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          Lightwing McFrog, Manager of the New York Echoes

It's Small Graces time again, and look at the beauty that's up for bidding this week, September 13-17th: an original acrylic painting by author/illustrator Brian Lies, based on his latest picture book, Bats at the Ballgame (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010)!

This is the third book in the New York Times Bestselling Bats
series -- official pub date was September 6th, and this week it's listed at #7! The 4" x 6 " painting is one of several baseball card profiles; I must say I'm quite fond of McFrog's long whiskers and that NY cap (shhh . . . don't tell my NH Red Sox relatives)!

As before, 100% of the proceeds of this FCB auction will provide support for author/illustrator visits and residencies in under-served urban schools. Don't miss your chance to own this one-of-a-kind, signed, unpublished piece of art at an affordable price, while helping a good cause. Just click through to Ebay to place your bid!

Check out the Bats at the Ballgame trailer:




♥ To find out more about Small Graces, click here.

♥ The Foundation for Children's Books is here.

♥ Visit Brian Lies's official website.


Copyright © 2010 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup. All rights reserved.

The Foundation for Children's Books in Boston is one of my very favorite organizations. They hold a series of lectures with various children's book writers and illustrators at Boston College, give workshops for book lovers of all kinds, and do the very good work of bringing authors into schools that cannot afford them.

Last year, Grace began donating paintings to the Foundation to be auctioned on eBay as a benefit for their programs in under-served schools. This year, 12 different illustrators will contribute to the "Small Graces" auction (I'll be donating a piece this fall). Each month a small, unpublished, original painting will be auctioned on eBay with 100% of the proceeds to support the FCB's author/illustrator visits and residencies in urban schools.

This month's painting (below), a gorgeous, signed watercolor by Leo Landry with a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, is on auction now through through Friday, June 11. Leo is a friend and incredibly talented, I especially adore his book The Snow Ghosts.

Click here to bid on his beautiful piece. This is a really great chance to get affordable original children's book art for a great cause!

          

Alrighty then. It's time for Small Graces, and this week you can bid on this soothing blue beauty by author/illustrator Leo Landry!

The quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson is new to me: "The sky is the ultimate art gallery just above us." Quite perfect for the Foundation for Children's Books (FCB) benefit auction, which offers an original, unpublished, signed painting by a different children's author/illustrator each month. Pretty cool that Leo, a native of Massachusetts, selected a quote from Boston-born Emerson, in support of author/illustrator visits and residencies in Boston-area urban schools.

             

In case you don't recognize that lucky fellow floating about in all that gorgeous blueness, he's from Leo's most recent self-illustrated picture book, Space Boy (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). It's a sweet story of a little boy who's trying to sleep, but finds it much too noisy in his house, so he decides to take a little trip to the moon (naturally he has the foresight to pack lunch). After a lovely picnic up there, he returns home to find all is peaceful once again, and he's ready for bed.

Leo's painting, rendered in watercolor, is approximately 5" x 5", with an estimated value of $450. As before, 100% of the proceeds will benefit the FCB, and you can place your bid at Ebay all this week, June 7 - 11, 2010. Don't miss this chance to own an original piece of art while supporting a good cause! 

To find out more about Small Graces, click here. And click here to bid on Ebay!

Have a lovely week!

     Approximately 5" x 5", original, unpublished, signed watercolor.


It's Small Graces time again!

And look, it's Gilbert!

In case you don't recognize him, he's the star of Diane deGroat's highly popular picture book series. This endearing opossum first captured our hearts in Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink (William and Morrow, 1996), and eleven books later, he's still going strong with his most recent adventure, April Fool! Watch Out at School! (HarperCollins, 2009). Gilbert even has his own I Can Read books now -- have you seen Gilbert, the Surfer Dude (HarperCollins, 2009)? Let's just say, interesting things happen when you go to the beach and forget your bathing suit. ☺

    

Looks like Gilbert is in a bit of a funk with that rain coming down. I'm sure he'll feel much better if you place a bid! All proceeds from the Small Graces auctions benefit The Foundation for Children's Books, a small non-profit that sponsors author and illustrator visits and residencies for under-served schools in the greater Boston area. Quite a win-win situation -- your money goes to a good cause, and you have a chance to own some original art by one of the country's premier, award-winning children's book author/illustrators!

Besides creating the Gilbert series, Diane has illustrated well over a hundred books in her long, illustrious career. She was the very first person I ever interviewed for alphabet soup, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone warmer or more generous. We love you, Diane!

The auction runs all this week -- so click on over to Ebay and place your bid! Gilbert told me he wants to go home with you! ♥

P.S. Here's the perfect book to read this week for Mother's Day:

        

Hope you're having a good week!!

Copyright © 2010 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup. All rights reserved.

Painting by Author/Illustrator Diane deGroat

In 2009, the talented and generous author/illustrator Grace Lin donated 11 original paintings to the Foundation for Children's Books to be auctioned on eBay as a benefit for our programs in under-served schools.

This year, we are fortunate enough to have 12 different illustrators contributing to our "Small Graces" auction. Each month a small, unpublished, original painting will be auctioned on eBay with 100% of the proceeds to support the FCB's author/illustrator visits and residencies in urban schools. Each painting will illustrate a bit of wisdom, a proverb, or a "small Grace."

This month's painting (below), a wonderful watercolor of Gilbert the Opossum by Gilbert's creator author/illustrator Diane deGroat, is on auction now and through Friday, May 7.

To bid on the painting, click here for the eBay link. For those who find original art from children's books beyond their budget, this is a great way to buy affordable art. Please spread the word and bid!

Diane deGroat is an award-winning illustrator of over 120 books. She is the author and illustrator of the best-selling series about Gilbert--everyone's favorite opossum--as well as the "Annie Pitts" chapter books. Ms. deGroat resides in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Don't forget: you can purchase high-quality, hand-signed prints of three of Grace Lin's 2009 paintings online at the Child at Heart Gallery. The cost is $25, they make wonderful gifts, and half of the proceeds will support the Foundation for Children's Books.

Press release from The Foundation for Children's Books:

Painting by Author/Illustrator Jeff Mack
In 2009, the talented and generous author/illustrator Grace Lin donated 11 original paintings to the Foundation for Children's Books to be auctioned on eBay as a benefit for our programs in under-served schools.

This year, we are fortunate enough to have 12 different illustrators contributing to our "Small Graces" auction. Each month a small, unpublished, original painting will be auctioned on eBay with 100% of the proceeds to support the FCB's author/illustrator visits and residencies in urban schools. Each painting will illustrate a bit of wisdom, a proverb, or a "small Grace."

This month's painting (below), a sweet watercolor of a duck at the top of a waterfall by author/illustrator Jeff Mack, is on auction now Monday April 5 through Friday, April 9. The proverb says "Everyone must row with the oars he has."

To bid, go to this eBay link. For those who find original art from children's books beyond their budget, this is a great way to buy affordable art! Please spread the word and bid!

Jeff Mack is the author and illustrator of HUSH LITTLE POLAR BEAR (Roaring Brook, 2008). He is also the illustrator of fifteen books for children including James Howe's BUNNICULA AND FRIENDS series (Simon and Schuster) and Eve Bunting's HURRY! HURRY! (Harcourt) one of School Library Journal's Best Books of 2007. At home in Western Massachusetts, he continues to write and illustrate books, paint murals, and talk with school groups about his work.

Don't forget: you can purchase high-quality, hand-signed prints of three of Grace Lin's 2009 paintings online at the Child at Heart Gallery. The cost is $25, they make wonderful gifts, and half of the proceeds will support the Foundation for Children's Books.

Announcement from The Foundation for Children's Books:



Painting by Author/Illustrator David Costello
In 2009, the talented and generous author/illustrator Grace Lin donated 11 original paintings to the Foundation for Children's Books to be auctioned on eBay as a benefit for our programs in under-served schools.

In this new year, we are fortunate enough to have 12 different illustrators contributing to our "Small Graces" auction. Each month a small, unpublished, original painting will be auctioned on eBay with 100% of the proceeds to support the FCB's author/illustrator visits and residencies in urban schools. Each painting will illustrate a bit of wisdom, a proverb, or a "small Grace."

This month's painting (above), a sweet watercolor by author/illustrator David Costello, is on auction now Monday 3/1 through Friday 3/5.

Click here for the eBay link and to bid!

For those who find original art from children's books beyond their budget, this is a great way to buy affordable art! Please spread the word and bid!

David Hyde Costello is the author and illustrator of Here They Come, a lively picture book about goblins on Halloween night. His second book, I Can Help, hits book stores this month. Visit him online here.

Don't forget: You can purchase high-quality, hand-signed prints of three of Grace Lin's 2009 paintings online at the Child at Heart Gallery. The cost is $25, they make wonderful gifts, and half of the proceeds will support the Foundation for Children's Books.

I've always had a "thing" for monkeys.

Whenever we went to the zoo, my dad would point to them and say, "Look, your cousins!" I admit to having an inordinate fondness for bananas, and if I do say so myself, my imitation of Zira from "Planet of the Apes" is top notch.


Click here to bid on this original, unpublished watercolor painting!

That's why I'm tickled yellow with this month's Small Graces painting by David Hyde Costello. It features two animals from his brand new book, I Can Help (FSG, February 2010), where a little yellow duck gets lost in the tall grass, and a monkey helps him find his way. This sweet watercolor is approximately 5" x 5", and comes with a signed certificate of authenticity. As before, 100% of auction proceeds will support author/illustrator visits and residencies in urban schools. What better way to encourage empathy and promote friendship than with the simple words, "I can help"?

If you'd like to help the Foundation for Children's Books, and perhaps own this charming piece of art, click here to place your bid! The auction runs all week, through Friday, March 5th.



Visit David Hyde Costello's official website to learn more about him and his books!

P.S. I won the January Small Graces soup painting by Melissa Sweet!

Copyright © 2010 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup. All rights reserved.

The Small Graces painting being auctioned off this month was done by Melissa Sweet, winner of a Caldecott Honor Award in 2009 for A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, which was written by Jen Bryant. Melissa's painting will be on auction beginning Monday, January 25 through Friday, January 29.


Click here to bid on the painting Melissa Sweet contributed to the Small Graces fundraising effort that will benefit The Foundation for Children’s Books in Massachusetts.

You can read more about the auction here.

Small Graces website.

     

It's Small Graces time again!

And would you just look at who's kicking things off this year? Only one of my absolute favorite children's illustrators of all time, Melissa Sweet! *swoon*

You may remember that Newbery Honor winner, Grace Lin, donated eleven original paintings last year, each with a proverb or "small grace," to benefit the Foundation for Children's Books. For 2010, twelve different illustrators will be donating paintings, and I'm really looking forward to seeing each and every one.

But back to Melissa. I've always loved and believed in Beethoven's quote, and when I first saw this painting (thanks, Jules), I near fainted dead away. Soup! Painted by Melissa! What a perfect way to celebrate National Soup Month! In case you're not familiar with Melissa's work, she won a Caldecott Honor Medal in 2009 for illustrating A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, written by Jen Bryant (Eerdman's BFYR, 2008). She also self-illustrated my all-time favorite alphabet book, Carmine: A Little More Red (HMH, 2005), illustrated a whole slew of books by other authors, and her art has graced cookbooks and greeting cards as well as toys. 

So yes, I would love to own this original, unpublished, 8-1/2" x 6-1/2" watercolor gem that comes with a signed certificate of authenticity. But I would also like to see you bid on it, because the FCB sponsors author/illustrator visits and residencies in urban schools in the greater Boston area. A good cause, a win-win situation, a chance for you to own a winsome piece of art created by a Caldecott winning illustrator!

Click here to place a bid on Ebay. The auction runs all this week, January 25-29, 2010.
 
For more about Melissa Sweet and her work, visit her official website. If you haven't yet seen this fabulous interview at 7-Imp, full of gorgeous, glorious, color-popping Melissa art, you simply MUST. Her studio is beautiful and I want to live there. 

More Melissa goodness right here at alphabet soup:

My 2009 interview with her.
Review of Day is Done, her latest release.
Review of The Sleepy Little Alphabet.
Review/chat with Melissa and Joan MacPhail Knight on the Charlotte series.

*skips off in a Melissa Sweet happy trance*

Copyright © 2010 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup. All rights reserved.

From The Foundation for Children’s Books:

In 2009, the talented and generous author/illustrator Grace Lin donated 11 original paintings to the Foundation for Children's Books to be auctioned on eBay as a benefit for our programs in under-served schools.

In this new year, we are fortunate enough to have 12 different illustrators contributing to our "Small Graces" auction. Each month a small (approximately 5x5 inch), unpublished, original painting will be auctioned on eBay with 100% of the proceeds to support the FCB's author/illustrator visits and residencies in urban schools. Each painting will illustrate a bit of wisdom, a proverb, or a "small Grace."

This month's painting (below), a lovely watercolor by Cadecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet, will be on auction beginning Monday, January 25 through Friday, January 29.



Melissa Sweet has illustrated over 70 children's books from board books to nonfiction and jacket covers. She has written and illustrated two books, Tupelo Rides the Rails, and Carmine: A Little More Red, a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book in 2005. Melissa illustrated A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant, a 2009 Caldecott Honor book. When she is not in her studio, she can be found riding her bicycle in Rockport, Maine. Learn more about Melissa and her work at her website here.

       

Okay, you're on alert.

DO NOT bid on this gorgeous original painting by Grace Lin, because I want to win it!

Just look at it. Can you blame me? The warm reds, that cozy fire, the girl wrapped all snuggly in her blue quilt, tucked in with her origami animals? And the proverb! I think it's my favorite so far. I've always always always believed in extending kindness whenever possible. Just one word or a little smile can make someone's day. Things are tough all around. A kind word costs you nothing.

As before, this one-of-a-kind, unpublished gouache on Arches watercolor paper gem is approximately 5" x 5", and comes with a signed certificate of authenticity. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Foundation for Children's Books, a small non-profit supporting underserved schools in the greater Boston area.

On second thought, please click through to Ebay to place a bid ☺. After all, there are only two more Small Graces paintings for 2009, two more chances this year to help raise as much money as we can for a great cause. It's going to be a cold winter. Wouldn't this painting make someone extremely happy this Christmas? It warms my heart just thinking about it! This auction runs through Friday, November 20th.

For more info about the Small Graces auctions, click here.

Happy Monday and Happy Writing!

           

It's that time again!

Grace Lin has created another beautiful painting to benefit the Foundation for Children's Books. I love those big red doors and the tiny girl about to enter. Since green is my favorite color, I'm quite happy that both the teacher and the student are wearing green. Though green is associated with inexperience, it also symbolizes growth, which the two will experience together.

As before, this unpublished, signed original is about 5" x 5", gouache on Arches watercolor paper, and comes with a certificate of authenticity. Approximate value = $450. 

Not many months left in the year, so don't miss this chance to own one of these highly collectible pieces.

Click through to Ebay to place your bid! Deadline is this Friday, September 18th.

For more information about the 2009 Small Graces auctions, click here.

*Image copyright © 2009 Grace Lin. All rights reserved.

Announcement from The Foundation for Children’s Books

This month Small Graces: A Painting a Month to Benefit the FCB features another fabulous painting by the talented and generous author/illustrator Grace Lin. This is the 9th painting to be auctioned on eBay as a benefit for our programs in under-served schools.

Here's how it works: Every month a small (5x5 inch), unpublished, original painting will be auctioned on eBay with 100% of the proceeds to support the FCB's author/illustrator visits and residencies in urban schools. Each painting will illustrate a bit of wisdom, a proverb, a "small Grace."

This month's painting (below), painted in gouache on watercolor paper, is on auction beginning today, Monday, September 14 through Friday, September 18. To bid on this painting, click here for the e-bay listing. For those who find original art from children's books beyond their budget, this is a great way to buy affordable art! Please spread the word and bid!

Wouldn't you love to own an original painting by children's author and illustrator Grace Lin? All the proceeds from the Small Graces auctions will benefit The Foundation for Children's Books, a small non-profit organization in Boston that is making a big difference in the lives of young readers by bringing children's book authors and illustrators into under-served schools in the Greater Boston area for visits and residencies..

The August Small Graces auction has begun! This month's painting (below), done in gouache on watercolor paper, is being auctioned now through Friday, August 14. Click here to bid now!

Look at this joyous, summery painting!

Grace Lin has created another stunner for the August Small Graces auction. Don't you just love the baby blue background, sunny border, and all those colorful birds?

*sigh* As you know, I was very lucky to win last month's painting, and the ever insightful Jeannine Atkins remarked how nice it would be to own a pair of these gems. She's absolutely right! I hope to win another one.*grins*

That is, if you don't outbid me or anything (please try)!

As before, this original, unpublished painting is about 5" x 5", gouache on Arches watercolor paper, and comes with a signed certificate of authenticity. 100% of the proceeds benefits the Foundation for Children's Books, a small non-profit supporting underserved schools in the greater Boston area. 

Click through to Ebay to place a bid. The auction ends Friday, August 14th. Don't miss your chance to win one of these highly collectible pieces before the year is out!

More about Small Graces here.

It's Small Graces time again!

This might just be my favorite painting of all (though I seem to think that every month)! I love the color of the border, and the sharing with friends at a table. What better way to nourish the body and spirit?

This lovely 5" x 5" original, unpublished, signed and dated gouache on Arches watercolor paper gem by Grace Lin comes with a certificate of authenticity, and you can bid on it through Friday, July 17th. Its estimated value is $450, and 100% of the auction proceeds will benefit the Foundation for Children's Books, a small non-profit which brings authors and illustrators to underserved schools for visits and residencies in the greater Boston area.

For more about Small Graces, click here. To learn more about Grace Lin's books, visit her official website and blog.

Go to Ebay now and place a bid!

PaperTigers is delighted to be hosting author and illustrator Grace Lin on Day 2 of her Blog Tour to introduce her latest book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, which, as Aline pointed out last week, has already received its first award! We’ll be publishing a full review in our next issue of PaperTigers… in the meantime, Grace has kindly answered some questions and shared some pictures with us.

Welcome, Grace: thank you for joining us!

In an article you once wrote called “Why Couldn’t Snow White be Chinese?”, you talk about an experience you had as a child when your school put on a production of The Wizard of Oz and you were told by a friend you couldn’t be chosen to play Dorothy because “Dorothy’s not Chinese”. How would you relate that experience to your writing of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, which has been described as being written in “the Wizard of Oz tradition”?

Wow, that is a very astute observation of my work. While I did not write Where the Mountain Meets the Moon as an attempt to create an Asian Dorothy, it is probably one of the reasons why I felt so strongly that the main character needed to be a girl and why this book is an Asian-inspired fantasy (a story influenced by my Asian-American values rather than an attempt at a traditional Chinese tale).

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is very, very loosely based on the Chinese folktale “Olive Lake,” Aside from adding many layers and changing plot points, I also changed the main character from an adult male to the girl, Minli. In some ways it may have been easier to leave the character male; I would not have had to worry about how I bent /ignored some Chinese customs that inhibit women — like the fact that there is no foot binding, for example. But I very much wanted the main character to be a girl, a strong and brave and clever girl who (now that you mention it) was someone I would’ve wanted to pretend that I was as I child.

You have referred to your illustrating of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon as being “like the classic books of yore” - do you think illustrated books for independant readers are starting to be published a bit more nowadays and how important do you think they are?

I loved the illustrated Middle Grade books when I was younger and I still do. I think they add so much to the experience of reading. To me, they are perfect — they give a glimpse of visualization into the world you are reading, but not so much that you aren’t left without anything to imagine. Also, they make the experience of owning and holding a book feel that much more special — turning the page and seeing a full color illustration is almost like discovering a jewel and the book itself feels like a little treasure.

I hope these days, in the age of technology with browsers and kindles, these kinds of illustrated books will be even more cherished. With so much doom and gloom about the future of publishing, to create books that are not just cheap throw-aways, but are beautiful objects to enjoy is something to consider. It is being done; my editor was able to convince her boss to print Where the Mountain Meets the Moon with full color illustrations by using Castle Corona by Sharon Creech as an example, but it is uncommon. I’d like to see a little more of it.

And on a different tack, can you tell us a bit about your A Painting A Month project?

Well, the Small Graces project began a bit out of guilt. I do a lot of school visits. I am so grateful and honored that schools invite me. But a great portion of my income depends on the fees I receive from these visits; AND my most natural state is introverted -there are only so many visits I can do in a year without stammering incoherently. I’m kind of like a jar of marbles -every visit I do I am less one marble until I am empty. So, I can’t give away my marbles for free.

… But many times schools ask me to come for free. Most of the time it is because they can’t afford to pay me, or any author. I feel horrible that I have to say no. I realize that it isn’t fair that the only schools that get authors to visit are the ones that can afford to. Every visit I do, I can see the excitement in the students and a newfound appreciation and love of books. But, at the same time, most authors (the usually financially-strapped author) depend on school visits as a part of their job, to help support them so they can write; the reality is, people need to get paid for their work.

So that is why I decided to create the Small Graces project. It benefits The Foundation of Children’s Books, an organization that funds school visit programs for low-income schools. So, schools that usually can’t afford an author to visit get one; and the author doesn’t have to suffer financially either.

Supporting the Foundation is a win-win for everyone. Students of all incomes get wonderful programs; fellow authors are able to make a living to keep creating books; and I am alleviated of my guilt. So please bid on one of the paintings, you can be winner too!

Absolutely! The June picture has already sold but check in at the beginning of July to see what treat Grace has in store: in the meantime, browse through the gems from the first half of the year.

And before Grace wends her way to her next stop on her Blog Tour, which will be over at Mother Reader (I’ll change it to the direct link tomorrow), let me just share these three images with you - I am always fascinated by the artistic process and love to get behind the scenes. The first is a photograph Grace took of a temple in Shanghai, on which she based her beautiful illustration of the Imperial Garden in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - the second is her sketch and the third, the final illustration from the book. Stunning!

So, 1) get out there and find a copy of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - or 2) leave a comment here: we have a copy of the book to give away following the official launch on 1 July - or 3) send us a photo of your child’s bookshelf for our Around the World in a Hundred Bookshelves, which will include a copy in next month’s draw…

And do join Grace for the Official Online Launch on July 1 - further information about the book AND the party can be found on Grace’s Party Graces blog…

While sipping a cool beverage of your choice, check out these noteworthy things:

♥ It's Small Graces time again! Look at the gorgeous painting Grace Lin has up for auction this week:

        

As before, this one is approximately 5" x 5", gouache on Arches watercolor paper, a signed, original unpublished gem that will go to the highest bidder on Ebay. All profits from Grace's year-long charity auction will benefit the Foundation for Children's Books, which serves underprivileged schools in the greater Boston area. Read more about Small Graces here, and click here to place a bid!

♥ Susan Taylor Brown is offering more online classes in Social Networking for Authors and Illustrators. Here's your chance to learn about blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc., and how using them can support your promotional efforts and enhance your web presence. There's a new session starting up next week, June 22-26, and another one July 13-17th. Click here to get the full scoop!

♥ You know I'm crazy about cakes. In case you missed it, click here to see Susan Kusel's post at Booklights, featuring "Books Good Enough to Eat." Trés cute!

♥ Via Kerry Madden's blog, I learned about a couple of online petitions in support of releasing American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee ASAP. You probably know they were recently convicted of trespassing on North Korean soil and sentenced to 12 years in a labor camp. They've already been detained (wrongfully, in my opinion) for 3 months, and the longer they're there, the harder it will be to sort things out and secure their safe release. Sign the petition!

♥ Don't forget, there's only about 2 weeks left to head on over to your nearest Kohl's store to purchase Jackie Urbanovic's New York Times Bestsellers, Duck at the Door and Duck Soup, and plush versions of main characters Max and Brody. Only $5 each for a book or toy, and all profits support health and education programs for kids in your own community! Read what Jackie has to say about Kohl's Cares for Kids® here.

    
                TAKE US HOME AND HELP SOME KIDS!!


♥ BTW, you look so good today. You really should wear that color more often!