The year is coming to an end, but our clients’ kudos and work never ends. We’re thrilled for their awards, appearances, starred reviews and more. Read all their latest news…
AWARDS
Two of Laura Gehl‘s books won Northern Lights Book Awards! JUNIPER KAI SUPER SPY was awarded in the Family category, and EXCEPT WHEN THEY DON’T won in the Poetry category. Picture book CARTER READS THE NEWSPAPER, written by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated by Don Tate, won in the Biography category.
LET ‘ER BUCK!: GEORGE FLETCHER, THE PEOPLE’S CHAMPION, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by Gordon C. James, is a New Mexico-Arizona Book Award winner in the Children’s Picture Book category.
Congratulations to 2020 Charlotte Huck Honor Book BETWEEN US AND ABUELA: A FAMILY STORY FROM THE BORDER, written by Mitali Perkins and illustrated by Sara Palacios.
BOOK LISTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
So many of our clients’ books made Kirkus’ Best of 2019 lists. Kirkus obviously knows great books when it reads them! Here are our clients’ books that have been honored, listed by category.
- Picture Books That Celebrate Family: FREEDOM SOUP written by Tami Charles and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara, GOING DOWN HOME WITH DADDY written by Kelly Starling Lyons and illustrated by Daniel Minter
- Picture Books To Get Kids Thinking: HOW TO READ A BOOK written by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Melissa Sweet
- Picture Books With Themes of Resilience: THE UNDEFEATED written by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, THE BELL RANG written and illustrated by James E. Ransome
- Informational Picture Books: THE ROOTS OF RAP: 16 BARS ON THE 4 PILLARS OF HIP-HOP written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Frank Morrison
- Picture Book Biographies: LET ‘ER BUCK!: GEORGE FLETCHER, THE PEOPLE’S CHAMPION written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by Gordon C. James
- Middle Grade Graphic Novels: THE CROSSOVER written by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile
- Middle Grade Fantasy & Science Fiction: THE LAST LAST-DAY-OF-SUMMER by Lamar Giles
- YA Mysteries and Thrillers: SPIN by Lamar Giles
- YA Books About Navigating Different Worlds: BECOMING BEATRIZ by Tami Charles
- YA Historical Fiction: VOICES: THE FINAL HOURS OF JOAN OF ARC by David Elliott
- YA Books That Celebrate Human Connection: FORWARD ME BACK TO YOU by Mitali Perkins
The Horn Book is celebrating our clients on its Horn Book Fanfare 2019 list: THE BELL RANG written and illustrated by James E. Ransome in the Picture Book category and THE UNDEFEATED written by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson in the Poetry category.
ALWAYS LOOKING UP: NANCY GRACE ROMAN, ASTRONOMER, written by Laura Gehl and illustrated by Louise Pigott and Alex Oxton, was included in Emily Lakdawalla’s Recommended Space Books for Kids list from The Planetary Society.
A RACE AROUND THE WORLD: THE TRUE STORY OF NELLIE BOY AND ELIZABETH BISLAND, written by Caroline Starr Rose and illustrated by Alexandra Bye, was chosen for the Albuquerque Journal‘s “Season’s Readings To End This Year or Start the Next.” It’s the 130th anniversary of Nellie Bly’s and Elizabeth Bisland’s journey around the world, and Caroline has been sharing the journey on Twitter.
BOOK RELEASES
FREEDOM SOUP, written by Tami Charles and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara, released from Candlewick on Dec. 10 and took the No. 1 new release spot on Amazon. The picture book shows the celebration in the kitchen as a family makes their traditional New Year’s soup and shares the story of how Haitian independence came to be. Tami celebrated the launch of this beautiful picture book in an event hosted by National Book Award finalist and New York Times best-selling author Ibi Zoboi.
Carmen Oliver‘s new picture book, BEARS MAKE THE BEST WRITING BUDDIES, will be released on Jan. 1 from Capstone. Illustrated by Jean Claude, the book is the latest in a series where Bear helps his friend Adelaide in different subjects. The book is available for pre-order now.
REVIEWS
A RACE AROUND THE WORLD: THE TRUE STORY OF NELLIE BLY AND ELIZABETH BISLAND, written by Caroline Starr Rose and illustrated by Alexandra Bye, received a starred review from Kirkus! The review writes, “Rose captures both the wonder of the world as the women experience it as well as the dangers and miseries of their journeys…. An absorbing account of a real-life adventure in a series that showcases historical accomplishments of women.”
APPEARANCES
This month, Scholastic’s National Sales Convention hosted Tami Charles as the keynote, showcasing her next picture book ALL BECAUSE YOU MATTER. Tami included her son in the presentation as this book was written in dedication to him.
IN THE NEWS
Illustrator Gordon C. James was interviewed on CTV News in his hometown, discussing his craft, presentations, and wonderful books for young readers.
Brian Weisfeld was featured on FOX NYC News at 6 talking with two girls inspired by his THE STARTUP SQUAD. Watch their interview.
Tami Charles’ picture book FREEDOM SOUP was featured in The New York Times article “Kids Have Questions. These Picture Books Have Answers,” published in November.
In an article about “The Stories Behind American Heroes, Made Accessible to Kids,” the New York Times wrote about picture books COUNTING THE STARS, written by Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrated by Raúl Colón, and HARD WORK BUT IT’S WORTH IT: THE LIFE OF JIMMY CARTER, written by Bethany Hegedus and illustrated by Kyung Eun Han.
School Library Journal‘s Fuse 8 blog included two of our clients in its 2019 Math Books for Kids: Carmen Oliver‘s picture book BEARS MAKE THE BEST MATH BUDDIES, illustrated by Jean Claude, and ONE DARK BIRD written by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon.
The Daily News Record wrote about Tami Charles‘ visit to Harrisonburg City Public Schools as part of the Superintendent’s “The World is My Classroom” initiative. The article said “she kept the school’s fifth graders hanging on to her every word and laughing at her jokes.”
VoyageLA featured author Mitali Perkins in an interview this month. Talking about her inspiration for writing, she said, “Fiction had widened my heart and mind when I was a child—maybe my affinity for children’s literature could do the same for young readers today.”
BOOK DEALS
Sterling Children’s Books has acquired world rights to a new picture book written by Laura Gehl. JUDGE JULIETTE will be illustrated by Marilia (Mari) Lobo and introduces children to the legal system with the irrepressible Juliette. The book will be released in fall 2020.
Scholastic purchased book fair rights to Tami Charles’ middle grade novel LIKE VANESSA. Look for this book in Scholastic book fairs across the country.