CURIOUS CITY DOINGS

We Have Moved

2010-02-27T14:09:00.000-08:00

CURIOUS CITY HAS MOVED !
Curious City has relocated their blog and website. Please stop by and see us HERE.

(And thanks to Blogger for years of fabness).

Belated Valentine from Portland Phoenix

2010-02-24T14:53:00.000-08:00

Some sweet folks nominated Curious City for one of Portland's Most Influential People for "getting creators, readers, and fans of children's books on the same page." Well, thanks and gosh, Portland Phoenix and mysterious somebodies.

The Science of Superheroes Expo

2010-02-17T11:58:00.000-08:00

Bronx Community College (BCC) and Kids Comic Con band together for another brilliant blend of kids, comics, and education with their upcoming The Science of Superheroes Expo. Students will research superheroes' abilities and how science fact and science fiction play into their powers. Results from that study will be presented in a science expo at BCC in Spring 2010.

We are happy to offer the graphic novel, The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea as a fictional jumping off point for studying the science of cloning. One of the powers of Korea's legendary hero, Hong Kil Dong was the ability to clone himself so that he could lead his Robin Hood-like army against the corrupt nobles in every corner of Korea.

Korea has been one of the world’s leading cloning research nations and elsewhere in the region, China is making strides in stem cell and regenerative medicines. The growth in these areas of science are outlined in a recent article in The Economist.

Educators interested in the title and supporting materials should contact Curious City at 207-699-2755 or kirsten@curiouscity.net.

To Hamlet or Not To Hamlet, That Is...

2010-01-25T10:05:00.000-08:00

A Hamlet Look-Alike Contest? Could it be so?

We here in the Curious City lair are hard at work designing a photo contest for Erin Dionne's hilarious middle grade novel, The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet.

Illustrator, Jamie Hogan just delivered a Yorick skull (complete with accessories) to be used in the design of the promotion.

Soon you too will be able to gaze on poor Yorick for prosperity and prizes. Stay tuned, my dear Bard-ites...

Photograph of Erin Dionne contemplating the Total Tragedy of the prototype...

Stink, Stank, Stunk

2010-01-25T09:23:00.000-08:00

Seems like we do not totally stink at creating games and activities because Candlewick Press has had us back for a new round of book activities--this time for the indomitable Stink Moody and his friends.

Proud to have had a hand in Sniff it Out: Hunt for Stink’s Treasure, The Walking Stink-O-Pedia: Test your Stink I.Q., Stink’s Solar System Superhero Scramble, and Stink’s Cross-the-Solar-System Crossword. The complete will soon to be posted at Stink' website...

A super stinky thank you to my brilliant 2nd-grade nephew who helped me brainstorm all things Stink and my creative 2nd-grade niece who helped decide what pictures would look best with which games. Below is my nephews mind-blowing Stink maze design which sadly did not make it into the official kit, but you can try it at home...

National Book Award Footage

2009-11-30T10:56:00.000-08:00

Phillip Hoose and Claudette Colvin, 2009 National Book Awards Dinner from National Book Foundation on Vimeo.

Hope you heart does all the leaps mine did and does seeing Phil Hoose and Claudette Colvin side-by-side accepting the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Phil & Claudette Take the Prize

2009-11-19T00:11:00.000-08:00

Our dear friend, Phillip Hoose walked away with a National Book Award tonight for his stunning portrait of a brave woman, Claudette Colvin.

Claudette stood regal by Phil's side as he accepted the award and thanked her repeatedly for taking a chance on him, for letting him tell her story.

Could be the hour of 3AM, could be the champagne, could be all the darn delight and pride I am feeling, but I cannot come up with any more to say yet. Just all too grand.

New York City Here We Come

2009-11-16T10:07:00.000-08:00

With a round of "New York City Here We Come" set to the tune of Buck Owen's Kansas City Song, Phillip Hoose and his band Chipped Enamel closed the send-off party for the National Book Awards.

The lyric of "they've got a whole lot of awards and I'm gonna get me some" brought down the house of fellow writers, musicians, activists, librarians, friends, and other readers.

Phil was especially honored to have the Talbot family present at the event. Phil's book is dedicated to Jerry Talbot, Maine legislator, innovator, historian, and friend to so many.

Phillip Hoose's book Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice is a finalist for the National Book Award. He and Claudette Colvin will be strolling into the ceremony on Wednesday night and Curious City will not be far behind camera and shimmery shoes at the ready.

Miami Thrice

2009-11-16T04:23:00.001-08:00

Three days of 80 degree weather and 100's of thousands of readers for Anne Sibley O'Brien and Ed Briant at the Miami Book Fair.

We booked both for Alex Simmon's Kids Comic Con held within the larger festival.

Anne's work from The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea was accepted in the C olor of Comics Exhibit at Miami Dade where she appeared with other artists that have included characters of color in starring roles in their comics.

Ed was there to support his fabulous picture books / comic books Don't Look Now and If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now from Roaring Brook Press.

(Photos from Miami Book Fair Flickr)

Claudette Colvin Live

2009-10-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

It is one thing to read Phillip Hoose's biography, Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice (FSG). It is another to meet the woman herself. I have had the honor over the last nine months of watching Phil share the stage with unsung Civil Rights heroine, Claudette Colvin. In Claudette today you can see the 15-year-old girl that said "no" to Jim Crow by refusing to give up her bus seat on a Montgomery, AL bus 9 months before Rosa Parks.

We gathered all of the photos and audio recordings of their appearances and wove them together the best we could for a YouTube piece. I hope it captures the spark of this fine, fine woman whose story is finally told in full in Phil's stunning biography.

Book Signing with Whipped Cream (and Nuts)

2009-10-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

Standing in the darkened gallery space taking down Ed Briant's exhibit of illustrations from Don't Look Now, I had to stop and look.

Had my plot worked? Had I managed to but a bit of whipped cream on the melting bowl of bookselling ice cream--a.k.a. the dread book signing.

Let's start at the beginning. Ed Briant came to me wanting to do a book signing for his candy-colored picture book / graphic novel, Don't Look Now (Roaring Brook Press). In the near wordless panels, two boys jealous over the perceived sizes of their respective bowls of ice cream begin a tug of war that splits their world and drops them into a land of monsters.

Choose a Location. As I like to play with story, we held the book signing at a local ice cream shop rather than a bookstore. The ice cream store, we postulated is a bit busier on a Friday night than to local bookseller. Good.

Add an Extra Component. We needed another attraction, so Ed agreed to print out 11 x 17 spreads from the book and pop them into simple gallery clip frames. We now had a books signing and gallery opening. Good.

Anticipate Low Turnout. But what if we still had a poor turnout? Well, we did. Despite our books signing cleverness about 25 people came the night of the signing and 12 books were sold.

Reward People for Marketing. But one other addition allowed this book signing to have a nice dollop of hot fudge. I invited libraries in the area to invite their patrons to the book signing with a bit of a carrot. We would ask people to sign a guest book noting not their name, but their favorite library. The top three libraries mentioned would win signed books and a print. I provided the school and public libraries with color posters to hang and B&W flyers to hand to patrons.

So standing there in the darkened gallery (and ice cream shop) this morning, I cracked open the guest book. Pages and pages were filled with library names. Young (and not so) patrons from 25 regional libraries had declared themselves.

So what? How does that sell books?

Exposure is King. Well, it may or it may not, but every school and public library in the state was exposed to Ed Briant's new book on their listserve three times and patrons across systems went home with flyers featuring Ed's creations.

Create a Takeaway. And every visitor to the ice cream shop over the month of the exhibit got to see Ed's work, read the book left there, and take away an activity sheet featuring the book.

A little more effort and the book signing evening of 25 people was expanded to include a broader community of readers. (I can come up with no ice cream analogy here. Anyone?)

VIEW pictures from book signing and visit by King Middle School librarian and readers.

Ancient Punk Farm Documents Revealed

2009-10-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ancient Punk Farm Documents Revealed
(Source: New York Times 09/15/2579)

Portland, Maine---Archaeologists working at the offices of Curious City, a yet undocumented children's sentient book marketing firm on the submerged ancient city peninsula of Portland, Maine, revealed a layer of 2005 film rolls (a specimen of "film" long lost to antiquity) that contained the lost Punk Farm footage of "Lunch Box."

"Lunch Box" was a person-to-author-live-event utilized before virtual reality allowed author to speak directly into the brains of children thus allowing sentient books, bookstores, children's book promoters , and live author appearances to pass peacefully into non-existence. (see NYT Glossary for preceding terms).

Pictured in the photos is the media sensation of the 2000's, Jarrett Krosoczka whose 2009 LUNCH LADY graphic novel turned the entire children's book industry into "everyone's lunch." He is seen here communing with a small cadre of live, warm-blooded fans in 2005 before his international fandom allowed him to appear only by hologram to school children throughout these United Virtual States and the Formally Muslim Territories.

The "Punk Farm" series produced originally in book sentient form crossed boundaries into the founding days of You Tube and other Social Media. Later versions of the "book" would, of course, change both the state of education and "children's literature" from a "CD Gen" to a "Holo Gen" product-- redefining children's entertainment for a century.

Unidentified organizers of the person-to-author-live-event "Lunch Box" are pictured in these stationary photographs dresses as "punk rockers," but are left unnamed. Researchers feel that their costume was done in "jest" or "tribute" as the real punk rock movement had moved beyond the costuming of employed, adult citizens.

Also pictured, surprisingly, is the musical legend, Travis James Humphrey, who in is first years as a performer, thought it was a "lark," according to archisto'publiscito' Camen Memorando, "to perform outside his Aloha-Billy genre he founded." Pictured with TJH is his wife, Shonna Humphrey, also a success in the sentient book world before it's evolution. Researchers are still trying to unravel why Travis James Humphrey appears in the images costumed as a large adult sheep.

Will this discovery allow scholars to link Travis James Humphrey to the invention of the HoloBook by the equally influential Jarrett Krosoczka or was this one random stop of the rise of two holo-stars?

The New York Times has recreated a Flickr format to allow you to review the footage of media antiquity.

Photos also revealed an escalation in mood and hair height amongst children after being exposed to Punk Farm. Archaeologists are still trying to unravel this mystery. Some experts suspect mind altering drugs laced early editions of Punk Farm and are sending researchers through the archives of sentient picture books of the 21st century to lick pages for traces of
said substances.

Korean Heroes

2009-09-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

Curious City was honored to be interviewed by Sun-woo Kim from MBC Global Media (Korea) for a documentary on the legendary Korean figure, Hong Kil Dong.

As the camera rolled and volumes of tea were consumed, I talked about the trends in graphic novels for children, why American superheroes are loners, and all the places that Anne Sibley O'Brien's The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea has taken me and its readers.

I recalled being on stage with Anne at the Smithsonian, sipping green tea with the Korean Cultural Ambassador at the Korean embassy, and all the conversations I have had with kids and educators about the legend (and its ties to the creation of Han Gul, the Korean written language). I explained that a book like this allows educators and young readers to explore a history and culture in a way that is not allowed in day-to-day curriculum.

Sun-woo Kim and his translator and assistant, Jaxon Kim are spending a week following Anne Sibley O'Brien as part of a documentary about the spread of the legend of Hong Kil Dong around the world. Why has it spread? Because it is a story about a boy rejecting the injustices done him by the class system and rising to expose and fight injustice in the four corners of 16th Century Korea. A superhero, indeed.

VIEW pictures of our day spent at Curious City and at fabulous Breakwater School where the Middle School opened its doors to Anne and MBC.

And VIEW Mr. Kim and Jaxon interviewing Jay Piscopo, the creator of The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli about American superheroes as part of the documentary.

Barbara Cooney's Wee Birds

2009-09-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

Took a sweet side trip up to Bowdoin College Museum of Art to see the final days of the Barbara Cooney Exhibit. Oooed and awed my way through the minute details of her work alongside the beatific illustrator, Jamie Hogan.

We stood dumbfounded by a group of tiny birds gathered in the gutter in an out-of-the-way corner of Cooney's picture book, Eleanor. Watch for the attentive, busy animals in almost every single spread she creates.

Was also enamored with the lupines painted on Chinese silk for Miss Rumphius. Proud to say, I have worked with Penguin USA and Raising Readers to include Miss Rumphius in an anthology of picture books by Maine authors and illustrators that will be distributed to Maine five-year-olds in 2010. Cooney's lupines grace the end papers of a collection that also includes Robert McCloskey, Amy MacDonald, Lynn Plourde, and Scott Nash.

It was one thing to see this exhibit and another to see it alongside the ever-curious-eye of Jamie Hogan. She finds wonder and inspiration in every detail of life. If you have not spied her Blog, JamiePeeps, you must. It is a perfect reflection of her creative life, mindset, and process.

Thanks to Jamie for this sketch of me made while I was sketching a wall carving from Iraq circa 859 BC. Under Jamie's pencil, I need not go on a diet.

Minli's Journey, Not Grace's Journey

2009-08-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

Illustration by Grace Lin from Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Do you as a creator with a new book have to appear places or go on tour?

I will answer that question with a question (if I may). Is the time and money spent planning appearances the best use of your time and money? Is there another way you can spend your valuable commodities that has a broader impact and reach?

Take the grand Grace Lin for instance. She is a super star when she appears anywhere, but with her new book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon she is hoping not to travel as much as she did for previous books. What to do instead?

How about an authorless author event? Can an author create a way for bookstores, libraries, or organizations to celebrate the release of her book without her being there? Yes. An author can create an event kit that let's readers play with the plot, experience a series of teasers, and WANT the book.

For an event kit for Grace Lin's Where the Mountain Meets the Moon we created Minli's Journey. The event allows reader to play the role of Minli. They mirror her quest to find the Old Man of the Moon to solicit his help in changing her family's fortune. Readers are given a bag of tools and as they journey through the room are given 10 puzzles to solve. They solve the puzzles by using items in their tool bag or things they pick up along the way. In the end they are rewarded with a mysterious gift, the meaning of which can only be determined by reading the book.

A test of the event kit with a group of young readers proved our wee thesis. As soon as the event ended, the readers had their faces buried in the book wanting to know what all the teasers in the event meant and why they were grasping a large pearled marble.

You can download the event kit HERE and see a slideshow of readers engaging in the event HERE.

SO MY ADVICE... take your readers on a journey in events (as well as in print). But don't make the journey yourself.

ALA Bound

2009-07-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

Inspiring Young Citizens:
The Library as a Forum for Engagement

Sunday, 7/12/09
10:30 am - 12:00 pm
ALA Annual Conference
McCormick Place West, W-190B
Chicago, IL

How do we excite young readers with possibilities for remaking their world without burdening them with responsibility beyond their years? Authors Lita Judge, Anne Sibley O'Brien, and Phillip Hoose, librarian, Kelley McDaniel and children's book advocate, Kirsten Cappy will share books, strategies, and book-specific educational curriculum for engaging young people in age-appropriate social issues and actions. Applications will focus on historical figures and movements that inspire contemporary youth.

Let's Do Nothing!

2009-06-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

Giddy to have an activity kit out with the brilliant folks at Candlewick Press. Nothing like working with the best designers in the country to make you look quite suave.

To be exact it is a Non-Activity Kit for animation genius, Tony Fucile's hilarious picture book, Let's Do Nothing. Characters, Frankie and Sal have worn themselves out by doing everything so they decide to try doing nothing for a change.

Poor bespectacled Frankie's overactive imagination makes him anything but Zen. When told to "be the tree," he imagines being peed on by the dog. When told to "be the heavy, tall Empire State Building" he imagines King Kong mounting his heights.

Given the task of creating an event kit for kids to gather and do, well, nothing, I was stumped. I finally had to tell myself if Tony Fucile (of The Incredibles fame) was coming tomorrow and I was supplying a roomful of kids, what the heck would we do?

Then the ideas came in on cat feet--a balance challenge (thank you yoga), a staring challenge, a "don't make me laugh" challenge and a good-old-American-kids-bored-at-family-parties game of statues. And then my first ever board game--The Game of Nothing (will the Candlewick designer forgive me for this one...).

Please--if you are tempted to do nothing in response to this post, buy the book to get the instructions first.

Finding Your Way to The Never-Ending Mountian

2009-06-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

I first read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (in galley form) on a train being tossed by the fits of a winter Nor'easter. With mittened hands I read the last page, breathed out, and said, "perfect." And it was and is after several re-readings. Make sure a copy is in your hands (mittened or not) on July 1 when the book is released.

Curious City was proud to mine Grace Lin's rich pages to create reader and classroom activities in science, math, art, calligraphy, cooking, ancestry, and the fine art of discussion. You can view and download that activity kit (designed by Grace's sister) and use it to spice up your wee reading of the book. (Many thanks to Betsy Thompson for help with the Chinese characters.)

Next up--testing an event kit for the same delicious book.

Adventures with Adventure Annie

2009-06-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

Just put the final edits on an Activity Kit with my kickin' designer colleague, Jen Steele for the picture book, Adventure Annie Goes to Work.

Author, Toni Buzzeo declares it "spectacular." The fine folks at Penguin say it is the "best thing ever."

Adventure Annie's superheroine adventures are thwarted when Mom gets called into work on a Saturday to find a missing report. Adventure Annie finds adventure, though, in the hunt for the report and in the many other distractions of the office.

This book (illustrated by Amy Wummer) is a boon for working moms who have to explain that work sometimes has to come first and that with a little bit of compromise and imagination, the change in plans can be (gasp) fun.

The Activity Kit extends that theme by creating ready-made office based activities that can be whipped out at any expected office stay.

Curious City is looking to promoting the book and activity kit to working mom bloggers.

Wee Thoughts for Creators:
-Think about how you make your picture book USEFUL to someone beyond just a good read-aloud
-If you publisher cannot provide an activity kit, use someone like me or a teacher to brainstorm activities. You can likely write the activities yourself (the wunderkind, Toni Buzzeo did in this case).
-Ask your publisher for high res images from the book to jazz-up the activities
-Hire a designer. It is NOT as expensive as you would think. Tips on that (perhaps) later.

Illustration by Amy Wummer.

Speedy Site

2009-05-24T13:36:00.001-07:00

Website in a hurry? Okay. Website in a hurry and no money tucked aside to make it quite yet? No Problem...?

Author, Peter Gould and I met on his sweet embankment above the Whetstone Brook in Vermont at the breaking of Spring and decided we had this wee problem.

Peter was soon on his way to talk in front of the HPAlliance, an incredible international online Harry Potter fan group that has stayed together to confront the types of real world tyranny that their Hogwarts counterparts battled in fiction.

How to speak in front of these brilliant readers with even more brilliant web connections without a website of your own? Blogger to the rescue. In two hours, we constructed connected Blogger pages that function pretty much like a website. Perfect? No. But all Peter's info is there in a completely editable format for a mere $150 (including the purchase of the swell title font).

Wee Thoughts for Creators:
-Explore the power of Blogger for quickie websites. The application is quite versatile and easy to use these days.
-Know that Blogger is now 'in like Flynn' with Google so any Blogger posts come up quick nicely in Google searches.
-Explore the "Customize" function of Blogger for all sorts of cool things to appear in the columns.
-Want more than the fonts in your own drop-down? Try My Fonts Category Page. You type in your name or phrase and they show it to you in 100's of fonts. A good time waster if nothing else.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

2009-05-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

Curious City threw out the Wizard of Oz references with tacky abandon at the Spring New England Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

We liken the pursuit of publication to the trip down the yellow brick road meeting cowards, heroes, witches (good and bad), and a few flying monkeys or two. We likened NYC publishing to the Emerald one--for both its glitter and glam and for our ability to place more hope into our success there then the wizards of publishing could ever deliver on.

We collectively cringed at the figures--the numbers of books published and the percentages of marketing money spent on the "big" books verses the not so. Did we place blame? Oh, no. Although, this business feels taxed and beset on all fronts--writers, illustrators, and publishers are after the same thing--children reading and growing.

We rallied our spirits with the knowledge that we possess the darn ruby slippers--the thing that we have brought with us through this whole strange journey--our stories and our creativity.

What Curious City does COULD be called marketing and COULD be called publicity, but what we do is closer to discovery. Helping creators discover a thread of their story and then helping them discover an audience who will be intrigued by that story and who will share it with their peers. Working hand-in-hand with those grand Wizards of Oz in publishing, we hope to help creators get discovered and read.

Pictured is the patient (and brilliant) audience of creators declaring that sometimes you have to take off the tinted green glasses to see the realities (and possibilities) of Oz.

Hey, Little Ant Marches to Sailsbury U.

2009-04-20T06:02:00.000-07:00

Phil Hoose and I are just back from a grand trundle down to Salisbury University for the Green Earth Book Awards and the Children's & Young Adult Literature Festival wrapping up a year's celebration of Hey, Little Ant's (Tricycle Press) decade in print.

So much frolic and logic to report, but first up was the surprise appearance at one of the events by one Ian Whisner, a second grader sporting a copy of Phil's book, Hey, Little Ant.

Ian had received an Honorable Mention for his essay in the Hey, Little Ant Essay Challenge last year. He stopped by to tell Phil that he thought Hey, Little Ant was great and to tell Phil he liked to bring bugs to school and, well, yes, a snake now and again.

I happened to have Ian's essay in my bag to show Children's Lit profs and superheros, Patty Dean and Ernie Bond of Salisbury University. Patty and Ernie brought Salisbury on as a sponsor of Essay Challenge and because of their connections with area teachers brought in 1/4 of the 2,000 national essays submitted in the challenge.

I whipped out Ian's essay and said, "You are THIS Ian??" He beamed and agreed to sign his essay for Phil while Phil signed Ian's copy of Hey, Little Ant. Two writers sharing mutal admiration.

Thank you Patty Dean and Ernie Bond for all the fab work you do introducing teachers to children's literature so that they in turn can introduce them to fab young minds like Ian's.

Later that evening, Phil presented the original cover illustration by Debbie Tilley to Salisbury University for their long support of the book and read Ian's essay to the crowd. In his essay, Ian is answering the book's final question--whether or not the boy should squish the ant. Watch Phil read Ian's essay below (and wait through the lost page or you will miss the final great line)!

Wee Thoughts for Creators:
-The hardest thing about self promotion is that you often do not see the results, just as you often never see your readers. Remember that you are touching readers grand little brains and sometimes you migth just be surprised and reminded as Phil and I were here.

-Google your book until your eyes cross. Who likes your book and what are they dong with it? Phil's picture book has been in print for ten years. Until last year, Phil has not idea that an incredible group of educators in Salisbury, MD were using his book to teach teachers. A quite fabulous friendship and partnership has followed opening up the opportunity for a whole series of promotional events.

Great Gracious Grant

2009-04-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

Anne Sibley O'Brien and I were awarded the fine news that we had received a grant from the Maine Arts Commission (glory be their name) to produce 15 profile postcards to support her outreach for After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of NonViolent Resistance.

Charlesbridge Publishing has already done heroic work for the book producing a stand-alone website, downloadable posters, an ed guide, a book trailer, and a widget. They also did extensive outreach to peace, justice, and social action groups and publications.

Anne Sibley O'Brien, the writer, illustrator, activist that never rests asked, "what can I do and how do I pay for it?"

We decided since the pub had social networking covered, we would reach out to the groups associated with each of the 15 figures and movements profiled in the book. Using Anne's water soluble pastel B&W portraits and the bold, beautiful design choices of the Charlesbridge Publishing art director, Susan Sherman, we are madly at work producing a series of oversized postcards to gift to the social action world.

Bring your address book to the Portland, ME Launch Party on May 1. We will be leading a major postcard writing campaign to activists, educators, and readers. Free prints to anyone that writes a postcard and a free book to the busiest postcard writer.

Wee Thoughts for Creators:
-After asking yourself who is MOST likely to buy the book, then ask yourself the best means to reach them. Who? Our answer was activists and promoters of the persons profiled. How? We researched addresses and sent the out strongest tool --Anne's striking portraits.

-If you are an illustrator, look at art grants. They often look at grass roots efforts to promote fine art. Promoting your picture book MAY fall into their parameters.

-Do what Anne does, continue to ask "what's next and how do we pay for it?" It is never too late to be promote your titles.

It's the End of the World (With Swearing)

2009-04-07T05:52:00.000-07:00

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." --Albert Einstein

Author, Charlotte Agell led her televised appearance at The Portland Public Library's First Friday Author Talk (to be broadcast on CTN) with the above quote and the advice that quoting a genius on TV can only make you look good.

Curious City invited 80 King Middle School students who are studying Science Fiction to attend the filming of Charlotte's talk about her YA dystopia novel, Shift. We solicited Charlotte's permission to copy the first 4 chapters for students to read before the event.

Charlotte captivated the students with apologies for the swearing in the book (she never does, but her frustrated character just had to), advice on writing (throw a penguin in for comic relief), the revelation of symbolism (the compass is also a cross), the revelation of hidden meanings (the city of AtroCity is an ...atrocity), and encouragement to ask WHAT IF? as a writer.

Charlotte spoke to the gathered students as fellow writers taking down the walls of the author/reader relationship or teacher/student relationship. She further demystified herself and writing in general by talking about her weaknesses as a writer and the odd paths both political and personal that led to the novel.

She really drew the students in when she confessed that she agreed with a middle school student critic that the climax of the novel passed too quickly. She invited students to write that missing chapter for her to post on her website. The offer flew through the room like an electric charge.

The Q&A was equally as compelling as the students had read a portion of the book and the fabulous faculty at King Middle School had worked with them on questions. Questions flew like, "Was Adrian's fascination with birds symbolic of something?"

Read more about how this picture book author/illustrator was pushed to write a cautionary endgame of a novel about a wounded America taken over by a (rather non-Christian) Christian totalitarian government in this fabulous interview.

More Pictures from the event.

Wee Thoughts for Creators:
-Build your audience for appearances. Don't expect the venue to do all the work. Think about who should be there and what is in for them. In this case, we pitched a "free field trip."

-Give something away. No book sales will be harmed by giving away chapters. (Ask publisher permission, of course.)

Foreigner in the House of Comic Con

2009-02-11T06:14:00.000-08:00

kAs a foreigner in the house of Comic Con from the much more tepid world of book trade shows, I wondered often and heartily over the weekend at "fandom." As someone who as a living tries to increase the readership of books for children, I marvel that Graphia (the new haute word for manga, comic books, and graphics novels) has FANS, not readers.

How different a writer's life would be if, say, (our dear departed) John Updike had readers pressing towards him at conventions dressed like Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom. I mean, the costume would not be so hard.

I saw many wonders of fandom. Comic Con began in the early morning hours of Friday as I hiked to the Javitz to set up the Nemo Publishing booth. Beside me was a large African American teen sporting a Celtics fleece and a enormous Japanese broadsword over his shoulder. He was given only an eye roll from security as we passed side by side into the show.

At the end of the show after the last of our booth had been shrink wrapped onto its pallet headed for Maine, we hit the local diner to sit beside Wonder Woman on a date with someone she picked up at the show. Her date declared in the imperative explanations of first dates, "...I am Portuguese actually, although most people think I am Samoan." When did she and Steve Trevor break up?

In between I saw a paper mache Hulk, a Jedi dragging a LL Bean suitcase, a Wookie signing autographs, a rather amazing African American Leia, zombies drinking smoothies, an 8-year-old dressed as Doctor Who (complete with the David Tennant hair gel), many, many Jokers in pilfered nurse uniforms, and anime characters that I will never, ever have the reference for.

As all the eye candy passed by the booth of Nemo Publishing where I was so proudly stationed, I tried to catch their eye and ear with story. The more contemplative ones stopped to listen and we have many fine sales and contacts for Maine's own Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli, but even so I resented the sea of people hell bent on the pursuit of fandom and deaf to my charms.

Eventually the sea pulled me in and I who scoffed at it all found the minutia of my own fandom. Could I really have a David Tennant Doctor Who action figure to toy with in my dark hours for only $29.95? I looked in my wallet and decided the Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom action figure will have to wait.

Capt'n Eli Videos & Pics from Comic Con

Curious City Adventures at Comic Con

Oh, So Sweet!

2009-01-28T15:20:00.000-08:00

Leave it to me to book my return flight from ALA Midwinter at the same time as the awards are being announced. As I land in Detroit all 100 passengers discover they have missed their connecting flights.

Everyone is shouting at the flight attendants or complaining into their cells. I click online to check the awards. There I find that Melissa Sweet has won a Caldecott Honor and Beth Krommes has won the biggie. I start whooping and laughing and jumping up and down in the middle of the angry crowd. Silence descends. The mob is all staring at me.

I think, first person killed for a Caldecott--a fate I had coming.

CONGRATULATIONS MELISSA & BETH!!!

Lunch Box Illustrators Land Caldecott

2009-01-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

There was much dancing of jigs by Curious City at the ALA Award news this week.

Illustrator, Beth Krommes took the Caldecott Medal for her (beyond) lovely picture book, The House in the Night. Curious City Lunch Box attendees will remember her meticulous illustration style of pulling a reverse image out of ink-saturated scratchboard. Where you there?

The dancing continued with much abandon when it was announced that Melissa Sweet took a Caldecott Honor for the illustrations for A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams. Melissa's layering of colored pencil, bits of paper, old book jackets, hand-drawn fonts, and Williams poems surpasses all of her other brilliant work.

Curious City and the kids of Maine have much to thank Melissa for. We remember best making birds nests with her for a Lunch Box celebration of her illustrations in the book, The Boy That Drew Birds.

Discover more of the ALA Book Awards.

Some Social Justice

2008-12-11T15:57:00.000-08:00

NAACP president, Benjamin Jealous not only got a key to Portland, Maine, but a stack of young adult literature as well.

As part of Human Rights Day: Marking the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the keynote speaker Benjamin Jealous was presented with books on social justice from Curious City clients, Phillip Hoose, Anne Sibley O'Brien, and Maria Testa.

Phil Hoose presented his forthcoming young adult biography of Claudette Colvin, the brave 15-year-old who refused to give up her seat to a white woman in 1955 Montgomery, Alabama. Benjamin Jealous nodded vigorously as Phil described Claudette's act of courage on the bus and later as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle. The book, Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice will release from FSG on Martin Luther King Day, 2009.

Anne Sibley O'Brien beamed at the audience of 400+ and talked about the victory of Barrack Obama and his call for social action and sacrifice. No better way to prepare than to read the sixteen profiles of activists in Anne's forthcoming book, After Gandhi: 100 Years of Nonviolent Resistance. Written with her son Perry O'Brien, the book's design is stunning-- from Annie's black and white water soluble pastel illustrations, to the leader's quotes emblazoned in red to the compact, concise, intriguing prose. The book will be out in February 2009 from Charlesbridge Publishers.

Maria Testa took the stage with the same eloquence, poise, and perfection of language she displays in her prose poetry novels. Maria presented the NAACP president with her book, Something About America, the novel about one refugee family's reaction to racism (or the thing that is "not supposed to happen in America.") Although the incidents Maria writes about took place six years ago in Maine, the audience immediately drew the connection to acts of racism in Maine since the election. Audience members that work with the refugee and New American population in Portland approached Maria after the event to tell her how much the book had meant to them.

All in all a very heady night. Thanks to Rachel Talbot Ross, the president of Maine's NAACP for giving us the opportunity to do this and for producing an all around brilliant evening.

Pictured Benjamin Jealous, the president of the national NAACP and Rachel Talbot Ross, president of the Maine NAACP. Photo by the Portland Press Herald.

Online Flapdoodle

2008-12-07T13:59:00.001-08:00

Curious City just finished up a website for author Amy MacDonald. Having just released, Too Much Flapdoodle that includes the same line up of eccentric characters as her chapter books, No More Nice and No More Nasty, we decided to create a greater "series presence" for her books.

As the third book did not follow the naming mechanism of "No More..." we created a themed website based on the character's names and quirks.

As the books deal with the formerly straight-laced boys, Simon and Parker spending time with their wacky luddite Maine relatives, we decided that the site would be built by and authored by Simon and Parker. The boys launched "Mattie and Philbert's World" to pass on the Un-Lessons handed down to them by their great aunt and uncle.

The site intentionally includes lots of PDF Downloads to provide materials for classroom, homeschool, and young reader use. They include everything from multiplication tricks to how to play songs with your armpits.

Also in support of Too Much Flapdoodle, we helped Amy create a character blog for Parker to pass on the luddite oddities of his summer with Aunt Mattie and Uncle Philbert --like how to build a turtle trap.

Big Books in the Big Apple

2008-11-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

Just back from a swoop through the New York publishing offices on a buying trip for Raising Readers.

I have over 237 board and picture books in play (and stacked on my office floor) to select from for the literacy group's upcoming book selection committee meeting.

The group gives 12-15 books to Maine kids from birth to age 5 at their well child doctor visits. The organization has given out 1.2 million books in the last seven years!

If under pen point I had to choose the work I love the most, it would be hunting down and narrowing down what books amongst 1000's published each year, the group considers.

Also on my "to do" are events for Raising Readers, building an annual anthology for 5-year-olds, and maintaining their Blog.

Here I am pictured with Anne Quirion and Diane Skog from Raising Readers, happy as a clam to be headed into the Scholastic Store to read picture books upon the long tail of the Marc Teague dino.

More pictures.

Illustration Huzzahs

2008-11-09T07:11:00.000-08:00

Huzzah! Huzzah! The brilliant Melissa Sweet has been feted as such this morning in the New York Times Book Review.

Her stunner of a many-layered tribute to the poetic mind of William Carlos Williams, River of Words (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers) has been named "Best Illustrated."

You must get your dear paws on this book to savor the collage of fonts, old book covers, watercolors, and bits of this-and-that that mirror Williams' creativity. Read a brief interview with Melissa about the book.

Also honored for her collage work is Carin Berger, the final guest in the sorely missed Lunch Box Series. Her book The Little Yellow Leaf is stark and startling. A beautiful treatise on patience and the passing of seasons. Lovely, lovely work.

The other "well met" choice is genius, Kadir Nelson. His book We Are the Ship collects his breathtaking portraits of the Negro Leagues. You have not seen light until you have see light reflected off his figures and faces.

View a slide show of the 2008 Best Illustrated from the NYTBR.

What DID Lincoln Say?

2008-11-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

Was pleased to work with the HarperCollins marketing department to create a mailing for Sarah L. Thomson's upcoming picture book, What Lincoln Said. Beautifully illustrated by James E. Ransome, the book frames Lincoln's bio for the 6-10-year-old set with quotes from the brilliant man.

Curious City mined the Lincoln Bicentennial website following up every event, talk, symposium, museum, and store where kids will be interacting with the story of Lincoln over the coming year.

The mailing included Sarah L. Thomson's reader's guide and a F&G of the book all shipped in my new secret-weapon-mailer. Ah, the things we get excited about. Thanks to Tami Kennedy, (the bright star of marketing at Capt'n Eli) for the mailer tip.

Talk Like a Pirate

2008-09-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

Ahoy, Mateys! Your ship has come in!

Plunder awaits at Sarah L. Thomson's website. To launch her picture book, Pirates, Ho!, Sarah and I joined audio book narrator, William Dufris in his studio to record an uproarious reading of the piratical picture book.

Listen to the reading and see pictures of the madcap recording session.

We shout, "Avast!" We cry, "Ahoy!"
The deadliest danger's our greatest joy.
From the first mate down to the cabin boy,
we are pirates, pirates, ho!

I Walk the Line

2008-09-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

Story Walk, a project Curious City is helping Let's Go! design and launch, walked again this month.

Story Walk allows families to follow the pages of a picture book along a path to encourage both literacy and movement.

This time we used the ever madcap tale, Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee by Chris Van Dusen (Chronicle Books).

Alice Design helped us redesign the concept by photographing an actual open book. Seeing the edges of the pages, the cover, and the shadow of the gutter made the signage look all the more BOOK.

I love this pic of a Frisbee put on hold for a spot of reading. More pictures here.

Thanks to Chris for letting us use this fab picture book! Thanks to Banacom Sign for the speedy and brilliant print job.

We Are Pirates, Pirates, Ho!

2008-08-29T08:51:00.001-07:00

Some picture books simply require you to make silly voices. To promote Sarah L. Thomson's piratical picture book, Pirates, Ho! we went to the king of silly voices --William Dufris.

Sarah Thomson and I giggled (until we snorted-I am embarrassed to say) as we sat in Dufris' studio hearing him give voice to Sarah's characters Peg-Leg Tom, Angus Black, Dreadful Nell and One-Eyed Jack. He even dived into the crystal clear waters voicing characters pictured, but not named like the pelican "brwak" and the cabin boy.

We pick up the recording today, will sync it with Stephen Gilpin's illustrations, and hope to share it as an audio and video perfect for Talk Like a Pirate Day.

I, myself, have been Talking Like William Dufris for more than a Day!

More Pictures of the recording session.

Every Dog Deserves A...

2008-08-25T08:09:00.001-07:00

Bone, certainly, but a Home most definitely.

Finally had the chance to photograph the Every Dog Deserves a Home game that I developed to promote Tupelo Rides the Rails by Melissa Sweet and the supporting website that raises funds for dog shelters, www.MyDogisaBonehead.com.

The game pairs illustration matching with canine wish fulfillment (both visual and written) to model dog adoption for kids. Basically, kids give each dog character in the book a home. You can view the whole game and game path here.

Thanks once again to Alice Design for laying out the game cards and the houses. And to my brilliant partner who built the perfect little back doors for the houses.

My Dog is a BONEHEAD

2008-08-20T19:17:00.001-07:00

Spotted on the streets of Portland, Maine today was this driver's proclamation that their dog is a BONEHEAD.
Who or what are the BONEHEADS? The "Benevolent Order of Nature’s Exalted Hounds Earnest And Doggedly Sublime" (of course) AND the stars of Melissa Sweet's latest picture book for dog doters of all ages, Tupelo Rides the Rails (Houghton Mifflin).

You can declare your dog a BONEHEAD and receive your own bumper sticker at her swell new hilarious interactive website. Any fun BONEHEADS merchandise you buy goes to help dog shelters. Hurrah!

(Great design on the bumper sticker & merch, Charles & Margo.)

The Golden Girls (and Boys)

2008-07-10T05:31:00.000-07:00

I am absolutely in love with this image this fine morning. I might just extract myself from my desk, buy a train ticket and a snack cracker and head for NYC.

Golden Legacy: Original Art from 65 Years of Golden Books
Children’s Museum of Manhattan
New York, NY
July 4 - August 28, 2008

View 60 masterpieces of original illustration art by legendary artists like Garth Williams, Feodor Rojankovsky, Tibor Gergely (great emigre artists), Gustaf Tenggren, Martin Provensen, J. P. Miller, and Mary Blair (Disney folk), Leonard Weisgard, Eloise Wilkin, Elizabeth Orton Jones, Richard Scarry, and Hilary Knight.

My favorite Little Golden Book as a wee lass was Little Mommy written and illustrated by Sharon Kane. This little charmingly sexist ditty (Little Mommy stays home with the babies and has questionable lunches alone with the doctor) must have been an absolute torture to my mother who was trying to raise me as a pureblood feminist tomboy. Ever wonder why you never see me in pants? Pure rebellion through and through.

What Golden Book was at your bedside?

Book Spy at a Comics Convention: Fans Vs. Readers

2008-07-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

Well, dear readers, the comic business has been buzzing through my bookbabebrain ever since returning from the grand Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC.

What can all those swell, cool, passionate comic book fans and creators teach us in the book biz who struggle against the structures of Byzantine book publishing? I will be posting a few of my thoughts (as they were) over the next week.

FANS VS. READERS
Comic book conventions are not about librarians, educators, retailers or publishers (as they are in the book biz). Comic book conventions are about and for FANS. Fans? Who are fans?

Fans are readers. Fans are readers that follow writers and artists through their entire body of work down to each minute publication. Fans may have questions about character origins, future stories, may line up to watch you draw, may pay $100 for you to draw something for them, and may even DRESS UP like your character. Fans want to be "in" on a new storyline or publication. They want to know about something before anyone else.

Book readers do not behave quite in this way. Do they not have the attention span from book to book? Is the book publishing world at fault for being too slow? Are we writers too slow? What can be done to speed up our process and is there a role for more serialization in children's literature?

Should more events welcome legions of book readers as fans? And how DO we get them to dress up??

I will be exploring this all the marketing of my client's work. Other folks can look to the history of the book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid for clues.

My Hero!

2008-06-15T10:53:00.001-07:00

Pleased as punch to be off to the Hero's Convention this week with comic book artist, Jay Piscopo. We have been busy over the last six months working with master marketer, Tami Kennedy and game designer, Ed Evans to create a collectible card game (and other treats) to promote Jay's new graphic novel, The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli.

You can get your hands on this great new comic and the collectible cards at upcoming events, online and quite soon in Maine at Casablanca Comics.

I will be sweetly geeking out over all the new comic books and graphic novels at Heroes and will send news and pics from there!

Irrascible, Anyone?

2008-06-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Gore Vidal was interviewed by Deborah Solomon for the New York Times Magazine today. It is not to be missed. Read it here.

Although, I make my living in the new world of publishing helping authors & illustrators reach out to readers, this does make me pine (momentarily) for the days when writers wrote in their smoked-filled rooms and all others be damned (darned).

Still, Vidal reminds us of the pure cultural superiority of writers and artists. I cannot agree more.

Livestock Rocked

2008-06-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

Cannot begin to tell you how much bovinity divinity was celebrated at Livestock: This Summer's Picture Books of Livestock, Love & Udderstanding. Children's books by David Elliott, Suzy Becker, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Lori Korcheck and Marshall Taylor were paraded through the Strolling of the Heifers parade and then feted at the Dairy Festival under the Livestock tent.

Each author had a hands-on activity for kids ranging from the Great Cow Count (how many cows in an old Barbie Volkswagon bus) to Punk Farm Cow (collage to create a punked out Holstein). Each book also had stage time from Bad Barnyard Jokes (open mike for yuckster youngsters) to Punk Farm on Stage (Jarrett Krosoczka reading with punk accompaniment).

We also had real life livestock (from drama queen pigs to newborn sheep) and more beautiful weather and thick clover between our toes to last the whole summer through.

Visit the Livestock site for more dairy-licious details. Look at Livestock Photos. Or see the Punk Farm YouTube Video!

Boneheads Beach Party

2008-05-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

Simply delicious. Melissa Sweet feted all things BONEHEAD on May 25th on the most perfect day on the East End Beach.

Dogs packed the beach, followed their dog hero Garbage Pail Tex, got treats from FETCH, met Shelter Dogs up for adoptions, had their portrait taken, and rode the rails just like Melissa's characters the BONEHEADS in her new book, Tupelo Rides the Rails.

The event was a visual splendor owing to Melissa's exuberant visual style and sewing prowess. The "Every Dog Deserves a Home" Game invented by Curious City brains and designed by Alice Design worked swimmingly. Kids received the BONEHEADS Pack--all thirteen lost dogs and their wishes for a perfect home on 13 postcards. They then wound their way through houses staked out on the lawn to find the perfect home for the dog. They slid the dog card through a slot that read, "Give the house a dog" and were left with the one dog they thought was perfect for their home.

You can now declare your dog a BONEHEAD, receive a free sticker in the mail and by doing so support shelters. Check it out at www.mydogisabonehead.com

Thanks to Fetch, The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad, Books Etc., Alice Design, Kennebunk Animal Shelter, Marti Stone Photography, White Dogs Arts, Garbage Pail Tex, Mark Mattos Photography and the unflappable and lovely Aldona Shumway for making this a brilliant event.

More Photos

Follow the Path of Pages

2008-05-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

Thrilled to be working with Tory Rogers, M.D. and Jill Prescott of the Children's Co-op , the folks at Let's Go! and Diane Skog of Raising Readers to develop the idea and design for Story Walk.

Story Walk allows families to walk alongside a path reading the pages of a picture book--thus combining literacy and physical activity.

We are developing the pilot with Cathryn Falwell's SCOOT! because of all its delicious action words.

Cathryn has created additional action illustrations that show kids how to move like the animals in the story.

Stay tuned for more news on the program. Now scoot, scurry, hurry, your way to the Story Walk Photos.

LUV : N @ LYF

2008-05-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I just have to say that I am.

Just back from a weekend working with up and coming authors on self-promotion plans at Haystack (aka the most delicious place on the planet).

Proud as pumpkin pie to be working currently with fabulous authors and illustrators like David Elliott, Anne Sibley O'Brien, Melissa Sweet, Phillip Hoose, Jay Piscipo, Lita Judge, Jamie Hogan, Jamie Harper, Maria Testa, Sarah L. Thomson and Cathryn Falwell. They are all bold and brilliant and it is a damn honor to help them make whatever connection I can with their readers.

The insurmountably swell, Cathryn Falwell, gave me a gift certificate to Edith & Edna here in Portland and I walked home with this beauty from the designers at What's Your Type? I am not usually a subscriber to those life affirming (yick) messages, but this bracelet with antique typewriter keys really makes me sanguine.

What's Your Type? does custom work. What would yours say, groovy reader?

Hey, Little Ant Essay Challenge Judged

2008-05-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

Should the Ant get squished, should the ant go free? We leave the Kid with the raised up shoe. What do you think that Kid should do?
-Picture Book, Hey, Little Ant

A fine group of educators, parents and children's book authors gathered at the home of author, Phillip Hoose to judge the artwork entries by Kindergarten thru 3rd Graders to the Hey, Little Ant Essay Challenge. There was much concentration, debate, and laughter as the amazing submissions were reviewed.

Meanwhile across the country, 17 additional judges are reviewing the writing samples submitted online by kids in Grades K-3. Results will be announced on May 21, 2008 at The Hey, Little Ant Essay Challenge website.

More Photos
Photos by Mark Mattos

Young Readers Underserved in New City Plan

2008-05-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

Is it Portland City Council's $30,000 cut to the library budget? Is it the Portland Public Library's hasty decision? Or is it the economy, stupid?

Either way, The Portland Public Library plans to close The Reiche Library, the only neighborhood branch in Portland's working class and low income West End. 60+ kids, parents, seniors and other citizens turned out for a near spontaneous protest of the closure.

PPL director Steve Podgajny bravely stepped into the fray of citizens who were asking, "why Reiche", "where will our kids go?" and "why not cut from other branches?" Podgajny's answers were about budgets, circulation rates, and tough choices, but no one walked away satisfied.

I have heard of further changes to children's services in the city as a result of budget cuts and the main branch's reconstruction that combined with the closure of Reiche will SERIOUSLY curtail children's book services in the city.

Adults can wait a few years for budgets and branches to shake out, kids CANNOT. A few years of limited access to free children's literature can have a huge negative impact on a child's development and literacy skills. HEALTHY LITERACY = EASY ACCESS.

I urge everyone in the city to attend the PPL Trustee Meeting at 4:00 PM on May 14th at the Main Branch. Changes to Children's Services will be on the table not only for the West End, but for the WHOLE CITY.

Portland Press Herald Article on Closure

Photos from Protest

Toast The BONEHEADS

2008-05-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

A stupendous group of fellow artists, readers, and other dog lovers showed up to raise their glasses (of dog wine) to TOAST THE BONEHEADS. The BONEHEADS are the stars of Melissa Sweet's new picture book, Tupelo Rides the Rails.

Humans stood around munching bog bones, reading books, and discussing Melissa's initiative to help dog shelters--www.mydogisabonehead.com. Fab website to launch May 25th thanks to White Dog Arts.

The party was held at the deliciously eclectic studios of SNAP Productions where Scott Nash, Scott Whitehouse and artist Nancy Gibson Nash explore children's properties including good old kids' books.

Stopping by to Toast Melissa Sweet were fellow children's authors and illustrators Anne Sibley O'Brien, Jennifer Jacobson, Jamie Harper (and her Boston posse), Mary Anne Lloyd, Chris Van Dusen, Leane Morin (and her intriguing friends), Cathryn Falwell (and creative entourage including MuggleFest Architect, Dave Craig), and Sarah L. Thomson.

From the book profession (that I profess to be a part of) came librarians Jan Hamilton, Rita Swidrowski and the new children's editor for Kirkus Reviews (hurrah, hurrah!) Vicki Smith. Slinging books to the crowd were Books Etc. booksellers extraordinaire, Donna Gerardo and Jim O'Grady.

Also there were the hopelessly creative friends of Melissa, writer Deb Dalfonso, painter Deb Hides, Melissa Pritchard, Jack Bernazzani, Marecella Sweet, photographer Mark Mattos, Kathy Palmer of Fetch, Gary Robinov of White Dog Arts, Karen Ogg, Aldona Shumway, Youssef Ayad, Gail Spain, and more, more, more!

What a truly boneheaded evening.

More Photos

The Attorney General's Brain

2008-05-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

Spent the morning being gesticulated at with a rubber brain. Who knew Maine's Attorney General had an extra?

Well he does and he has put it to fine use. Maine Attorney General, Steve Rowe is out stumping for the brains of wee ones. Citing the incredible figure that 85% of brain development occurs by the age of three (90% by age 6), he made the case that it made good economic (if not moral) sense to support early childhood development.

He showed a brilliant graph of educator salaries laid over the arch of brain development. A college professor making an average of $60K serves us at our time of lowest brain growth while early childhood educators make an average of $16K in the most crucial time in our development. Doesn't take a brain surgeon to see something wrong here.

I was stunned and ecstatic to hear Barack Obama also voicing anger over the the abysmal salaries of early childhood educators in his Zero to Five plan.

Dare we hope that we will stop leaving so many children behind??

Comic Book Heroes

2008-04-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

South Portland, Maine middle school librarians, Connie Burns and Dan Wolotsky strike a pose after an evening celebrating kid created comics.

Check out the comics created in Comic Life by Memorial Middle School kids and Mahoney Middle School kids.

These two never fail to take advantage of every grand opportunity books or authors offer. This year they pulled off a fabulous school wide read of Maria Testa's Something About America and a comic book workshop with Anne Sibley O'Brien for The Legend of Hong Kil Dong.

They are also known to careen across the bridge with students for author events at the Portland Public Library. They provided agog boys for a comic afternoon with Jeff Kinney for his series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and they provided a roomful of brilliant girls to see Mitali Perkins and Jamie Hogan present Rickshaw Girl.

Darn nice to work with brains like these.

Tournment of Turtles

2008-04-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

Mad Turtle, indeed. Cathryn Falwell and I trundled up to LL Bean in Freeport for a few hours to promote SCOOT! on the flagstones of their mighty flagship store. Using Cathryn's cleverly simple puppet form, kids created every variation of tussling turtles.

Always say, "yes" to a LL Bean signing. They are very dedicated to the books and authors they host.

More Photos

Pirate or a Pest?

2008-04-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

We were pleased (as punch) to throw a small event for Geoffrey Hayes for his grand early reader comic book, Benny and Penny in Just Pretend.

Geoffrey read to the crowd about Benny, who insists that he has a pirate ship and his younger sister, Penny, who declares in a younger-sister-pest-like way, that it is a BOX. Rather funny sibling squabbling ensues.

Geoffrey's audience was rapt during the reading, settled in to create their own comics and then took turns having Polaroid snapshots taken in the H.M.S. Toon.

The H.M.S. Toon was our tribute to the new line of early reader comics, Toon Books and our piratical imaginations. Over lunch, Geoffrey who has spent over 30 years in the children's book biz, says that his faith in the medium has been restored by the incredible work being done by Francoise Mouly at Toon Books. We could not agree more.

Thanks to Casablanca Comics and Maples Gelateria for being such swell hosts.

More Photos

Cookin' Up Somethin' with Baby Bundt

2008-04-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

Kirsten Cappy may not have bun in the oven, but perhaps a bundt. We are pleased to be working with the bright and hilarious board book line from author / illustrator Jamie Harper, Baby Bundt.

Big sister will be doing some bossy social networking and using her brother's charms to wheedle their way into to baby gift baskets across the country.

Castle Dweller

2008-04-15T06:26:00.000-07:00

Once told by an editor that his illustrations were, "so strange there is not a manuscript to go with them," Kevin Hawkes has found his way to many a fine manuscript.

From arrogant mermaids, to flying pianos, to library lions, to vomiting sisters, to dueling divas, to wicked big toddlahs, Kevin has blessed kiddie's lit with his delicious strange.

Speaking last weekend at the New England Society for Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, Kevin talked about his childhood in Europe. His father always carried a hatchet in the car for the occasions when heavily vined roadsides could be turned into swings for his children. A few hatchet hacks and Kevin was swinging across the French countryside. "I was Wesley," he said referring to the character in the picture book, Weslandia who created his own backyard civilization.

Is it any wonder that Kevin so perfectly captures the unique European brand of humorous fantasy displayed in his illustrations of Eva Ibbotson's chapter books? "I do not need to imagine old castles, "Kevin said, "I played in them."

Illustration from Kevin Hawkes' sketchbook for eeBoo.

Digital Diva

2008-04-15T06:12:00.001-07:00

As I sit here hoping UPS will not arrive early and catch me in my kitty PJ's, I hail the Queen of Pajama Promotion, Mitali Perkins. At last weekend's New England Society for Children's Book Writer's & Illustrators (SCBWI or "Skibby"), Mitali wowed the crowd with her widget wisdom, promotions prowess and her ability to out network the stars.

I have since trashed my idea for the Curious City website of services. With thoughts of digital slide shows dancing in my head, I am reimagining my site. Stay tuned. Thanks, Mitali!

Mitali (r.) pictured with a framed illustration by Jamie Hogan (l.) from the chapter book, Rickshaw Girl.

Illustrator Luv

2008-04-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

No one can deny my puppy love for children's lit. The recent New England SCBWI Conference found me smooching creators left and right. Here I am shamelessly appreciating the work of Jamie Hogan, the illustrator of Mitali Perkin's fabulous chapter book, Rickshaw Girl.

Attention, art directors!! Jamie Hogan needs to be illustrating your chapter books. Her drawing skills are absolutely exquisite. Keep an eye on her portfolio and blog and specifically, her entries about illustrating Mitali's novel set in Bangladesh. Curious City is happy to be helping Jamie in any darn way we can.

Smooching Snapshot taken by grand illustrator herself, Terri Weidner.

Charming the Archivist

2008-04-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

"Make friends with your archivist," advised Lita Judge to a roomful of children's historical fiction writers at the 2008 SCBWI New England Conference. I have been friends with some anarchists, but I have yet to embrace the chroniclers of paper, ephemera and all things past. I am putting it on my to do list.

Lita told the story of finding a box of "tracings" in her grandmother's attic. The foot shaped scraps of newspaper and butcher paper were slid into envelopes addressed from Germany in the 1940's. They were the first clues in the discovery of Lita's grandmother's relief effort after WWII. Lita's family and their colleagues sent 100's of packages of shoes, clothes and food to refugee and devastated families all over Europe.

From the letters, photographs and tracings, Lita tracked down families here in the U.S. and in Europe who survived through this relief effort. From their stories came the exquisite, award-winning picture book, One Thousand Tracings. There is much to explore about the book's back matter on Lita's website and blog.

Curious City is honored to be doing a wee bit of work to help Lita & Dave Judge and this stellar offering of generosity, ingenuity and post-war forgiveness.

Illustration by Lita Judge.

Auntie to the Skibbys

2008-04-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

Just returned from the New England meeting of The Society for Children's Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI or Skibby as we call it) so nicely arranged by Anna Boll and others. Anne Sibley O'Brien (pictured smooching moi) acts as Auntie to all the Skibbys (published and soon to be published children's authors and illustrators). It is a darn delight to watch Annie encouraging the work of others whether belting out book biz cabaret with Yolanda LeRoy or looking over portfolios or asking with genuine curiosity about new projects.

She and I have had a wonderful 16 months promoting The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea. Looking forward to seeing the proofs for her Gandhi book co-created with her son, Perry O'Brien. Susan Sherman, the art director at Charlesbridge Publishers says Annie's illustrations are "extremely powerful." We do not doubt it.

Snappy snapshot by the sublime illustrator, Jamie Hogan.

Pond Creation

2008-04-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

Cathryn Falwell and Curious City have had fun dreaming up event possibilities for her new pond publication, Scoot! Readers attending her events will be able to play all the animals that leap, creep, lurch and perch their way thru her beautiful book.

Cathryn just completed this AMAZING portable pond. It is far beyond the image that Curious City dreamed up.

This Easter, Save the Egg

2008-03-22T09:56:00.001-07:00

This Easter you might consider giving the bunny a rest and helping out the dragon instead. Author, Sarah L. Thomson and Curious City devised a Dragon Egg Hunt where young readers can solve runes, protect a dragon's egg and deliver the egg safely to the Hatching Grounds. The downloadable event kit allows bookstores and libraries to feature Sarah's wonderful book, Dragon Egg and highlight the rest of their dragon book collection.

Ants Spared Across the Country

2008-03-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

It has been an absolute honor to have imagined, designed and managed The Hey, Little Ant Essay Challenge for authors, Phillip & Hannah Hoose and the 10th Anniversary of their thought-provoking picture book, Hey, Little Ant.

Kids from all over the country have been answering the question, "What do you think that kid should do?" in reference to a Kid considering squishing an Ant (who is being uncommonly vocal about her place int he world). A sampling of kids answers can be viewed on the Hey, Little Ant blog.

Raising Readers Books Ahead

2008-03-22T09:20:00.001-07:00

Curious City was pleased to once again head up the book committee in their review of over 80 books for consideration in the Raising Reader 2009 (or beyond) collection. This incredible program has given over ONE MILLION picture books and board books to Maine children under five (thanks to the Libra Foundation). The swell staff at Raising Readers and I anxiously await the final scores from the committee and the day we get to select the 12-15 books that will be given out in 2009.

The House of David

2008-03-22T09:00:00.001-07:00

The HTML has been flying around our offices as of late. Author, David Elliott is releasing so many new books this year (5?!) that our intrepid web designer had to rework his site.

We added a feature that allows him to easily edit his own Homepage and Events page. Our web impressario also redesigned his My Books page to display the myriad covers quite nicely. Congrats, David on the plethora of publications.

D is for Dinosaur Dinner

2008-03-22T08:46:00.001-07:00

It is with a big toothy T-Rex grin that we announce that we are working with Lita and Dave Judge to create a promotional treasure hunt for D is for Dinosaur for museums, libraries and bookstores.

"Avoid being the dinner of the T-Rex by finding all the hidden letters of the alphabet.

That T-Rex is hungry, strong and terrible, but he is not very smart. You can outwit him by finding the letters and knowing your dinosaur facts.

Each letter you collect gets you farther from the jaws of the T-Rex that could be behind any corner! Go!"

Sweet on Shelter Dogs

2008-03-22T08:24:00.001-07:00

Tupelo and his sock doll, Mr. Bones are in search of a pack. They discover the Boneheads, a group of stray and otherwise misplaced pups who worship the dog star, Sirius in hope of finding a home. Garbage Pail Rex (smelling of wieners) gathers them all aboard a train and takes them to a town for adoption.

Author/illustrator, Melissa Sweet and Curious City have devised a plan to help dog shelters by getting dog lovers all over the nation to register their dogs as "Boneheads." Boneheads will receive a doggy bag full of things good enough to chew and shelters will receive signed prints from Melissa to auction off at their events. Watch www.mydogisabonehead.com for dogged developments.