Outreach, Innovation, and Interviews! Meet Wimee in All His Myriad Forms

September 26, 2023 by Betsy Bird

My 9-year-old son likes to ask me tough questions. “If you could be rich and famous for something stupid or do something amazing and smart but never be remembered for it, which would you want?” Or more recently, “If you hadn’t become a librarian, what else would have wanted to do?”

The truth? Puppeteer. Honestly. My Instagram feed is just a slew of them, and I regret nothing. But why choose? What if library outreach and puppeteering and, oh I dunno, maybe live videos and apps and books and all kinds of things could be combined together? Because already it has.

If you attended the last American Library Association conference this past June in Chicago, you might have run across a little robot by the name of Wimee on the conference floor. Here’s the lowdown from the team: “He’s part of a fast-growing educational show, seen on PBS stations titled Wimee’s Words and born out of a regional library system partnership. The show was created during COVID to connect with at-home learners through the outreach efforts of Kent District Library and has grown in popularity. Wimee is all about teaching kids to love learning through wacky wordplay and visual fun.”

Today, this post is going to break down precisely what Wimee is and what his connection is to the Kent District Library. So take your choice! You can watch me interview the little guy himself and/or read my interview with the Wimee team. It’s wide open!

God, I enjoyed doing that.

Next up, I talk with Michael Hyacinthe, Stephanie Kammeraad, and Kevin Kammeraad. Michael Hyacinthe is a vet and entrepreneur who sparked the idea of Wimee’s Words, as seen on PBS. Stephanie Kammeraad authored the new Wimee Creates book series. Kevin Kammeraad is the voice of Wimee the Robot, and master puppeteer. And Sara Proaño is the Community Engagement Manager for Kent District Library, but wasn’t able to join us for this interview.

Betsy Bird: Thank you so much, everyone, for joining me! I know that Wimee was a HUGE hit at ALA (and I had co-workers of mine talking about him who weren’t even children’s librarians). So let’s go way, way back to the very beginning so that we can catch people up from the very start. What is Wimee’s origin story?

Michael: Hyacinthe: Thanks, Betsy! Wimee was inspired as a side project through an initiative I founded that supports wounded veterans through creativity. I’m a US Navy veteran myself. The initiative Has Heart (a nonprofit organization in Grand Rapids, MI) helps wounded veterans heal and express themselves through art, design, and fashion by pairing veterans with professional designers. Recognizing the therapeutic value of this process, I sought to develop a tool that would allow veterans to express themselves independently. The result was the creation of the Wimage (short for Words to Images) company and app in 2018. Upon its release however, I realized the value of the app in early childhood education.

The app’s unique capability to transform words into images offered children a chance to become visual storytellers and designers. After receiving feedback from early testers, including parents, teachers, and educators, we pivoted the focus of the app toward children. I felt we needed a friendly face to represent the app, so I collaborated with my friend and children’s author and puppeteer, Kevin Kammeraad. Together, we created a robot we called Wimee, an endearing character that continues to inspire children through his show Wimee’s Words (as seen on PBS), the Wimage app, and his book series. Thanks to Has Heart, the creation of Wimee and Wimage was made possible.

BB: The show Wimee’s Words was co-produced by Kent District Library. What was that collaboration like for you? And how do you convince a library to go all in on virtual learning?

MH: Wimee is owned and operated by Wimage, LLC; however, our children’s show Wimee’s Words is co-produced in partnership with Kent District Library (KDL) here in Michigan with the support of other community organizations. The development of the Wimee character as a puppet and the app took Kevin and me into classrooms throughout West Michigan. Throughout this time, I leveraged the app, while Kevin brought Wimee to life as a puppeteer. This collaboration resulted in an interactive workshop where children could create stories using the app, narrated by Wimee the robot puppet. When Covid-19 led to the cancellation of all our classroom workshops, we quickly pivoted, creating a show from the Kammeraads’ attic that could reach children in their living rooms.

The creation of the show provided a dual solution: it enabled us to continue engaging with children at home, and it offered the library a platform to generate content and interact with children through virtual learning. This initiative exemplifies the power of community innovation and collaboration in overcoming challenges presented by a global pandemic. It’s a testament to what can be achieved when local organizations come together to solve problems and continue serving their communities.

Kevin Kammeraad: Before working for KDL, I was an independent family artist for 20 years (books, music, puppets, programs, etc.) In 2018, I joined the KDL outreach department part-time as a bookmobile operator (it was a wonderful fit!) and became full-time in August 2019. When the world stopped in March 2020, these two worlds collided and the virtual outreach program of Wimee’s Words was born. At first, it was my wife Steph, Michael, and me working a day at a time to pivot quickly and stay connected with the community. For well over a year, we were live five days a week! Stephanie researched, wrote, and ran the show. Young Brody Andrus (and his amazing mom Beth) added a consistent passion and support of the show. The list goes on with so many great contributors! As the show developed, evolved, and improved, the team expanded. Jim Dague, aka ScribbleJim from the children’s band ScribbleMonster, joined the team from his home south of Chicago. We first had him on the show weekly as a musical guest, but I consider Jim a musical and creative genius, so we asked him to take on a much more involved level of creating and producing the show. These days, he’s pushing us forward in dramatic and intentional ways! This level of dedication, the synergy of the team, and the support and contributions from my manager Sara Proano (Community Engagement Manager at KDL) are keeping the momentum of our weekly show going, now entering its third season.

If you were talking to Sara she would tell you that Wimee’s Words is considered outreach at the library, not programming. It’s a way for us to reach families experiencing barriers who otherwise do not or cannot come to the library on a regular basis. The show provides a safe point of contact on Fridays, which is a day without classes in the majority of the early learning organizations in Kent County. We do this with our early learning partners, which surround these families in community, aligning our work and supporting each other in serving small children and their caregivers. The show provides opportunities for engagement, connection, and belonging. We’re building a community of young learners!

BB: Lots of libraries have thought to use puppets in their programming. Far fewer have taken those puppets and run with them. Wimee these days appears to be far more than just a puppet or even a video series but a brand. But how did that transition happen?

KK: On the KDL side of things, we focus on our community, featuring our local kids and organizations. In Wimee’s Words we include a segment called What’s Happening at the Library, where Sara puppeteers Lucy, a bilingual child who interviews a librarian on the happenings of the week at the branches. In our segment Find It Fast, a scavenger hunt game we play, Brody puppeteers Spark who finds the named items around his house. And then we’ve all seen how Wimee as a character, as a puppet, brings fresh energy and excitement to kids and families who are then drawn to him and want to engage and learn with him.

MH: I think the reason this is working is because the library has been receptive to collaborating with an outside innovator. At times I think libraries feel as if they need to be the innovator in order for them to support or push a project. I believe libraries can be used as incubators, providing opportunities for entrepreneurs or innovators a place to launch or test their ideas. The success of the Wimage brand is primarily because of the external individuals pushing it in addition to local support from our strategic partners like the library. As a brand in partnership with KDL, our missions align which is to inspire and impact the communities that we live in and for us this happens to be through a robot puppet. It was always our goal to build a brand with Wimee and we are happy and grateful that our public library saw our potential and is helping us deliver our content to the families that we serve. The transition was part of our goal from the beginning, to use multiple mediums to engage and inspire kids.

BB: Part of what blows my mind about all this is how effective you’ve been in covering your bases. The timeline, if I’m right, is app to a web-based kids show to book series. Were these created simultaneously or all together? And how do you focus on each one to keep the quality so high? Is it a question of priorities or delegation or something else entirely?

MH I believe our success stands firmly on the shoulders of our dedicated team and visionary leadership. The journey began with the inception of the Wimage app, which then evolved to include a charming character, Wimee, as the face of the app. The progression continued with the creation of Wimee’s Words,a live, interactive show that we initially launched on social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, before expanding to PBS and eventually leading to our book series.

From the beginning, we envisioned a show that would be co-produced by children. Through their feedback and comments, Wimee could seamlessly incorporate their ideas into the show in real-time, fostering a sense of inclusion and validation among the young viewers. Their ideas were valued and they felt heard by playing a significant role in shaping the show. This magical interaction was made possible by our master puppeteer and children’s entertainer, Kevin, who expertly incorporated viewer ideas into the show.

All of these different mediums are now being further developed simultaneously. We understand that children have numerous ways to engage, and providing them with multiple platforms to learn from, laugh with, and be inspired by Wimee seems like a winning strategy. This approach offers parents and caregivers a choice in how their children can interact with Wimee.

Maintaining high-quality content across all these platforms is possible due to our incredible collaborators and partners, like Zonderkidz who publishes the Wimee books. It seemed to be part of a natural progression that with the success of the app and then the show, something more permanent that shows the educational value of this brand be introduced.

We have a clear vision and purpose for the direction of our Wimee brand, and we are excited about the journey ahead.

BB: Let’s dive into the books themselves. Wimee is now making his way into actual titles for kids and part of what makes the books so interesting is that they have their own interactive elements (like tracing letters with your fingers). When making these books, what was important to highlight? And where do you hope the series goes next?

MH: Every book is written so that it is a springboard for multiple concepts, multiple discussions, and Stephanie is a master at bringing these ideas to light and allowing the reader to stretch their imagination. And the illustrations by Mattia Cerato are beautiful and vibrant. There’s so much for the reader to notice in them.

Stephanie Kammeraad: Back when I was teaching, some of my favorite books to share with kids were the ones that had more than one way to engage with them. It was important to me that the Wimee books included lots of different educational elements that were also enjoyable, and that therefore enticed kids and teachers to return to them again and again.

There are currently three Wimee books in the works with Zonderkidz. The first one was released in July 2023 and is entitled Wimee Creates with Vehicles and Colors. The second in the Wimee Createsseries will be out the following summer: Wimee Creates with Animals and Numbers. These are both concept books that not only highlight the obvious concepts that are in the titles, but also include strong verbs, rhyming, and a different preposition on each of the twelve two-page spreads. I love introducing new words to kids, so each book also has a few words that you don’t typically find in concept books so that kids can build their vocabulary.

In between the two Wimee Createsbooks is the first in the Wimee Learnsseries entitled Wimee Learns About Money, coming out in January 2024. The main cast of characters from Wimee’s Words are in this story and they work together to learn about saving, spending, earning, and giving. We believe that financial literacy needs to start early, and this book is an easy entry to these important money concepts.

Every Wimee book includes a note to parents and educators. I love backmatter in books! The endnote gives lots of ideas on how to have deeper, more meaningful discussions about the words and concepts in the book, wordplay, making connections to everyday life, etc.

As for our hopes for the series, we hope the Wimee books grow to include new stories that continue to inspire kids through Wimee to explore, learn, and create!

BB: What is the gap that Wimee fills? Why do we need him at this particular moment in time?

MH: We believe Wimee is addressing a nationwide desire for more interactive, educational programming for children. Today’s kids are exposed to technology at an early age and primarily as consumers. Our goal with Wimee is to inspire kids to become producers instead of just consumers. This is especially true with the rapid increase of automation and AI. These advancements will require kids to become creators and innovators in order to succeed in the digital age and Wimee will help lead kids through this journey.

Kevin and Stephanie: Wimee gets kids into the digital framework, but he is also very accessible and relatable. He laughs, has fun, has a thirst for learning with his friends (as you see in the upcoming money book) and kids need to see that side as well—learning is FUN!

BB: Finally, what’s next for Wimee? And what’s next for all of you?

MH: Our goal is to build the next Sesame Street for digital-era learners, where children themselves are contributing to the content they enjoy. We believe that through Wimee, kids will see themselves as authors, illustrators, animators, designers, and storytellers. In partnership with our local PBS station WGVU Public Media and Casual Simulation, we are also working on launching the first ever live, interactive television broadcast show for kids. Viewers will become participants and will be able to communicate with our show in real time through a smart phone or tablet and help create and inspire the direction of the show as it’s being aired. It’s very exciting!

Michael, Stephanie, and Kevin: If you or any of your readers come to visit Grand Rapids, please come downtown and see the new Wimee Dreams exhibit at the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum as well as our Wimee Store & Studio. We’d love to connect!

Big thanks to Michael, Stephanie, Kevin and (naturally) Wimee himself for talking with me today. Thanks too to Sara Merritt, Jessica Westra, and all the folks at Zonderkidz for helping to put this together. Check out Wimee’s online programming, books, and website for even more information about this truly unique amalgamation.

Apply for the Bechtel Fellowship, You Clever Librarians Out There!

September 23, 2023 by Betsy Bird

You’ve got a lot on your plate, but this offer sounds so heavenly that I just had to pass it along. From ALSC:

Now is the time to get lost in a good book (or a few thousand of them)!

Applications for the Bechtel Fellowship are now being accepted.

The Louise Seaman Bechtel Fellowship provides a grant up to $7,500 to a qualified children’s librarian to spend up to four weeks reading and studying at the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville. The Baldwin Library contains a special collection of 130,000 volumes of children’s literature published mostly before 1950. The fellowship is endowed in memory of Louise Seaman Bechtel and Ruth M. Baldwin.

The application and more information can be found at http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/profawards/bechtel

The deadline for submitting materials is October 15, 2023.

For any questions about the award/application, please contact ALSC Professional Recognition and Scholarships Committee Co-Chairs, Elizabeth Burns (eburns@njstatelib.org) and Mary Schreiber (schreiberalsc@gmail.com)

Review of the Day: The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh

September 22, 2023 by Betsy Bird

The Lost Year
By Katherine Marsh
Roaring Brook (an imprint of Macmillan)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250313607
Ages 9-12
On shelves now

By and large, it sucks to live through history. For every Apollo moon landing you get ten Challengers. For every March on Washington you get reasons for why that march had to happen in the first place. Our kids know this. Heck, our kids probably know this better, as a group, than most kids throughout history. After all, only a few of the youngest of them will have already forgotten the experience of living through lockdown. It was such a bonding moment for them. For the rest of their lives they’ll know that almost every person around their age that they meet lived through some kind of variation on the same experience. When the early pandemic lockdown first happened in 2020, children’s authors leapt at the chance to include it in their middle grade novels. As a result you’d get books like Joseph Bruchac’s Rez Dogs, which came out while many children were still learning virtually, or Kelly Yang’s New From Here, which came out just after. Now a little more than three years has passed, as I write this, since March of 2020. Still, we’ll be seeing the pandemic in our literature for some time to come. The trick is in how authors use it, and few have been so deft as Katherine Marsh in her thoroughly stunning The Lost Year. If you think the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, the famine in Ukraine in the 1930s, and Brooklyn at that same time makes for an awkward tri-narrative, you are wrong. And if you also think that it would be highly difficult to weave three such perspectives together, there you are correct, but it can be done. The Lost Year proves as much.

It hasn’t been a good day. Matthew’s Ninetendo Switch was confiscated by his mom JUST as he was finally going to defeat the big bad in Zelda. It’s early 2020 and the world has shut down. Matthew’s stuck in his home with his mom and great-grandma, whom he just calls GG. Meanwhile his dad is stuck overseas in Europe where he’s reporting on COVID-19 from afar. When Matthew’s mom assigns him the task of helping GG go through her old boxes, his boredom is quickly quelled by fascination. GG starts to tell two stories: One of a girl named Helen living in Brooklyn the 30s, and one of her cousin in Ukraine. But just to make the story confusing, there were actually two cousins in the Ukraine. Only one of them got out alive. The more Matthew learns, the more he realizes that he’s unspooling a family mystery that has been hidden in the family for decades… until now.

Kids today. Man. They are so lucky. Thanks to the middle grade novels they read, they’re going to be a universally informed generation in terms of history. My generation got our history from School House Rock. So, by the time I graduated high school I could tell you the rudimentary basics of WWII, but would demure if you asked about its predecessor. And the Ukraine? I knew so very little. Yet what separates a fine novel for kids from a truly great novel isn’t the simple fact that it’s set in the past and brings up facts that teachers, parents, and librarians might not know. We’ve plenty of rote books out there to make that clear enough. No, there needs to be something that ties the past into the present in some way. I don’t mean that you need a contemporary character. You need a universal truth to be present in your history that resonates with the current reader. In the case of The Lost Year, I was surprised to discover how much of this book is about news reporting. There’s the reporting tips that Matthew is getting from his father in order to interview his great-grandmother. Back in the 30s there’s the inaccurate reporting coming from Moscow correspondent Walter Duranty saying that there is no famine. There’s the reporting that Helen wants to do in order to tell the true story of what’s happening overseas, only to find her eyewitness has clammed up. And if by reading this book kids can start to get a sense of what propaganda is and how it can be wielded, the price will be worth it right there.

Just from a technical standpoint, I went through this book to figure out when exactly Marsh first starts to introduce characters beyond our contemporary hero, Matthew. Matthew starts learning of the girls’ stories, but if the author had waited too long to introduce them, it would mean front ending the book with a lot of comparatively dull lockdown text. So around chapter four she brings us a Helen chapter. It’s neat and you get the sense that it may have some tie to an old photo Matthew dug up in GG’s room. Now if Marsh had just plunged forward with that storyline without further explanation she could have disengaged her readers, so she intersperses this Helen stuff with Matthew again. This continues until a moment when GG says that she has “A terrible secret. Changed my life.” And then next thing you know we meet Mila. Adept.

As a child I eschewed misery as a general rule. If I got even a whiff of a sense that a book wasn’t going to be pure sweetness and light, I was outta there. Pretty limiting, I know. As an adult reader, some of that remains in me, so I’m very attuned to how an author keeps a book from devolving into a misery stew. When you’re writing for the 9-12 year old crowd, how much is too much? What are you allowed to tell? Where do you draw the line sometimes? In Marsh’s case, the only other books I’d read from her were fantasies. Here, she has to grapple with the horrors of a famine. To do so, she cleverly puts up some barriers between herself and the reader. The terrible things that happen in Nadia’s village are told to us after the fact. When bad things happen to our main characters, it’s a little more bearable because they have people (though not many) that do take care of them. And there’s a happy ending to the book but it’s a bittersweet happiness. Somehow, that makes you like it all the more.

Now how do you sell this to kids? I’m not saying it doesn’t grip you from the start. As the mother of a Zelda-loving kid, I have a special appreciation in my heart for the first sentences of this pretty sophisticated novel being, “Dark Beast Ganon charged. I aimed the Bow of Light at the monster’s glowing core and jumped. I shot off one arrow, then another.” But let’s face it. Some kids are going to hear the words “historical novel” and jump ship from the get go. Back in the day I did a lot of “booktalks” for kids. These are cases where you basically do a movie trailer, but as a monologue, for a book for a roomful of students. And what I love most about The Lost Year is also what’s going to sell it for them: It has a twist. Did I see the twist coming? Of course. Marsh plays fair with the reader and lays down lots of nice little clues. Still, even knowing what it was, I still felt that palpable shock when I discovered that I was right. Gotta credit the writing there.

Naturally, as a librarian my inclination is to pair this book with other titles. Interestingly, the first thing to come to mind was The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman. Again you have two girls, with two points of view, in an oppressive state, trying to make their way (only in this case they’ve escaped from Chernobyl). I was reminded too of The Genius Under the Table by Eugene Yelchin, where a boy growing up in Russia (a bit later in time than in this book) faces his deprivations with a ton of humor. Finally Cloud and Wallfish by Anne Nesbet came to mind as well. By gum, you could have yourself an incredible Cold War reading list if you truly wanted to.

I was explaining the plot of this book to my 9-year-old and the subject of Ukraine today came up and what they’re going through. When he heard that civilians were getting injured he asked, “Why doesn’t everyone just leave?” I tried to explain that it can be very difficult to leave a country and that America doesn’t take all that many refugees. He was utterly shocked. “But America’s the one country the in the world that takes everyone!” That hurt to correct, but it occurs to me that we might not have brought it up at all if I wasn’t explaining to him how hard it was for people to even leave the Ukraine in the 30s. Can you imagine all the conversations that this book will spark? That it has already sparked? So many comparisons to today. So many ways in which the problems then can mirror our problems today. Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it. And those that don’t read their children’s historical fiction are missing out on more than they’ll ever know. A grand work of recent and distant history.

On shelves now.

Source: Galley sent from publisher for review.

The Quadruple Collaboration: Nikki Grimes and Brian Pinkney Discuss Jerry Pinkney and A Walk in the Woods

September 21, 2023 by Betsy Bird

Let’s start at the beginning. This is going to require a little bit of context.

Step back in time to late 2019. It was at that time that after forty or so years of friendship, New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes and Caldecott Award-winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney decided that they should do a book together. They never had before, as strange as that sounds, and so they began to brainstorm some ideas for their first collaboration. This is how their publisher explained to me what happened next:

According to Nikki, having noticed the “rarity of children’s books that feature African American characters engaging with nature,” the two decided to focus their ideas on this theme. “Jerry mentioned his daily walks in the woods [and] my brain lit up like a starburst,” she shared. For the next few months, Jerry would go on daily walks and send Nikki picture of the things he’d see. The two would pass ideas back and forth, eventually bringing their story to life:

Confused and distraught after the death of his father, a boy opens an envelope his dad left behind and is surprised to find a map of the woods beyond their house, with one spot marked in bright red. The woods had been something they shared together. Why would his father want him to go alone? The treasure trove he finds reveals something more for them to share, and some peace amid the grief. His dad knew what he really needed was a walk in the woods.

Upon receiving the news of Jerry’s sudden passing in 2021, Nikki began to mourn not only her friend but the special project they never got to finish. Nikki had completed her manuscript and knew Jerry been working on the art, but was not sure how far he’d gotten. Her answer would come in an unforgettable phone call with author Gloria Pinkney, Jerry’s wife. Not only had Jerry finished the tight pencil sketch, but Caldecott Honoree Brian Pinkney, would be completing his father’s work by adding his trademark radiant watercolors.

“The experience can only be described as mysterious and mystical,” explained Brian. Upon being invited to collaborate on A Walk in the Woods and reading Nikki’s finished manuscript, Brian could not help but notice the striking similarities between himself and the boy in her story. Still processing the loss of his father, Brian looked through Jerry’s finished linework of the very woods the two used to walk together. In what felt like a “visitation” from his father, Brian felt encouraged to use “bright, emotionally resonant swirls of color found in nature” to add his own touch to the book. With the help of Brian’s niece—illustrator Charnelle Pinkney Barlow—and digital tools, Jerry’s finished line drawings were merged with Brian’s paintings.

“I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter end to this story” shared Nikki. “I don’t imagine Jerry could, either!”

It’s an incredible story, but incredible stories are one thing, incredible books are another, and when the two actually manage to intersect, that’s when you know you’ve hit on something. I’m impressed by A Walk In the Woods, but I still had questions. Fortunately, Nikki and Brian were keen to provide me with a couple answers. And so it goes . . .

Betsy Bird: Nikki, I think that technically this story begins with you. Though it feels like a story that would have been written specifically for Brian and Jerry, you wrote it long before his passing. Could you tell us a little about how this was a collaboration with Jerry from the start?

Nikki Grimes: Jerry and I first began playing with the idea for a collaboration during the Texas Book Festival in Austin, in 2019, thanks to some nudging by Gloria [Pinkney], who wondered aloud why we’d never done a book together before. Neither of us had a good answer, so we immediately struck up a conversation about it—and the word “conversation” is key. We both expressed an interest in creating more children’s books featuring Black characters in nature, and Jerry specifically said that he wanted the book to be a conversation between us, between an artist and a writer. That’s where A Walk in the Woods really started. Neither of us knew, at the time, what the story would be, or even if it would, in fact, be a story or merely a collection of poetry—we didn’t know. We were both playing in the field of imagination to see where it might lead us. So, there was a lot of going back and forth between us, through emails and telephone conversations. We were in constant contact with one another, sharing experiences in nature, poetry, sketches, videos taken during Jerry’s walks, images I discovered doing research of the area, and so on. We fed off of each other in the process of creating this work.

Betsy Bird: Brian, at what point in the process did you come into this? How did you first hear about the project and who was the first person to come up with the idea of continuing it through your own art?

Brian Pinkney: Just weeks after the passing of my father, I was invited to collaborate on the completion of the artwork by Neal Porter. At the time, I didn’t know how the collaboration between my father and Nikki Grimes had begun. When I read Nikki’s evocative story, I was immediately struck by the beauty and power. At the same time, the overwhelming irony of the story wasn’t lost on me – a boy, looking in the mirror soon after his father had died. This had been my exact experience the days leading up to the moment I read Nikki’s words for the first time. I took all of this as visitation from dad, who was encouraging me to finish the artwork he began, which consisted of tight sketches. Color had not been added. In my mind and heart, there was no doubt about whether I could, or would “carry the paintbrush forward” to bring the book to readers.

BB: The plot of the story has a preternatural quality to it. It’s a perfect capper not simply Jerry’s life but the legacy he leaves us through his children and grandchildren, but he couldn’t have had any idea about that when he first worked on it, nor did you, Nikki, when you wrote it. Did it go through any significant edits to the text after Jerry died?

NG: No. It was all already there. I didn’t touch it. Not one word was changed. When something like this happens, I have one answer for it: this was a God thing. This work was led, was blessed, was inspired. I did the work and experienced the angst and all of that, but God was in charge of what this work became. The story behind the story gives me the same goose bumps it gives everyone else who reads it.

BB: Brian, prior to this book, had you ever worked on a project where your artistic style had to merge with someone else’s? What was the process like for you?

BP: This was the first time I had to merge my artistic style with someone. it was a mysterious and mystical journey because I had to reach down into a place so deep, all the while asking my dad what to do, how to bring his intention to the world. I began with a process I’ve come to call “wandering and pondering,” taking time to explore the woods where this story is set, near the property of the home where I was raised in upstate, New York, and where my father’s studio still is today. While walking in those woods, I explored the colors, the textures, the smell of the air. This sensory exploration led me to how I would approach the artwork for A Walk in the Woods. Through this meditative process, I soon realized I had already started the book’s illustrations. Just months before my father passed away, I’d been working on earth-toned swooshes of color. I’d shown these to my dad, and said to him,

“I don’t know what these things are for.”

He told me how evocative the brush-work was, and encouraged me to keep at the visual exploration of it all. These pieces turned out to be the inspiration for the watercolor washes that would go underneath his line drawings for the illustrations in A Walk in the Woods. While working on the book’s paintings, I was flooded with memories of my dad, his “art-wisdom” and insight. He often referred to watercolor washes as “happy accidents.” He encouraged me to let the watercolors flow wherever they needed to on the page. I remember watching him lay down his own watercolor washes, his careful hands embracing his favorite Winsor Newton watercolor paintbrush. My dad also loved Arches watercolor paper, which gave him just the right texture he needed to absorb the watercolor the way he liked. As a gift to my father, I used his leftover watercolor paper for the artwork in this book.

BB: Nikki, one of the things I love best about this book is written in a poetic form throughout, but also manages to contain this sudden surprise of straight, pure poetry midway through the tale. Could you tell us a bit about how poetry and storytelling are woven throughout this tale?

NG: Actually, this work began with the pure poetry you refer to. Long before there was a tale to tell, Jerry and I were in conversation about nature in general, about his daily walks in the woods near his home, and during one of those conversations, I asked him to write down an anecdote he’d just told me, and send it to me. He mentioned that he’d done some sketching related to that subject, and I invited him to send whatever sketches he had, as well. When I received them, I created a poem in response. Over the few next weeks, he shared additional anecdotes and sketches from his walks, and many of them inspired poems, so that’s really where it all started. Of course, once I had a handful of these pieces, I realized I needed to nail down a skeletal story framework in which to fit each of these disparate pieces. I found the inspiration for that story by revisiting The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, by Chris Van Allsburg. From his classic, I came away with the idea of creating a mystery that would allow me to weave all of these disparate pieces together, and the mystery I came up with was a hunt for treasure, and the treasure itself would be those sketches and poems that started the ball rolling.

BB: Librarians are increasingly on the lookout for books that are beyond the usual white-kids-in-nature trope. Nikki, could you talk to us a little bit about how poetry and nature work together in books like this one? Why is poetry so essential for readers of this age?

NG: As I alluded to earlier, one of the reasons this book exists is because both Jerry and I were passionate about creating more books featuring Black characters engaging in nature. There’s so much in nature that sparks poetry, of course, so I feel there’s a natural correlation between the two. As for poetry being essential for this audience, poetry helps to engender a love of language, and that’s critical when you’re talking about seeding and nurturing a love of story, and a taste for literature among emergent readers.

BB: I know that part of what’s so wonderful about the final product is that this collaboration between generations also includes the work of Charnelle Pinkney Barlow. Brian, could you talk about her contributions to the book and how she became involved?

BP: My niece, Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, the granddaughter of Jerry Pinkney, became the perfect third collaborator. Charnelle, a talented artist, who has illustrated nearly a dozen children’s books of her own, has a working knowledge of rendering images using computer illustration. Charnelle‘s skill helped merge my dad‘s line drawings with the paintings I created.

BB: Was there anything that either of you initially wanted to include in the book and couldn’t for one reason or another?

NG: Not on my end, although I could have gone on and on about the back-story to this book, but there wasn’t room for that. That desire is satisfied, though, through interviews like this one!

BB: Finally, what are the three of you, including Charnelle, working on next?

NG: I have two new picture books on the way: A Cup of Quiet (Bloomsbury) another nature-themed story; and Stronger Than (Heartdrum), a book featuring a Black Choctaw character, co-authored with Stacy Wells, a member of the Choctaw Nation. In the meantime, I’m working on two adult poetry collections. I like to mix things up!

BP: I’m finishing up on an original story, Brandon and the Baby, to be published by Greenwillow books for young readers. It’s about a baby brother and older brother and his magical blanket. I’m also working to complete the last project my dad had started and didn’t get to finish. Charnelle will help me merge my painting with Jerry’s line drawings for this as well.

Charnelle has a few different projects going on all in various stages. Shes working on the manuscript for her next author/illustrated book. She feels like it’s still in its awkward teenage phase, so won’t say much about it just yet… stay tuned!! She recently turned in the final illustrations for the third book in the Keyana series written by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley which is super exciting. The second book Keyana Loves Her Friend publishes with Little Brown Books for Young Readers on December 12th, 2023.

I look forward to all of that. And I thank Nikki and Brian for taking the time to answer my questions today. The good news is that A Walk in the Woods is in stores and libraries now, so no need to wait. Run on out and grab yourself a copy today. There’s really nothing else quite like it out there today.

The Bridge: Featuring Eva Lindström and Jon Klassen in Conversation

September 20, 2023 by Betsy Bird

One of my favorite parts of this job is talking to picture book creators about their art. But you know what’s even better than that? Talking to picture book creators about other picture book creators. Particularly when they’re in conversation with someone that they particularly admire.

If Eva Lindström isn’t a household name in America then that is no fault of hers. After all, she was awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2022, has been nominated once for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and eleven times for the August award which she won in 2013. Add in the fact that she began her career as a comic artist and cartoonist, and has had a major influence on the new generation of comic book artists now emerging in Sweden, and you have yourself a particularly fascinating individual.

This year, Ms. Lindström is releasing the picture book The Bridge here in the States and it is like no other you’ll see this year.

Y’know, I don’t normally do this, but sometimes you have to grab a couple professional reviews to make a point. Here’s what they have had to say about the book:

“Translated from the original Swedish, with off-kilter and perspective-warped illustrations done in a pale wash of gouache and watercolor, this book is entirely original and unique. The text itself is straightforward and simple with an undercurrent of dry humor, but there are strategic and deliberate hints of violence painted ominously into the backgrounds…that give the story an unsettling feeling throughout. That, combined with the eerie, mic-drop ending, makes it feel somewhat like a Christopher Nolan film for kids in a 36-page picture-book format.” —Booklist

“Lindström’s naïve gouache illustrations carry readers through a strange, mostly empty world seemingly fraught with danger…Enigmatic.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Suspenseful…” —Publishers Weekly

Joining us today is Millie Von Platen, Editorial Assistant at Astra Books for Young Readers. She’ll be conducting this conversation between Eva and one of her most ardent fans, a fellow by the name of Jon Klassen. Sit in and enjoy the kind of discussion that only comes around once in a great while:

Millie Von Platen: Hi, Eva and Jon! I’m so delighted to be talking to you both. I’m from Sweden, so when my colleague Leonard Marcus first brought Eva’s books to our edit meeting, I was thrilled— Eva’s works has this tongue-in-cheek and darkly humorous style that I always loved as a kid. When I moved the US for college and started working in the children’s publishing industry, I remember reading Jon’s stories and appreciating the similarly offbeat and wry twists. I also find that both your books have huge crossover appeal to adults— The Bridge and The Skull both don’t shy away from a subtle type of spookiness that I think can be appreciated by all ages. When you’re working on your books, do you find that you write and illustrate for adult readers as much as you do young readers?

Eva Lindström: I write and illustrate things that I myself find interesting. I do not want to write for a particular age group; I want to create stories that amuse me and are fun to work on. It is hard to believe that many people read and enjoy my books—it’s a lot easier to imagine that perhaps someone I know makes up my audience. Someone like me, maybe. I am quite child-like but also grown-up.

Jon Klassen: I agree very much with Eva. I think the primary thing is to keep yourself, as the author, interested. That’s not entirely selfish, either. An audience can sense if the author is, or was, engaged when they made something, and most of the time the audience responds appropriately. If there is a consideration of a specific audience, like children, for me, it has to do with basic comprehension – I enjoy getting the main idea clear enough that a very young reader would understand it. But even then, that has more to do with an interest in general distillation than in an intended age group. It’s just a fun challenge to boil it down.

MVP: Jon, when I first reached out to you about writing a blurb for The Bridge, you mentioned you had admired Eva’s illustrations for a long time. Given that most of Eva’s titles are in Swedish, I believe The Bridge is one of the first stories of hers you’d actually read. What was it that drew you to Eva’s work initially? And now that you’ve read her writing, do you find that view her work in a new way?

JK: I think any one of Eva’s pictures would have stopped me in my tracks, no matter which one I saw first. It’s everything about them. She has such amazing texture and movement to her work, always just the right amount to excite you without taking attention away from the overall compositions, which are always so brave and organic. There are some approaches to illustration and image-making that believe in leading the eye and telling you where to look right away, and Eva doesn’t do that. She lets you look around, so when you find what you’re meant to find in there, it belongs to you. Her characters are never quite where you think they’re going to be, which, to me, points to a spirit of our smallness in the world, how we as inhabitants are only part of a place, part something larger and unsaid, instead of at the center of it. There is an honesty and a truth to that.

Her writing, to me, seems to have as much interest in negative space as her images do, and it is gentle and fearsome and loud and quiet and blunt and soft all at the same time. That’s not to say you can predict the writing just by looking at the pictures, but when you see them both together, they confirm each other in a wonderful way. Her story structure and pacing is another thing altogether, and is somehow the thing that hits me hardest in the end. She’s unlike anyone else I can think of in that area.

Eva, I was excited that we have slightly similar approaches to writing, where we both seem to enjoy writing either in first person or using only the voices of the characters, without narration. Is that something that took a while for you to discover, or did that way of writing come quickly (it took me a little while to figure it out)?

EL: I think I have almost always used I and We in my stories. It puts me right in the story and lets me experience it in a good way, I like to think. The Bridge is probably the first time I’ve let the characters do all the talking. There are a lot of “probably”s and “maybe”s in everything I say; partly because I am still unsure about my whole process and my memory is kind of lousy. In any case, the narration becomes a bit more unreliable in a good way if it is written entirely in dialogue. And it’s easier to have fun ideas with the story. However, it has taken a while for me to get to purely dialogue-driven stories.

MVP: Eva, this is the first time your books have been published by a US publisher for an American audience. As you know, each country’s children’s book marketplace has specific needs and interests. What has your experience been writing for a Swedish audience, and what do you hope American kids reading THE BRIDGE for the first time will take away from your story?

EL: My books have received all kinds of feedback here in Sweden. Some find them too strange, while others appreciate them for precisely that quality. I hope, of course, that American children will find joy in the slightly odd atmosphere when the Pig and the Wolf [in The Bridge] are chatting over a cup of coffee. And now I wonder how you feel that your books, Jon, have been received in Sweden and abroad and if the reception has been any different than in the US where your books were originally published?

JK: I wish I had more direct experience with the reception my books have gotten abroad, especially in Sweden. I have a little, though, and by and large it seems that people outside the US are more comfortable with ambiguity, in the story or even in the purpose (if any) of the book. There’s an impulse in the US to have their children be directly instructed somehow by what they’re reading or looking at, and if you don’t do that, they’re often a little suspicious of what you’re up to. Almost everywhere else I’ve gotten to go with the books, they don’t need that, and they are able to enjoy what’s there, and what isn’t there, and talk about that. It’s very encouraging.

MVP: Final questions! I am personally curious: if you weren’t children’s book author-illustrators what would you be? What were your favorite children’s books when you were young? And where do you draw inspiration from?

EL: If I had a different career, I’d probably work in gardening, or perhaps something related to forests. And some of my favorite books when I was a child were Winnie the Pooh, Mio My Mio, The Little Prince, The Island Stallion, The Black Stallion, Anne of Green Gables, Pippi Longstocking, and Rasmus på Luffen. My inspiration comes from everything that happens in the world, everything that happens to people I spend time with, everything I read, all the movies I watch, trees, mountains, animals, clouds.

JK: Whenever I had a summer job when I was in school I would try very hard to get one that got me outside, and I’d get very sad if I couldn’t find one. I like to read about physics even though my math talents are pretty nonexistent, but maybe if I hadn’t been so interested in drawing I would’ve tried harder at math and been more useful there. I admire tradespeople a lot – carpenters or plaster workers or car mechanics, that kind of thing.

I feel the same way as Eva about inspiration, it can come from just about anywhere, though I don’t think I have many actual ideas until I start to consider the form I’d be working in. Whatever the limitations or strengths of a particular medium is usually what gets me started and then I begin to realize I actually do have thoughts on whatever is happening out in the world.

When I was little I loved Hardy Boys books, Tolkien, Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes and Archie comics, P.D. Eastman, and Alfred Hitchcock’s collections of scary stories.

I’d like to thank Kerry McManus and the team at Astra Books for Young Readers for organizing and putting together this conversation. Thanks to Millie for her insightful questions and to both Eva and Jon for taking the time to answer them so thoroughly.

The Bridge is available for purchase right now and as I mentioned before, it is like nothing else you may read here in America this year. Go find it!

Newbery/Caldecott 2024: Fall Prediction Edition

September 19, 2023 by Betsy Bird

Oh, we’re down to the wire now. By this point a lot of the review journals at least have received the last of the 2023 publications. I always feel particularly bad for books, specifically longer books, with October publication dates. Year end lists are pretty much submitting their selections right now, which means a lot of those delightful late-in-the-year releases won’t have even been read.

It also means that sites like Heavy Medals is roaring into gear. Be sure to check out their recent post First Impressions aren’t always right: or are they? Beginning of the year 2024 Mock Newbery Survey Results which will give you a clear as crystal sense of what titles people are discussing right now. You’ll see a lot of these books on there as well. Not all of them. But a goodly chunk, that’s for sure.

Meanwhile, I’ve been amending my spring and summer predictions to fit. Some books have been removed. Even more have been added. Here’s how it’s shaping up, in my mind, now:

2024 Caldecott Predictions

An American Story by Kwame Alexander, ill. Dare Coulter

Nope. Not budging. I said from the moment I saw this book that it was the one to beat in the Caldecott race and I won’t be swayed from that position. Of course, since I initially said that, I’ve discovered that Dare Coulter also illustrated the rather remarkable Zora, the Story Keeper by Ebony Joy Wilkins, which I kind of insist you take a look at. The art in that book is inventive. The art in this book is jaw-dropping. So here is where I’m pushing in all my chips. The only question we should be asking is whether or not the Newbery committee is also looking at it with any seriousness.

Big by Vashti Harrison

Credit the National Book Awards for bringing this particular picture book to my serious attention (a sentence I have never in my life even come close to writing before since I often think of the NBAs as the All YA All the Time Awards). Of course I’d read Big earlier in the year and liked it very much, but Caldecott? Then it all sort of fell into place. The inventiveness of allowing the very design of the book to reflect significant moments in the story is both unique but also reminds me of a past Caldecott Honoree, Flora and the Flamingo. Indeed, this book feels like a complementary title to Flora in a variety of ways. I’ve liked Ms. Harrison’s work in the past but never felt like she’d ever had the right text. With its spare language and powerful storytelling, combined with art that forwards the telling in all the right ways, that changes so keep a close eye on this one. It’s not a book to be ignored.

Evergreen by Matthew Cordell

And it only took me eight months to work up a worthy review of it too! I’m pretty sure I mentioned this before, but each Caldecott committee has a different tone and tenor, depending on who’s in its makeup. It would take a better librarian than I to look at who is serving this year to figure out the direction in which this particular committee will break. Are they keen on books with a “classic” feel? Will they find a balance and add this to the mix? Or will they feel that with Hot Dog‘s win last year (a book with a distinctive “classic-y” feel) that they want to go in a new direction for 2024? Only time will tell, but no one can deny that this is one of Cordell’s absolute best to date. It has everything! Beautiful art. A twist near the end. A friggin’ message. Plus it nails the ending. Perfect!

Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider by Jessica Lanan

Hrm. Apparently I still haven’t reviewed this one. Note to Self: Do that thing. Now I learned to my chagrin the other day that poor little Jumper here, for all that it’s one of the most stunning pieces of nonfiction picture book wizardry of 2023 (imagine if this AND Big win, both with their gatefold amazingness), it also has a serious handicap in this race. Mainly, some people don’t like spiders. Like, they are incredibly icked out by them. And if even ONE person on the Caldecott committee fears their furry little heads, that could be the end of old Jumper‘s chances at Caldecott glory. But it’s a smart committee this year. Even if someone has arachnophobia, how can they deny the cleverness and wizardry of Lanan’s work? One of the finest examples of science and nature nonfiction of the year, and a beaut to boot.

The Tree and the River by Aaron Becker

Do we ever give Caldecotts based on guts? No? Becker’s the guy who takes big swings when he creates a book for kids. I mean have you seen the man’s board books, for god’s sake? The fellow doesn’t know how to go small. He was ambitious when he created a massive three-part picture book visionary series with Journey, Quest, and Return. Now he’s gone all dystopian on us and the result is amazing. It can be hard writing wordless books, but this one gets it, while also referencing famous picture books of the past like, say, Anno’s Journey. Becker doesn’t appeal to everyone so, again, this will all depend on the makeup of the committee, but I’d say he has a strong chance, even this late in the year.

There Was a Party for Langston, King of Letters by Jason Reynolds, ill. Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey

Yeah. No. The more I think about it, the more I begin to believe that this might actually be our winner. There are a lot of factors going into this that are key. First off, the Pumphreys are due. They’ve been putting in the work, and their style is so unique and innovative (that’s illustration made with friggin’ STAMPS, people!). Next, they’ve been paired with authorial royalty in the form of Jason Reynolds. We don’t really have an EGOT of children’s literature, but if we did, writing a Caldecott Award-winning picture book would be one of the letters (since he already has a Newbery and has served as National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature). Now look at the content. Nonfiction (extra points there for difficulty) but it plays fair and is based on a little known but awesome true story. It works in a lot of issues that are currently on everyone’s mind. And finally (this is so key) it’s overflowing in joy. Joy and dancing and fun, while also tipping its hat to difficult times, but not in a dismissive way. Mmm. Yeah. Might have to change my vote from An American Story to this for the gold. The time is right.

Tomfoolery: Randolph Caldecott and the Rambunctious Coming-of-Age of Children’s Books by Michelle Markel, ill. Barbara McClintock

Am I cheeky? Very well then. I am cheeky. A book about Caldecott winning a Caldecott. I mean, stranger things have happened. I know I just said that the Pumphreys are due, but if we want to say someone is DUE due, that would be Barbara McClintock. Without so much as an Honor to her name she has been so consistently passed over for Caldecotts over the years that you can only chalk it up to Capable Artist Syndrome (or CAS). This is what happens when you are really good at illustration but you’ve been in the business so long that people just take your inherent skills for granted (paging, Jan Brett). It’s what keeps hugely talented folks from ever winning. Even so, I just think her skills are on fire in this book. Markel’s laying down one of the best biographical texts of the year (I mean, seriously, how do you make Caldecott sound interesting?) and McClintock is doing all these clever things with incorporating Caldecott’s own art into the design. Of course that raises its own question: Does putting his art in the book disqualify the book? Because you’d have to be pretty dead to irony not to find it funny if Randolph Caldecott’s own art disqualified a book from winning a Caldecott.

2024 Newbery Predictions

Eb & Flow by Kelly J. Baptist

I love coming to a book a little late in the year, only to discover how smart and clever it is. So there’s been a rash of middle grade novels out in 2023 where the story begins with a character (or, in this case, characters) getting suspended. In this case the point of view vacillates between the two kids who got in a fight: Eb and Flow. Eb (short for Ebony) has a lot going on in her life, but does NOT like Flow. Maybe that’s why she purposefully dumped barbecue sauce on his shoes. The shoes his dad left him before deploying. And Flow is no innocent here. He reacted violently and there is no end to the people in his life telling him that that was a dead wrong move. Baptist has to juggle about thirty balls in the air, making you sympathize with both, get mad at both, and just generally understand how hard it is to understand another person when everyone’s life is so danged complicated. Plus there’s a moment near the end that just took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions, so watch out for that.

The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers, ill. Shawn Harris

All eyes on this sneaky pete. I think the marketing team of this book probably didn’t do themselves any favors when they kept touting it as a modern day classic. I’ve read too many publicity sheets in my day to fall for that old chestnut. Never mind that it’s true. I’ve probably also mentioned too many times the fact that I’ve a love/hate relationship with Eggers’ children’s books. I adore Her Right Foot. Everything else? I could take or leave it, but somehow, maybe through the input of his students at 826, this works. Again, it’s taking a big swing, but the end result is remarkable. If you happen to love it as much as I do, check out the solid wood cover that McSweeney’s made for it. A surprisingly strong contender.

A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

Boy, when a publisher decides to put their back into promoting a book it is really something to watch. Kind of a relief that Santat’s graphic memoir about visiting Europe as a middle schooler deserves the attention. Can you imagine how intolerable it would be if it didn’t? This one came out early in the year and swiped a good chunk of people’s attention from the get-go. It’s a marvelous combination of nostalgia and downright adventure (getting chased by punks on a bicycle should now be standard for all Newbery contenders). You know what I’d like to see? Dan’s Newbery acceptance speech. I bet it would be something to hear. Dibs on a good Newbery/Caldecott Banquet table to watch it!!

The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh

Well, hello there, book I read far too late in the year! You know, they sent me this way back in January but it wasn’t until a co-worker of mine recommended the audiobook that I decided to give it a shot. Honestly, it’s kind of amazing, but don’t just take my work for it. On Heavy Medals Steven Engelfried said of this book, “THE LOST YEAR should be an interesting discussion. Similar in some ways to last year’s MAIZY CHEN’S LAST CHANCE, which won a Newbery Honor. Both balance those two plot threads, with a modern child learning about their family’s past.” It’s that balance that makes the book as strong as it is. I guess that the early days of the pandemic are already historical fiction at this point, but what’s so interesting is that it’s a moment of history that the kids reading this book will actually be able to remember for themselves. Meanwhile you’ve two other historical storylines, one in Ukraine and one in Brooklyn, and a mystery threaded throughout. Somehow Marsh keeps everything afloat, culminating in a very satisfying ending. Glad I found out about this one before it was too late!

The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri

Surprise!

I reviewed this book in February of this year, but this is the first time I’m putting it on this particular list. Why? Well m’dears, I’ve been listening to what other people are telling me. And what I’m hearing is that there are a bunch of books out in 2023 that are getting away with a LOT of stuff on their pages, because they can. In an era where the book banners are better organized than ever before, some authors appear to be responding by pushing the envelope as far as that envelope can stretch. This book has a fighting chance at the Newbery, because it takes serious risks on the page. Granted, there are some religious discussions on its pages that may have kids racing for their online dictionaries, but once the assassinations start happening then the plot really kicks into high gear! Of all the books you read this year, I can guarantee that this is the only one you’ll read and say, “I have NEVER read a book like that for kids before!” True story.

Mexikid by Pedro Martín

And here’s my other little rule breaker! You know, of all the books not to get a National Book Award nominee mention, this is the one I was most disappointed not to see. Pedro Martín appears to be this incredible content provider. He’s so prolific in his comics that only a handful of them made it into this book. Don’t believe me? Then check out his Instagram page sometime. There you’ll find Mexikid story after Mexikid story and all of them hilarious and gripping! I can only pray that this book becomes such a huge hit that it gains a large following and Pedro’s publisher begs him for more of the same. The New York Times review that recently came out could help. You know what else would? A Newbery!

The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day, ill. Brett Helquist

A September release of a book isn’t as bad as an October release award-wise, but lord it ain’t great. I’ve done whatever I can to get people to read this book, and I hope it’s working. You know, on the Heavy Medals post I alluded to earlier there was a graph showing what nonfiction people have liked the most this year. I’ll now confess to you that I’ve a personal dislike of YA titles winning Newberys. I just don’t care for it. Technically the Newbery goes to 14 but I’ve always felt that relates to early middle school books and not high school ones. Now the nonfiction that got the most votes was Steve Sheinkin, whom I adore, and his book Impossible Escape. Which is fine, except it’s YA. This book, on the other hands, is straight up middle grade (and got quite a few votes of its own, I’ll tell you). It’s absolutely hilarious but it’s the writing itself that impresses. Day is orchestrating the different elements of the story and also saying a lot about the times in which we live in terms of trusting facts over instincts. We desperately need more books like this one on our shelves.

My Head Has a Bellyache by Chris Harris, ill. Andrea Tsurumi

It’s been very gratifying seeing this book show up on the Heavy Medals blog as often as it has! I was desperately afraid that because it was a lot of hilarious poetry, maybe people wouldn’t take it seriously. But if anyone gives it even a cursory glance, I think it becomes clear early on that this is sophisticated literary wizardry the likes of which we’ve never seen before. Now when poetry wins Newberys it tends to be kind of meaningful. You know. Verse novels and poems for two voices types of stuff. Wrack your brain for a moment and please inform me of the last time a funny poetry book won a Newbery anything. No no, take your time. I’ll just sit over here in the corner.

. . . dum de dum . . .

. . . twiddle dee-dee…

. . . . ho-hum . . .

Did you figure it out? Did you realize it’s never happened? I’m not talking droll poetry but laugh-out-loud stuff. Because if they weren’t handing awards to Shel Silverstein then it wasn’t going to happen, but now NOW the Newbery committee has a chance to make hilarious history! Sure hope they’ve the inclination.

Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow

Folks, I’ll level with you. Remember when I mentioned this book way back in March in my Spring Prediction Post? I need to confess something. I thought that this book was so perfectly calibrated to my own particular sense of humor that there was no way in the world that anyone else would agree with me that it had award winning potential. Now here we are in the third quarter of the year and not only has it been cropping up consistently as everyone’s #1 Newbery pick but it just got an National Book Award longlist nomination to boot. Apparently, in spite of the fact that this is clearly A Betsy Book, it is also, inexplicably, an Everybody Else Book too. Remarkable.

The Song of Us by Kate Fussner

Here’s the mystery behind this book: I’m not sure how I discovered it. Maybe because it was being mentioned on Heavy Medals. Maybe it was someone at work on my library’s 101 Great Books for Kids committee, who thought it delightful. Maybe I read a review. Honestly, I have no idea, but in the end this is a surprising inclusion for me. I’m not a huge fan of verse novels (Eb & Flow notwithstanding) and this is one of those books where two characters lock eyes and BOTH fall instantly in love with one another. Meh. Yet the verse is strong, the characters make sense, and the poetry within the book? Some of the best that I’ve read in a very very long time. Here, I’ve a job for you. Find this book and read one of the first poems that the character of Olivia writes at the beginning. Then decide if you want to read more. Honestly, this is shockingly great.

Committees, I do not envy you your job this year. And for those of you reading at home, what have I missed? What’s an egregious lack on this list? What would you like to see featured here? Where have I strayed? What did I get wrong? Would love to hear some alternative opinions. Thanks!