soup of the day

soup of the day: jumping off swings!

~ jama ~ 22 Comments


Jo is beautiful inside and out.

Hip hip hooray! What a glorious day!

I’m swinging high above the trees, and the view is amazing. I plan to stay up here awhile. Want to join me? It’s the perfect way to celebrate the official release today of Jo Knowles’s brand new young adult novel, Jumping Off Swings (Candlewick, 2009)! WooHoo!

   
      JUMPING OFF SWINGS by Jo Knowles
      (Candlewick Press, 2009), 240 pp.
      Young Adult Fiction     

*loving the fresh air blowing through my hair*

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soup of the day: chicken dance!

~ jama ~ 23 Comments



Bawk-Ba-Gawk!

Eggs-tra, Eggs-tra, Feed All About It!

Curl your lips (or beaks, as the case may be), wiggle your wattles,  shake your tail feathers. It’s time to bawk and roll! WooHoo!


Rawkin’ album covers featuring author and illustrator.

About a week ago, I announced that Elvis Poultry was in the building. Today, his creators, author Tammi Sauer (Cowboy Camp), and illustrator Dan Santat (Guild of Geniuses, Secret Life of Walter Kitty), have got plenty to crow about, because CHICKEN DANCE (Sterling, 2009) has officially hatched!


Picture Book for ages 4-8, 36 pages.

True, this heeeelarious, rollicking barnyard romp of a story snuck into a few hen houses a little early. But now, it’s obvious that the world was mighty hungry for a good cluck with pluck, because the first print run has already sold out!

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soup of the day: where the mountain meets the moon by grace lin!

~ jama ~ 18 Comments


Gorgeous photo of Grace by Alexandre Ferron.

Hooray hooray hooray!!

Today is official Pub Day for Grace Lin’s brand new middle grade novel, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Little,Brown, 2009)!

As far as I’m concerned, any time Grace publishes a new book, it is cause for big celebration. I’m a huge fan of both her gorgeous picture books and her heartwarming novels about Pacy Lin, Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat. When I interviewed Grace last year, she had recently returned from visiting China and Taiwan, and she talked about how she hoped to incorporate some of the sights and sounds of her fascinating experiences in a new book.

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soup of the day: mare’s war!

~ jama ~ 19 Comments

           

These are probably not your mother’s stilettos.

But they could be your grandma’s!

Just ask Tali and Octavia, whose grandmother not only wears red stilettos, but drives a red sportscar, dons flippy wigs and push-up bras, has very strong opinions, and tells them about her very surprising history.

Woo Hoo! The day I’ve been waiting for all year long has finally arrived: official pub day for Mare’s War, a young adult novel written by the one and only Tanita S. Davis!!

*stilettos all over the world clicking together in celebration*

    
       MARE’S WAR by Tanita S. Davis,
       (Knopf, 2009), Young Adult Historical Fiction,
       Ages 12+, 352 pp.

Tanita’s first book, A La Carte (2008), was so thoroughly delicious that I can’t wait to read Mare’s War. Mare is the grandmother in question; Tali and Octavia’s summer plans are ruined when their parents force them to accompany Mare on a l-o-n-g cross-country road trip.

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soup of the day: me with you by kristy dempsey!

~ jama ~ 26 Comments

Hip hip hooray!

*cartwheels* *backflips* *high jumps*

WooHoo! Friends, we can hardly bear it, because today, Kristy Dempsey’s very first book, Me with You, is officially out!

Each new book is a miracle, but a first book is a very special cause for celebration. No matter how many books an author publishes, there is, and always will be, only one first book.

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