Dexterous textile, text and recipe clipping collage are the pièce de résistance of this delectable adventure in talent, teamwork, travel — and sneaked treats!

More gallivanting animals on JOMB:

• Safe and Sound
• Someday When My Cat Can Talk

More food on JOMB:

• A Medieval Feast
• The Butter Man
• The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza
• The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating
• The Tortilla Cat
• Too Many Tamales
• Treasure for Lunch
• Berry Magic
• Chopsticks
• Mammoth Pie
• On Top of Spaghetti
• Pumpkin Soup
• Sanji and the Baker

More kings on JOMB:

• The King of Capri
• The King’s Equal
• Rumplestilskin’s Daughter
• The Red Wolf
• Wenceslas

More dogs on JOMB here.

HOTLINE VOICES: Eden Spodek — who will be at PAB09 — has fabulous childhood and parenthood memories of Where the Wild Things Are (by Maurice Sendak)

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487, so we can include your audio in our show.

Incidentally, Daniele is part of the speaking program at this year’s PAB09 event, taking place in Kingston, Canada from June 19-21.

During a recent trip to Toronto, Mark spoke with Daniele about his contribution to our Love of Reading Gallery, Now This One, digital sketchbooks and the beauty of seeing eraser marks on real paper.

Related links:

• Daniele Rossi’s website
• Daniele’s Stuttering is Cool Podcast
• The Pen is Mightier than the Plug-in? interview of Daniele on On the Log
• New Yorker Cover Story: Finger Painting
• Podcasters Across Borders conference

Be sure to enjoy all of the amazing artwork in our Love of Reading Gallery.

On this edition, Mark speaks with illustrator Roberta Baird about her contribution called Book Talk, the convergence of traditional and digital illustration, and her hope to one day write and illustrate her own children’s book.

Be sure to enjoy all of the amazing artwork in our Love of Reading Gallery.

On this edition, Mark speaks with illustrator Katie Davis about her contribution called Get Into Books and not being able to time travel.

Be sure to enjoy all of the amazing artwork in our Love of Reading Gallery.

On this edition, Sheree Fitch is a guest of our home to talk about being shortlisted for the highest honour in Canadian adult humour — The Stephen Leacock award, the differences between writing adult fiction and children’s books, and the movie deal for her YA novel The Gravesavers.

Other books by Sheree Fitch:

• If I Had a Million Onions
• Mabel Murple
• I Am Small
• There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen

It’s customary for interviewers to ask authors and illustrators to share their advice for aspiring book creators. During the 19th Annual Children’s Illustration Show at the R. Michelson Gallery, Mark instead asked authors and illustrators to offer advice for aspiring readers. Everyone was willing to pitch in. This video features responses from Jeanne Birdsall, Diane de Groat, Tony DiTerlizzi, Jane Dyer, Paul Jacobs, Norton Juster, Jarrett Krosoczka, Jeff Mack, David Mazor, David Milgrim, Barry Moser, Lesléa Newman, Shelley Rotner, Ruth Sanderson, Heidi Stemple, Mo Willems and Jane Yolen.

Also included is an interview with David Mazor, Founder and Executive Director of Reader to Reader — a non-profit organization that distributes books to schools and libraries in need. Reader to Reader honoured author Norton Juster for his generosity and passion in promoting literacy.

MUSIC

• Theme: Woolly Mammoth by Robert Farrell (from Sun House Fury, part 1)
• Timber and Wood by Xavier Rudd (from To Let), used with permission

Books by Jane Yolen you may recognize…

Books by Heidi Stemple you may recognize…

MUSIC

• Theme: Woolly Mammoth by Robert Farrell (from Sun House Fury, part 1)
• Tractor Part by Zubot and Dawson (from Tractor Parts: Further Adventures in Strang)

Books by Mordicai Gerstein that you may recognize…

MUSIC

• Theme: Woolly Mammoth by Robert Farrell (from Sun House Fury, part 1)
• Soon Enough by John Williams (from Dusty Porch), found on Magnatune

Books by Jane Dyer you may have seen…

MUSIC

• Theme: Woolly Mammoth by Robert Farrell (from Sun House Fury, part 1)
• Razorback by Robert Farrell (from Elegant Chaos)

Books you may have seen by Paul Jacobs…

MUSIC

• Theme: Woolly Mammoth by Robert Farrell (from Sun House Fury, part 1)
• Funky Instrumental by Steffen Coonan found on the Podsafe Music Network

Author/poet Lesléa Newman, author of the groundbreaking book Heather Has Two Mommies, talks to Mark about seeing in words (not images), writing for adults and children, and treasures in our brains.

MUSIC

• Theme: Woolly Mammoth by Robert Farrell (from Sun House Fury, part 1)
• Red Mood by Jami Sieber (from Hidden Sky), found on Magnatune

  

We spent a lot of time becoming familiar with the creative process of illustrators during our trip. So, it was exciting to spend time in Richard Michelson’s (on JOMB) studio getting introduced to his writing process.

During the hour he and I spent in his studio, Richard showed me the working papers for books including Tuttle’s Red Barn and As Good As Anybody and shared some of the valuable lessons he’s learned from reading and writing children’s books.

MUSIC

• Theme: Woolly Mammoth by Robert Farrell (from Sun House Fury, part 1)
• Gruncharsko by Panacea (from Songs and Dance Music of Europe East and West), found on Magnatune

Mark, Richard Michelson (on JOMB), Tony Diterlizzi and Scott Fisher spoke for three hours about almost everything related to children’s books and the publishing industry.  It was a very cerebral conversation, much of which revolved around print and digital books, the future of the industry and competing with technology for reader attention.  There were light moments, too, like when they did an analysis of Jon Scieszka’s (on JOMB) reign as the first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

MUSIC

• Theme: Woolly Mammoth by Robert Farrell (from Sun House Fury, part 1)
• Skittles at Buckley Bay & Mischief in the Garden by Jaime RT (from Reach)

  

  

  

According to pen.org, PEN is an association of writers working to advance literature, defend free expression and foster international literary fellowship.  There are chapters all over the world and not long ago, we connected with author Fran Manushkin (on JOMB), regarding an event of the New York PEN group of which she is co-chair.  

A member of the group audio recorded the March 16, 2009 presentation by Jason Low of Lee and Low Books (on JOMB) and we are lucky to include excerpts of Mr. Low’s talk — anecdotes of the origins of Lee and Low, the amazing story behind some of their award winning books and insight into the term “multicultural”.

Thanks to Fran Manushkin, Paul O. Zelinsky, Susanna Reich, Betsy Bird and Lyn.

Books mentioned:

• Baseball Saved Us
• Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story
• Su Dongpo: Chinese Genius

Be sure to listen to our interview with Lee and Low co-founder, Philip Lee (now retired).

Photo: Lee and Low website

Mark spent two amazing hours at a table with Jeanne Birdsall (on JOMB), Jane Dyer, Jarrett Krosoczka (on JOMB) and David Ezra Stein, sharing a common love of children’s books and talking about how each found their way into writing and illustrating, children’s books vs. traditional publishing and what keeps them in an industry that isn’t known for generating a lot of wealth for the people in it.

MUSIC

• Theme: Woolly Mammoth by Robert Farrell (from Sun House Fury, part 1)
• Cliffhanger by the Eternal Jazz Project (from Season), found on Magnatune

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, Robert Paul Weston talks to Mark about his long history with marble tracks, writing an entire book in rhyming accentual verse and the publishing industry’s reaction to it, and the emotional connection readers experience with Zorgamazoo.

Exciting news!!! Zorgamazoo is on the E. B. White Read Aloud Award shortlist (official information).

Relevant links:

• Official site of Zorgamazoo
• Robert Paul Weston’s blog
• Review of Zorgamazoo on Just One More Book!!

Listen in as we grab a spot of floor in the home office of author Corinne Demas to talk about books and how stories are researched, the similarity between poets and picture book creators and the best job in the world.  Lucy started us off with a read-aloud of Corinne’s new book, Always in Trouble, and Corinne explains the origins of Lucy’s favourite phrase from the book “quiet as a goldfish”.

MUSIC

• Theme: Woolly Mammoth by Robert Farrell (from Sun House Fury, part 1)
• Dragondance by Art Turner (from Jade)

On this edition, author Troy Wilson reflects on how his own book would have impacted him when he was a child, doing pro bono work and making ends meet as he builds a career for himself and comparing his own experiences to those of Michael Maxwell MacAllum, the main character in his book, Perfect Man.

One such example is Greg Pincus. Greg is a screenwriter, author, poet and the entertaining blogger of Gotta Book. And this year, he’s the founder and host of 30 Poets/30 Days, an event that will see his Gotta Book blog host new and original work by thirty guest poets, a new poem for each day of the month. Contributors include Mary Ann Hoberman, Jon Scieszka and Jane Yolen, and will kick off on April 1st with a contribution from Jack Prelutsky.

On this edition, Greg Pincus on 30 Poets/30 Days.

Check out Greg’s poem, I’m Pretty Well Connected, which speaks to our own fascination with social media. Unfortunately, there’s no mention of podcasting in it.

Photo courtesy of Greg Pincus.

One month after the post about the video, Sara kicked off a campaign to build a library of books about horses and camp-related activities for Flying Horse Farms using a Wishlist.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, Mark speaks with Flying Horse Farms Camp Director W. Patrick Smith, and author Sara Lewis Holmes about building Flying Horse Farms, spectacularly average experiences and the role of books at a camp for children with serious illnesses.

Relevant links

• Library Wishlist (please consider making a purchase for the camp)
• Flying Horse Farms
• Sara Lewis Holmes

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Offbeat chalk pastel illustrations and delicious defiance are the stars of this giggle-inducing tale of wedding wear, willpower and sibling solidarity.

More wedding books on JOMB:

• Jamela’s Dress
• The Ring Bear

HOTLINE VOICES: Bill Rowland raves about Olive, the Other Reindeer (by Vivian Walsh and J. Otto Seibold) as a book that appeals to all ages.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

Author Jane Cutler is a perfect example.  After serving as an editor and a failed attempt at being an agent, Ms. Cutler fell into writing with the book Darcy and Gran Don’t Like Babies.  And even though none of her other books took thirty-five minutes to write (yes, thirty-five minutes), Ms. Cutler’s other books reflect that same style and attention to characters.

Mark recently spoke with Ms. Cutler.  We pick up the conversation with a story about her book The Cello of Mr. O, a remarkable story of a concert cellist who performed his beautiful music in the public square of a war torn city.

Ms. Cutler’s new book, Guttersnipe, is due for release next month (April 2009).

Kathryn Lasky is one example. Her books include One Beetle Too Many: The Extraordinary Adventures of Charles Darwin, Pirate Bob and She’s Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head.  We’re pretty sure that she doesn’t have specific first-hand experiences with the subjects of those books (exploring with Charles Darwin, plundering with Pirate Bob and being at the centre of the suffrage movement).  And yet, her books makes readers feel as though they’re right there.

On this edition, author Kathryn Lasky talks about relating to characters, taking twenty-four years… literally… to write One Beetle Too Many, and giving the reader room.

Kim Hix wrote the book No One is Perfect and YOU Are a Great Kid as a gift to her son, Zack, who struggles with ever changing moods, severe anxiety and Tourettes Disorder. He was diagnosed at age four. He’s now thirteen.

This is an interview we would have done under any circumstance. As it turns out, we’re doing this interview as part of Kim Hix’s blog tour: our first blog-tour experience. Kim paid Women on Writing to arrange the tour and, in exchange for our participation, Just One More Book!! was listed on the February edition of the WOW! Women on Writing website and newsletter.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, author Kim Hix talks about her son Zack’s mental health disorders, the confidence of her family to embrace the person Zack is and helping to raise awareness of mental and emotional health in children through her book.

More on emotional health in children’s books on JOMB:

• Putting ALL Children In The Picture: interview with Susan Clow of “In The Picture”
  
• Interview with Jessica Grass of “Iris the Dragon”
• Interview with Elizabeth Schlenther, Bibliotherapist and creator of “Healthy Books” directory
• Waiting For Benjamin: A Story about Autism
• Getting to Know Ruben Plotnick

Photo from Intense Kids, Great Kids photos.

It took Gijsbert (Nic) van Frankenhuyzen about forty years to realize his childhood dream of becoming an illustrator.  Nic joins Mark to talk about his move from Art Director to Illustrator, visual inspiration on books including Saving Samantha and one of his greatest challenges, illustrating the book The Edmund Fitzgerald: Song of the Bell.

Photo courtesy of Gijsbert (Nic) van Frankenhuyzen.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Two hundred and eighty three pages of flawless rhyme whisk us through joy, sorrow, suspense, giggles, bliss, shock and triumph in this beautifully illustrated and designed adventure in friendship, self-discovery and the power of engagement.

Other books mentioned:

• Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers
• The Call to Shakabaz
• Waiting at the Door to Unger
• Jillian Jiggs

Pop over to The Holly and the Ivy for today’s full menu of poetry offerings. Poetry Fridays are brought to us by Kelly Herold of Big A, Little A.

HOTLINE VOICES: Author Kirby Larson shares how the book How to Steal a Dog (by Barbara O’Connor) stole her heart.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

On this edition, author/illustrator Giselle Potter talks about how her life experiences have influenced her style, offers thoughts on effective journaling and the challenge of making a personal experience interesting for others.

Among our favourite books by Giselle Potter:

• Choe’s Birthday… and Me
• The Year I Didn’t Go To School
• Kate and the Beanstalk (with Mary Pope Osborne)
• The Boy Who Loved Words (with Roni Schotter)

On this edition, Graphic Artist and Illustrator Paul Rogers speaks with Mark about new collaborations with Wynton Marsalis, finessing with a computer and the permanence of children’s books.

Relevant links:

• Paul Rogers’ blog
• Images from Jazz A-B-Z
• Paul’s blog posts about Forever Young (includes images)

Just One More Book!! Love of Reading Gallery illustration by Paul Rogers.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, illustrator Barry Root talks about his relative anonymity on the web (his own website will be available soon), the time investment for illustrating books and turning down work.

Related links

• Interview with Neil Gaiman

Photo courtesy of Barry Root.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, author Neil Gaiman talks about blogging, giving his books away for free on the Internet and keeping his fans up to date using Twitter.

Concise version of Neil Gaiman on the web

• Neil Gaiman’s journal (blog)
• Neil Gaiman on Twitter
• Browse Coraline online until February 5, 2009
• Browse The Graveyard Book online
• The Graveyard Book video tour

Photo from Neil’s Twitter feed.

To continue with the baseball motif, author/illustrator Matt Tavares has all the tools. He’s also a huge fan of baseball, as evidenced by many of his books, and he even has a baseball sounding name. It makes you wonder if his business card features his photo, position and career stats.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, Mark speaks with Matt Tavares about turning his senior thesis into his first published book, the ageless appeal of baseball stories and a kindergarten teacher who fostered his passion for art.

Thanks to Daniele Rossi and RuthDFW for submitting questions to ask Matt.

Books mentioned:

• Jack and the Beanstalk
• Lady Liberty: A Biography
• Mudball
• Zachary’s Ball [formerly Sebastien's Ball]

Music: Excerpt of Take Me Out to the Ballgame used as the conversation’s seventh-inning stretch.

Photos for the collage courtesy of Matt Tavares.

Inspired by the her grandfather’s books of renaissance art she enjoyed as a young girl, Kinuko Y. Craft has been creating some of the most sophisticated art ever to appear in picture books — books that she insists are mistakenly viewed as exclusively for children.

K. Y. Craft speaks with Mark about storytelling through art, the time it takes to complete each of her illustrations and her quest for the perfect painting.

The following books, illustrated by K. Y. Craft, are mentioned in the podcast:

• Baba Yaga and Vasilisa The Brave
• Pegasus
• The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Photo courtesy of K. Y. Craft.

It’s 2009, now. Kyle is 18 and a freshman in college, Brady is 16 and was at school when I called in response to an email they’d sent about the BestBuy @15 Challenge, which, in conjunction with GenV Youth Venture, was giving away money to youth changemakers.

As of today (January 16, 2009), My Own Book has distributed 17,311 books. Listen to this phone conversation find out how the @15 Challenge will help the foundation distribute another 8,000 books to people who need them.

Relevant links

• My Own Book promotional video
• Start your own chapter of My Own Book

You’ve probably had experiences with pop-up and movable books.  And then there’s the Bug Books.  Have you seen those before?  They present textures and other tactile experiences to the reader.

David A. Carter is an author, illustrator and perhaps most importantly, a paper engineer.  He makes those interactive experiences a reality.  A creator of more than sixty books including The Elements of Pop-Up, a veritable how-to guide for aspiring pop-up artists.

David Carter joins Mark to speak about an art that has largely been about reverse engineering and apprenticing on this edition of Just One More Book!!

David Carter’s top-10 pop-ups not including his own work (some of these are out of print):

• International Circus by Lothar Meggendorfer
• The Bookano series
• Robot by Jan Pienkowski
• Dinner Time by Jan Pienkowski
• The Human Body by David Pelham and Jonathan Miller
• Universe by David Pelham and Heather Cooper
• The National Geographic Pop-Up series
• Peek-A-Boo by Jean Claverie
• The Christmas Alphabet by Robert Sabuda
• ABC3D by Marion Bataille

David Carter’s top-3 works of his own:

• The Bug series
• The Elements of Pop-Up
• One Red Dot series

To hear more of the conversation with David A. Carter, sign up for our monthly newsletter on our website, justonemorebook.com/newsletter, in time for the January 2009 issue which will include a link to more of our conversation.

Elizabeth Bird, or Betsy Bird, is one of a new generation of librarians. She has achieved a lot very early in her career including sitting on the Newbery award committee in 2006 and, following the success of Fuse #8, her own blog about children’s books, has become a blogger for the web edition of the popular print magazine School Library Journal. Betsy’s also been known to produce episodes of her Fuse#8 podcast. [NOTE: Betsy's Fuse #8 blog site is only used for podcasts since she became a blogger for School Library Journal]

Betsy Bird joins Mark at the 2008 Kidlit Conference in Portland, OR, on this edition of Just One More Book!!

Photo of Betsy Bird from the School Library Journal flickr account.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, correspondent Sage Tyrtle of the QN Podcast introduces us to The Children’s Book Bank.

By the way, Sage’s QN podcast is definitely for adults, not children, and frequently includes strong language and political views.

Related links

• Toronto’s First Children’s Book Bank Turns Half

Photo of Kim Beatty by Harry Gils.

In November 2006, we spent a few hours with Sheree when she was in Ottawa.  We talked about children’s books and our daughter Lucy read aloud the amazing book Sleeping Dragons All Around.  We brought Mocha Maple Chocolate cupcakes as a treat.  And so began our campaign to have Sleeping Dragons reprinted.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, author Sheree Fitch talks about the 20th anniversary edition of Sleeping Dragons All Around, being the author of a book that’s reaching a second generation and how Sleeping Dragons became and will always be a part of a family that suffered a tragic loss.

More Sheree Fitch on Just One More Book:

• Poesy Perfection: Sleeping Dragons All Around
• A conversation with Sheree Fitch
• Exquisite Insanity: There Were Monkeys in my Kitchen!
• Soul Tonic and Spoonerisms: If I Had a Million Onions
• Revisiting Poesy Perfection: Sleeping Dragons All Around

This is the second in a two-part series about Sleeping Dragons All Around. In part one, we replayed our original review of Sleeping Dragons, complete with questionable recording quality.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, Mark speaks with Zetta Elliott, author of the book Bird, about publishing picture books that tackle real-life issues like drug addiction, getting published in foreign markets and being daring as both book publishers and book buyers.

To hear more of the conversation with Zetta, sign up for our monthly newsletter on our website, justonemorebook.com/newsletter, in time for the December 2008 issue which will include a link to more of our conversation.

We were recently contacted by the Chemers Gallery (Chemer’s Gallery Blog) in Tustin, California to inform us of their 17th annual Children’s Book Illustration Show taking place from December 6 through 20, 2008, with a special event for the show opening taking place from 1-5pm on the 6th.

Our guest on this edition of Just One More Book!! is Karen Raab, owner of the Chemers Gallery, who tells us more about their exciting event which benefits Orange County Ronald McDonald House.

This year’s artists:

• Elisa Kleven (on JOMB)
• Beth Krommes (on JOMB)
• Holly Meade
• Zachary Pullen
• Melissa Sweet (on JOMB)

Photo of Karen Raab by Paul Rodriguez, The Orange County Register.

Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Welcoming snowscapes, glowing orange coziness and carefully, crafted verse capture our very personal yet wonderfully universal relationship with snow in this exquisite reflection on the fleeting sweetness of life.

More wintry reading on JOMB:

• Snowsong Whistling
• The Snow Show — with Chef Kelvin
• Treasure for Lunch
• The Lamp, the Ice and the Boat Called Fish
• The Magic Hockey Stick
• Irving and Muktuk: Two Bad Bears
• Cuddly Dudley
• Wenceslas

HOTLINE VOICES: Blogger and soon to be published children’s book author Candace Ryan shares a creative review (with a Thanksgiving twist) of Blue Hat, Green Hat (by Sandra Boynton).

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave us a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

Welcome to Just One More Book!! If you’re a newcomer to our website or are unfamiliar with audio podcasts and how the Just One More Book!! audio programs promote children’s books, the people that create them and a general love of reading, you may find this video to be a helpful on-ramp to becoming part of the Just One More Book!! community.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, we turn the spotlight on Rebecca Sherman, an agent with Writers House LLC, who tells us a bit about her job as an agent and shares stories about some of her clients.

Authors/illustrators mentioned in this program:

• Grace Lin (on JOMB)
• Jarrett Krosoczka and his video: Making of A Monkey Boy (on JOMB)
• Alvina Ling
• Scott Magoon (on JOMB)
• Rebecca Doughty (on JOMB)
  
• Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• Lisa Railsback
• Ann Halladay
• Dan Santad
• David Ezra Stein

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, Mark speaks with author/illustrator Peggy Collins and Agent Kendra Marcus about their private meeting in which Kendra reviewed and commented on Peggy’s latest project.

We’ve stayed in contact with Peggy since this interview was recorded.  We provide an update on Peggy’s career and agent representation at the end of the interview.

The crowd is here to celebrate the launch of the book A Bear in War, written by Stephanie Innes and Harry Endrulat and illustrated by Brian Deines. In the book, “Teddy”, that stuffed toy on display in the museum, tells the true story of a family affected by World War I; Lt. Lawrence Browning Rogers, his wife Janet May Weaver Rogers and their two children Aileen and Howard.

MUSIC: Poor James from the CD Tractor Parts: Further Adventures in Strang by Zubot and Dawson.

Related links

• A detailed series on the workflow to create this episode
• Remembrance Day Tribute podcast

As an experiment, we’ve created a video/slideshow version of this edition of Just One More Book!! The video can be viewed on our website; it is not included in our RSS subscription feed. The audio version of the program is available, as usual, at the bottom of this post. We’d appreciate your feedback.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave us a voice message on the JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!,  author, poet and gallery owner Richard Michelson walks Mark through the origins of the Children’s Illustration Show, who will be there this year and what people who attend can expect.

This discussion sets up a series of audio and video podcasts we expect to publish that will cover the Just One More Book!! experience as we travel through Connecticut on our way to the Richard Michelson Gallery’s 19th annual Children’s Illustration Show in Northampton Massachusetts — the unofficial centre of the children’s book industry.

Other related links:

• Interview with Richard Michelson from January 7, 2007
• Review of Richard’s book, Across the Alley
• Reader to Reader, the beneficiary of the 19th Annual Children’s Illustration Show

photo: www.rmichelson.com/RMichelson_Galleries.html

Werner (pron. Verner) Zimmermann is a children’s book author and illustrator, and a teacher of illustration and animation at Sheridan College.  I happened upon a conversation he was a part of at a recent event of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) held in Canada’s National Library and Archives in Ottawa.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, Werner Zimmermann talks about using illustration to portray what we see, the role of illustrations and the children’s book illustrations as art.

Werner’s books include:

• Snow Day!
• Listen Said the Donkey (with Jean Little)
• Farmer Joe’s Hot Day (with Nancy Wilcox Richards)

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, Mark speaks with author Alexis O’Neill and illustrator Laura Huliska-Beith about their first collaboration, The Recess Queen, and their new book, The Worst Best Friend.

Other books mentioned:

• Loud Emily
• The Book of Bad Ideas
• Poetry for Young People: Edward Lear

Photo provided by Alexis O’Neill.

During the conference Mark had the opportunity to meet and speak with some fascinating people. Take for example, Philip Lee, one of the founders of Lee and Low Books, an independent children’s book publisher that focuses on diversity.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, Philip Lee tells Mark about life after his departure from Lee and Low and taking risks in publishing books about diversity.

Links to resources mentioned by Philip:

• Baseball Saved Us, the first book published by Lee and Low
• Voices of Diversity, Philip’s radio work at KBCS

Two years almost to the day after his first appearance on Just One More Book!!, author of the Little Wolf series and the Harry and the Dinosaurs books popularized through their own television show, Ian Whybrow returns, this time to discuss an initiative to put two free books in the hands of children who are reporting to school for the first time of their academic career in the hopes of encouraging parents to read aloud with their children.

For more information, please visit the following links:

• Booktrust
• Booktime
• Pearson Media
• BBC report

Photo: Captured from the BBC report

Because he has so effectively used different styles of art and writing in his books including Rapunzel, The Shivers in the Fridge and The Wheels on the Bus, Paul O. Zelinsky can’t really be described in just a few words.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, author and illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky talks about being a student of Maurice Sendak, the qualities of different styles of art and how they reflect fantasy and reality, and how we connect with illustrations.

Other books mentioned:

• Rumpelstiltskin

To hear more from Mr. Zelinsky, subscribe to our monthly newsletter at justonemorebook.com/newsletter and look for him in our October 2008 issue.

Great minds think alike: Once again our 7imp buddies and ourselves have a common guest. Be sure to check out Paul O. Zelinsky’s visit with Jules & Eisha today on Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

The intro to this episode was recorded by Mark at gate C18 in Dulles International Airport during his trip home from the second annual Kidlit Conference, this year in Portland, OR.

Photo: paulozelinsky.com

This year’s Festival will be held at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, September 27th 2008. Thousands are expected to join in the festivities and meet authors and illustrators. And many more will be celebrating across the globe, thanks to The Young Readers’ Toolkit.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, I’m joined by Jon Scieszka author of a long list of fabulously original books including Science Verse and Math Curse, and the first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature to talk about this year’s National Book Festival, his role in promoting literacy and balancing a child’s reading diet.

Books mentioned:

• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs!
• Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales
• Knucklehead (Jon Scieszka’s Almost True autobiography - coming soon)
• Green Eggs and Ham
• To Think What I Saw on Mulberry Street
• Go Dog Go
• Hardy Boys
• Mad Magazine
• Captain Underpants

For more information about the National Book Festival, click here.

To join into the festivities from afar by accessing the Young Readers’ Toolkit, click here.

Special thanks to Jen Robinson of Jen Robinson’s Book Page for lending her expertise as we prepared for this interview.

While she may be best known for her work in promoting writing as a literacy tool, Gloria Houston has used children’s books as part of her work with grieving children.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, Mark speaks with author and educator Gloria Houston about the value of children’s book in helping children understand death and the cycle of life.

Other books mentioned:

• The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
• The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst and Erik Blegvad
• Talking About Death: A Dialogue Between Parent and Child by Rabbi Earl Grollman
• My Brother Joey Died by Gloria Houston, Gloria McLendon and Harvey Kelman
• On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler
• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Mark’s Uncle, Earl Blevis, who passed away on Saturday, September 13, 2008.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, Suzan Nadimi, author of The Rich Man and the Parrot talks about adapting a centuries-old Persian story for modern-day western culture and the difference between eastern and western storytelling.

Children’s books by Suzan Nadimi:

• The Hungry Cat
• The Rich Man and the Parrot

Photo provided by Suzan Nadimi.

On this edition, Mark speaks with illustrator Andy J. Smith about his contribution called Bookxplosion and the process finding a unique style.

Be sure to enjoy all of the amazing artwork in our Love of Reading Gallery.

Count illustrator Cyd Moore among that crowd. I called Cyd to interview her about Book Buddies, her contribution to our Love of Reading Gallery and when I brought up literacy and love of reading in general, she took off, joking that she’d jumped on her soapbox. And you know what? It was great. I could have talked to her for hours.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, illustrator Cyd Moore shares her personal experiences with children’s books and her passion for getting children hooked on reading.

Among Cyd’s illustration credits are:

• Willlow
• I Love You Stinky Face (and other books in the Stinky face series)
• Room for Rabbit

Books mentioned:

• Missing Rabbit

Be sure to enjoy all of the amazing artwork in our Love of Reading Gallery.

As part of the second anniversary celebrations of the Just One More Book!! children’s book podcast, we’re conducting short interviews with each illustrator that contributed to our Love of Reading Gallery. These interviews will be published as extra shows in our interview feed.

On this edition, Mark speaks with illustrator Kevin Levell about his contribution called Old Favourite.

Be sure to enjoy all of the amazing artwork in our Love of Reading Gallery.

By the way, if you know Mark you know that he’s very particular about good audio quality. More importantly, he’s extremely particular about great conversation. Unfortunately, his audio card acted up during this interview and the resulting audio is disappointing. The conversation is too good to attempt an encore performance. We assure you that if you can be patient with the audio quality, you’ll be rewarded by the discussion.

Mark reached Kevin at his home in the UK, during tea time.

On this edition, Mark speaks illustrator, designer and artist Tom Bojarczuk (check out Tom’s Flickr photo page) about his contribution called Reading Under a Tree.

By the way, if you know Mark you know that he’s very particular about good audio quality. More importantly, he’s extremely particular about great conversation. Unfortunately, his audio card acted up during this interview and the resulting audio is disappointing. The conversation is too good to attempt an encore performance. We assure you that if you can be patient with the audio quality, you’ll be rewarded by the discussion.

Be sure to enjoy all of the amazing artwork in our Love of Reading Gallery.

Mark reached Tom at his home in Brazil.

We’re talking about interviewing 51 artists, professionals, hobbyists and children — artists all — about their drawings for our Love of Reading Gallery. It’s all part of the celebration of the second anniversary of the Just One More Book!! children’s book podcast.

On this edition, Mark speaks with author and illustrator Diane deGroat about her contribution, Read Me a Story, Gilbert.

By the way, if you know Mark you know that he’s very particular about good audio quality. More importantly, he’s extremely particular about great conversation. Unfortunately, his audio card acted up during this interview (one of three) and the resulting audio is disappointing. The conversation is too good to attempt an encore performance. We assure you that if you can be patient with the audio quality, you’ll be rewarded by the discussion.

Be sure to enjoy all of the amazing artwork in our Love of Reading Gallery.

On this edition of Just One More Book!!, author and illustrator Lane Smith (on JOMB) talks about being a custodial host and a published author — both with Disney, writing children’s books with a political theme and how the book publishing industry is constantly evolving.

Books mentioned:

• John, Paul, George and Ben
• Madam President
• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs!
• The Big Pet
• Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales
• Halloween ABC
• Big Plans
• The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the Country

Also reviewed on Just One More Book!!

• Science Verse (Lane Smith with John Scieszka)
• Stinky Cheese Man listener review (Lane Smith with John Scieszka)

Subscribe to our free email newsletter to hear additional discussions with Lane Smith and other guests of the Just One More Book!! children’s book podcast.

On this edition, Mark speaks with illustrator Denise Simon about her contribution called Little Red Reading Hood and her hope to illustrate children’s books.

Be sure to enjoy all of the amazing artwork in our Love of Reading Gallery.

Books and stories mentioned:

• Little Red Riding Hood

On this edition, we’re joined by Gregory Walters, a teacher turned lawyer turned teacher (again) turned principal who was in the Ottawa area for a summer holiday from his home in Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia.

In addition to his administrative duties, Mr. Walters is a reading teacher and children’s books are more than just a passing interest for him. His office is filled with children’s books and has become something of a hangout for students looking for something good to read. This past spring, Gregory Walters published his first book, Fouling Out, which follows the evolution of a friendship between two pre-teens. It’s a book for 10-14 year olds.

If you’d like to hear more from Gregory Walters and some of our other interview guests, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter. We’ll be releasing bonus audio footage to our newsletter subscribers.

Links to Gregory Walters’ websites:

• Fouling Out
• Summer of Writing blog
• Halfmoon Bay Community School