text:
Today's official launch of my new Scholastic UK picture book, Dinosaur Police, involved quite a lot of preparation, but not all of it by me. Deadly Knitshade and her crew of dinosaurs were very busy:
And I was BAKING, something I almost never do!
Then we all gathered at the Herne Hill bookshop in south London, Tales on Moon Lane, which had a lovely display of loads of the books I've worked on:
My sculptor friend Eddie Smith had been busy making my hat (for Hay Festival and the launch), and here he is with my Dinosaur Police editor, Pauliina Malinen:
And the hats were terrific! Check out Deadly Knitshade (aka Lauren O'Farrell):
Photos tweeted by @deadlyknitshade
Look at this Officer Brachio badge, stitched by Sami Teasdale! She gave it to me at the end of the day, totally amazing.
My excellent Scholastic publicist, Dave Sanger, and I did a little Masterchef cooking demonstration: how to make a dinosaur pizza.
And everyone dug in to the various Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous tomato pastes, swamp cheese, chili, mushrooms, everything needed to make a particularly sweet pizza.
Then I swapped hats because my big one kept getting tangled up in the chandeliers. I did a reading... (photo tweeted by Deadly Knitshade)
Photo tweeted by @deadlyknitshade
And Dinosaur Dave acted out some particularly emotional parts of the story:
Then we did some drawing and a song. Look, here's my husband Stuart's drawing! (You can download more drawing activities over on the Dinosaur Police webpage.)
Then we went out to the bookshop back yard for bubbly and book signing and Pauliina gave a fab speech:
Big thanks to Pauliina, my designer Rebecca Essilifie, Dave, Scholastic, Tereze, Juliet and staff at Tales on Moon Lane, my studio mates (Elissa Elwick, Gary Northfield and member-at-large Lauren O'Farrell), web designer Dan Fone, and Stuart for being so supportive! And to everyone who came along for the launch! Lauren shot a Vine video of me signing a book:
But Tales on Moon Lane wasn't our only stop! Earlier that morning Dave and I had taken part in a smaller Story Time at Dulwich Books, which was also good fun!
As Philip Ardagh pointed out, we even made the newspapers, ha ha... Young Holly managed to capture the rascal on paper:
Big thanks to everyone who came along! I also took off my big hat after the intial introduction because I think its sheer size was scaring one of the littlest guys in the front row. (It's better designed for big stage events, I think>)
This event was the first time Dave had drawn with me in public AND his first public outing in a dinosaur onesie. VERY BRAVE.
Big thanks to Sheila and Annie for hosting us!
And one last thanks to brave Dinosaur Dave.
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Blog: Sarah McIntyre (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: hats, book launch, dinosaur_police, bookshop, Add a tag
Today's official launch of my new Scholastic UK picture book, Dinosaur Police, involved quite a lot of preparation, but not all of it by me. Deadly Knitshade and her crew of dinosaurs were very busy:
Blog: Playing by the book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Katherine Woodfine, Crime, Friendship, Hats, History, London, Mystery, Add a tag
Imagine the 20th century has just begun and a new and very grand London department store is about to open. Whatever your heart desires, you can get it wrapped up in ribbons and bows at Sinclairs.
The department store is about to become the talk of the town for all its finery, opulence and grandeur but then thieves strike, lifting items from a special jewellery exhibition in the store's grand exhibition hall. Amongst the stolen items the most marvellous clockwork bird encrusted with gems, an exquisite miracle of hidden engineering which produces a different song every time it is wound up.
Will this scandal overshadow the opening of Sinclairs? Who could have carried out this most audacious of crimes? Suspicion falls on Sophie, a young girl with a slightly mysterious background of her own, who works in the millinery department. Having once lived a rather grander life, Sophie has recently fallen on hard times and now has to work for a living. This change in circumstances means she isn't trusted by her colleagues and it doesn't help that she was seen admiring the clockwork bird just before it went missing.
A pageturner of a historical middle-grade detective story with a sparkle of glamour and glitz mixed up with dodgy street gangs and suspiciously finely tailored gentlemen, The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine is great fun to read. Developing friendships, bullying, kindness and compassion are all part of the mix, alongside code cracking, hidden passageways and serious crime. Woodfine's period drama is a perfectly paced, exciting read and when readers turn the final page, they'll be delighted to see that further adventures in crime-solving await Sophie and her friends in a second novel due in 2016.
The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow goes on sale this week and to celebrate this, here's a video from Katherine Woodfine telling us more about her lead character Sophie.
If you've a child who's enjoyed the historical novels of Jacqueline Wilson, or the detectives in Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood and Co books this might just be the ideal book to suggest to them next. Last week M and J were on holiday and I read The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow to them as their bedtime read. It went down tremendously well, and resulted in these… our own priceless clockwork sparrows:
Jewels, gold, pearls and an exciting historical mystery, with a clever and thoughtful heroine? We're all delighted that there's to be a second in the series next year.
Blog: Kid Lit Reviews (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: 5stars, Board Books, Books for Boys, Children's Books, Library Donated Books, NonFiction, Series, beards, Bob Lentz, Book-O-Beards, Capstone Young Readers, Donald Lemke, hats, imaginative play, interactive books, masks teeth, Wearable Books, Add a tag
Series: Wearable Books
Written by Donald Lemke
Illustrated by Bob Lentz
Capstone Young Readers 2/01/2015
12 pages Size: 8" x 8" Age 1 to 6
"Fun interactive board book that children and adults can wear like masks, allowing for make-believe games and hilarious snapshot moments! With catchy rhymes, colorful illustrations, and interactive dialogue, everyone will enjoy this laugh-pout-load read-along." [catalog]
New for 2015, Book-O-Beards allows young children to become a lumberjack—TIMBER!—a pirate—ARRRG!—a cowboy—YEEHAW!—a sailor—ANCHORS AWEIGH!—a police officer—You're under ARREST!—or Santa—HO, HO, HO! The Book-O-Beards helps young children role-play different personas as they try these full-spread, fully bushy beards. Read the rhyming text, and then try one on..
"This orange beard
is softer than fur. I
In a deep voice
shout out, 'TIMBER!'"
While the Book-O-Beards will appeal more to young boys, girls can certainly use this imaginative interactive board book. Made of heavy cardboard, the Book-O-Beards will stand-up to many hours of play. Young children love to play make-believe. The Wearable Books series lets kids try on teeth, hats, masks, and beards, all the while producing giggles. The love of reading can begin with one spark from these unusual dual-fun books.
BOOK-O-BEARDS (A WEARABLE BOOK). Text copyright © 2015 by Donald Lemke. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Bob Lentz. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Capstone Young Readers, an imprint of Capstone, North Manakato, MN.
Purchase Book-O-Beards at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Capstone.
Learn more about Book-O-Beards HERE.
Meet the author, Donald Lemke, at his bio box: http://www.capstonepub.com/library/authors/lemke-donald/
Meet the illustrator, Bob Lentz, at his website:
Find more interactive fun at the Capstone website: http://www.capstonepub.com/
Capstone Young Readers is a Capstone Imprint.
Also available in the Wearable Books series.
Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews
Filed under: 5stars, Board Books, Books for Boys, Children's Books, Library Donated Books, NonFiction, Series Tagged: beards, Bob Lentz, Book-O-Beards, Capstone Young Readers, Donald Lemke, hats, imaginative play, interactive books, masks teeth, Wearable Books Add a Comment
Blog: Sarah McIntyre (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: hats, Add a tag
This has been a Christmas season of hats. If I wasn't drawing them, I was wearing them. Hats this time of year are fun, because you can bung any old shiny thing on your head and it sort of works. Here's Ms Claus, with what might be cherries, Christmas balls, holly berries, or the skewered noses of Rudolphs past.
I don't really 'make' hats, I sort of assemble them from slightly more sedate hats from secondhand shops and whatever bits and bobs I can rummage up. My friend Helen Boyle (who edits WRD children's book magazine) was meeting up for fancy Afternoon Tea with Damian Kelleher and me, and said she didn't have a good hat to wear, so I assembled her this mint-green one:
A little closer look; isn't that bird a cutie? I ordered a big lot of birds off the Internet, and they feature in most of this season's hats.
Damian looked incredibly swish in it.
This red one's a gift from my mother; she bought it at the Bellevue Arts & Crafts Fair, near Seattle. I wore it to the Camberwell art college MA illustration Christmas party, and it was great seeing my course leader from art school, Janet Woolley. She was a brilliant teacher, and while we were studying, we had a visiting lecture from Simone Lia, here on the left. Simone makes amazing comics and hers were some of the first I saw that inspired me to make my own.
Mark Oliver (who studied with me), Mark Long, who started just after I left, and Jan's daughter, Jasmine Woolley-Butler.
Okay, this hat was for visiting Scholastic. Actually, it was a hat I've worn before, but I added the bird and some pompoms.
...And made videos. You can see all our videos here, several Scholastic authors (including Julia Donaldson and Liz Pichon) answering questions on our favourite things about Christmas.
Now it was awfully nice of publisher Nosy Crow to invite me to their party, particularly considering they don't publish me. They do one of the most fun parties, it's very sparkly.
This started out as an all-white hat that looked very wedding-ish, but I redecorated it with some long feathers I found at Deptford market and a flashing giftbox from Poundland. (It's the first time my hat's had actual LIGHTS, which was rather exciting.) Here I am with Philip Ardagh:
Actually, I think I like it better in black and white. (Stuart took this photo.)
Ha ha, people were even wearing giant rodents on their head (designed by Axel Sheffler, in the blue jumper).
This last hat was verging on ugly, but that was okay because...
...I wore it to the Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award ceremony. I'd never been to that one before, but there were some familiar faces, including Philip Womack, Jo Riddell, her husband Chris Riddell, and Meg Rosoff.
Oh, I should mention, the Guardian did a great interview with Chris Riddell today, go check it out.
And I'm trying to remember which hats I have by keeping track of them on a Pinterest page, so do feel free to go over and have a peek.
Blog: Playing by the book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Author/Illustrator Interviews, Hats, Sarah McIntyre, Add a tag
When I first started planning hat week, I knew I wanted to invite the wonderful Sarah McIntyre, illustrator and writer of picture books and comics extraordinaire to take part. The creator of Vern and Lettuce, Princess Spaghetti and half of the all singing all dancing Oliver and the Seawigs and Cakes in Space team Sarah has serious form when it comes to hats. Her hats are book events are legendary. She has even been called a "celebrity hat stand"…
Thus it is with huge delight and a great sense of honour that I've a guest post today from Sarah McIntyre, all about her love of hats. It is time to doff mine and let Sarah take the floor…
"I daydream a lot. I love my job, but sometimes I wonder, what would I do if I wasn't illustrating children's books?
I've contemplated taking various jobs, including:
Okay, this last one. I'm not actually a hat maker, but funnily enough, my job has let me make little forays into this world of wearable sculpture. I don't get very excited about the world of fashion; it's mostly intended for skinny people and I've watched The Devil Wears Prada. I don't understand all that stuff about stilettos and expensive handbags.
I used to think I needed to wear slimming black and try to all but make myself disappear because I wasn't a standard size, but south-east London has changed me. A large Afro-Caribbean population live in my neighbourhood and, let me tell you, a lot of those women don't let a bit of WEIGHT stop them from looking absolutely fabulous. I adore their block-printed fabric designs. Here are some of my African-print dresses, from Sika Designs in Greenwich, and Esther Marfo in New Cross.
And the outfits on these Nigerian and Ghanaian ladies don't stop with curve-enhancing dresses in bold patterns, their bright colours rise two or three feet up into the air with incredible head wraps. On a Sunday morning when people are going to church, the bus stop can look like a sea of giant fancy sweet wrappers. It's glorious!
Making books has given me lots of reasons to dress up, and if I'm doing a stage event, I can go as over-the-top as I want; my only limits are whether I can fit the outfit onto the train or into the airplane. Here's a six-foot-tall wig made out of purple clingfilm:
In fact, I almost didn't fit into my Oliver and the Seawigs book launch. I hadn't counted having to pass through a glass door before ascending to the deck of the Golden Hinde ship. Here's a photo of my editor helping me through. (Thank goodness for my dignity, I didn't have to crawl.)
The other thing that has changed for me is that I used to think comfort was the most important thing in dressing. But there's a certain amount of discomfort that's worth it, because it's so fun seeing people's jaws drop in surprise. This alien cake hat, for the Cakes in Space launch, for instance. It was quite heavy and clopped me hard on the forehead whenever I jumped in the air (because one does jump in the air, in stage events). But when I'd squeeze the hidden valve and its mouth would open, I'd have a wonderful time watching people gape. Some kids would obsess over it, trying to figure out how it worked, or if it really was alive.
My sculptor friend Eddie Smith helped me with both the giant Seawig and the Cake. He's a Royal Academy sculptor and has done lots of Proper Art Stuff, but he's loved doing something a bit different.
For Jampires, I tried to find a Bakewell Tart fascinator on the Internet, and there were lots, but they were all too SMALL. So I made this one out of a sprinkler attachment from the pound shop, a children's ball (also from the pound shop), a foam pizza base, the plastic lid from a Christmas pudding, some felt, lace, fabric and glitter.
My Summer Reading Challenge Medusa hat was also a pound shop marvel: a green pencil case, craft pipe cleaners, a yoghurt pot and a bit of painted foam. (I'm sure the Duchess of Cornwall wears very similar things herself.)
If you go on to my Hats Pinterest page, you can see lots more things I've worn! Some of them I've made, and some of them I've customised, from vintage hats I've found in second-hand shops. It doesn't take much to make a quiet hat into a startling headpiece; just stick on some large feathers or a big bow, or a ship, or a giant octopus. Some day I may make a book exclusively about hats, but for now, go check out David Roberts' fab new picture book with Andrea Beaty, Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau, inspired by his favourite hat makers.
I do daydream about taking a year off to go study under someone such as Philip Treacy and make all sorts of wild headgear. But for now, I'll be content with doing it as a job sideline… so much fun to be had!"
So now you can see why I wanted Sarah to be part of my Hat Week extravaganza, can't you! Do you have a favourite among Sarah's hats?
Sarah McIntyre's most recent books include Cakes in Space with Philip Reeve and Jampires with David O'Connell. Visit the book websites for fun activities!
Website & blog: jabberworks.co.uk
Twitter: @jabberworks
Hats Pinterest page: http://www.pinterest.com/mcintyre1000/my-hats/
Nothing short of utterly magnificent!!
This is so much fun!!!
I have really been enjoying your hat week! Ms McIntyre is now my new favorite person!
Blog: Playing by the book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Andrea Beaty, Author/Illustrator Interviews, Birthdays, David Roberts, Friendship, Generosity, Hats, Inclusive/diverse books, Kindness, Knitting, Add a tag
What's a life without love, even if that love is a bit wonky and not quite what you expected?
Madame Chapeau, the latest creation from the finely paired team of Andrea Beaty and David Roberts, does her best to send little flights of joy and love out into the world, by making hats that perfectly match each of her clients. She's imaginative, attentive and playful with what she creates, and her customers are delighted. However, poor Madame Chapeau lives alone. There clearly once was someone important in her life, but now, on her birthday she is left dining without close company.
What makes it even harder to bear is that her most treasured hat has been lost en route to her solo birthday meal. Passers-by try to help by offering their own hats to Madame Chapeau, and although their kindness is appreciated. nothing is quite right.
But then up steps a secret admirer, who has been watching Madame Chapeau for some time. A young girl, clearly fascinated by the hats Madame Chapeau creates, offers the milliner a little something she has been working on. It's rather odd, but this gift has been made with much love and turns out to be the best sort of birthday present Mme Chapeau could have wished for. A new friendship is formed and – one suspects – a new hat maker begins her training.
This is a whimsical and charming book which celebrates creativity, generosity and thoughtfulness from start to finish. Beaty's rhyming text tells a heart-warming tale, but Roberts' detailed and exuberant illustrations steal the show. With lots of famous hats to spot (look out for Princess Beatrice's hat, for example, or Charlie Chaplin's Derby) and fabulous fashion, food and architectural details to pour over, this book rewards repeated readings. Happy Birthday Madame Chapeau is a joyous, life-affirming read and if that isn't enough of a reason to seek it out, do read Maria Popova's commentary on the subtle message this book has about diversity and cultural stereotypes.
We brought Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau to life by customizing our own hats with pom-poms (these play an important role in the book).
Beanie type hats, plus some colourful craft pompoms make for some enjoyably silly headgear – perfect as winter approaches
I wonder what David Roberts would make of our hats? I ask this because it turns out he was himself a milliner before he became an illustrator. From a young age he had an interest in fashion, making clothes for his sister and her dolls, before going on to study fashion design at college. From this, a special love and skill with hats grew – a love and eye that can clearly be seen in his Madame Chapeau illustrations. I asked David if he would share a little about his love of hats, how it developed and what he finds so enjoyable about making hats. Here's what he had to say:-
"As a kid I was fascinated by Mrs Shilling, and the hats her son David made that she wore to Ascot. They were so theatrical that it would make the news! I loved how she wore these amazing and often bizarre creations with such style and elegance – even if the hat was ridiculous she never looked ridiculous in it."
David Shilling with his mother Gertrude Shilling. Photo: Sidney Harris
"So when I had the option to do a course in millinery while studying for a degree in fashion design at Manchester Polytechnic, I jumped at the chance, and from then on I was hooked."
"I love the sculptural aspect of millinery; a hat can be so individual, so singular, a one off. It's so exciting to have all your elements to create a hat, cloth, wire, glue, buckram, feathers, beads, tulle, net and just let something evolve in your hands. It can turn in to anything really – an abstract shape or something natural like a plant or a flower."
Stephen Jones, surrounded by some of his hat creations, London, circa 1985. Photo: Christopher Pillitz
"I worked for Stephen Jones for 5 years make his couture hats , where I learned so many skills. And although I loved making his imaginative creations, I stared to realise that I wanted to try my hand at illustrating children's books – the other great passion in my life."
"I am glad I made the step in to illustration, but I do still love to get the wire and beads and feathers out to make a hat once in a while. Madame Chapeau came about when the author Andrea Beaty heard that I had once been a milliner: She wrote the text for me and sent it from Chicago in a hat box! I was utterly captivated by it and enjoyed illustrating it and indulging myself once more in the wonderful world of millinery."
My enormous thanks to David for sharing some of his millinery background with us today. His passion for hats shines through in his gorgeous illustrations for Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau. Don't take my word for it – go and find a copy to enjoy yourselves!
I am rather fond of this book too! Thanks for posting all these hats!
Madame Chapeau's eye's have such sweet melancholy. And as usual, Zoe and the girls have shown us their joy-inducing creations.
I think it's quite normal for creative people to want to make hats… or be a hat?! Do chek out Phillip Treacy's creations, if this world fascinates you.
thanks Julie and Simone. Simone – yes I think you've got it spot on with her eyes. And I love your comment "I think it's quite normal for creative people to want to make hats…". Definitely!
Blog: Playing by the book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Animals, Behaviour (good or bad), Brian Won, Elephants, Emotions, Friendship, Giraffes, Hats, Kindness, Zebras, Add a tag
Elephant's day doesn't get off to a good start. He wakes up GRUMPY.
When the doorbell rings, it only annoys him. When he thumps downstairs to see who it is, there is a mystery present waiting for him and this unexpected gift – a most spectacular hat – turns his day around and puts a great big smile on his face.
Keen to share his good fortune Elephant visits his friends. They too have woken up out of sorts but Elephant knows a great way to spread his happiness: by sharing his present and giving each friend a fabulous hat to wear.
Hooray for Hat by Brian Won is a wonderfully up-beat and joyous ode to friendship, the good things that come from 'paying it forward' and teamwork. It perfectly captures the transformational magic of hats; a little bit of frivolity and exuberance bursting out of your head can indeed do wonders to how you feel!
From the deftly humorous grumpy facial expressions in a range of animals, to the appealing candy colour palette beautifully set off against stark white pages, Hooray for Hat's illustrations and design are a delight. The dapper carnival procession of animals are sure to make young readers giggle and banish any blues, helping us remember how little acts of kindness in life can make all the difference. A treat, pure and simple!
In response to Hooray for Hat we set up our own millinery studio, using old lampshades as bases for our hats (we were able to source lots of old lampshades from a local recycling centre).
Lampshades, ribbon, paper, hot clue, sequins and a whole lot of imagination and craziness later we had our hats:
As you can see, they made us feel very happy!
Whilst making our hats we listened to:
Other activities which would go well alongside reading Hooray for Hat include:
Are you a hat person? If so, I'd love to hear about your favourite hat!
Disclosure: I was sent a free review copy of Hooray for Hat from the publisher.
Well, I want this book desperately! I am again so grateful for this lovely site. I remember the fun of the Easter Hat Parade, where hopefully not too long-suffering family members made hats for their young ones. Then we would delight in showing off the creation as we walked the parade, most likely with a little bewilderment of being the entertainment! Later, at the age of eleven years, we the students were enlisted to make hats for the infant children… This was a genuinely far more delightful experience.
PS: The children's hats above are glorious!
Hi Zoe,
I'm going to put this post in my memory bank to recommend for our hat parades at Easter.Will have to get the book- sounds gorgeous ( and I am a hat lover myself anyway!)
Blog: Playing by the book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Author/Illustrator Interviews, Hats, Satoshi Kitamura, Add a tag
Next month one of my all-time favourite illustrators will be visiting the UK, and in a dream come true, I'll be getting to meet him. I've even bought a special hat for the occasion. (True! I'll be sharing a photo after the event…)
Satoshi Kitamura will be in UK with the Children's Book Show, talking all about his glorious, imaginative and utterly beautiful book Millie's Marvellous Hat, one of the first books I ever reviewed on Playing by the book (and recently included in The Sunday Times 100 Children's Modern Classics list).
He'll be at the Oxford Playhouse on Friday 14th November and later that day he will be doing an event with the Japan Foundation in London. You'll also get a chance to see Satoshi at the South Ken Kids' Festival in London the following weekend, where he's running a workshop, and engaging in a Drawing Duo with Aurélie Guillerey.
Even if you can't make any of these events, please do join me today as I interview Satoshi, about hats, Japanese illustrators, and how his work has changed over his career so far.
Zoe: Millie's Marvellous Hat is the most playful and wonderful of picture books. Millie can't afford to buy a hat but she can imagine the hat she'd like to wear. Your book is full of incredible hats, each of which somehow reflects the character who is wearing it. I'd like to start by asking what hat you are wearing today? Is it a hat you often wear? What does your hat tell us about you?
(I can easily imagine you wearing a hat mixing your beautiful blues, plenty of cats and lots of music escaping into the air. In my head I'm wearing a hat with a peal of brightly coloured books cascading open, with lots of characters and sparks escaping from the pages.)
Satoshi: At the moment I'm listening to wonderful jazz music on the radio and my musical hat is becoming bigger and more colourful. I love all sorts of music. I wish I had some musical talent myself but unfortunately I have none. So I often put on my imaginary musical hat that makes interesting melodies and harmonies.
Zoe: I love the look and sound of your hat, Satoshi!
Can you share 3 or 4 key points on your journey to becoming an author and illustrator – key people, special books, serendipitous meetings, that sort of thing? What books did you enjoy as a child?Satoshi: When I was a child I spent lots of time reading comics. Astroboy (Tetsuwan Atom) by Osamu Tezuka was my favourite and Shigeru Mizuki's little spooky comics were excellent too. My elder brother influenced me a lot. He was keen on painting from an early age and by four or five I had started to draw with him. In our early teens we often went to art galleries together. The first one we went to was a big exhibition of Pierre Bonnard, the French painter.
I started making a picture book in my twenties. The most important person in my journey was Klaus Flugge, owner and publisher of Andersen Press. He gave me the story Angry Arthur by Hiawyn Oram and published it with my illustrations. That started my career. Klaus and I have been good friends ever since.
Zoe: I read that you once said "I like to 'read between the lines '. It's the same with poetry — it's in that space between the lines that I find things to illustrate." You've illustrated several volumes of poetry (my girls favourite is John Agard's Goldilocks on CCTV) – how is illustrating poetry different to illustrating a short story, a picture book text (if at all)? Do you go through a different process?
Satoshi: Illustrating short stories or picture book texts are narrative illustration in which you illustrate scenes that progress the story. Illustrating poetry is like answering a letter: a piece of fine poetry is a letter written to you and you answer it by showing what kind of image, feeling or sensation the poem created in your mind. You answer it with pictures.
Zoe: I understand that at the time of the 2011 earthquake and Tsunami you were working on a sequel to Millie's Marvellous Hat. Is that sequel still on the cards? Or has its association with such a devastating event made it hard to finish?
Satoshi: The earthquake in 2011 was the most crucial incident in the recent history of Japan and we still live in its aftermath. Unfortunately since then the country seems to be heading in the wrong direction. The very right-wing government is becoming more aggressive and relationships with neighbouring countries are deteriorating unnecessarily. On the positive side, the earthquake made many of us more concerned about politics and about the technology our society relies upon.
However, these things do not affect my work directly. I have written a couple of stories for Millie but they are not as good as the first one. I'd love to do another book about Millie one day. I've done two short graphic novels recently. One is an adaptation of a Leonora Carrington short story and another was my own story inspired by one of Charles Simic's poems. I enjoyed working on them very much and would like to tell more stories in this way.
Zoe: You've been illustrating for over 30 years – what have you learned about illustrating in this time and how do you think your style has changed since you illustrated Angry Arthur? Have you changed the materials you use for illustrating?
Satoshi: I hope my illustrations are getting better, although I always feel that they are not quite good enough. Probably lots of artists feel this way – that life is too short, and they need two or three hundred years to develop his/her skills to the full. Or possibly I am a little immature!
I've never consciously changed my style. The changes come naturally. In terms of materials, I sometimes use new materials – for example, I paint with acrylics more often these days. In Beetle and Bug in the Grissel Hunt, written by Hiawyn Oram, I made a top using a biro and drew spiral patterns by spinning the top across the paper.
Zoe: In the past you lived for an extended period in Britain, but I believe you are now based back in Japan. How is the picture book landscape different in these two countries? What do you find works well in one place but not the other? What do you think each could learn from the other?
Satoshi: I'm a bit of an outsider in my own country, probably because I lived in UK for about 30 years. Strangely, my books are most popular in Latin America. I don't know why but I see more books of mine in bookshops there than anywhere else. I have been invited to many book festivals in Mexico, Chile and Colombia. My books are not particularly popular in Japan but Millie's Marvelous Hat will be a set book for second year primary school students in Japan from next year. Many years ago UFO Diary was in the English textbook for Japanese secondary school students.
Zoe: Could you recommend some Japanese illustrators we should look out for (whether or not they are available in translation)?
Satoshi: Ken Katayama is the most outstanding artist alive in picture books in Japan. Suekichi Akaba was another brilliant artist.
Zoe: Many thanks Satoshi – I'm really looking forward to meeting you next month!
You'll have to wait a year for this, but November 2015 will see a brand new book from Satoshi:
Shh! Here's a sneak peak from inside the pages…
What a great read… what an interesting interview. This is an illustrator that we enjoy again and again. And I just can not wait to see your hat!!!
Great interview! Truly admire Kitamura's work!
I'm intrigued by a picture book called My Hand. What will the story be I wonder?!
Blog: Sarah McIntyre (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: hats, cake, book launch, cakes_in_space, Add a tag
Yesterday morning we had our Cakes in Space launch! And there were cake hats! Cakes with eyes! Cakes that were ALIVE....
Photo by Rebecca Portsmouth - rebeccalouise.com
The previous day, my co-author Philip Reeve and I had signed stock for indie bookshops and prepared for the next day's event, but we had no idea what sorts of life forms we'd encounter.
In the morning, my trusty companion, Stuart, and I travelled light years to Marylebone High Street to the space station that is Daunt Books.
And we were met by cakes! Cakes with eyes!
Photo by Rebecca Portsmouth - rebeccalouise.com
These fearsome creatures were carefully herded by cake wranglers from Oxford University Press, including Cecily, Camille Davis and Hattie Bayly.
Sweet wheat-based morsels clamped on to people's heads and wouldn't get off!
But somehow, these people took it in their stride...
...They couldn't seem to understand their peril.
In fact - shock horror - some of the visitors even ENCOURAGED the cakes in their ferocious tendencies.
I sensed these cakes had undue influence on their hosts.
Photo by Deadly Knitshade - whodunnknit.com
Fearless scientists that we are, Reeve and I took to the podium to investigate these strange happenings.
Photo by Rebecca Portsmouth - rebeccalouise.com
Philip demonstrated the wonder of SCIENCE, how in the future in Cakes in Space, people can insert protein sachets into the marvellous NOM-O_TRON and produce the most excellent food you can imagine. In Philip's case, it was a chocolate biscuit.
Photo by Rebecca Portsmouth - rebeccalouise.com
Of course, I had to jump in and try out this science of the future.
Photo by Rebecca Portsmouth - rebeccalouise.com
I could envision MUCH more awesome treats than Philip, so I'd be sure to get something at least a hundred times better.
Photo by Rebecca Portsmouth - rebeccalouise.com
But what was this? A carrot?!! ...Science is not all it's cracked up to be.
Photo by Rebecca Portsmouth - rebeccalouise.com
This little girl was seriously skeptical. I expect she'll grow up and become the sort of scientist who relies on things like DATA and EVIDENCE, which is rather an odd concept.
Photo by Rebecca Portsmouth - rebeccalouise.com
But those cakes were still lurking, so we delved into our carefully researched report and read out useful passages to the audience, warning them about their impending doom.
Photo by Rebecca Portsmouth - rebeccalouise.com
Now, I ought not to give away all the secrets of our research, but I can allude to a strange occurrence during the event, brought on by Visitors from Elsewhere, which left Philip struck to the heart with tragic loss. ...A moment of silence, please.
Photo by Rebecca Portsmouth - rebeccalouise.com
To deal with these dangers in the future, we need TECHNOLOGY, mostly in the form of robots who look rather friendly. I drew a diagram of a Cakes in Space-featured robot named Pilbeam. And so that the schematics of this fine robot would not be forgotten by future generations, I had everyone draw Pilbeam along with me, implanting the robot's makeup directly into their brains.
And the implantation was successful, each diagram slightly altered so that the memory could not be wiped out by a single virus. (Clever, yes?)
Pictures by @LAWsomeTweets and Katie on Martin Hand's Flickr page
To lighten this dark, prophetic mood, Philip and I sang a ballad from the future, dating to just the time before everyone gets artsy-fartsy and starts singing only in binary.
What wonderous things these humans have wrought!
We practiced our Battle Cry of the Future, in case our defensive technology is not enough to ward off the killer cakes.
And still the cakes lurked, preferring the cranial regions.
Don't be deluded by their enticing appearance...
...these cakes have issues.
Photo by Rebecca Portsmouth - rebeccalouise.com
Despite the gloom and doom of the presentation, the front window display at Daunt Books Marylebone looked quite jolly. We suspect they may be in collusion with the killer cakes.
After our signing, Philip and I traveled with Norwegian starship captain Karoline Bakken to another satellite of Daunt.
Despite its rather old-fashioned facade, Daunt Books Highgate IS the future and houses a time machine in its basement.
The staff let us inscribe coded warnings for future generations in their Cakes in Space books but pretended not to know what we were talking about when we asked them about the time machine. So we left them, vowing to return when their secret could be revealed.
As we traveled, Captain Bakken lavished unwarranted affection on our captured cake. Being nice to cakes doesn't help anything, you ought to know. Eat the cake before it eats you, that's our motto.
Next stop: Daunt Books Holland Park.
But what is this? My co-pilot decided to go undercover, to wear CIVVIES, while I remained still properly clad in my fighting uniform. Obviously this is a sign of some overarching PLAN we have, but I can't tell you about it or I'll have to kill you.
Be aware. Be vigilant. Run to your nearest bookshop and snatch up a copy of Cakes in Space so that you, too, can be prepared for alien cake attack. You NEVER KNOW when they might strike. I will leave you with our public service broadcast:
Blog: Sarah McIntyre (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: summer_reading_challenge, hats, edinburgh, scotland, Add a tag
Here's the video of our Summer Reading Challenge visit to Leith Library! Philip Reeve came along and made a very elegant flip-chart stand. I love it when the boy says, At first I thought, wow, she's posh! She had like, that bird in her hair, and fancy blue ribbon… and a dress with lipstick on it… and it was like, really posh.
Philip noted that support for Scottish independence has soared since our visit; I hope we weren't a contributing factor...
Thanks again to the kids at Leith Library who helped me come up with the Mythical Maze characters on my previous visit, and to the library team, Edinburgh City Libraries, The Reading Agency, and Tesco Bank Community for organising the day's event.
In other news, after my meeting at Scholastic yesterday, I stopped into Foyles on Charing Cross Road and found this book looking up at me from the display table. One of my all-time favourite illustrators that I'm always going on about, David Roberts, and... hats! Oh my word, you guys!!! Why didn't no one tell me about this book??
David drew his inspiration for the Happy Birthday Madame Chapeau illustrations from fashion editor Isabella Blow, and milliners Philip Treacy (spot the Princess Beatrice hat!, Stephen Jones, and Elsa Schiaparelli (note the shoe-on-the-head hat). And David has a little cameo appearance on this spread, too!
Let's zoom in a bit to read the text:
The book's writer, Andrea Beaty, and I just started following each other on Twitter, so I went and explored her website and there are treasures to be found! Check out this wonderful video of Philip Treacy making a hat! I was totally riveted.
David worked as a milliner, and you can tell, in the sculptural way he draws his figures and their patterns. I put together my hats with a bit of lick and spit - I don't really know what I'm doing - but I often daydream of taking a year out of publishing to work as an apprentice for Philip Treacy, with access to all that great kit. I don't generally get excited about the whole fashion industry (and its emphasis on being super-thin), but I make a huge exception for hats, which can be worn by anyone. Andrea's website also has some examples of hats that you can make yourself:
Hat lovers and fashionistas around the world, you're going to adore this book. You can follow Andrea on Twitter as (@andreabeaty but sadly, David Roberts is not on Twitter. (He's too busy pumping out a prodigious amount of incredible work. How does he DO it??!)
Blog: Sarah McIntyre (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: hats, book launch, studio, northfield, Add a tag
Last night the Fleece Station studio was out in force to celebrate the launch of Gary Northfield's new comic book, Gary's Garden! You may recognise Gary's Garden as a frequent strip in The Phoenix Comic, one of the comics in there that the parents like as much as the kids do because it works on so many levels.
Elissa Elwick and I both wore Chompy the Caterpillar-themed garb. Gary's Garden makes the perfect prezzie for kids (say, 5+ with some help reading), adults who love nature and gardening, anyone who likes a good laugh. Buy it here a The Phoenix Comic online shop! Gary works so hard on these comic strips, has such great drawing skills an perfectly pitched comic timing; we're all very proud of him. Look, Lauren O'Farrell (aka Deadly Knitshade) makes a perfect perch for Bob the Butterfly!
And here are the lovely Ficklings - David and Caro - who make it happen, at David Fickling Books, based in Oxford. It was also great to see Gary's Garden amazing designer Ness Wood (who also designed Jampires!), DFB's Phil Earle and John Dickinson. Jonathan Main and Justine Crow of Bookseller Crow in Crystal Palace hosted the party, and they've been great supporters of lots of our books, we love our indie. I love buying books from them, even online; they stock a great selection, including lots of beautiful graphic novels.
Gary's sister, Susannah Northfield, made the cake!
...Bits of which were consumed most elegantly by Gary and his partner Nicky Evans.
Speaking of elegance, just as David Fickling was giving his speech, a giant bird swooped down and placed a wafer upon his lips. We all bowed our heads for a moment of awed silence for this great book.
Gary made a big window display; here he is stage directing Nicky in setting it up.
There were a couple other Phoenix Comic people present: the fabulous Jamie Smart (Bunny vs Monkey, also out now as a book!) and the excellent Matt Baxter, who creates the Live from HQ strip with the Phoenix comic-character editorial crew. I didn't manage to get a photo of Jamie, but here's Matt. And you can just spot illustrator and app-creator Heather Kilgour over his shoulder! There were quite a few comics makers there that I didn't manage to photograph, including Francesca Cassavetti.
Hee hee, another hat photo.
This Thursday (called 'Super Thursday' in publishing) was also the official publication date for my book with David O'Connell, Jampires, and wow, a couple of them showed up!
It was really Gary's night, but we had a happy mix of new creative stuff.
I was very proud of my Chompy hat, made from a pencil case, foam balls and pipe cleaners from Poundland, some felt, a yoghurt pot and a coat hanger.
When creating Gary-themed characters, it's very important to get the wonky eyes right.
Before the launch, we went for a top-notch Afternoon Tea in Alex Milway and Katie Lee's garden (Gary lived with them for a couple years while he was working on Gary's Garden), and Dave and I brought along some of our local Butch Institute Jampires-themed jam.
Huge congratulations, Gary! Gary's Garden is amazing, and everyone, spread the word and help it fly off the shelves! And subscribe to The Phoenix Comic for ongoing Gary's Garden goodness.
Blog: Sarah McIntyre (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: summer_reading_challenge, hats, reeve, Add a tag
Photo by Sarah Reeve
Yesterday the Summer Reading Challenge team took me and the Medusa fascinator to Exeter Library to talk and draw with children from St Leonard's Primary School ...and the Duchess of Cornwall! (Camilla is no stranger to the Medusa hat; you can see hers on a Royal Hats blog here.) I talked with the kids about the Mythical Maze characters I'd drawn, then they helped me draw a four-panel comic about an yeti-Medusa adventure, showing them how easy it is to make a story. Then we all drew Medusa (one kid had something like 46 snakes on his Medusa - it looked like an explosion!).
I talked a bit about how we are still creating myths and legends; no one can second-guess which will be the stories remembered for thousands of years, but we can try our creative best and who knows, perhaps people will still remember our characters for generations to come. I introduced them to my Oliver and the Seawigs co-author Philip Reeve and we pointed out the little Sea Monkey on the poster, saying it was our contribution this year to myth making. Then I invited Camilla to come help me draw a Sea Monkey and she was such a good sport about it! I liked her monkey, it's very cheeky.
And we all sang the Sea Monkey song! Camilla said she wouldn't be able to get the chorus our of her head, and I apologised. (It does have an annoying catchiness to it.)
Photo by Sarah Reeve
By the time we got back to London, people were already sending us links to news reports! Camilla wasn't the only one giggling, after I'd read this Daily Mail article:
Organising this visit was quite a feat! Big thanks to Head of Libraries, Culture & Heritage for Devon Ciara Eastell:
Photo by Sarah Reeve
And to Head Librarian Karen Bowdler and her son Connor:
And to Philip! He's not part of the Summer Reading Challenge but he's a Devon local, and it was SO much more fun doing the event with him helping me draw a bit and singing the Sea Monkey song with me.
And we were both able to dedicate a copy of Seawigs to the Duchess:
Thanks to Philip's wife, Sarah Reeve for taking lots of these photos!
Here's our Summer Reading Challenge gang: Reading Agency director Anne Sarrag, writer Damian Kelleher and publicist Annabel Robinson and gleeful Sea Monkey.
Phew, what an odd day! Now back to work on my picture book... Read the rest of this post
Blog: Kid Lit Reviews (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Children's Books, Guest Post, Angela Shelton, children's book reviews, fantsy. middle grade books, forbidden, frogs, goldfish, grounded, guest blog, guest post children's author, hats, magic, magic hats, middle grade author, middle grade book reviews, middle grade books, musical instruments, odd characters in children's books, outer space, plants, reviews, silliness, space ships, Tilda Pinkerton Crash-Landing on Ooleeoo, trees, Add a tag
Kid Lit Reviews welcomes Angela Shelton, author of The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton Book 1: Crash-landing on Ooleeoo. Kid Lit Reviews generally does not delve into articles for authors unless there is something of interest to the young reader. Today will be an exception. Ms. Shelton is writing on the importance of the teacher-writer [...]Add a Comment
Blog: Sugar Frosted Goodness (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: cute, cat, Girl, Anita Mejia, animal, illustration, hats, Marina, Add a tag
ps, inks.
Wow! I love your work!
Blog: Monday Artday (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: cute, girl, cat, Anita Mejia, animal, illustration, hats, Add a tag
ps, inks.
Another wonderful piece! \(^o^)/
Blog: Kids Lit (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Book Reviews, Picture Books, hats, imagination, Add a tag
Millie's Marvelous Hat by Satoshi Kitamura
When Millie spots the hat with the colorful feathers in a shop window, she stops in to try it on. But when she decides to buy it, it turns out to much too expensive. After all, she is looking for a free hat. The gentleman at the store thinks a bit and then comes up with a hat that can be anything that Millie wishes it to be, all it takes is a little imagination. Millie imagines a peacock hat, with the gorgeous tail. She passes a bakery and the hat turns into a cake hat. A flower shop turns it flowery. The park turns it into a fountain hat! Then she realizes that everyone she passes has their own special hat if she only looks for it.
The exuberance of this book is great fun. Kitamura takes great pleasure in creating different sorts of hats and bringing them to stunning realization. Kitamura's art is whimsical and very friendly. His story is filled with imagination and a sense of fun. The book is sure to get everyone thinking about what their own personal hat would look like.
Mine? Oh, my hat changes of course, but right now it is autumn leaves that blow about with gusts of wind that catch in the hair of people I pass by. What about you?
Crafty teachers and librarians will be able to create hat crafts to go with this book. It will pair nicely with other hat books like Caps for Sale. Appropriate for ages 3-6.
Reviewed from copy received from publisher. The copy will be placed in library collection.Add a Comment
Blog: andrea joseph's sketchblog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children's book, hats, book on a blog, green, Add a tag
From shoes to hats. This may look a little familiar. I have posted some photos of this drawing in the past, but I've not posted the actual drawing until now. I got it scanned at a print shop and wasn't too happy with the results. It's a little too bright for my taste. The photos are much better, the colours are more true to the original. See them and read about how I created this drawing HERE.
From now on I promise to stop plugging my children's book blog and drawing shoes. Possibly maybe.
You do have to click on the drawing for a better view.
Those colours are yummy and so are the wooly/mossy textures.
Just keep on loving your work girl. My son is a young artist and loves converse tennis shoes. He loved the piece you did of that.
So excited about your children's book. Go over to my page and you can read about my first foray into that area. Good weekend.
I can almost feel the soft fluffiness of these.
Lovely work
Thanks, girls.
The photos are so much better, but that's how it goes sometimes.
Thanks to everyone for adding their name to the 'I'd buy this book' list on my other blog, too. I'm very touched by the response.
I'm so inspired!
Now is a little hot for hats, but I would be to clothe your Awesome hat, even summer!!! :o)
Blog: Watercolor Wednesdays (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: outdoors, sruble, festival, cats, stephanie ruble, fantasy, hats, dream, Add a tag
After I sketched this out, it occurred to me that Dr. Seuss had already drawn a cat wearing a hat. I decided to finish the picture anyway.
These cats are obviously on their way to an outdoor festival. Why else would they be wearing hats? Please visit sruble.com to learn more about my art and projects, or my blog to see more recent art.
I love the swirlies! Nice color and idea, not at all Suess-like.
Stephanie: I love this--we can never have too many cats with hats! love the swirls & the whole design...great image
How sweet is this illustration!!! Omg! How wonderful. These are adorable characters for a festival. I so enjoyed this! BTW this is Vanessa signing in on another system. I just had to come by and see the fabulous work of our WAWE members. This Rocks!!!
Blog: Steve Draws Stuff (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: birds, cute, steven, date, hats, art, children's, novak, progress, keyster, due, lady, painting, august, soon, Add a tag
Here's a quick update on the piece I'm doing for my brothers impending twins. I spent much of last week in the hospital, so progress has slowed considerably.
Feeling much better though - thanks for asking.
Overall I like how the piece is coming along. There's a lot of work to do though, and they are due to pop out sometime in August.
I need to get my keyster moving.
What a beautiful gift!!
Blog: Joe Silly Sottile's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: self-knowledge, feelings, everyday life, success, laughter, hats, reading, children's poetry, glasses, retirement, compassion, road map, purpose, kid poetry, applauds, Add a tag
Poetrycan be a friend that goes wherever you go. Poems can be tucked into your bookbag or your brain matter, and taken with you on any journey, short or long. Inother words, poetry can play an important part in your life as a road map tocourage, compassion, laughter, fun, success, and self-knowledge. This willbecome clearer as you read on.
Blog: Playing by the book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Books in translation, Dens, Dollshouses, Hats, Houses, Jutta Bauer, Moving House, Peter Stamm, Travel, Add a tag
Earlier this month Jutta Bauer received the Hans Christian Andersen Illustrator Award at the at the international IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) congress in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Interested to find out more about this German illustrator I tracked down one of the books she has illustrated – When We Lived in Uncle's Hat By Peter Stamm.
Just as the book arrived I found out that Tutti Frutti Productions, a UK theatre company whose work is aimed specifically at family audiences was about to start touring with a stage version of When We Lived in Uncle's Hat. Such a lovely coincidence ensured we read the book straight away, and were then quick to buy tickets for the production which is touring to a theatre local to us in a few weeks' time.
The auspicious signs didn't end there – upon reading the book for the first time with M and J I experienced a rather strange sense of deja-vu – as if the book had been written for me, right here, right now.
When We Lived in Uncle's Hat is a series of cameo descriptions of different homes a family has lived in, in their search for the right place for them, the home that would suit them all. They try living in the forest, on the church roof, in a hotel and even on the moon, amongst many other places, before finally ending up in a house that makes the perfect home for them. The book closes with the lines:
Now our house has four corners.
And our year has four seasons.
We moved here four years ago…
So … this is where we'll live for a very, very long time.
This book spoke to me as I too have moved very many times in my life – on average staying in any one place for only three years. But it just so happens that this month we've been in this home, where we are now, for four years. A funny case of life mirroring art, but one which further endeared me to this book.
The structure of the book opens up lots of opportunity for flights of imagination and connective moments of empathy. What different places could you live in? What would it be like to live in given circumstances? For example, at one point the family find themselves living under a bridge, where "it smelt strange and the names of people we didn't know were written on the pillars."
The simple illustrations using a lot of coloured pencil (in addition to watercolour and collage) didn't immediately grab me. Perhaps my expectations were too high given her recent accolade? They did, however, intrigue me. I imagine there were some interesting editorial discussions as a result of the content: several illustrations include German words, and these have been left in German in the English language translation, and there is also a (very small) drawing of a naked woman sunbathing – not something I imagine would be welcomed with open arms by most English publishers of picture b
that hat is soo cute and pretty
Thanks, Welcome to our wonderland! It helps that the mohair we started with was so beautifully dyed.
What a fantastic hat!!!
Blog: Playing by the book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Animals, Elsa Beskow, Fairies, Hats, Mushrooms, Nature play, Reading Round Europe, Seasons, Sweden, Add a tag
As we continue Reading Round Europe my first offering from Sweden is by a classic, much loved (and widely translated) author/illustrator, Elsa Beskow.
Born in 1874 Elsa Beskow published 40 odd books in her lifetime, many featuring children exploring fairy tale worlds where respect for nature plays a major role. She is credited with having been the first author to bring Swedish children's literature to an international readership and her books are nowadays particularly popular with followers of Steiner and Waldorf education methods.
Two of Elskow's books feature in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before you Grow Up, Peter in Blueberry Land and Children of the Forest (Tomtebobarnen in Swedish, a word I just love the look and sound of!) and it is the latter I bring you a review of today.
A family of forest people live under the curling roots of an old pine tree, deep in a forest. They go about their lives playing, exploring, observing nature and overcoming danger and the book follows their simple and happy lives through the course of the four seasons. They make friends with frogs, fight (and kill) a snake, collect mushrooms, harvest cotton grass and feed their animal friends when the snow comes. Their life is almost carefree and idyllic, in harmony with nature and their surroundings.
The original Swedish text was written in rhyme, but this has not been retained in the English version. Perhaps this was a wise decision, for the text certainly never feels like it is a translation. One of my favourite quotes is "They paddled and splashed in the stream, damming it to build a water mill. No one card how wet or muddy they were for no child of the forest can catch cold". This made me think of the forest kindergarten movement, a type of preschool education which is held almost exclusively outdoors.
The illustrations will delight you if you like Beatrix Potter or Jill Barklem. They are the perfect mix of reality (in so many details, such as the mottling on the silver birch bark used as a shield by the father of the family) and fantasy (pint sized people, trolls and fairies). There is nothing modern, avant garde or unsettling about
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Holly Thompson, SCBWI Japan Tokyo. SCBWI Japan Tokyo said: In Playing by the Book Reading Round Europe series–Swedish author/illustrator Elsa Beskow http://bit.ly/e2R0qG Mushroom hats! [...]
You just keep on surprising and wow-ing me with teh crafts you do with your girls.
Seriously, seriously impressed!
Wow! What a fun activity! I'm sure you girls will remember that book for a long time.
Blog: Playing by the book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Behaviour (good or bad), Books in translation, Building, Elsa Beskow, Fire, Hats, Houses, Islands, Moving House, Sweden, Add a tag
My girls are going through a phase where what they most want to do pretty much all of the time is create miniature landscapes, with building bricks, playmobil, sylvanian family furniture and animals, supplemented by all sorts of knick-knacks that little children have a magical ability to accumulate. These "set-ups" as the girls call them are often inspired by the books we're reading, and the latest book to be given the landscape makeover is The Children of Hat Cottage by Elsa Beskow.
In a nutshell, The Children of Hat Cottage tells the sort of tale many parents will recognise – about children trying to be helpful, but ending up making a bigger mess than there was before.
A mother lives with her three young children in a cottage shaped like a hat. One day she has to leave them at home whilst she goes off to buy yarn to make new clothes (isn't it liberating and exciting how in fairytale-like stories, it's perfectly possible to leave children at home alone!). Whilst their mother is away the children decide to do something nice for her; they clean the cottage chimney. But one thing leads to another and disaster strikes… their beautiful little hat home burns down.
Fortunately there is a friendly neighbour who comes to the aid of the children, and together they work to save the day. The mother returns, and though initially shocked, everyone shows great composure, makes the best of the situation and out of hard times, lots of love (and a new home) flourishes.
This is a sweet little story with simple, but lovely illustrations. The themes of independence, triumphing over adversity, and keep one's cool in the face of disaster are great for shared storytime. The fairytale aspects of the setting will delight children who want to believe in gnomes and little spirits, and the poise with which the mother picks up the remains of her burnt-out life and makes the best of it is something I shall aspire to when things are higgledey-piggeldy in my life.
There's plenty to like about this story, but hand on heart, I don't believe this is one of Elsa Beskow's greatest books. The illustrations are somewhat sparse compared to some of her work. They are quick, fluid sketches rather than the detailed images you find in, for example, Around the Year or Children of the Forest. Still, we've enjoyed it and it has inspired plenty of play in our family, as I'm sure it will in yours.
Here are some scenes from one of M and J's "Hat Cottage set-ups", including a little cottage we made inspired by the one in the illustration above.
3 Comments on Minature landscapes and giant hats, last added: 2/8/2012
I love the term "set up". It is a set up indeed! I am not familiar with Elsa Beskow. I will have to look for her work. Thanks as always for sharing!
Stacey recently posted..Series Books
Wow! A lovely review. Sometimes I wish I had a child as young as your girls just so that we could experience the wonder of the lovely books you feature.:)
You had me at "supplemented by all sorts of knick-knacks that little children have a magical ability to accumulate." A very accurate observation, if I may so say!
And I loved the rug that can be seen- it vibrant!
sandhya recently posted..It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…please sir, I want some more!
One word – awesome!
Blog: Joe Silly Sottile's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: kids, blog, Joe Sottile, silly, education, school visits, distraction, hats, shows, poetry, Add a tag
I love this photo. At least one young lady knows that her photo is being taken, while wearing her silly hat and a smile. Some schools outlaw hats. They are considered it a distraction to education. Rather sad, eh? I've been in such schools. I always like schools that allow all kinds of hats better?
What do you think?
Blog: wonkyworks (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: advertising in ebooks, hats, children's ebooks, Add a tag
I think judiciously placed advertisements relevant to the content of the ebook can enhance the reader's experience. Obviously this must be done with taste and flair. Imagine, for instance, if you were reading an ebook about a chocolate factory. When you reached the end, you would probably quite fancy a bit of chocolate. Imagine your surprise and pleasure, therefore, to find placed elegantly before you an opportunity to place an order for, say, Fishblanket's Luxurious Chocolate Fancies! Delivered to your door within an hour by helicopter, and at the cost of a mere one thousand guineas. Would that not be a fitting finale to your reading experience. Who could resist?
In just such a spirit of maximising reader pleasure I have partnered with several esteemed online purveyors of hats, and have added adverts (or hatverts, as I call them) for their wares to the end of my children's ebook Happy Hat Day.
Here they are if you are interested in such things.
(I am quite willing to disclose that I earn one shilling for every one thousand hats sold. Ker-ching!)
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I got a mail this morning. Sure enough I get many of the usual blah-blah daily, but that particular one got me thinking… At first it seemed an awesome use of Twitter/Facebook/Google + for social marketing. However, I soon realized that this potentially could be seen as a bribe. It is bending the opinion on the positive side of the reviewed products? Maybe. Although I would never write some untrue bullshit in exchange for few bottles, it could be seen as bribe. Here is a sample email I received /I've changed the wording a bit here and there/
I wanted to send you a quick note to invite you to an exclusive Live Tasting Tweetup/Hangup. The event is hosted by JustAnotherAwesomeWineCompany and will take place on XXX at X:00 p.m. PST.
As a participant, you will have the opportunity to receive 3 bottles of [Insert Some Wine Here], which we will mail to you before the event.
To keep things flowing during the event we recommend the following:
Tweet about the event four times during course of event
Tweet twice prior and twice following
Use the provided hashtag #JustAnotherAwesomeWineCompany in your Tweets/posts
If you'd like to participate, please confirm and provide an appropriate shipping address by the end of the month.
Don't hesitate to let us know if you need any additional information / Let us know if you have any suggestions on how we can keep things going.
Thank you. All the best, xxx
And it got me wondering, is it ethical? Would it be seen as a bribe? Or am I being bribed or simply offered to taste something new and tell my friends and readers what do I think about it?
Note to Wineries: if you would like for me to tweet/like/run/work in exchange for your wine, please send bottles or barrels to my P.O. Box.
Minimum amount required: 1 large barrel or 12 pack of bottles (remember I love blind tasting new wines).
Note to sport shoes manufacturers: if you like me to blog/tweet or mention you in my blog, please send me your most comfortable walking shoes /in size 6/ at the above mentioned address. Minimum amount required 2 pairs. Minimum quality requirements: top 5 walking shoes found here or here at amazon.
Hey, just kidding! I won't endorse your product if I don't like it. Apart from that if you have any questions or other inquiries feel free to hit me via my the contact me page.
Let me know what you think in the comments section below. Would love to hear your opinion!


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Welcome to WebmasterWorld Guest from 22.214.171.124
Forum Moderators: incrediBILL & lawman
The next release of Microsoft Office will only work on Windows XP and on Windows 2000 operating systems that have Service Pack 3 installed, the software vendor has acknowledged, citing security and compatibility issues with older systems.
Microsoft could shift its plans if it receives overwhelming feedback from customers
PCWorld [pcworld.com]
MS-TimeWarner-Google-Yahoo announced today that its new version of IE and Office will only work on its new operating system Doorways XZ. A spokesman said that Windows Xx was potentially insecure and was getting old anyway. He also said that 90% of users didn't actually own their own copy of Xx anyway but rented it at per minute rates, so it was a non-issue...


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Investment scammers find easy pickings in desperate Floridians
WASHINGTON — With stock markets roiling and economic distress gripping Florida, Anthony Teti decided to plunge much of his savings into good old reliable certificates of deposit through a money-management firm with a solid reputation.
"When we found out it was a Ponzi scheme, it was totally out of the blue," said Teti, 48, a former New York police lieutenant who has started several businesses in Jupiter. "It was just fictitious the whole time. The day we wrote our check to them, it was gone. I was in shock, as you can imagine. I lost a million bucks!"
Like millions of investors, Teti had sought a safe haven during hard times. But like hundreds of thousands, he was the victim of an investment scam, a sophisticated form of fraud that has proliferated since the Great Recession to exploit nervous investors and tap Florida's huge reservoir of retirement savings.
Consumer watchdogs say the scammers increasingly include down-on-their-luck stockbrokers looking to recoup their losses. And the victims tend to be relatively well-educated men, many in their 50s and early 60s, who are desperate or overeager to set up a comfortable retirement.
Recent research has "shattered the theory of the typical victim as the little old lady living alone with limited means," said Gerri Walsh, vice president of investor education at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. "To the contrary, investment-fraud victims tend to be well-educated males who have higher levels of income and education than nonvictims, who also tend to be very self-reliant and confident when it comes to their investments and also have had a recent change in their financial circumstances."
Those changes include home foreclosures, lost jobs or dwindling stock investments. Many victims refuse to admit they have been scammed, Walsh said.
Federal officials have responded with stepped-up enforcement of investment fraud — along with its evil twins, Medicare and mortgage fraud — especially in South Florida, a caldron of flimflam since the frontier days of swampland sales.
President Barack Obama created the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force composed of 25 federal agencies and state partners to confront the growing problem. In late 2010, prosecutors brought 211 criminal cases and 60 civil suits alleging financial fraud that had victimized more than 120,000 Americans.
The government also launched a website for reporting suspicions: StopFraud.gov.
In the most recent case, federal prosecutors accused two Florida men — James Davis Risher of Sanibel and Daniel Joseph Sebastian of Lakeland — of bilking at least 106 people, many of them retirees or teachers in Florida. The two allegedly used a Ponzi scheme, which provides attractive returns to early investors to help persuade others to invest.
Risher and Sebastian, a former insurance agent, are accused of raising more than $21 million — and spending most of it on themselves.
At promotional events, they dangled the prospect of up to 51 percent returns through a fund dubbed Safe Harbor. At an Orlando resort last year, Sebastian allegedly told prospective investors: "At Safe Harbor, you could retire today, like right now. And I'm telling you, you get rid of the struggle."
Risher agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud and money laundering and faces a penalty of up to 50 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill of Central Florida announced Monday.
Consumer watchdogs say similar pitches come by phone, mail, email or in person.
"We've seen signs of perpetrators being elders themselves, people who were invested in the stock market when it crashed and lost a lot of their savings," said Slade Dukes, administrator of the Elder Consumer Protection Program at Stetson University. "One of the ways they are going to recoup it is to victimize their own."
Many victims are afraid they will outlive their savings because of low interest rates and falling markets.
"There's a huge chunk of people of pre-retirement age taking more risks than they previously would because they're just afraid they won't cross the finish line," said Doug Shadel, a former fraud investigator and now director of AARP in Washington state.
He cited a former stockbroker who lost $40,000 to an oil-and-gas scheme, taking a risk he would have advised his clients to avoid. "He told me, 'I'm 57 years old, and I looked at my 401(k) (retirement savings) and realized I have to find a way to make more money.'"
Like bank robbers, con artists go where the money is, and that means Florida, where millions of senior citizens are living on accumulated savings.
The Florida Legislature agreed this year to expand the Florida Office of Financial Regulation partly to investigate fraud.
"We're doing the best we can to ramp that up," said Franklin Widmann, the Securities Division director, noting that funds are scarce these days.
He advised consumers to call his office — at 1-800-848-3792 — to check out those hawking investments.
Teti and more than 2,400 other Florida victims lost money to an alleged Ponzi scheme managed by Houston financier R. Allen Stanford, a well-established businessman. Clients from 113 countries invested more than $7 billion.
"These are not just rich people. They are teachers and regular workers who put their savings into this and thought they had money in there," Teti said. "It kind of makes people want to put their money under a mattress once again."
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What if you could send your child to a music camp and have them come back with a more helpful attitude? Countless studies have been done on the benefits of musical teachings for children, but one of the most important advantages is the improvement in teamwork skills. When children are a part of a band, they try harder to succeed so they don't let the group down. Plus, every child gets to feel included. Luckily, Boulder County offers amazing music camps for local youngsters.
At Rocky Ridge Music Center, students and instructors all live together in a community. Students have to work together to keep the camp clean and organized.
"Everybody volunteers at the camp, even the instructors," says Karen Dusek, operations manager for Rocky Ridge.
Recently, Dusek says, a former student's father came up and praised the camp for helping his daughter become more responsible and helpful.
At the Boulder School of Rock Performance Camp, students work together to create a song, band logo and t-shirt in a variety of different camp themes, from general "boot camps" to specialized camps, such as Beatles Boot Camp.
"We view every camp as an opportunity for students to develop teamwork and cooperation skills," says Chris Shepherd, head music director for the Boulder School of Rock. "The whole week is designed for everyone to work together. It is truly inspiring to see how much is achieved in one week's time."
Mojo's Music Rock n' Roll Camp allows students to perform at real music festivals such as the Rhythm on the River festival. They receive specialized instruction, learning their part of the song privately, then the band comes together as a team. Students learn the history of various music genres and then perform songs from different eras. This year's theme at Mojo's is "Rock of Ages."
"The kids have to use teamwork and consideration when choosing the songs they want to play," says Jessica Rogalski, co-owner of Mojo's Music Rock n' Roll Camp. "They also need to work together to write a song, choose a band name and decide the song list for the show."
While most camps end with a performance, the "Rock Camp" at Guitars Etc. finale is a concert performed with all the works: fog machines, professional lighting and spotlights.
"Before their rock concert they have a photo shoot, and an autograph signing session after the concert," says Todd Skaw, owner of Guitars Etc.
Teamwork is a big part of the camp experience. Students work together to create new songs and perform music as a band. The group dynamic offered by these camps allows kids to see that teamwork is essential for everyone's success.
"They're not playing as individuals anymore, they are playing as a band," Skaw says.
"They have to work together to get music as the final product."
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This NPC can be found in The Forge of Souls (24).
Quotes (1)
- Lady Jaina Proudmoore yells: Excellent work, champions! We shall set up our base camp in these chambers. My magi will get the Scourge transport device working shortly. Step inside it when you are ready for your next mission. I will meet you on the other side.


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TraceLink Inc. announced that its Life Sciences Cloud platform, a compliance solution, has adopted the new Brazil Traceability Guideline based on GS1 EPCIS standards for the Brazil marketplace.
Losan Pharma has announced it will introduce the latest version of Werum's PAS-X MES at its main facility in Neuenburg am Rhein, Germany. According to Werum, its PAS-X meets the various requirements of a CMO company with a differing customer structure.
Marken, a clinical logistics organization (CLO), has entered into an exclusive agreement with OnAsset Intelligence Inc. for use of their most advanced GPS tracking device on key shipments. The device aims to improve Marken's real-time, track-and-trace capability through custom-designed software.
Within the pharmaceutical industry, as well as most other markets, counterfeiting has become everyone's problem, as stated earlier this year by Pfizer's director of global security at Pharmapack North America.
Serialization and track-and-trace software provider Adents will introduce its Pharma Suite serialization software to the United States market at Pack Expo Las Vegas Sept. 28-30 at booth S-7652. Known in Europe, the company recently opened a U.S. office in Princeton, NJ, as it continues to make inroads into the North American pharmaceutical sector.
Three pharmaceutical industry veterans with 80 years-combined experience were added to the growing life sciences roster at TraceLink Inc.
The three – Elizabeth Waldorf, Michael Ventura, and Marcel Zutter – have deep expertise in global serialization, product traceability, and supply chain transformation, and they are the latest to join a growing TraceLink team of 153 employees, which has increased by more than 80 percent since Jan. 1.
Sharp Packaging Solutions released a white paper at the Pharma Packaging Labelling Summit in Zurich in June on the challenges around serialization, titled "Product Serialization to Advance Pharmaceutical Authentication and Patient Safety."
SSI Schaefer announced it has developed an automated solution, the SSI Order Verifier, to verify and document orders prior to shipping. The move is in response to the Drug Supply Chain Security Act and the new FDA regulations mandating distribution of pharmaceutical products require high-speed camera-based scanning, integrated with automated labeling to track and trace shipments.
The Steering Committee of the Open Serialization Communication Standard Working Group (Open-SCS) addressed compliance to healthcare counterfeiting regulations recently by announcing the accelerated development of an industrial interoperability standard and associated requirements templates for release by the end of 2015. The scope of work products focuses on healthcare packaging serialization interoperability across the plant's equipment, systems, and between the supply chain systems.
The Federal Drug Administration released the document DSCSA Implementation: Product Tracing Requirements for Dispensers — Compliance Policy Guidance for Industry. The guidance addresses the readiness of dispensers in the pharmaceutical distribution supply chain to comply with the provisions in section 582 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C.


text: Theresa Fellegi | IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information Official Broadway League sites: - sites - broadway.org broadwayleague.com broadwayfanclub.com kidsnightonbroadway.com stagespecs.org tonyawards.com Quick Search For: In This Category: All Show People/Org. Theatre Season Theresa Fellegi Performer Female Productions ProductionsDate of ProductionsNatja[Musical, Operetta, Original] Performer: Theresa Fellegi [A Peasant Girl]Feb 16, 1925 - Mar 14, 1925 Find out where Theresa Fellegi and are credited together © 2001-2015, The Broadway League, All Rights Reserved. (Copyright and Disclaimer)


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Brooklyn Nets v Charlotte Bobcats
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist of the Charlotte Bobcats drives against Mirza... NachrichtenfotoBasketball,Brooklyn Nets - Basketballmannschaft,Charlotte,Charlotte Hornets,Drive - Sportbegriff,Gerald Wallace,Michael Kidd-Gilchrist,Mirza Teletović,North Carolina - Bundesstaat,Profi-Basketball in der NBA,Sport,Time Warner Cable Arena,USA,VertikalPhotographer Kent SmithCollection: National Basketball Association 2013 NBAECHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 6: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist #14 of the Charlotte Bobcats drives against Mirza Teletovic #33 and Gerald Wallace #45 of the Brooklyn Nets at the Time Warner Cable Arena on March 6, 2013 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)


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In making payments to acute care general hospitals, the department will consider whether the event was preventable, within control of the hospital, occurred during an inpatient admission and/or resulted in significant harm.
For more information on the Medical Assistance program or to view the Preventable Serious Adverse Events bulletin, visit http://www.dpw.state.pa.us.
For information about Governor Rendell's Cover All Pennsylvanians proposal and the Prescription for Pennsylvania, visit http://www.rxforpa.com.
The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit his Web site at: http://ww.governor.state.pa.us.
Additional media contacts:
Amy Kelchner, GOHCR - 717-346-8379;
Rosanne Placey, PID - 717-787-3289;
Stacey Witalec, DPW - 717-787-4592
Editor's Note: The chart below shows the number of uninsured adults by
county and the uninsured rate per capita. It also shows how many people in
each county currently receive adultBasic and how many are on the waiting
County Uninsured % Adults Adult Basic
|SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor
Copyright©2008 PR Newswire.
All rights reserved


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STARmeterSEE RANK
Down 249,389 this week
Jack Dougherty (I) (1895–1938)
Jack Dougherty was born on November 16, 1895 in Bowling Green, Missouri, USA as Virgil Jack Daugherty. He was an actor, known for Haunted Island (1928), The Runaway Express (1926) and The Radio Detective (1926). He was married to Virginia Brown Faire and Barbara La Marr. He died on May 16, 1938 in Hollywood Hills, California, USA. See full bio »
Died:(age 42) in Hollywood Hills, California, USA