Talk & Book Signing with illustrator/artist Susie Ghahremani in La Jolla, June 27

If you're in San Diego and have some time this evening, consider making a trip to La Jolla to attend this event:
Join illustrator and artist Susie Ghahremani tonight as she shares her work and the secrets behind the making of the artwork for her picture book, What Will Hatch? (written by Jennifer Ward).

When & Where: Thursday, June 27th at 6 pm at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla.
The museum is located at 700 Prospect St. in La Jolla, CA and the talk is part of the “Shore Thing” evening event series. The talk will be followed by Q&A and book signing.

Talk begins promptly at 6:30 pm, so arrive early!

Soon to Say "Signing Off"

Dear Blog Readers,

This is my last day of posting for this San Diego State University Children's Literature Program blogspot.

Starting August 1, my colleague Joseph Thomas Jr. will be beginning his tenure as director of our Center for the Study of Children's Literature. As part of his position, Professor Thomas will be blogging the items and announcements he finds of interest and pertinence in this field of children's and YA literatures that we all are dedicated to.

Thank you for your time and interest in reading what's been posted.
Stay in touch with our program through email at childlit@mail. sdsu.edu and, of course, through this blogspot, and keep checking our rolling book review site at sdsubookreviews.blogspot. com.

My best wishes to you,

Alida Allison
allison@mail.sdsu.edu

July 28 Literary Fair in Oceanside, CA, North County Times reprint with thanks

OCEANSIDE: Literary fair connects local authors with readers

July 18, 2012 • By RAY HUARD rhuard@nctimes.com

Picture Oceanside and it's not likely that the image that comes to mind is a hot spot for literati where authors and book lovers gather to chat about what they're writing and reading.

Yet that image is not far from the mark, given the number of writers who call Oceanside home, said Oceanside principal librarian Monica Chapa-Domercq and Eliane Weidauer of the Oceanside Cultural Arts Foundation.

Their work spans the gamut from military memoirs and biographies to children's books and dark mysteries involving the paranormal.

"I like the idea of pointing out or sharing with the rest of the country, the rest of the world, that Oceanside is more than sand and ocean," Weidauer said. "There is a treasure trove of literature right here in Oceanside."

That treasure trove will be on display July 28 at a "Write on Oceanside" literary fair put on by the library and the Arts Foundation in the Civic Center Plaza in front of the Civic Center Library, 330 N. Coast Highway.

The fair is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. To 2 p.m.

Weidauer said 36 local writers will be on hand to talk about their work, meet their readers and autograph copies of their books.

San Diego Comic-con awards announced, Publishers Weekly excerpt with thanks

This year's Eisner Comics Industry Awards, the annual book awards for comics, added an extra category for children's comics, dividing the children's comics category in two. The award for Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7) went to Dragon Puncher Island by James Kochalka (Top Shelf); the Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12) was 
Snarked by Roger Langridge (kaboom!), and the Young Adult prize went to Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol (First Second).

from the Univ. of Mississippi Press, Charles Hatfield's (Cal State Univ. Northridge) Eisner-award book

Hand of Fire
The Comics Art of Jack Kirby

By Charles Hatfield

304 pages (approx.), 7 x 10 inches, 32 line illustrations, appendix, bibliography, index

Paper, $25.00

Ebook 978-1-61703-179-3, $25.00

The first critical exploration of the work of a great comics creator

Jack Kirby (1917-1994) is one of the most influential and popular artists in comics history. With Stan Lee, he created the Fantastic Four and defined the drawing and narrative style of Marvel Comics from the 1960s to the present day. Kirby is credited with creating or cocreating a number of Marvel's mainstay properties, among them the X-Men, the Hulk, Thor, and the Silver Surfer. His earlier work with Joe Simon led to the creation of Captain America, the popular kid gang and romance comic genres, and one of the most successful comics studios of the 1940s and 1950s. Kirby's distinctive narrative drawing, use of bold abstraction, and creation of angst-ridden and morally flawed heroes mark him as one of the most influential mainstream creators in comics.

In this book, Charles Hatfield examines the artistic legacy of one of America's true comic book giants. He analyzes the development of Kirby's cartooning technique, his use of dynamic composition, the recurring themes and moral ambiguities in his work, his eventual split from Lee, and his later work as a solo artist. Against the backdrop of Kirby's earlier work in various genres, Hand of Fire examines the peak of Kirby's career, when he introduced a new sense of scope and sublimity to comic book fantasy.

Charles Hatfield, Northridge, California, is associate professor of English at California State University, Northridge. He is the author of Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature. Follow his blog at http://handoffire.wordpress.com/.

China Daily, excerpt with thanks

Translation is kids' stuff at Beijing academy

Updated: 2012-07-10 10:02

By Zhang Yue

A group of children in Beijing has translated a series of picture books, originally by four Spanish painters and writers, from English to Chinese.

This is the first series of children's literature translated by international students whose first language is not Chinese, according to Wang Biao, a senior editor from the Department of Chinese Language and Linguistics of Peking University Press, who is in charge of the publication.

"Our target readers are those children who are learning Chinese both in China and overseas," Wang says of the book series recently published by Peking University Press.

The 17 children who participated in the translation are mostly overseas-born Chinese and fifth grade students from Western Academy of Beijing, the city's second largest international school.

New Publisher Seeks Submissions, reprint with thanks

Creative writing courses & workshops and other great stuff for writers

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Pajama Press seeks picture books, juvenile and young adult fiction, as well as juvenile nonfiction

Pajama Press
Toronto, Canada

http://www.pajamapress.ca/

Pajama Press is a brand new children’s publisher, established in April 2011 and bringing out its first books in the fall of 2011. Pajama Press picture books, board books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, non-fiction for all juvenile categories.

Publisher Gail Winskill has 35 years experience with a focus on excellence in children’s publishing. Gail’s long-term editor and collaborator, Ann Featherstone, who has been editing for 23 years, brings an outstanding experience in all children’s book genres.

Submissions:

Pajama Press looking for authors and illustrators who value children’s literature and have some knowledge of or experience related to the Canadian children’s publishing industry. Pajama Press is interested in picture books, juvenile and young adult fiction, as well as juvenile nonfiction. No genre fiction or early readers. Query by email only: info@pajamapress.ca

Full submission guidelines here.

Sky/Tyne and Wear, reprint with thanks

Jul 10, 2012

Seven Stories Adult Tours: 7th Birthday Special

Thu 27 Sep 2012 (13:30) Event: Sky Local

For seven years Seven Stories has been showcasing and celebrating modern children’s literature from our home in Newcastle.

This is a special opportunity to celebrate the last seven years and look forward to many more. Find out how Seven Stories began, the history of our Grade II listed building, view unseen treasures from our Collection, highlights from the past 7 years and meet the expert team who bring it to life. If you are interested in the UK’s literary heritage and children’s books then this tour is for you. Booking essential. £10 per person includes admission fee and cream tea in the café. National Art Card holders gain free access to our adult tours subject to advance booking and can order a cream tea after the tour for the discount price of £3.50!

When & where

Dates & times:

Thu 27 Sep 2012(13:30)

Venue:

Seven Stories, the Centre for Children's Books

Address:

Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne. NE1 2PQ

Website:

Visit website

CFP for Dartmouth Conference April 19-21, 2013

From: Philip Nel <philnel@ksu.edu>
Date: Mon, Jul 9, 2012 at 10:31 PM
Subject: [IRSCL] CFP: Illustration, Comics, and Animation Conference,
Dartmouth College, April 19–21, 2013

I'm forwarding the following CFP on behalf of Associate Professor
Michael Chaney at Dartmouth. This is the inaugural conference; he
plans to make it an annual event. Note that abstracts are due Dec.
1st.

Best wishes,


Philip Nel
Professor
Director, Program in Children's Literature
Dept. of English, 103 ECS Bldg.
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506-6501
U.S.A.
www.ksu.edu/english/nelp :: philnel@ksu.edu

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --


What is the future of illustration studies?

What can comics scholars learn from animation studies and vice versa?

Do illustrated books or graphic novels resist the supposed
obsolescence of the book? What do pictures want (now)?

These and related questions will be explored at the Illustration,
Comics, and Animation Conference at Dartmouth College to be held April
19 – 21 2013.

Scholars interested in the illustrated image in all of its mediated
guises are invited to participate in this interdisciplinary
conference. Nearly all illustrated or drawn ‘texts’ are eligible for
consideration:

*comics and graphic novels

*cartoons and animated films

*picture books

*illustrated books

And given the uniquely plenary nature of the conference, which brings
together scholarship on static and moving illustrations, preference
will be given to proposals that seek to bridge visual media. Possible
topics may include:

*Individual titles by prominent practitioners in the field

*Identity, subjectivity, authority, ideology or culture in or more
type of illustration media

*The future of particular schools of criticism (psychoanalysis,
critical race theory, phenomenology, Marxism, feminism, queer theory,
post-colonialism, formalism, aesthetic theories, etc.) and one or more
type of illustration media

The location of the conference may also be a source of inspiration for
prospective participants. Not only does Dartmouth College lie in close
proximity to the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction,
Vermont, but it is also the historic home of Theodor Geisel, Dr.
Seuss, whose illustrated books continue to awe and amuse.

Interested participants may propose individual papers or panels.
Individual papers should be no longer than 20 minutes. Panels shall be
ninety minutes long and should be comprised of three presenters and
one (ideally separate) panel chair. Please send 300 word abstracts and
a brief bio for each proposed paper no later than December 1, 2012.

Send all proposals and inquiries to

Michael A. Chaney <michael.chaney@dartmouth.edu>

SDSU's Jerry Griswold on Wisconsin Public Radio WBEZ, link provided

http://www.wbez.org/series/front-center/creating-culture-literacy-100004

Jerry Griswold's Union-Tribune Review of Children's Picturebooks by Salisbury and Styles, link provided

Book review

The genius behind simplicity

Authors take pains to illustrate the complexity of creating children’s picture books

By Reviewed by Jerry Griswold

“Children’s Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling”

Martin Salisbury and Morag Styles

Laurence King Publishing; 192 pages; $35

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/28/the-genius-behind-simplicity/

New Book by Tove Jansson Released, excerpt from the Independent, with thanks

Art in Nature, By Tove Jansson

Dreamlike trip through the magic of life

Christian House

Sunday 08 July 2012

When reading anything by Tove Jansson, one cannot quite ignore the looming hippo-shaped shadow of the Finnish author's legendary creation, the Moomins. At the time of her death in 2001, those loveable, large-snouted trolls had made Jansson an international name, one synonymous with a particularly Scandinavian take on children's books. And that is how it would have remained if it hadn't been for Sort of Books posthumously publishing her novel, The Summer Book, two years later....

The latest fiction of Jansson's to be translated and published in Britain is Art in Nature, a sublime little collection of stories that is full of boats and beach houses, painting and plays.... In "White Lady", three middle-aged ladies, one of them a novelist, enjoy a night out with youngsters at a seaside restaurant. "I write books for young people and they don't know who I am," ponders the writer. "And I know nothing about them, either. Funny, isn't it." It's a bittersweet scene for Jansson to have composed; she entertained a generation of children but had none herself.

Books Sales Stats Chart reprinted with thanks from Publishers Weekly

excerpt from Star Advertizer, Hawaii, with thanks

SDSU Grad Pam Munoz Ryan featured at Hawaii conference

(Books by Munoz Ryan and James Rumford are reviewed at sdsubookreviews.blogspot.com)....

Kid's authors take stage at literature fest

By Star-Advertiser staff

Jun 20, 2012

Two noted children's authors — Pam Munoz Ryan of California and Manoa writer James Rumford — will be featured at the 16th Biennial Conference on Literature and Hawaii's Children, taking place Thursday through Saturday.

The conference, "Where Pictures Speak and Stories Paint," is aimed at parents, teachers, librarians, writers, illustrators and others interested in children's literature. Organizers say there are three concurrent tracks of presentations and discussions. One is "Interpreting Literature," emphasizing ways of reading children's literature; a second, "Using Literature," will provide activities for children at home, in school and at the library; and the third, "Creating Literature," will help writers and illustrators publish their work. Sessions will be held Friday and Saturday at Chaminade University.

Winnipeg Free Press, excerpt with thanks

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

A Newfoundland boy's quest to belong: "Hold Fast" goes from book to film

By: Sue Bailey, The Canadian Press

Posted: 06/18/2012

Avery Ash, 14, carries a lobster trap during the shooting of "Hold Fast" in Bauline, N.L., on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly

BAULINE, N.L. - The classic Newfoundland novel "Hold Fast," ranked by Quill & Quire as second only to Anne of Green Gables for Canadian children's books, will soon be a film starring Molly Parker, Andy Jones and soulful newcomer Avery Ash.

Fourteen-year-old Ash hails from the tiny coastal community of Hant's Harbour, N.L. on the Bay de Verde Peninsula, a tight-knit town not unlike the fishing outport that his character, Michael, calls home.

In the book, Michael is suddenly wrenched from everything he loves most when his parents are killed in a car wreck. He and his little brother, Brent, are separated as the younger boy stays with their aunt and grandfather, while Michael heads to a larger city to live with his Aunt Ellen, played by Parker of NBC's "The Firm," and Uncle Ted, played by Newfoundland actor Aiden Flynn.

Michael bonds in that troubled house with his cousin, Curtis, but soon begins to crack under the weight of his grief, taunts at school and his Uncle Ted's heavy hand. When those pressures build into a major blowup, Michael takes off with Curtis in tow to the woodlands that were once his refuge.

Their timeless quest for both freedom and belonging is set against the spectacular backdrop of Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park and postcard-pretty fishing villages such as Bauline. It's an adventure film based on a story that still resonates almost 35 years after it was first published, Ash said during a brief break from filming.

Prof. Jean Webb Heads Worchester Univ. Study, reprint with thanks

Traditional children's characters being forgotten in UK

London , Tue, 19 Jun 2012 ANI

London, June 19 (ANI): Traditional children's characters such as 'Anne of Green Gables' are being forgotten as the latest generation shun classic books, a university study has revealed.

Researchers found that, one in five British children think that Long John Silver is a character from Peter Pan while the same number believed that Aslan was a giraffe.

A sixth of children questioned said that Roald Dahl's Mathilda, and not fellow children's character Heidi, lived in the Alps, and 12 percent believed that the mountains were home to Tracy Beaker.

Due perhaps to his recent reinvention as a popular film character, more than half of the children knew that Aslan of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was a lion, but others guessed that he was a giraffe or a bear.

The 500 seven to 14-year-olds who answered the survey weren't very sure about other aspects of the novel, with 17 percent believing the wardrobe was the gateway to the Secret Garden and eight percent thinking it led to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.

The Worcester University researchers who conducted the study said it demonstrated that classic children's characters like Jemima Puddleduck and Pippi Longstocking could drift out of the nation's consciousness, with only one in four children being aware of their existence.

Even when it came to Harry Potter only half of children questioned claimed to have heard of the boy wizard, putting him slightly ahead of Robinson Crusoe (46 percent) and Alice in Wonderland (45 percent).

When asked which books they had actually read there were promising signs for some of the most popular children's stories, with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (33 per cent), Wind in the Willows (29 percent) and Winnie-the-Pooh (28 percent) among the favourites.

But other classics such as Anne of Green Gables (six percent), The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (six per cent) and Swallows and amazons (nine percent) fared less strongly.

Asked to name their favourite author, Roald Dahl topped the poll with a third of all votes followed by JK Rowling with 21 percent.

"Thankfully, to counteract this possible downturn in children experiencing the classics, there is still a very strong interest in our rich literary heritage," the Telegraph quoted Prof Jean Webb, who oversaw the survey, as saying.

"This is clearly demonstrated by the popularity of the courses in children's literature currently run across the UK and also internationally," he added. (ANI)

Hollins University Children's Literature Program Presents Virginia Euwer Wolff

Hollins University 7916 Williamson Road Roanoke, VA 24019 Wednesday, June 27, 2012 (7:30 PM) Phone: (540) 362-6451

Virginia Euwer Wolff, winner of the 2011 Phoenix Award for her novel "The Mozart Season," talks about her craft and her work. Her novel "True Believer" won the 2001 National Book Award and she is the author of numerous other works including "Make Lemonade." Sponsored by the graduate programs in children's literature and children's book illustration. Hollins Room, Wyndham Robertson Library, Hollins University.

from The Pirate Tree, excerpt with thanks

The Upstanders Award Goes to Ghetto Cowboy!

June 18, 2012

By lynmillerlachmann

This past weekend, the Fifth Annual Horace Mann Upstanders Book Award was given to G. (Greg) Neri for his middle grade novel Ghetto Cowboy. The ceremony took place at the Wildwood Elementary School in Los Angeles, and along with Neri two other people were honored. Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries and author of Tattoos on My Heart, received the Community Upstander Award. Sam Swope, author of The Araboolies of Liberty Street and other titles for young people, received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The main event, however, was the annual Book Award, which honors the outstanding children’s book (picture book or middle grade) published in the previous year “that best exemplifies the ideals of social action and in turn encourages young readers to become agents of change themselves.” The award was established in 2008 by J. Cynthia McDermott, the chair of the Education Department at Antioch University Los Angeles to honor “upstander” characters in fiction who can serve as role models for readers.

UPI.com excerpt, with thanks

'Monster Calls' wins Carnegie and Greenaway medals

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Published: June 14, 2012 at 1:11 PM

LONDON, June 14 (UPI) -- "A Monster Calls" has won the Carnegie Medal for children's literature and the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration at a London ceremony.

Written by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Jim Kay, the book is about a boy dealing with his mother's battle against cancer. It is based on an idea by author Siobhan Dowd, who died of the disease in 2007.

Ness won the Carnegie Medal last year for "Monsters of Men."

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2012/06/14/Monster-Calls-wins-Carnegie-and-Greenaway-medals/UPI-92101339693875/#ixzz1xrvdZwuB

Contest for Funds to attend the YALSA Conference in November, reprint with thanks

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Win $1K to attend YALSA's YA Literature Symposium

Registration is open now at www.ala.org/yalitsymposium for YALSA’s 2012 Young Adult Literature Symposium in St. Louis, Nov. 2-4, at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch.

Panels will cover everything from trendspotting to the changing face of young adult audience, to the new ways teens are connecting with and interacting with literature.

YALSA is offering two stipends of up to $1,000 each to fund travel to the symposium. One will be awarded to a library staffer who works directly with young adults (with at least one year experience), and the other will go to a student enrolled in an ALA-accredited MLS program as of November 2, 2012, with a focus on young adult services.

Deadline: June 15 to ngilbert@ala.org.

Applicants must hold a personal membership to YALSA (student membership is valid for the student stipend).

The library worker guidelines and application is here, the student guidelines and application is here. Both are Word documents.