Patricia Hruby Powell's Biography 'Josephine' Dazzles

Josephine Baker's fascinating life has been examined in books, films, and documentaries. But perhaps none is so beautifully done as Patricia Hruby Powell's picture book Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker (Chronicle Books, January 14, 2014). Illustrated by Christian Robinson, Josephine tells the inspiring story of this boundary-breaking performer and champion for racial equality. A biography written in verse, Josephine is already collecting a jewel box of starred reviews, including one from Kirkus that says it's "celebrated with style and empathy."

Question: You're a former dancer, so it's easy to see the interest you might have for writing about another dancer. But why Josephine Baker? What drew you to her story?

Patricia Hruby Powell: It wasn’t till I hit my more advanced adult years that I took a close look at Josephine and was smitten. Her style, verve, her originality—as seen in the early film footage and the three movies she made—are irresistible. But when I was a serious young dancer—of Graham, Limon, and Cunningham techniques and of ballet, who became a choreographer and concert dancer—I did not take Josephine Baker seriously.

In my more recent capacity as a children’s librarian, surrounded by unfocused preteen African American girls, I thought Josephine could be a wonderful role model. Josephine had phenomenal confidence. Blind confidence, perhaps. That’s what drew me.

Q: Josephine is both beautifully illustrated, immensely informative, and well-written. And it clocks in at a whopping 104 pages! It is not every picture book that gets an editor's green light to reach 100 pages! How did you win over your editor? Did the size of the book begin to worry you at any point?

PHP: Josephine evolved, you might say. I’d written it first as a 1,000 word picture book, received a lot of agent and editorial attention, but ultimate rejection. I then wrote it as a YA verse piece imagining Paul Colin-like black and white illustrations. Never mind that there’s really no such thing as a novella-length verse YA volume, I was writing what I wanted, as we’re always advised to do.

I was monumentally lucky that my eventual agent picked Josephine out of a cover letter description—I mean it’s not what I was submitting to her—and she asked to see it, liked it, and offered representation. That was in December 2009. That 7,500-word Josephine received praise but, again, ultimate rejection. Until…

An inspired editor at Chronicle asked me to cut the word count in half. Which I did. My dream editor acquired Josephine in October 2010, and we added some of those deleted stanzas back in.

My editor intended a long picture book of 48 pages, I think. Then it was 64 pages. When I was told it would be an astounding 104 pages, I panicked. What was this book going to cost? I was told a normal $17.99. I calmed down. All along the way, I was told how much everyone at Chronicle loved the book. So I guess they were taking a chance. Which made me feel terribly responsible. I’ve got to say, I’ve felt panic along the way on numerous occasions.

Q: Could you talk about your creative process? The personal recollections from Josephine Baker are woven into the storyline seamlessly, but this must have taken a lot of writing and revising to pull off. How long did you work on this manuscript, both researching and writing?

PHP: Josephine was a storyteller. She wrote five autobiographies—all in French—which required me to kick-start my school French. But those autobiographies supplied plenty of quotes.

Josephine Baker was overly energetic, which leads to hyperbole. I had to tease out the truth, or what I saw as the truth of her story. There are wonderful English language biographies as well. But some writers believed all her stories. I’d read so much about her, from her, and viewed so much footage and listened to her interviews on obsolete recording technology (thank heavens for the University of Illinois Library) that I felt I knew her extremely well.

Once acquired and Josephine was sent out for scholarly approval, a few of my facts were challenged. For instance, even some scholarly books cite Josephine’s birthplace as East St. Louis. (I think that misconception grew from Josephine’s story that she was in the middle of the East St. Louis race riots of 1917. But really, Josephine saw the battered people once they fled East St. Louis, Illinois, and crossed the bridge into St. Louis, Missouri). Josephine felt things strongly. She was a passionate artist. Her experience of seeing the devastated people from the East St. Louis riots was life-changing. But she was born and raised in St. Louis.

My Josephine had a long path to publication. But I was also working on other manuscripts over those years from 2005 to the 2014.

Q: Razzmatazz, vagabonds, ramshackle, effervesced! Your word choice is rich and full of meaty, mouth-filling words, and choosing to write in verse lends an urgency to the book's tone. It is clear you labored over every word. Can you talk about your decisions for word choices and writing style?

PHP: I love words. I create a word bank for each of my books. When I hear or think of or read a word I might use, I write it down. Bits of paper are scattered throughout my house. And my purse. Yes, I have notebooks and legal pads, too. Hopefully all the words will get gathered and transferred to the computer or a 3-by-5 card.

Josephine is a subject that invites scintillating words. Who knows how razzmatazz got in my brain? Josephine put it there. I tried to become Josephine to see how she felt—so I danced her. She danced me some of those words.

Q: I thought I was familiar with Josephine Baker's life story, but your book delivered some wonderful surprises. Were you already aware of her war service and piloting experience? Were there moments when you were surprised by Josephine's life?

PHP: I knew only the bare facts when I began. I was surprised all along the way. And in immense admiration of her.

Q: What do you hope young readers will take away from your story?

PHP: I hope they will think, I can do anything I set my mind to. I hope they will dream up things no one has ever thought and do those things. I hope they will be instilled with Josephine’s confidence.

Q: What will we see next from you?

PHP: A YA documentary novel in verse (working title: Loving vs Virginia) about the interracial couple Mildred Jeter (black) who married Richard Loving (white) in Virginia, 1958. Interracial marriage was illegal in 24 states in 1958. The Lovings were arrested in bed, banished from their pastoral home to the slums of Washington, D.C. It took nine years before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in their favor. It’s a love story.

Grandson Inspires Esther Hershenhorn's 'Txtng Mama'

Esther Hershenhorn is known widely among Illinois children's authors as the heart and soul of SCBWI in this part of the country. Not only did she serve on the board of advisors for 10 years, she was the Illinois director 17 years, which means she's crossed paths with plenty of Midwestern authors, as well as more far-flung writers. 

As a teacher at the University of Chicago's Writer's Studio and Chicago's Newberry Library, and a writer herself – of the middle-grade novel The Confe$$ion$ and $ecret$ of Howard J. Fingerhut (Holiday House, 2002), poetry The Poetry Friday Anthology (Pomelo Books, 2012), and non-fiction S Is for Story: A Writer's Alphabet (Sleeping Bear Press, 2009) to name just a few – Esther brings her vast knowledge of children's literature to her role as a writing coach. She is a tireless champion of aspiring children's writers, both in her hometown of Chicago and beyond.

She returns to writing for the youngest readers with her latest book, Txtng Mama Txtng Baby (Sleeping Bear Press, 2013), a sort of ode to her out-of-state grandbaby.

Question: You're the author of poetry, picture books, a middle-grade novel. What made you want to write for the very youngest audience with Txtng Mama Txtng Baby?

Esther Hershenhorn: Most folks don’t know that Txtng Mama Txtng Baby marks my return to writing for the very youngest audience. I first began working to realize my Children’s Book Author Dream when Jimmy Carter was President, creating a personalized alphabet book to mark my son’s first birthday. Knowing that my son’s son inspired my newest book still has me smiling.

My raised Baby Antennae had traveled far and wide while my grandson was in utero, bringing me images of mamas thumbing their hand-held devices and babies finger-swiping the same.

Texting mamas, I repeated to myself. Texting babies. . . What’s up with that?

 It took out-of-the-box thinking, time, and some doing to figure out the story and consider the telling’s possibilities. I eventually settled on tunefully arranged familiar text expressions (think: I C U, xoxox, LOL) that created a through-the-day conversation between a mama and her baby. I’d always envisioned the board book as a cell phone look-alike, so I was especially pleased when Sleeping Bear Press created just that vertical (finger-swiping) format and chose colorful, baby-loving, easily identifiable emoticons as the illustrations.

My first book, The A to Z of Me, came close to being published by both Western Publishing and a toy manufacturer.  However, the technology did not exist to produce the book in a cost-effect manner. Ironically, today’s technology – i.e. laptops, cellular phones, iPads, reading devices – is the story that Txtng Mama Txtng Baby tells, and thinking about that fact widens my smile. Of course, the message remains the same in both baby board books: Mama loves Baby.

Q: You've cleverly merged our busy, electronic world with what you call "the ultimate hand-held device." What was your goal with Txtng Mama Txtng Baby? What did you set out to accomplish?

EH: I knew from the get-go I wanted to bring today’s Techy-Teachy World to the pages of a board book. Babies live and breathe this wired world. 

Giving babies a way to see themselves and this world in a book seemed smart to me. Which is not to say I didn’t consider apps and/or ebooks and story-telling with all sorts of bells and whistles as the perfect vehicle. However, my love for The Book trumped all other story-telling possibilities. I wanted babies to be able to hold this phone look-alike, to open it, close it, turn it, even eat it. I wanted these newest of readers to be exposed to letters, and to be eyeing those letters from left to write. I wanted them looking at cheery images that told a familiar story. I wanted these newest of listeners hearing the pleasing rhythm of the chosen text expressions. I wanted them to have fun!

And I wanted them sharing this experience with Someone Who Mattered – a parent, a grandparent, a sitter, a sibling.

I knew there would be folks who wouldn’t get the idea; I knew there would be those who wondered if I’d “lost it.” I could hear their responses: “I thought you loved literacy, Esther?! But I knew in my heart there would be many more Mamas and Babies, and their older siblings too, who would grab the book and hold it tight for countless fun re-readings.

Technology is a given.

Text is a language, now taught in some schools, believe it or not, so students can text their parents at the end of the day. Research has proven that when babies and toddlers interact with technology, engaging, interacting humans must be present too.

Q: Some readers and writers still shy away from digital books, even though this format is here to stay. But I believe storytelling is storytelling, no matter whether the delivery form is a paper book or a tablet. Where are you on ebooks, paper books, and early literacy?

EH: Well, back in the day, when I was teaching young children and parenting, I was happy as long as the child – mine or another’s – was reading, period. Comic books? Cereal boxes? Baseball cards? Game boards?

It didn’t matter. I simply wanted the child to be reading.

I still want that. So many folks now distinguish the vessels that deliver the content (ebook, iPad, book) from the delivered stories. Visiting classrooms, I see so many Kindles and Nooks stacked at the back of the room with students’ books for Free Reading Time. Text books are digital. Kids blog daily.

A Luddite at heart, I first balked at and bashed many of those technological “vessels.” I’ve come to see that, again, I want the child reading, no matter the vessel – good stories, told well, so well they resound in the reader’s heart.

Q: You've been an author and a teacher for years, but you're also a professional writing coach. Where does your heart lie? Are you happy wearing all three hats? Do you feel that each role has informed the other?

EH: In a true Quest story, the Hero returns with something so much better than that which he first sought. Such was my Writer’s Journey: I not only uncovered and recovered my voice, so I could go on to author my children’s books; I became a Writing Teacher and Writing Coach, working with adults who want to tell their stories to children.

Lucky me! as it says on my website.

I am indeed happy wearing all three hats. I began my career teaching fifth grade. Once a teacher, always a teacher. And in 87 Lifetimes, I could never meet the singular people with whom I’ve had the privilege of working; I could never know such amazing stories.

As I wrote in a recent TeachingAuthors post – because that’s what I am, a TeachingAuthor, I learn more than my students do. I invest in the writer, I invest in his story, researching content, exploring comparable tellings, coming to know his Writer’s story, drawing from the reader the story that needs telling.

In many ways, each class I create, each narrative I offer a writer, is a mini-story all its own.
I learn what the writer wants and needs, I spend time learning the why, and then I figure out the how. I do the same for my characters.

Sometimes, of course, like now (!), when I’ve needed to put my own writing aside to help another, my character begins expressing her anger, jabbing at my bones from the inside-out. The Good News is: when I do return to my novel, I’ll be so much smarter, thanks to the writers I coach and the students I teach.

All three roles allow me to live and work within the Children’s Book World. Again, Lucky me!

Q: What do you hope to accomplish with your writing? What do you hope readers take away from your books?

EH: I’ve heard it said that a writer writes the same story, just in different ways, each time he writes. There’s an underpinning – or what I think of as a heart, a belief a writer holds that he wants the world to know. That insight certainly applies to me and the books I’ve written and published.

No matter the format in which I’ve chosen to tell my story, I want my reader knowing: he or she is important. Not in the sense of famous or glorified. Simply in the sense of bearing weight, of deserving to be heard.

The Latin root of the word is importare – “to be of consequence, weigh.”

I want my reader thinking, when he closes one of my books: I matter too, just like Lowell Piggott or Rudie Dinkins or Pippin Biddle or Howie Fingerhut, or even the esteemed children’s book writers I referenced in S Is for Story.

Mama hearting Baby is but one more way of sharing that sentiment.

Beth Finke's 'Safe and Sound' Makes an Inspiring Holiday Gift

Christmastime for me growing up meant one thing: my annual plea for a dog. I was obsessed with them, begged Santa to slip one under the tree, read all sorts of books about them, memorized every breed. For kids and families with an interest in dogs, Chicago author Beth Finke's beautiful story of her relationship with her Seeing Eye dog, Hanni, makes a fascinating, uplifting holiday gift.

Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound (Blue Marlin, 2007), illustrations by Anthony Alex LeTourneau, received the ASPCA Henry Berg Award for children's literature, and it was featured on the Martha Speaks ReadAloud Book Club on PBS. Booklist says, "The pairing of Finke’s clear and animated writing with LeTourneau’s precise and expressive illustrations perfectly reflects the lively relationship between proud and responsible Hanni and proud and intrepid Beth. . ."

Hanni and Beth tells the story of how Beth, who is blind, travels safely around the city – to work, shopping, even to baseball games – with the help of Hanni, a specially-trained Golden/Labrador Retriever. It also includes factual information about how Hanni was raised and trained, how Beth and Hanni learned to work together as a team, and what it's like to be blind.

Beth's memoir for grown-up readers, Long Time, No See, was published by University of Illinois Press in 2003 and is required reading in disability studies programs at universities across the country. And her essays air on National Public Radio's Morning Edition.

And readers can keep up with Beth's latest adventures around Chicago and beyond with her current Seeing Eye dog, Whitney, over at her Safe & Sound blog.

Question: You are a print journalist, you have contributed essays to Chicago Public Radio and National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and you teach memoir classes for the City of Chicago's Department on Aging. What made you decide to write a children's book?

Beth Finke: My first book was a memoir. I lost my sight when I was 26 years old,  and Long Time, No See was about my marriage, raising our son, and the adaptations my husband Mike Knezovich and I have made to survive – and thrive – after losing my sight. After Long Time, No See was published I started doing book signings and presentations at book fairs, conferences, schools, libraries, and bookstores all over the country. One chapter of Long Time, No See focuses on training with my first Seeing Eye dog, a Black Lab named Dora. Over and over again, the questions most people asked during the Q & A sessions after my presentations dealt with that particular subject: my Seeing Eye dog.

People – especially children – are fascinated with Seeing Eye dogs. They may have seen Animal Planet shows about guide dogs, but the people I met didn't know much about how the dogs were trained, or what the rules are when they see a guide dog at work leading a person who is blind. I thought a children’s book might be a fun way for children and the adults in their lives to learn more.

Q: You are clearly a communicator and comfortable in any medium. And your school visits with Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound are enthusiastically received. Is there one medium you prefer best?

BF: I am old school. I prefer face-to-face communication.

Q: Your book can be appreciated by a wide audience – adult and child, teacher and student, blind and sighted, dog lovers and cat people. What kind of feedback do you get from audiences when you talk about Safe & Sound?

BF: Audiences seem to be taken by my honesty. Children like the way I treat them as adults during school presentations. Sometimes I wonder if that's because I can't see them – I picture them as peers, and talk to them that way.

Q: What about from the Seeing Eye school and other guide dog organizations – do they know about the book and your work?

BF: They sure do – my publisher, Blue Marlin Publications, put together a special edition with information about the Seeing Eye on the cover, and the Seeing Eye sold the book on its website and gave the book away to puppy raisers, the wonderful volunteers who raise our dogs to become Seeing Eye dogs and help people like me, who are blind, to keep safe. I work part-time for Easter Seals, too, and Blue Marlin Publications published special copies of the book for Easter Seals to give away to contributors as well.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from your book?

BF: I hope Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound helps children understand that while having a disability presents challenges, that doesn't necessarily stop people like me from having a rich and active life. I hope that kids who read Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound might develop traits of empathy, not sympathy, as they relate to people with disabilities. And, for that matter, as they relate to all people.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish as a writer?

BF: You want an honest answer? I'd like to make enough money as a writer to support my husband, a man I love, rather than vice-versa!

Q: What are you working on now?

BF: I lead three memoir-writing classes a week for senior citizens in Chicago and am working on a book about what I am learning from those classes.

Q: Will there be another children's book from you hitting shelves anytime soon?

BF: I had no plans to write another children's book until last month. The mother of a 5-year-old who is blind contacted me to thank me for a Braille copy of Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound and lamented that there are  not many books for children about Braille. It has me thinking. . .

Dahl, Nesbit Inspire 'Art of Flying' Author Judy Hoffman

Chicago-area author Judy Hoffman's new contemporary fantasy, The Art of Flying (Disney-Hyperion, October 2013), may be her debut, but her writing style makes it clear she's no novice.

A fun and engaging middle-grade novel, The Art of Flying features 11-year-old Fortuna Dalliance, who is typically a down-to-earth kind of kid. When her eclectic neighbors turn out to be witches, and they desperately need Fortuna's help, she's ready for adventure. The Baldwin sisters have gotten themselves into a pickle by turning three birds – an owl and two sparrows – into a bullying man and two boys. And they want Fortuna to talk some sense into one of them, Martin, to let the witches turn him back into a bird.


Fortuna isn't so sure she believes in magic. But once she gets to know Martin, she's certain she doesn't want to lose his friendship. The pressure is on, since the witchy Baldwin sisters face stiff penalties for their magic if they don't get those humans turned back into their feathery old selves within five days.

"Silly witches, transformed birds and a plucky heroine equal 'real, live adventure,' writes Kirkus Reviews. The Art of Flying makes a great holiday gift for middle-grade readers who like uplifting, spirited fantasy.

Question: Witches, birds transformed into children, talking animals. What made you want to write The Art of Flying? And why a fantasy?

Judy Hoffman: I've always been a big fan of fantasy, especially stories about magic coming into regular kids' lives. I think there are many things happening around us that we just don't pay attention to. The Art of Flying came from a story I carried inside me for a long time about children and birds and flying and merging those worlds together. I had ideas for the overall plot and the main characters, but much of it evolved as I went along.

Q: This is your debut novel, but your don't write like a rookie. Where did you develop your craft and how long have you been at it?

JH: I've written quietly for a number of years and taken writing courses along the way. My educations is really from the reading I've done all my life. I have always leaned toward books that are considered classics. I think I draw from some of the older styles of writing. I write and write and revise incessantly until the words feel and look right on paper and sound right when read aloud.

Q: A Kirkus review likened your haphazard witches, the Baldwin sisters, to those in Roald Dahl's The Witches. What authors and books influence your writing? What or who inspires you?

JH: The Wizard of Oz books started me on the magical journey when I was very young. E. Nesbit is a huge influence. The Secret Garden, The Wind in the Willows, E.B. White (Charlotte's Web). Roald Dahl (but I never read The Witches). The list goes on and on.

J.K. Rowling is my hero. She brought magic and reading back into the world. Her background without a formal education in writing gave me the courage to submit my own book for publication.

Q: What do you hope children take away from your books? 

JH: So far, I've never had a big seated theme or message I want to impart when I write. I mostly want to entertain and captivate the reader so that they want to keep reading. At the end of the book, I'd like them to reluctantly close it and say, "That was fun. I want to read this again." That, to me, is the ultimate.

Q: What will we see from you next?

JH: I'm finishing up a book about a meerkat endowed with special powers who is discovered by three children and their grandma in their backyard in Texas. I also am working on a story about a girl named Clarissa who is the niece of Selena and Ellie - the witches from The Art of Flying.

I hope to finish both these books up soon and see what happens!

Kristen Kittscher's Thrilling Mystery 'Wig in the Window'

 Kristen Kittscher's The Wig in the Window (HarperCollins, 2013) is one of those books that hooks you in from the first page. And it shows the power of a fantastic title: I recall stumbling across this book for the first time in spring, and the title stayed with me. Later when I read a review, I thought the premise sounded fantastic. And finally, when I popped into the bookstore over the summer, the title was easy for my addled mind to recall as I wandered the stacks.

The Wig in the Window tells the story of seventh-grade BFFs Sophie Young and Grace Yang, budding spies who have made a game of snooping on their neighbors. When they witness what they think is a murder, things begin to spin out of control. The suspect: their middle-school counselor, who was wielding a red-stained cleaver. There are enough red herrings to throw off even the most discerning young readers and keep the pages turning. Kirkus describes Wig as "Reminiscent of the ever-compelling film Rear Window, this appealing and often spine-tingling tale will leave its audience wishing for more."

Question: This book is fast-paced and full of thrills from the word go. Where did you get the idea for The Wig in the Window? And did you know the title from the moment you sat down to write the story? 

Kristen Kittscher: When I was in sixth grade, my best friend and I had lots of far-fetched theories about our neighbors and pretended we were spies. We even had a “spy headquarters” in a loft above her garage where we made fake “Most Wanted” posters and spy badges. The Wig in the Window was inspired by those memories of childhood spy games. I wondered: what if there had been a fugitive in our neighborhood? Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is one of my favorite movies – I thought a Rear Window for kids had some fun possibilities.

As for the title, the book actually sold to HarperCollins as “Untitled Middle Grade Mystery.” As I was drafting, I always referred to it as “Young and Yang” because Sophie Young and Grace Yang’s friendship is at its heart. The process of coming up with a new title was pretty funny. I talk about it and share some of the editorial correspondence here.

Q: I loved how these characters were not just "strong girls," one of them was quoting Sun Tzu, philosopher and author of The Art of War, throughout the book. Are you schooled in the art of war yourself? What made you incorporate strategies for defeating enemies into your mystery novel? What made you write such strong, capable girls?

KK: I wasn’t schooled in The Art of War before writing Wig, but I can certainly hold my own now. I joke that the book is a psychological thriller for tweens, so Sun Tzu’s battle advice was perfect for Young & Yang’s cat-and-mouse game with their school counselor.

 I also incorporated Sophie’s interests because I wanted to explore a common theme I’d seen while teaching middle school: kids often take on other cultures and identities while trying to figure out their own place in the world. They look for things outside themselves to give them a little boldness. It can be very problematic and lead to tensions in friendship, as Sophie Young discovers. What is the line between appreciation of a culture and appropriation? I’d wondered it myself as I watched my students get really into manga, for example.

I'm glad my characters' strengths comes across! I taught at an all-girls’ school for many years; I don’t know any girls who aren’t strong and capable, so they just came out that way as I wrote! I’m so pleased that kids are finding them empowering. Confident Trista Bottoms is definitely a favorite of mine – and I find myself channeling her when I’m feeling unsure about myself, too.

Q: Mysteries have lots of loose ends that need tying up, and they have to maintain a certain tension throughout. How hard is it to write a mystery? And why did you choose this genre?

KK: The Wig in the Window is the first thing I’ve written, so I have difficulty comparing the difficulty of writing a mystery over any other kind of writing. It’s all hard! I do know that it seems to take me longer than others to write. Whether that’s because of the intricacies of plot construction, the number of revisions it takes to get the humor timing right, or because it’s tricky to keep things moving while still exploring the friendship, I’m not sure.

I love page-turners and being surprised, so the idea of creating that experience for kids delights me to no end! I also think it complements thematic obsessions of mine. Doubt (and self-doubt) are the twin engines that propel a mystery plot, so mysteries are perfect for traveling with a character on a journey from insecurity to greater confidence. (Which, in turn, is perfect for tweens trying to shed their own self-consciousness and figure out where they fit in.)

Q: Will we see Agents Young & Yang again for another adventure? What is your next project?

KK: You will! I am working on the sequel, The Tiara on the Terrace. Young & Yang (and their new friend Trista Bottoms) go undercover in their town parade’s beauty pageant to stop a murderer. I think of it as a sort of Miss Congeniality set in middle school.

Q: What do you hope young readers take away from your stories? What do you hope to accomplish with your writing?

I hope to make kids laugh out loud and entertain them while inspiring them to be confident and take themselves seriously. I hope, too, my stories help them through a few tough moments in their friendships!

October Carnival of Children's Literature Roundup

Lots of blogs are celebrating Halloween with spooky book posts. And today, as host of the October Carnival of Children's Literature roundup, I'll share some of the month's highlights. In keeping with the spirit of the month, these bloggers offer some fun tricks and plenty of treats.

This is my first time hosting Kidlitosphere's Carnival of Children's Literature, and I loved being able to check out what other bloggers are posting about in the broader conversation around kids books, early literacy, and creativity. I hope you enjoy this peek into recent topics of discussion.

Jodie over at the early literacy blog Growing Book by Book shares Halloween titles that will have you singing, chanting and dancing, including W. Nikola-Lisa's lively Shake Dem Halloween Bones.

Jeanette at SpeakWell, ReadWell features a book to set the Halloween mood: Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown. She says the book "charmed my students into creating their own eerie eatables. A few Common Core Standards crept into the mix for some lively learning."

Kerry at Picture Books & Pirouettes posted about the new rhyming picture book Halloween Hustle by debut author Charlotte Gunnufson and illustrator Kevan J. Atteberry. A great Halloween pick!

Iron Guy Carl over at Boys Rule Boys Read! may not have been trying to celebrate Halloween but we think he's in the right spirit with his review of the three Fangbone graphic novels, which he says, "Boys would really enjoy, especially the 'reluctant readers.' "

KidLitCon is for YOU

Jen at The Cybils Blog reminds bloggers to consider attending this year's KidLitCon on Nov. 8 and 9 in Austin. "The Cybils organizers are big fans of KidLitCon, an annual conference of children's book bloggers, and we posted about this year's event to help spread the word to more bloggers." Check it out for registration information and more.

Charlotte at Charlotte's Library will be attending. And she says, "I'll be leading a discussion at KidLitCon of issues and questions and concerns shared by Middle Grade Bloggers, and I've put together a list of what some of these topics might be, hoping to get input from other Middle Grade bloggers before the con."

Early Literacy

Darshana at Flowering Minds posts about Miss Maple’s Seeds, written and illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. She calls it "a magical, timeless book that will enchant kids and tug on the heartstrings of the adult."

Marty of The Great Chapter Book, Middle Grade Confusion writes about the differences between chapter books and middle-grade, which "are becoming blurred or even invisible, much to the detriment of kids and the chapter book category."

Sarah at ModernBrickaBrack shares about the writing of Alfie the Squirrel and the Tale of the Missing Grass and what she learned about online book publishing.

And Jen over at Jen Robinson's Book Page posts about actions she plans to take "to increase my daughter's love of reading, in response to my own read of the latest edition of The Read-Aloud Handbook." 

Non-Fiction

Alison over at AlisonGoldberg.com interviewed Jane Kohuth about her new early reader picture book, Anne Frank's Chestnut Tree. "She shares some of the challenges of writing about war and oppression for young children and how Anne Frank's legacy can inspire activism."

Lindsey of A is for Aging blogs on positive images of aging in kidlit, and she says of Don Tate's It Jes' Happened, "This picture book highlights creativity in late life by showcasing the life of self-taught artist Bill Traylor."

Alex  at Randomly Reading tackles the slippery subject of seals with See What a Seal Can Do by Chris Butterworth, illustrated by Kate Nelms. "See what they do when they dive underwater to look for something to eat. They have a surprisingly busy life under the sea."

Interviews & Illustration & Such

Zoe who blogs at Playingbythebook asks, "Who doesn't love Richard Scarry? But what can he tell us about how society and language has changed over 50 years?"

LH Johnson of the blog Did you ever stop to think and forget to start again? says, "I had a bit of a thought and wondered whether it was possible to read your way around the UK in children's and YA books. Turns out you kind of can! (And I'm working on the missing counties!)"

Amitha over at Monkey Poop features a Q&A with Kathryn Lasky, about her latest book, The Extra.

Carmela of TeachingAuthors shares that her post "includes a "Fib" poem in memory of my writing friend and former student, Laura Crawford." 

Fiction

Margo over at The Fourth Musketeer shares about Hetty Feather, "one of those feisty, charismatic girl characters you won't soon forget. Read about British author Jacqueline Wilson's delightful historical fiction series set in Victorian England."

Katie of Secrets & Sharing Soda posts about Bo at Ballard Creek, "a light-hearted and adventurous historical fiction book that can appeal to a wide range of ages. Filled with memorable characters and exciting events from Bo's day to day life, it will appeal to fans of Little House on the Prairie and stories by Carolyn Haywood and Beverly Cleary." 

Brenda at Proseandkahn sings the praises of The Candy Smash by Jacqueline Davies. She says, "Not since Love That Cat has an author depicted a child's discovery of poetry so perfectly."

Erica over at What Do We Do All Day? shares some of their favorite diverse books to share with babies and toddlers.

Catherine  of Story Snug writes, "We love the cheesy names of the cute mice in Mouseton Abbey. This story would appeal to fans of Downton Abbey."

Reshama of Stacking Books post that Mordecai Gerstein "draws you into the story of the Very First Drawing. Who made the first drawing he asks? Was it an adult or a kid? When did he make it? How did he make it? What triggered him to make the very first drawing?

Anastasia at Booktalking says, "I'm so happy that my cheerleader series is on the shelves now!" 

Susan of The Book Chook declares, "Nick Bland knows how to create memorable children's picture books – the kinds of books kids beg for over and over, the kinds of books that grow little bookworms." 

Gail over at Original Content shares a brief roundup "of women graphic artists who were discussed as part of a panel on women in children's publishing." 

Helen Docherty's 'Snatchabook' a Whodunit for the Wee Ones

Helen Docherty's name might not be a familiar one to American households, but it will be. A native of Britain, her debut picture book hit shelves on October 1 here in the United States and is being published simultaneously in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy – a total of 16 countries in all. With gorgeous illustrations by Helen's husband, Thomas Docherty (Ruby Nettleship, The Snorgh and the Sailor), a charming premise, and lively rhyme, it deserves the wide audience.

Titled The Snatchabook, it is the adorable story of bedtime in Burrow Down, where all the children's books are disappearing. When one little girl decides to stay awake and catch the book thief, she discovers it's a cute little critter called the Snatchabook. His complaint is a simple one; he just wants someone to tuck him in at night with a story.

“I know it’s wrong, but can’t you see—

I’ve got no one to read to me!”

With a nod to both Dr. Seuss and Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo, The Snatchabook is what Publisher's Weekly calls "a winner in this heartwarming tribute to the essential role of bedtime reading in the lives of families."

Question: When I first picked up The Snatchabook, I thought "instant classic." This idea is adorable and makes writers like me smack their foreheads and say, "Genius! Why didn't I think of it?" Where did you get the idea for The Snatchabook? What was your creative process like?

Helen Docherty: I came up with the idea at the end of a really long, hard day of trying to think up new ideas for stories, but not really getting anywhere. The words "book thief" suddenly popped into my head and with them the idea of a mysterious thief who steals books in the night. I started to jot down potential names for this creature: a book cruncher? A book snatcher? Then I realised that if I inverted these to create a Snatchabook, I could potentially rhyme this with other words; and also, a Snatchabook sounded less menacing, somehow.

I knew that I wanted to set up a kind of whodunit with a brave heroine (Eliza) and a surprise twist. After that, the story started to form itself pretty quickly on the page – within a few hours, I had written half of the very first draft, and I knew how I wanted the story to end. Of course, it took several more days to complete a finished draft that I was happy with, and then many more re-edits and tweaks followed.

Q: Writing in rhyme is no easy feat, and new authors are often discouraged to attempt it. But when reading Snatchabook aloud with a young audience, the rhyming is part of the story's incredible charm. How challenging was it to get the rhyme right? Did you look to Seuss and The Gruffalo for inspiration?

HD: The Snatchabook was actually the first rhyming picture book text I had ever written (although as a child, I loved to write in verse). Having two young children, however, I was – and still am – immersed in the world of rhyming story books. Julia Donaldson and Dr Seuss are both huge favourites of ours, and masters of the genre. The 1970s classic The Giant Jam Sandwich (by John Vernon Lord, verses by Janet Burroway) was another source of inspiration. Strangely enough, after attempting to write several stories in prose, I found writing in verse quite liberating in some ways. Having said that, sometimes it can be a very frustrating experience when you know what you want to say but can’t find the rhyme to fit! I tend to write long lists of rhyming words and try out all kinds of combinations until I can make it work.

Q: The illustrations are adorable. And while most authors get little to no say in how the artist interprets her story, you happen to live with your book's artist. How was that process? Collaborative? Or do you work independently?

HD: It was fantastic! Fortunately for me, Tom liked the story a lot and got really excited about the illustrations. It was a very collaborative process right from the start; we spent a lot of time discussing how the characters should look (especially the Snatchabook), and how to create the right atmosphere for Burrow Down. Having said that, once Tom got going on the illustrations, I didn’t spend my whole time peering over his shoulder. He added several visual elements of his own invention (for example, the Snatchabook perched unhappily on a branch, all alone, on the second spread) that greatly enhance the story. It was so much fun for me to watch it all come to life, and to be part of that process. I feel very lucky indeed!

Q: The Snatchabook is having a simultaneous launch in the United Kingdom and the United States. Are you finding the buzz around it to be similar in both places? Or is one different from the other?

HD: I think children’s books get taken a lot more seriously in the U.S., as a whole. Although we have incredibly supportive publishers in both countries, the buzz in the United States has been much greater so far, with reviews appearing on many blogs, booksellers’ and librarians’ websites and in the press. A lot of this is thanks to the amazingly hard-working and pro-active team at Sourcebooks, but I think it is also because children’s picture books have a higher status in the U.S. than here in the U.K.

I’m not quite sure why that is, considering the wealth of home-grown talent (Julia Donaldson, to name but one)! Anyway, it’s lovely to know that The Snatchabook is already being enjoyed by so many people in the U.S., and hopefully in many other countries too (it is being published in 16 countries altogether so far). I should add that the buzz here in the Mumbles (our neighbourhood in Swansea) has been fantastic – we are lucky enough to have the support of a fabulous independent book shop, Cover to Cover, whose owner has organised two local launches for us and promoted the book very successfully in her shop.

Q: What will we see next from you? Are you working on projects on your own or with your husband?

HD: We have a new book together coming out this time next year, hopefully, called Abracazebra. It’s another rhyming picture book, written by me and illustrated by Tom – he’s working on the final illustrations right now, in fact. It’s the story of a zebra who arrives in town with her traveling magic show, and a jealous goat who feels that she’s stolen his pitch. I also have another picture book text under contract with Faber, but I’m not sure who the illustrator will be yet (not Tom this time!). It’s called Do You Remember? and it’s a very simple story about a young girl’s earliest achievements.