Beatrix and her book Good Morning to Me! got a starred review from Publishers Weekly! The link is here. We're all eager for the book to be out on May 5th!
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It’s a sleepy morning in the cottage, but Beatrix the parrot is wide AWAKE…and she can’t wait to start the day with her friends.
"...a lead character whose energetic, blissfully obtuse personality is as vivid as her bright green feathers...It’s easy to imagine the many warm, giggling interchanges that snuggling with this book will inspire."
--Publisher's Weekly, *STARRED REVIEW
"Beatrix's irrepressible character stands out as brightly as her green and gold plumage....Young children who share Beatrix's morning hyperactivity, or even just her flexible relationship with the idea of an "indoor voice," will certainly relate…as will, without doubt, their parents. A few hearty squawks and a brisk bit of exercise...what better way to start the day? "
--Kirkus Reviews
Click here for sneak peak.
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Creating is such a leap of faith for me. Today I'm channeling all the art totems and spirits I hold close as I forge deeper into a project that is scary, thrilling and exquisitely exciting. Not ready to post sketches of it.... but soon.
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A sketch for today. May all of you out there creating, whatever form you choose, have a lovely day.
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A cold night brings a beautiful morning outside my studio window.
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RED SLED has just been included on the Common Sense Media list of essential books for kids and teens!
It joins some pretty good company in the age 2-6 category!
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Thank you BookPage for including Flight School in your best of the 2014 list! What an honor to be in such company.
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I thought I'd share an oil painting I painted on location when we first moved to New Hampshire. What a cold, beautiful day it was, like today.
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Sometimes the year end "best of" lists are quite enjoyable! Smithsonian Air and Space, one of my favorite magazines, picked FLIGHT SCHOOL as one of the best aviation and space themed books for children!
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Fight School The Musical! If only I could go back in time and tell my little girl self when I was going to school in a small logging town -- that someday I'd have a book getting adapted into an off-Broadway musical for a children's theater in New York City! What miracles may come when you choose to believe in dreams! Thank you Vital Theatre for making Flight School The Musical a reality.
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Please stop by and check out the lovely Cynthia Leitich Smith blog Cynsations. Here is a link to an interview I did for my newest book, Born in the Wild.
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Seeing a book begin to take shape after over a year of sketching and revising is exciting!
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Just home from New York City -- what a great time at the Society of Illustrators Original Art show!! It was such an honor to be a part of this fantastic show and get to see so many wonderful friends and colleagues. It was a special treat!!
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Starting to paint after months sketching this book. My favorite kind of day!
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I love back to school time - I'm looking forward to going into classrooms again this year! I get so inspired talking with the kids. As we head into the school year I thought I'd update my school brochure. To all my teacher friends, here is a link.
Download my School Visit Info: Schools_2014-15.pdf
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FLIGHT SCHOOL was recently mentioned in Barbara Gruener's lovely blog, The Corner on Character, and has been included in this year's Character Case at her school in Friendswood, Texas. Here's a link to the article.
Here's a small section from the article:
As we head into this year's dash, don't our little birds deserve to see their potential as eagles, not their limitations as penguins? We must take our role as flight instructors to assist and support them with "the technical parts" seriously.
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Reading Flight School and making penguins with new friends at the Norwich library last weekend. That was fun. Thanks also to the Eric Carle Museum for hosting me at their storytime!
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I'm so hopeful for my next book (out this fall)- two reviews are in and both are STARRED. Thank you School Library Journal and Kirkus!!
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So many beautiful faces to draw in this world.
I woke up feeling like dancing today.
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Was a great trip to NYC, but always feels great to be back in the studio, working on sketches for the next book. The light is pouring in my windows - I love this time of year.
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This morning, the year's first white tailed fawn wobbled out of the ferns in our yard. I love this time of year. He looked like he didn't quite know how to balance on those long legs. Mama licked him and sent him back to the ferns to hide. I didn't want to miss a moment by getting the camera, so I thought I'd share this drawing instead - it's in my upcoming book, BORN IN THE WILD, out this fall with Roaring Brook.
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Thank you Bank Street College Center for Children's Literature for selecting HOW BIG WERE DINOSAURS? as a book of outstanding merit for The Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2014 Edition.
Link to the 2014 list of Best Children’s Books of the Year from the Bank Street College Center for Children's Literature.
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Getting lots of help packing for next week's author visit to Wilmington, MA.
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We've seen a few really nice reviews of Flight School in the past few days. One was a *STARRED REVIEW* from the June 2014 issue of The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books! Here's a little snippet from that:
"The watercolor and pencil illustrations are warm, robust, and thoughtfully composed... Penguin is a charmingly tubby and stout guy, and the skillful positioning of his red flight goggles visually convey his emotions: when he’s happy, the earpieces flip up jauntily, and when he’s sad, they dejectedly droop. This could be a useful tool for many kinds of discussions—from the adaptations that some kids need in a classroom, to creative problem solving, to perseverance—or a cheerful addition to a unit or story hour about birds or penguins."
Another nice review was from the Librarian's quest blog.
Here's a quote from Librarian's Quest:
"If you are looking for a title about dreaming the impossible dream look no further than Flight School...It presents readers with a cast of lovable characters who look on the bright side of life. Sometimes we truly need the help of our friends to keep our heart full..."
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Today I learned that US Fish and Wildlife Service is commemorating my grandmother as a Fish and Wildlife Conservation Hero. I'm so proud of her. My grandfather as well, for they worked together tirelessly to save the environment and wildlife.
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Wooow, Lita, congrats!!! I really, really look forward to your book!
Best wishes, Sadami