Life On The Bookshelf http://boniashburn.com/blog/ blog of a children's book author en-us Nucleus CMS v3.24 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://boniashburn.com/blog//nucleus/nucleus2.gif Life On The Bookshelf http://boniashburn.com/blog/ Have You Seen This Book Yet?! http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=349
In The Wild by David Elliott and Holly Meade

In The Wild by David Elliott, illustrated by Holly Meade

Spectacular, bold illustrations, perfectly matched to fun, short, evocative poems. A companion book that's even better than the first one (2008's On The Farm, which I loved). Lovely. In The Wild left a big impression on me- add it to my list of favorite Caldecott contenders for this year!

:)]]> General http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=349 Thu, 2 Sep 2010 13:07:14 -0600 Seven Impossible Things- I'm One Of Them! http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=348
I'm on Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast today!! Go check it out!! (Yes, I am ridiculously excited!!)

Jules did a really neat round-table interview with the four people most directly involved in Hush, Little Dragon and Over At The Castle- me, Kelly Murphy (the illustrator), Maggie Lehrman (the editor) and Chad Beckerman (the art director). I think it's a great inside peek at all of the different processes that go into making a picture book.
So go see!

:)]]> General http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=348 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:07:29 -0600 Bernadette is almost here!! http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=347
Yeah, the fame, the fortune, the public recognition... I mean, it's cool, to a point, but after a while it gets a little old, y'know? That's why the best part of my chosen profession is getting to see things like this:

Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer and Scott Magoon


way before other people do. In fact, I saw Mostly Monsterly way back when it was just a little old work-in-progress by my writing pal, Tammi. Of course, a lot of things have changed for little Bernadette since I first met her. She's now adorably illustrated by the fabulous Scott Magoon (he of Ugly Fish fame, one of my all-time top favorite picture books ever) and she even has a new title.

But the *best* part of getting to see this cute monster back when she was just words-on-paper is that one of the words that ended up in the book is MY word! It's like a little piece of me is in this fabulous book. So go to the bookstore on Tuesday and buy Mostly Monsterly (because that's the day it comes out and that's what you should do, says me). Then, when you are reading your new book to your favorite child (or to yourself, I won't tell) and you get to the page where a TOOTHY grin spreads across Bernadette's little monsterly face... that's where Tammi Sauer, incredibly talented author, thought, "Hey, that Boni Ashburn has a good suggestion here in this critique, making her grin a toothy grin, and I'm going to use it!" Yeah, that makes being an author, for me at least, really, really cool!

:)]]> General http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=347 Sun, 29 Aug 2010 09:13:35 -0600 This And That http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=346
1. Several of my writing pals have had new books released lately! Yay Debbie and Ruth and Lisa!! If you haven't seen these books yet, get thee to a bookstore or a library and check them out:

The Pout Pout Fish In The Big Big Dark by Debbie Diesen
Ellie McDoodle Best Friends Fur-Ever by Ruth McNally Barshaw
Ugly Pie by Lisa Wheeler


And don't miss the cool contest Debbie's running on her blog, Jumping The Candlestick!

2. The coolest auction EVER starts Monday:



and I've been torn about whether or not to mention it here... I mean, if millions of people bid on these awesome works of art, I'll never get a chance to win one, right? But I decided, hey, it's for a good cause, 826LA, and I'll still bid and you just never know, right?? And besides, not one but TWO of my illustrators have items to bid on- Kelly Murphy, the lovely illustrator of Hush, Little Dragon and Over At The Castle, and ALSO Julia Denos, the lovely illustrator of an upcoming picture book of mine out next year. You can find out everything you need to know at theeyewitnessreports.blogspot.com

3. I sold a couple of new picture books! I can't share any details yet, but I'm really excited about both of them. I have had zero writing time this summer (as well as zero blogging time, huh??) and have not felt much like a writer for the past several months. I have kids and it's summer! What little "writer" time I've had has been spent addressing the promotional needs that have cropped up, author visit stuff, submissions- all the accoutrements, so to speak, of BEING a writer without doing the actual activity of WRITING. This I am not so much a fan of, as Clementine would say. So in two more weeks, ya'll ought to notice a big improvement around here as I dry my misty eyes and send those kids back to school. Until then, we have summer to kiss good-bye...

:)]]> General http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=346 Sat, 21 Aug 2010 19:11:39 -0600 Hey, it's August already... http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=345
We drove 4,000 miles on a family trip (hello Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota and home!) and not only lived to tell about it, but had a lot of fun, too.

Then I flew out to LA for the SCBWI National Conference which was amazing! The last time I went was in 2007 and I only "knew" a few people. This time I met up with bunches of people I knew and met new ones I didn't.
(This is where I shamelessly name-drop...)

Michael Reisman, who writes the Simon Bloom series
The Gravity Keeper by Michael Reisman

(one of my son's favorites of all time)

was charming and super-nice and funny, even to this non-fantasy-loving picture-book writer who was just scoring a signed book for her son (to impress him.) I'm such a fan of Michael's now, however, I may have to go read his books...

Kristin Clark Venuti was just as cool and smart as the writer of Leaving The Bellweathers should be. You should hurry up and read her first book
Leaving The Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti

if you haven't already because the sequel is coming! I even touched an ARC of it! Darn it if I couldn't distract her long enough to swipe it, but she did give me a Super Special, Limited Availability, Alligator Paper Clip which is ultra-cool.

Dan Santat is just as funny as I thought he'd be. Or funnier, if that's possible.

I also met Deborah Freedman (who is ridiculously talented and NICE to boot!) and Jacqui Robbins (who is both ridiculously *tall* and FUNNY) and Mike Jung (who is just as Mike Jung as I expected him to be, which is all the nice adjectives I've used so far in this whole post) (except *tall* because he is really not that tall), all of whom I'd gotten to know quite well online and was *thrilled* to meet in person and talk endlessly with about my favorite subject.

(Insert many, many more names here, too many to mention, of other *fabulous* people I met and hung out with in LA but really, this post is already too long as it is...!) (But do be sure to yell at me on facebook for not listing you- I can take it!)

Leaving me with a "last-but-not-least" sort of spot in which I mention the two authors I sort-of went to LA with the intention of quietly stalking- Mac Barnett and Jon Scieszka. Met them both! Funny, gracious, genuine... did I mention FUNNY?? And boy, do they KNOW children's books. Wow. I'm now in awe of them both even more than I was before I met them. Jon even signed my original Stinky Cheese Man copy, so all is now right in my world. Yay for SCBWI conferences!

:)]]> General http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=345 Mon, 9 Aug 2010 19:16:54 -0600 Happy Birthday to Me! http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=344
The Gashlycrumb Tinies

I have wanted to read this book forever as I had heard it might be the sort of book I enjoy. Oh, it was.
It was *very much*.

And, I might add, my twisted little children laughed as much as I did. And we re-read it twice. And it was the perfect present capping off a lovely day. I (heart) Edward Gorey!

And now I am on vacation for a few weeks. I might be hereabouts. I might not. But I do hope you're spending some time this summer reading a good book! I know I am...

:)]]> General http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=344 Sat, 10 Jul 2010 19:28:12 -0600 Cool Castles http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=343 Kelly Murphy's blog (which you should be- she creates such amazing art), please head over there and check out this post!

It has photos of the REAL castles that inspired her gorgeous art in our two books together, Hush Little Dragon and Over At The Castle. So cool to get an inside peek at inspiration like that!

:)]]> General http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=343 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:33:09 -0600 What I Like So Far (2010) http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=342 Halfway-Mark Caldecott/Newbery guesses.

She's really good at doing this, so I'm not gonna be one to disagree. The Newbery is not my field of expertise (despite what I said in my last post- I have a LONG way to go!), but I do have major MAJOR love for this book:

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz is simply LOVELY. If you haven't read it yet, please please do. I'll even guarantee this one! I'm going to read it aloud to my twins this summer- I don't normally read longer books to them (we still read picture books together) but I think it will make a perfect read-aloud. This book, to me, has Newbery (or at least Newbery Honor) written all over it.

What do I see for Caldecott contenders? I've already shared my love (I think? Did I blog this book? Or did I just marvel at it over on goodreads? I can't remember...) for Betsy's top pick, which is this:

Here Comes The Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter and Red Nose Studio


Here Comes The Garbage Barge is just smack-you-in-the-face awesome. I love Jonah Winter (Gertrude Is Gertrude Is Gertrude or You Never Heard Of Sandy Koufax?! ringing any bells?)- he has the best creative non-fiction voice in picture books today. And even if you put that aside, as I think they basically do, seeing as how the Caldecott is for illustration, the illustrations are a perfect complement to the text- they're innovative and intricate and just way, way cool. I hope it wins!

So, I may be playing favorites there, but I have a few others that have made an impression on me in a big way so far this year that certainly deserve mention as well:

Farm by Elisha Cooper


Insect Detective by Steve and Charlotte Voake


The Wonder Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Paul Schmid

A Giraffe Goes To Paris


My Garden by Kevin Henkes
(Betsy picks this one as an honor winner as well- I just love this new style of Henkes's!)

Ubiquitous by Joyce Sidman and Beckie Prange
(Don't miss the endpapers on this one- best endpapers EVER!)


I'm no art expert, but all of these brought me great joy to behold. And now I'll keep my eye out for the rest of the year...

:)
]]> General http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=342 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:09:16 -0600 What I'm Reading: Chapter Books http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=341 how to write it. Obviously, I'm still improving my craft and getting better at writing, but I had the basics down by osmosis.

A while back, I decided I wanted to write a chapter book that I had an idea for. I sat down to write it. It didn't flow. Not the first time I sat down, or the ninth, or the twentieth. I was so frustrated! And I didn't understand why until I came across this wonderful advice on Linda Sue Park's website. Read a thousand books of the genre you want to write in. I love reading advice that makes so much sense, it makes you feel stupid reading it! I'd done that with picture books, why not with chapter books??

So this is what I'm doing now- I'm reading! Chapter books, with some shorter, younger mid-grades thrown in the mix. And I'm discovering I really like this level of book. A lot. When you steer clear of the formulaic series, there are some really good books in it! I'm trying to make sure to get a good dose of everything: some fantasy, humor, reality-based, highly-illustrated, non-illustrated, girl books, boy books, old, new... I want to completely understand the genre before I sit back down and open up that file.

If you have any suggestions of chapter books you think are particularly good, please e-mail me or mention them in the comments!

:) ]]> General http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=341 Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:05:30 -0600 Yesterday... and today http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=340
Yesterday... I found out that a very kind author I know had recommended me to that Young Author's Day committee as a speaker and it was so nice to discover she had that kind of confidence in me.

Yesterday... two authors who I admire and respect a great deal solicited MY opinion on manuscripts they had written.

Yesterday... a really sweet author I know related a small yet charming anecdote to me about an experience she had out in the *real world* with one of my books (by the way, this NEVER gets old!)

Yesterday... an editor who I admire tremendously and have been anxious to work with since I met her three years ago offered me a book contract!!

Today... I am so very grateful for my writing career and all the wonderful people I have met and continue to meet while doing the thing I most *love* to do in the world- write books for children.

Thank you everyone for making my yesterdays and todays so very, very awesome!

:)]]> General http://boniashburn.com/blog/index.php?itemid=340 Wed, 26 May 2010 06:24:46 -0600