So it is with children who learn to read fluently and well: They begin to take flight into whole new worlds as effortlessly as young birds take to the sky.”

-William James*

Bookplate by S. Halligan of Ex Libris Studio

*Via ReadFaster

Screen-Free Week 2016

Celebrate Screen-Free Week
May 2-8, 2016

Elephants never forget
 It's Children's Book Week




What will you do with your free time?

Here are some bookish crafts to get you started.

Frog and Toad paper bag puppet, from Bright Hub Education

Courtesy
  First Grade and Fabulous

 

Animal Corner Bookmarks, from Living and Learning at Home

Courtesy
Living and Learning at Home

Fabric Sketchbook Cover, From Sew DIY

Courtesy Sew DIY

Read, Write, Celebrate

Follow the link to participating stores

Support your local bookseller. Go book shopping today!
And advertise your preference with swag featuring the Indie Bookstore Day 2016 logo


No need to sign up, just have to show up.
Follow @paulayoo  for updates

Join me and other Kidlit authors during NaPiBoWriWee, May 1-7, 2016.
Founder Paula Yoo encourages with informational posts as we nail down seven picture book drafts in seven days. Isn't your writing life worth the effort?
Be warned, NaPi has a new location on the web. If you're new to the event, you may want to scour the archives from previous years for inspiration.



Follow @CBCBook

'Hope you voted for your favorite reads because May 2-8 is Children's Book Week. Turn out to see which books made the cut, how to promote literacy in your community, and be sure to pick up plenty of swag.

 

National Library Week 2016: Libraries Transform

Tweet it, or find other sizes of this image at ALA

 National Library Week 2016

  Libraries Transform

Join Honorary Chairman Gene Luen Yang, award-winning graphic novelist and the 2016-2017 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, in supporting and promoting your public, school, or academic library during National Library Week.

Find ways to celebrate at ilovelibraries.org.

Find out what it's all about and how you can spread the word at 

http://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek

 

2016 NLD theme: Libraries Transform

Need more ideas?

• Post to Twitter, Instagram, or on the I Love Libraries Facebook page during National Library Week for a chance to win. Entries can be a picture or text.  Creativity is encouraged. Just be sure to include the word "Because" and the hashtag #LibrariesTransform for a chance to win. Entries can also be submitted directly to the Libraries Transform website.

• Encourage a local librarian on Tuesday for National Library Workers Day

• Introduce young readers to your local bookmobile on Wednesday for National Bookmobile Day

NLWD is Tuesday, April 12

NBD is Wednesday, April 13