A Milwaukee Public Radio (89.7 FM) interview with prolific children’s author Janet Halfmann’s will air on Friday, Nov 7, at 10 AM. It is also available online at http://wuwm.com/post/south-milwaukee-childrens-book-author-releases-her-39th-40th-books
Wisconsin's Writers for Children Share Good News
A double shout out to Janet Halfmann whose Animal Teachers has received the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio’s 2014 Best Books Gold Seal. Here’s a link to the announcement:
http://www.toyportfolio.com/SingleProduct.php?ProductID=8201. Here’s what the Toy Portfolio had this to say about Animal Teachers: “How do animals learn? They don’t go to school or have books. In a charming and informative book, they learn from their teachers, their mothers, fathers and sometimes the herd they live with in the great outdoor classroom of the world. Each new idea is followed with interactive questions that give children a chance to make the connections between their world and how they learn.”
Janet says her Eggs 1, 2, 3 won the same award a couple years ago.
Janet also reports that Animal Teachers appears in the latest newsletter of the Environmental Education Association of Illinois with this mention: “This book embodies the importance of sound science with the work that we do as interpreters/educators. The possibilities for having students bark like prairie dog pups and drink like elephant Moms are endless.”
Jessica Salyer‘s YA contemporary romance novel, Secret Catch, which she wrote with Cassie Mae is debuting October 7. To celebrate, she’s having a book launch party at Moe’s Irish Pub in Wauwatosa at 6 pm on October 17 and hopes friends, colleagues and other interested folks will join her there.
Valerie Biel (Johnson) says the official release of her YA novel Circle of Nine–Beltany is October 24, coincidentally the first day of the WISCBWI Fall Conference. Here’s the book’s back cover blurb: “Since I was a little girl I’ve been labeled a freak in my small town. There’s no blending in when your mom practices an ancient pagan religion and everyone believes she’s a witch. On my 15th birthday my secret wish is the same as always – to just be normal. But that’s not what I get. Not even close.” – Brigit Quinn
More info is at Valerie’s website at www.ValerieBiel.com, including book-giveaway contests from now until the 24th via her blog, Facebook page, and Twitter.
Wisconsin Writers Write On!
There’s so much going on with Wisconsin writers and on the Wisconsin writing scene, it’s hard to keep up with it all.
First, Ann Angel, author of more than half-a-dozen books, most notably the Janis Joplin biography, Rise Up Singing, reports:
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WI Children's Writers' Good News
Here, in their own words, is good news posted by members of Wisconsin members of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators:
Janet Halfmann
My good news for September is that A Rainbow of Birds by Guardian Angel Publishing has won a Preferred Choice Award from Creative Child Magazine. The award, judged by educators and parents, is given to books that foster creativity and education in children. The winners will be featured in the big Holiday Issue of Creative Child, to be distributed in November.
Also, my newly released book, Animal Teachers, has received a very positive review from Publishers Weekly, in addition to the one it already received from Kirkus Reviews!
Ingrid Kallick
I have September news for three of our illustrators. Tia Yao, Ned Gannon and I have illustrations in the September Cricket magazine and Ned also has illustrations in the September Cobblestone, another Carus publication.
Tia and Ned illustrated stories and I illustrated the table of contents and cover.
Hooray for Wisconsin!
Miranda Paul
I have a small bit of good news regarding the We Need Diverse Books campaign – recently we gained attention at the National Book Festival with support or shout-outs from notables such as Rita Williams Garcia, Cokie Roberts (yes THAT Cokie Roberts), and Gene Luen Yang. In addition to filing for nonprofit status, we’ve also gotten mentions or write-ups from various news outlets including NBC and NPR. We have several programs in the works including more discussion panels at major conferences, but more importantly we’ve been creating diverse book resources for librarians and booksellers plus getting our diverse author scholarships, mentorships, and other programs into the beginning stages.
The evening will go something like this:
We will start at 6:30 p.m. with a reading of IF YOU WERE A DOG by Jamie Swenson (that’s me) followed by an art demonstration by Chris Raschka (the illustrator).
Book signing/snacks/mingle
Q & A with Jamie and Chris — this will be your chance to ask Mr. Raschka your business/writing/illustration related questions.
Emily [E.M.] Kokie
My good news for this month is about two upcoming events outside Wisconsin.
I’ll be on the panel “Whose Reality Gets Written?” at the 2014 YALSA Young Adult Literature Symposium in Austin, Texas, November 14-16, 2014. While the Symposium is not focused on the craft and getting published themes common to writers’ conferences, it will be two full days of panels and paper presentations on young adult literature, and has a great line up of speaking authors. (I will be speaking with authors Svati Avasthi, Steve Brezenoff, and Blythe Woolston, librarian Elizabeth Burns, and editor Andrew Karre). I encourage anyone with the time, money and inclination to travel to consider attending one of YALSA’s lit symposiums. More info on the 2014 Symposium at:http://yalitsymposium12.ning.com/page/preliminaryprogram
Children's Writers' Good News
Kate Heling and Debbie Hembrook prove (as though those in the children’s publishing business don’t already know) that patience is a virtue. “Way back in 2005, we sold a few things to Highlights. We’d almost forgotten about them but these many years later, our poem YELLOW, YELLOW, YELLOW and a related craft idea of lemon-scented play clay appear in [last] month’s Highlights. ”
Dori Chaconas reports that Viking Children’s Books has contracted to publish a Cork and Fuzz picture book to celebrate the tenth book and tenth year of the Cork and Fuzz EZ readers. The new book is a Christmas story, Dori says, due out Fall 2015.
Miranda Paul posted the cover of her book, One Plastic Bag, due out next February with artwork done by illustrator Elizabeth Zunon. Here’s the cover.
And here’s the link to Miranda’s blog post about the cover. http://mirandapaulbooks.blogspot.com
Janet Halfmann’s Animal Teachers, published by Blue Apple Books,will be out on Aug. 19. Here’s what Kirkus Reviews had to say: “Just like human children, animal babies from chicks to bear cubs learn lessons from adults around them. Spread by spread, the conversational text of this instructive title presents skills a dozen different young animals have to learn and connects them to readers . . . Nicely connecting the child to the natural world, this would be a useful opener for a unit about animas as well as a title to share with young animal lovers.”
Ann Angel, author of Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing, consulted with the U.S. Post Office on its newest Forever stamp, which features, who else? Janis Joplin It came out a few days ago.
Dolores ‘DLo’ Brown, who is also a professional photographer, has opened a studio — a first for her. To celebrate, “DLo’ is having an open house on Sept. 11. Her Happy Inu Studios is at 1223 South 23rd Street Milwaukee, WI 53204 Happy Inu Studios is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Honey-Aijou-Photography/292872844097441 and on Instagram at www.Instagram.com/honeyaijou.
Wisconsin's Writers of Children's Stories Celebrate Good News
Several members of Wisconsin’s chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators have shared their good news of the month. Here they are, in their own words:
Liza Wierner
My debut YA novel HELLO? will be published in 2015!
My good news is that my MG novel, KATE WALDEN DIRECTS: NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIE CHICKENS (coming out next month!), and the second book in the series, due next year, both got picked up at auction by CBT, which is part of Random House Germany. So Kate is going to learn how to speak German!
Janet Halfmann
“Fiddleheads to Fir Trees: Leaves in All Seasons” by Joanne Linden, was included in “CCBC Choices 2014,” the annual best-of-the-year list of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC).