children’s literature

chatting with author nicole groeneweg about one word pearl

~ jama ~ 17 Comments

I think it’s fair to say that when it comes to winning writing contests, author and educator Nicole Groeneweg definitely has the knack.

You may remember when I hooted about her team of first and second graders at Lane ES in Alexandria, Virginia, winning the Scholastic 2011 Kids Are Authors Grand Prize for Nonfiction for The Perfect Place for an Elf Owl.

Last year, Nicole’s charming story, One Word Pearl, won the NAESP’s Children’s Book of the Year Contest in the Picture Book category. The prize? A contract with Charlesbridge Publishing and an endorsement by the National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation! WooHoo!

Art © 2013 Hazel Mitchell

This past summer, One Word Pearl finally hit the streets with uber cool mixed media illustrations by Maine-based artist Hazel Mitchell. Here’s the skinny:

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chatting with candice ransom about iva honeysuckle discovers the world (and a giveaway)!

~ jama ~ 30 Comments

Cornelius and I are thrilled to welcome award-winning children’s author Candice Ransom to the Alphabet Soup kitchen today.

As you may know, we’re in love with her latest book, Iva Honeysuckle Discovers the World (Disney Hyperion, 2012), which was just named to the Summer 2012 Kids’ Indie Next List, and which Kirkus describes as, “A breezy, wide-open window into the turbulent heart of a dramatic third-grade adventurer and her small-town Virginia community.”

I was instantly captivated by spunky and supremely self-assured Iva Honeycutt and her quest to become a world famous discoverer. With great-grandfather Ludwell’s treasure map in hand and her not-so-trusty canine companion Sweetlips by her side, she paces and dowses her way around her hometown of Uncertain, Virginia, searching for General Braddock’s war chest. But as all great explorers eventually learn, sometimes you end up finding something entirely different, and by golly, it’s even better!

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look look look!

~ jama ~ 5 Comments

Click here for full details at Playing by the Book!

soup of the day: dumpling days by grace lin!

~ jama ~ 29 Comments

“There was no day that dumplings couldn’t make better.” ~ Pacy Lin

Pass the dipping sauce, I’m in dumpling heaven. ☺

I’m thrilled to be serving up Newbery Honor Author Grace Lin’s brand new middle grade novel, Dumpling Days (Little, Brown, 2012), as our very first Soup of the Day for the new year!

Before I tell you a little about it and tempt you with some of its dishes, please put on BOTH of these bibs. You’ll definitely need double protection for this fabulous feast of a book, which is absolutely brimming with gustatory goodness.

 

Oh, and don’t forget your passport:

 

In this third novel featuring beloved heroine Pacy Lin, she and her family spend an entire month in Taiwan visiting relatives and preparing for Grandma’s 60th birthday party. Instead of traveling to her parents’ faraway homeland, Pacy would much rather spend her summer going to a fun place like Hawai’i or California where she could see her best friend Melody. But her parents want Pacy and her sisters to “know their roots,” to experience the “island of treasure.”

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tasty review: come and eat! by george ancona

~ jama ~ 10 Comments

 

“Come and Eat!”

Now, that’s music to my ears, probably yours, too. 🙂

When award-winning author, photographer and filmmaker George Ancona was growing up, his mother would always yell, “Georgie-e-e-e, come and EAT!”

While I was still in elementary school, the world opened up to me when I visited my classmates’ homes, where I tasted so many foods from faraway places. My friends also liked to come to my house after school because my mother always gave us Mexican hot chocolate with tacos.

Mmmmm! If I had lived in his neighborhood, I’d have probably gone over to George’s house every weekday afternoon. What I especially like about his new photo essay, Come and Eat! (Charlesbridge, 2011), is that he’s obviously still very curious and passionate about faraway places and views eating together as “a ceremony to celebrate life.”

 

Now, he’s invited all of us to a delectable multicultural feast, with food and mealtime customs from such places as Tibet, Sweden, Japan, India, Polynesia, the United States and Mexico. No matter where we live, eating together gives us the opportunity to share thoughts, feelings, and friendship. Continue reading →