Book Review Wednesday: The LA Dodger

 

My family is baseball family. Both sons love playing first base and pitching. My son’s room has a green monster complete with scoreboard and red socks painted on the wall. We spend many happy summer evenings at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine watching the SeaDogs minor league team. So I was thrilled to receive a review copy of David A. Kelly’s recent Ball Park Mysteries series book The L.A. Dodger.

 

In the series, Kate and Mike travel to various major league ballparks and find themselves in mysterious situations. Kate is logical and observant. Mike is more impulsive and daring. Together they solve problems that the adults around them can’t. Peppered throughout the book and in the back matter is information about what makes each ballpark and home team historically unique.

 

I happened to be on a plane to L.A. while reading the book and loved the sightseeing tidbits. Kate and Mike visit Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Santa Monica Pier, Griffith Park Observatory and La Brea Tar Pits. Mr. Kelly does a nice job weaving in the information without interrupting the narrative flow of the book. Each excursion plays into the mystery.

 

Random House gives the book a 2.8 grade level but there are plenty of first through third grade kids who would love this book. Kids at this age are eager to read series, which give them a chance for literacy success. I recommend it especially for baseball lovers or infokids– those kiddos who memorize baseball stats, historical information or the names of dinosaurs.
 

Conference Report in a Nutshell Day One

LASCBWI Conference in a nutshell day one: (idea borrowed from my awesome roomie Colleen Ryckert Cook) Registration desk at 6:45 am. 1,342 people. Bruce Colville-Take risks. Get out of your own way. Julie Strauss-Gabel- thoughtful and incredibly smart. Strong wonderful graphics of Denise Fleming. Libba Bray- in your manuscript: "tell me what is intolerable for you to bear alone." For more, definitely check out the official conference blogging team who are doing an amazing job!

Book Review Wednesday: Women of the Golden State

 

Did you know that at the same time women were meeting for women’s rights in Seneca Falls, New York, Charlotte “Charlie” Parker drove a stage coach around Goldrush California dressed as a man? California here I come and what better book to be reading than Women of the Golden State. This children’s book is a collection of nonfiction articles by wonderful writers including Linda Crotta Brennen, Joyce Ray, and others.

 

The book begins with a 1776-2006 overarching timeline that places each woman in history. The individual articles are short, well organized and readable. Each author has done a wonderful job finding the child friendly entry point to profile these women. Extra interesting tidbits are available in well-designed sidebars and back matter for each article includes an individual timeline, a glossary, and books and websites that encourage further study.

 

Many of the women in the book made California their home later in life. Some suffered on long journeys to the west. Bridget “Biddy” Mason was a slave who won her freedom in an 1856 California court case. She walked 2,000 miles behind her master’s wagons and livestock.

 

Others such as Jessie Anne Frémont, Charlotta S. Bass, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Janice Mirikitani found the pen mightier than the sword in efforts to support their own family, fight discrimination, convey the immigrant experience and remember the poor treatment of Japanese-Americans during the second World War.

 

Modern women profiled in the book include organizer, Dolores Huerta; environmentalist, Dian Fossey; politican, Nancy Pelosi; athlete, Billie Jean King; muralist, Judith Baca; astronaut, Sally Ride; and Olympic rower, Anita L. DeFrantz.

 

The book is full of historic firsts, activists, and philanthropists. By exposing children to the leadership and accomplishments of the women profiled in the book, the authors also depict a history of social justice. I highly recommended it for home schooling families or any family hoping to enrich their child’s access to alternative historic resources. It makes a great back-to-school gift for the teacher with no book budget. Women of the Golden State is part of the larger America’s Notable Women Series  all perfect for the school and library market.

 

 

One day and a wake-up until LA!

 

On Wednesday morning I board a plane for Los Angeles for the 40th Anniversary SCBWI Summer conference! Let the countdown begin. I’ve printed out my schedule, wrote down my Regional Advisor duties, jotted down meetings with friends, looked at pictures of the pool and printed out the running directions from the hotel. (Have to keep up with the triathlon training, right? I hope so.)

 

While I’ve attended the New York City national conference, this is my first time at the West Coast event. As many of you know, I’m not a shrinking violet and I’m no stranger to the grip and grin. However, there are a thousand people registered for this event not including all the staff and faculty! I’m sure there will be moments that I’ll be overwhelmed.

 

Nevertheless, there are some things about conferences that just don’t change– the schedule (you got your workshops and your keynote addresses), the food (you can bank on some chicken dish), and most important when you go to an SCBWI event you will be surrounded by people who are kind, by people who are committed to making great literature and connecting children with books.

 

If you’re going to the conference there will be a published list of meet-ups with Regional Advisors in the States and Internationally. I’ll be meeting with New England members in the Belair Room on Friday evening between 8 and 8:30. If you see me working the registration table on Friday morning, please introduce yourself.

 

Also, don’t forget the Guidebook App for the conference. You can find it in the Apple or Android Apps store.

Stay tuned for an RA perspective of the conference.

What’s new with SCBWI?

 

I’ve wanted to post this blog since I came back from the wonderful Regional Advisor retreat in March. I know. That’s a long time and a lot has happened in that time. Of note, I finished my creative thesis and had a wonderful final grad residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts that culminated in my graduation. Yes. I am officially Anna J. Boll, MFA. But enough about me. This post is about new developments at SCBWI and how you can take advantage of them.

1. Headquarters is encouraging Regional Advisors (RA’s) to create programs that are low or no cost events. Here are just a few events that I’ve been thinking of.

Meet-Ups: Host a meet up at a local book store, the library, or popular watering hole. These events can be just social or you can ask a local author/illustrator to read from their new book, or talk about some aspect of craft or marketing.

Group Book Launch: Do you have a book coming out? I’d love to hear about it so I can connect you with others in your area who might be able to do a signing/launch activity at a local book store or library. I’m also happy to congratulate you on my blog.

Sketch Crawl: Get together with other SCBWI illustrators and go to the zoo, the aquarium, or hang out in a local park. There is plenty of subject matter for artists all around.

Portfolio Review: Have a portfolio critique session with other illustrators (live or online) so you can put your best work forward. Especially helpful before trips to major SCBWI conferences.

Museum/Library Visit: Have you always wanted to go to look at Michelson’s gallery? The Eric Carle Museum? Did you know that there’s a great Illustration exhibit in Lewiston-Auburn College until August 12th? Our own NESCBWI member David Kelly and many other authors are slated to speak at the Boston Public Library? If you’re planning to go, let’s tell other members and see if we can get a group together.

Book Clubs: Good writers have to be good readers. Would you be interested in analyzing the works of published children’s authors to discuss what makes a great story /illustration.

Figure Drawing Nights: Figure drawing is a critical skill for any artist. If you are interested, email me and we will try to get a critical mass together to hire models.

Retreat Day: Do you live on a lake, in the mountains, by the ocean? Invite a few SCBWI members to join you for a day of writing with an optional sharing/critique. Have everyone bring a dish to share for lunch and keep costs low.

***If this is a sanctioned SCBWI event, I need to know about it. Send me an email at NorthernNERA at nescbwi dot org.

 

2. The 40th Annual SCBWI Summer Conference is August 5th – 8th in Los Angeles and I’ll be there! Sadly, I do not own a smartphone. If I did, I’d download the amazing Guidebook App to plan my conference. It gives you a personalized schedule, and information about each speaker and session. You can also browse maps of the event space at the Hyatt, and follow the #LA11SCBWI Twitter feed directly from the app.

 

The app is compatible with iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches and Android devices.

 

To get the guide, choose one of the methods below:

 

  1. Download ‘Guidebook’ from the Apple App Store or the Android Marketplace
  2. Visit http://guidebookapp.com/getit from your phone’s browser 

 

The guide will be listed under the "download guides" section of the application.

 

3. Awards and Grants:

If you haven’t looked at the SCBWI Awards and Grants recently, follow this link!

 http://www.scbwi.org/Pages.aspx/Introduction

Today I’m highlighting the SCBWI Book Launch Award which provides two annual awards of $2000 each for an author or illustrator to use for marketing a book scheduled for release from a PAL publisher during the next calendar year. We all know that authors and illustrators are increasingly responsible for their own marketing. The money from this grant can be used for any kind of promotional purpose that will increase sales and visibility of the book, such as launch events, speaking engagements, book tours, curriculum materials, advertising, book trailers, website development, or community events. 

Watch this space for more grant information and interviews with recent winners!

Have a great weekend.

Peace,

Anna