Written and illustrated by the marvelous Emily Gravett, of whom I am now a fan as well, and is a clever combination of lots of factual information about meerkats (and their relatives–mongooses) and an adventure story. Emily combines 1st and 3rd person voices and uses the narrative structure of a week to help hold the protagonist's story together as he goes from one place to another only to... Well I'm not going to give it away. Lots of tips and pointers in this video. On another note, Tara Lazar, who founded and runs Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) which is a fabulous resource for picture book creators, decided to have a conversation instead of an interview with me for her blog. We mostly talk about my new venture of becoming a children's literary agent and her experiences of becoming a new author. We had a great time. So if you have a chance after you watch this video (and maybe even comment : ), head on over to www.taralazar.com where she is posting the interview. We got into it so much that it became a two-day post (but each section isn't too long) and we ended with some lovely opportunities for readers. Tara is the author of last week's picture book review in case you didn't put it together or don't know her. She is very lovely and some of what she shares will break your heart. Hope you enjoy the video :) Today's video review looks at The Monstore, a fun book about sibling conflicts.... and monsters. Author, Tara Lazar, who founded Picture Book Idea Month and helped launch many children's book careers, partially based it on a true story and then added a whole lot of imagination. In the video I look at both the text and art to analyze what makes this fun book work and why it was picked up by a top publisher. I was editing a video interview with Roxie Munro and had taken out an excerpt where we talked about apps for later. I thought it was so interesting and helpful that, even though it's not the best quality video, I decided to post it here. I also wanted to share additional information on the company that she makes her apps with for those of you who are interested.At some point that didn't make it into the video, we talked about how the lack of editing and art directing on many apps was very detrimental to the credibility of the field as a whole. We also talked about a ton of other interesting things including the affects on young children's brainwaves as a result of watching screens and too much interactivity. Roxie provides a lot of helpful information for illustrators about creating art for apps. At the end of the video, she says something to the effect of "feel free to contact me" but I have a feeling this was just for the students. I also forgot to include the name of the studio that she's in partnership with creating apps. http://www.ocgstudios.com So here's the video, imperfections and all. I hope you enjoy it. Roxie is awesome. Like most contemporary folk, I'm a novelty seeker always on the look-out for something new and different. This sweet book does exactly that exploring our world in glorious black and white. It relies heavily on great composition and pattern in a novel format that has a surprise at the end. The author uses spare, crisp, lyrical text as it moves us along on our journey. Something else to note is the many ways that the over-sized book could be used. When I first bought it, I was quite besotted with it and kept returning over and over to look at the beautiful illustrations and great design. And here's the video: This week's video review is of Gianna Marino's MEET ME AT THE MOON. Tender and beautiful, Gianna's story is a reassuring depiction of an elephant mother’s love for her calf set in a backdrop of an African drought and the quest for rain. Kirkus Review calls Gianna a “rising star”, and after you see this, I think you'll agree. Gianna's work is very soulful and beautiful. The review pays particular attention to both the art and the lyrical, sense-filled language. I feel fortunate to know her as a friend. And here's the video: I've always been a Bob Staake fan and decided ages ago to have a Must Love Bob Staake Day. It was actually pretty easy to do as Bob is quite the loveable character as are his books. I got to know him a little when out of the blue, he sent me an email saying he loved what I was doing at the Picture Book Academy (now the Children's Book Academy) and how it was needed. Wow, as a longtime fan my heart fluttered. So I emailed him back, told him thank you and told him about my illustration course. I asked him if I could interview him for it. He replied he'd be happy to do anything he could to help. Double wow. So after much correspondence back and forth and a wonderful interview, I can honestly say, "I love Bob Staake." Check out this video below of one of his books and you'll get a sense of why this guy is so loveable. That man has so much joy to share :) Angela is a wonderful children's book author and illustrator who mines her own life experiences and imagination to create delightful children's books. She is also a contributor to our instant access Craft and Business of Illustrating Children's Picture Books e-Course :) I hope you enjoy watching this. Every now and again you come across a book that is so exquisite it blows you away. This is one of those books. It is a non-fiction picture book with beautifully crafted text and exquisite illustrations that is quite extraordinary on many levels. It is also potentially controversial in terns of the art especially now because of nudity. This is a short review of Sun Bread by the ever-wonderful Elisa Kleven. It's a lovely lyrical book about creativity and baking to create joy and sunshine on a dreary day while also being about community and how we can create our own worlds. These are called underlying themes. See if you can uncover what the underlying themes are in your story, as these can act as selling points/ You don't want to hit your reader over the head with them but having deeper meanings can really enrich a story if they are subtle.And here's the video: |
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