Here is the answer to Friday's Famous First: "I sashay my bow across the violin strings the way a mosquito skims a summer pond," is from the Coretta Scott King Award Honor Book, The Bat Boy and His Violin, written by Gavin Curtis and illustrated by E.B. Lewis.

Baseball Fan, Parent, Lover of Picture Books...If you haven't read this book, please do.

Writing a book that has historical underpinnings is often tricky. Incorporating enough factual reality to provide the reader with a true sense of time and place without sounding like a history lecture or losing the story in detail is a delicate balancing act. Add to that, the themes of being true to oneself and recognizing the individuality in your children and you have the potential to become preachy.

Gavin Curtis' writing is more than equal to the challenge and he shares the sensitive relationship between team-manager Dad and Bat boy child without taking a single false step. This book works on every level...providing a glimpse into life in the Negro Leagues told through a father and son perspective that is a delight to read.

The beautiful water color paintings by award-winning illustrator, E.B. Lewis add depth to each aspect of the story.

Enjoy!

Do you have a book to sell Part 4 will appear next Monday.

This week's Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup

How could I not respond with a book about food poetry? Here's "Carrots to Cupcakes: reading, writing, and reciting poems about food," written by Susan M. Freese and illustrated by Jan Westberg. This colorful book is designed to introduce young readers in grades K-3 to the fun of reading poetry. In addition to verse by well-known poets, there is a section with poetry by children. The book also provides tidbits, terms, activities and a glossary.

Friday's Famous First: Can you name the title and author of this first line? "I sashay my bow across the violin strings the way a mosquito skims a summer pond."

It's Writer's Wednesday

I'm taking the day off to work on a novel I'm trying to finish. But I haven't forgotten you. There is a wonderful article about writing for children and teenagers that you can read on the blog by Cynthia Leitich Smith.

Do You Have a Book to Sell? Part 3

After last Monday's search for award winners and nominees, I have a potential list of books for addition to the library collection. Now I have some additional sources of book ideas to consider...
Recommendations: From booksellers, the students who are the audience for the books I purchase, and I certainly won't forget the numerous reviews from the kidlit bloggers.

Book fairs are always a great place to explore. Many schools host at least one book fair per year that is put on by national and/or regional companies such as Scholastic, local companies such as Mrs. Nelson's, or by neighborhood bookstores. Each of these booksellers will make a point of having the newest and most popular titles available for purchase and as a librarian, I can utilize this opportunity to see what's new in the marketplace.

I'll browse the book fair shelves with my collection in mind and make a point of talking with students to inquire why they are making particular selections.

In addition to once a year events like book fairs, I can collect ideas anytime by visiting the kidlitosphere bloggers who offer a wealth of possibilities to consider. I have a long list of sites that I visit regularly for suggestions and I'm constantly finding new blogs via my favorites.

By the time I'm done, I'll have dozens of titles, authors and genres to consider.

Next Week: How do I whittle down my options to the Must-Haves?

Here is the answer to Friday's Famous First: "Brothers is the baddest," from Coretta Scott King Award winning book, Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson.

Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted today by Diane Mayr at Random Noodling.

For your consideration, I offer: Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the trees of Kenya, written by Donna Jo Napoli and illustrated by Kadir Nelson -- Simon & Shuster Books for Young Readers, 2010. 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Wangari Maathai, known as Mama Miti (Mother of Trees), is the subject of this poetic picture book. Styled like a folktale, Maathai, a Kenyan environmental activist, advises the village women who come to her for help to plant trees...for food, for firewood, to protect livestock or clean the groundwater. Different trees for different needs, but each offered with the same Kikuyu expression: "Thayu nyumba-Peace, my people." Brilliant illustrations awash with the colors of a Kenyan landscape combine oils with the prints found in traditional African textiles.

This book would be an excellent introduction to the "Green Belt Movement" and could be coupled with "Wangari's Trees of Peace" by Jeanette Winter and "Planting the Trees of Kenya" by Claire Nivola for additional information on Wangari Maathai and the growth of the tree planting mission.

Friday's Famous First: Can you name the title and author for this first line? "Brothers is the baddest."

It's Writer's Wednesday...What's your story about?

Can you answer that question in 25 words or less? 50 words or less? Three Sentences? Can you give me a sense of your main character(s), the major plot points and a satisfying resolution? Can you convey the voice? Make me care?

That's the goal when you send a query letter or pitch your work to an editor or agent. Are you prepared? As writers we often bemoan the lack of opportunities...certain our cherished work would be eagerly snapped up if we just had the chance to present our carefully-crafted story. But when that crucial moment arrives...we choke or don't know when to stop.

There are a couple of posts well worth reading this week on the query/pitch process. The first, written by Jaycee Kaycee and titled "Way to Nail the Conference Pitch," appeared today as a guest post at Adventures in Children's Publishing. The end of the post has a link to another post at Alignment: Left for more information about Jaycee's preparation and pitching tips.

Do You Have a Book to Sell? Part 2

Last week I touched on the two most serious considerations when purchasing school library books: money and shelf space.

Today, let's just suppose that here I am...a librarian with money to spend. It might be $500.00. Maybe it's $1,000.00...oh lucky me! In any case, the process is the same -- sorting through the myriad titles that are available and making my selections.

I'm going to need some help and a simple way to begin is to look at award winners and nominees. There are numerous national book awards and lists: Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal, Charlotte Zolotow Award, Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, Notable Children's Book List, Parent's Choice, Coretta Scott King Award, and the Cybils to name only a few.

And I certainly will want to take a look at the state awards. In California it's the California Young Reader Medal. In Arizona there's the Grand Canyon Reader's Award and so on. These
awards are particularly valuable because of the way in which the winners are selected. Generally, the books are nominated by parents, teachers, librarians and students from across the state. The list is usually narrowed down to 3-5 and then the students read and vote for their favorite books. I don't always agree with the results, but I can be sure that all the nominees are worth careful consideration.

By the time I've looked at all these possibilities, I probably already have a pretty healthy list of books, but I'm not done yet. Next week I'll talk about additional great resources for finding children's books.

Here is the answer to Friday's Famous First: "On the banks of the river Nagara, where the long-necked cormorants fish at night, there once lived a poor widow and her son." The Boy of the Three-Year Nap, Caldecott Honor book written by Dianne Snyder, illustrated by Allen Say.