hotTEAs of Children’s Poetry: Kenn Nesbitt

April 11, 2016September 25, 2017 ~ jama ~ 10 Comments

Former Children’s Poet Laureate (2013-15) Kenn Nesbitt is the author of many books for kids, including “Kiss, Kiss Good Night,” “My Hippo Has the Hiccups,” “Revenge of the Lunch Ladies,” and many others. Kenn travels the country, visiting more than 60 schools each year, sharing his wacky brand of poetry with kids nationwide, and helping to create a new generation of poetry lovers. His website, poetry4kids.com, is the most visited children’s poetry website on the Internet. (pictured here with his favorite mug, given to him by the Guam Chapter of the International Reading Association)

☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: I am a huge coffee fan. I love the taste of a nice dark roast, and I appreciate all of the good news lately about the health benefits of coffee. My go-to coffee is San Francisco Bay Organic Rainforest Blend. My wife and I make a pot of it every morning, and I like it with a couple of tablespoons of heavy whipping cream.

☕ HOT OFF THE PRESSES: My most recent book is Believe it or Not, My Brother Has a Monster, illustrated by David Slonim, published by Scholastic in 2015. My next book is an anthology of over 140 poems entitled One Minute Till Bedtime, with brand new poems from more than 130 children’s poets from around the world. It will be published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in November 2016.

☕ FAVE FOODIE CHILDREN’S BOOK: Easily my favorite food-related children’s book is William Cole’s hilarious anthology, Poem Stew. It’s a collection of humorous poems about food that is now, sadly, out of print, though used copies are easy to find online.

☕ Find Kenn Nesbitt online at Poetry4kids.com, on Twitter: @poetry4kids, and at his FB Page.

☕☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: Enjoy one of Ken’s poems!

Our Teacher’s Not a Zombie

Our teacher’s not a zombie.
He’s not the living dead,
although he’s looking ragged
and his eyes are rather red.

He shuffles to the classroom.
He slowly drags his feet.
He shambles to the whiteboard
looking broken-down and beat.

We listen to his plaintive moans.
We see the way he strains.
We hear him mumble mournfully
about the students’ brains.

But we know not to worry.
We never get upset.
He’s always like this when he
hasn’t had his coffee yet.

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hotTEAs of Children’s Poetry: Alan Katz

April 7, 2016September 25, 2017 ~ jama ~ 6 Comments

Alan Katz is the author of more than 35 books for kids, including nine Silly Dilly Songbooks (Take Me Out of the Bathtub), poetry collections (OOPS!), picture books, and more. He is also a six-time Emmy nominee (and loser) for his work on various animated series and The Rosie O’Donnell Show.

☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: My favorite hot beverage is coffee (regular or decaf, no real preference) with milk (1%, 2%, whole, whatever). No sweetener! And…fun fact…I have never, never, truly never had a cup of tea. Simply can’t stand the smell! Really. Really, really.

☕ HOT OFF THE PRESSES: The Day the Mustache Took Over, illustrated by Kris Easler (Bloomsbury, 2015) — My first middle grade book, all about the exploits of my real-life twins Nathan and David! Forthcoming: The Day the Mustache Came Back (Bloomsbury, July 2016), and That Stinks!: A Punny Show-and-Tell, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin (Simon & Schuster, July 2016).

☕ FAVE FOODIE CHILDREN’S BOOK: Future Chefs: Recipes by Tomorrow’s Chefs Across the Nation and the World by Ramin Ganeshram (Rodale, 2014).

☕ Visit Alan Katz’s Official Website

☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: A funny poem by Alan 😀

CH-CH-CH-CHECK, PLEASE

I only eat foods that begin with “c-h”

Like chicken and churros and chili.

If you’re cooking dinner and there’s no “c-h”

then trying to feed me is silly.

Today I had chocolate and churros and chips,

chimichangas and chow mein and cheese.

Tonight, chunky chowder is the only choice–

(Mom is out of “c-h” recipes).

She ordered a cookbook,

that’s coming tomorrow;

Mom promised great foods she’ll be makin’

It will be a menu of new “c-h” treats–

Like chmeatloaf! Chomelets! Chbacon!

(From Poems I Wrote When No One Was Looking, S&S 2011)

☕☕ CAN’T GET ENOUGH:

☕☕☕ WHEN YOU’RE HOT, YOU’RE HOT!

☕☕☕☕ CAN’T STOP NOW! ONE LAST (I HOPE!) CUP OF SERIOUS SILLINESS: Alan recites a couple of silly dilly poems for KidLit TV:

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hotTEAs of Children’s Literature: Brian Rock

March 31, 2016September 25, 2017 ~ jama ~ 2 Comments

I confess that I don’t like too many hot drinks (not even coffee!) But I do enjoy hot chocolate on snowy days. I have five published picture books, one of them is even food themed! I think getting kids excited about reading and creating is about the best job a person could ever have!

☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: Williams & Sonoma Classic Hot Chocolate. It’s rich, robust and loved by children everywhere (it’s everything I want to be!).

☕ HOT OFF THE PRESS: Martian Mustache Mischief, illustrated by Joshua Dawson (First Light Publishing, August 2015).

☕ FAVE FOODIE CHILDREN’S BOOK: I love the way food is played with in Alice in Wonderland and how it’s used as a metaphor in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I love how it’s used to define and motivate Winnie the Pooh. But since I’m a picture book guy, I’m going to go with The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems (Disney-Hyperion, 2004). The story is even more delicious than the hot dog!

☕ Visit Brian Rock’s Official Website

☕☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: Listen to Brian read The Deductive Detective, illustrated by Sherry Rogers (Sylvan Dell, 2013).

☕ ☕ ☕ STILL THIRSTY!!!

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hotTEAs of Children’s Literature: Duncan Tonatiuh

March 24, 2016September 25, 2017 ~ jama ~ 4 Comments

Duncan Tonatiuh is an award-winning author-illustrator. His work is inspired by the ancient art of Mexico, particularly that of the Mixtec codex. His aim is to create images and stories that honor the past, but that are relevant to children nowadays. (Pictured here with his 9-month-old daughter Vida.)

☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: Green Tea

☕ HOT OFF THE PRESS: Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras (Abrams, 2015) and Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation (Abrams, 2014). Forthcoming: The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes (Abrams, October 2016) and Esquivel!: Space-Age Sound Artist, written by Susan Wood (Charlesbridge, September 2016).

☕ FAVE FOODIE CHILDREN’S BOOK: Salsa: Un poema para cocinar/A Cooking Poem, written by Jorge Argueta (Groundwood Books, 2015).

☕ Visit Duncan Tonatiuh’s Official Website

☕☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: Check out this video where Duncan expresses thanks for the Sibert Medal and Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor he was awarded earlier this year for Funny Bones.

☕☕☕ CAN’T GET ENOUGH: Duncan chats with Viviana Hurtado from last summer’s Lunchtime Author Google Hangout. He talks about Funny Bones, how he got his first book contract with Abrams, and shares thoughts about creating diverse books for young readers in today’s publishing climate.

☕☕☕☕ STILL THIRSTY: More Vida cuteness!

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hotTEAS of Children’s Literature: Linda Ashman

March 17, 2016September 25, 2017 ~ jama ~ 10 Comments

Linda Ashman is the author of more than thirty children’s books, as well as The Nuts & Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books. Her books have been included in the “best of the year” lists of The New York Times, Parenting and Child magazines, the New York Public Library and more. She lives with her husband, son and two dogs in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: I have straight up black coffee first thing in the morning. Then, around 11:30, I have a soy latte with some sort of treat (for the record, a pecan scone today). My sister Liz gave me this mug as a reminder of growing up in New Jersey, and my very first job—waitressing at Dunkin’ Donuts.

☕ HOT OFF THE PRESSES: Rock-a-Bye Romp, illustrated by Simona Mulazzani (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Random House, January 2016); Henry Wants More!, illustrated by Brooke Boynton Hughes (Penguin Random House, January 2016); All We Know, illustrated by Jane Dyer (HarperCollins, March 2016). Forthcoming: Hey, Coach!, illustrated by Kim Smith (Sterling, August 2016).

☕ FAVE FOODIE CHILDREN’S BOOKS: We must have read Seven Silly Eaters a zillion times when my son was small. We also loved Susan Meddaugh’s hilarious Martha books (the magical power of alphabet soup!). Oh, and Cooking with Henry and Elliebelly is really funny too.

☕ Visit Linda Ashman’s Official Website. She also blogs monthly at PictureBookBuilders.com. Learn more about Henry Wants More! in Linda’s Chat with illustrator Brooke Boynton Hughes, and about Rock-a-Bye Romp in Linda’s Chat with illustrator Simona Mulazzani.

☕☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: Check out this great Welcome to My Studio feature at All the Wonders — you can see the different places where Linda likes to work in her lovely home.

☕☕☕ CAN’T GET ENOUGH: If you’re an aspiring or even a seasoned picture book writer, Linda’s Nuts and Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books is a must read:

The Nuts and Bolts Guide is designed to work like a 9-week class. Each chapter includes detailed instruction on essential topics—things like building a story, experimenting with voice, creating memorable characters, writing rollicking read-alouds and pitch-perfect verse, playing with humor, and submitting your work—plus a reading list, interviews, tips, resources, and exercises to stimulate new ideas and apply to works-in-progress.

Click here for a free preview and to order your copy (available as a PDF or eBook for Kindle).

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