Not Gonna Write Poems is a whimsical and quirky
collection of poems written by Michael A. Lee. The author wrote these poems for
his daughter. The collection is truly the perfect introduction to poetry that
any child will adore!
In this humorous, and down to earth, collection of poems, the
subjects include things like: Homework, Slime, Hair, and the Boogey Monster.
All subjects that will no doubt appeal to all discerning young readers. All the
poems are no more than a page long; therefore, even the most restless child can
enjoy these. There are drawings for kids to accompany all the poems too.
One my favorite poems
in this collection was The Gator Waiter. I found myself chucking at the idea of
an alligator serving guests their food. Another favorite was King of the Castle.
In this poem the King finds out he is not truly in charge, imagine that! I could
go on, but in short, this is a funny, whimsical collection for children and I thoroughly
enjoyed reading them.
Not Gonna Write Poems will appeal to children of all
ages, even those over grown children such as myself. I especially recommend this poetry collection
for all adults who like to read to their children.
I received a free copy from the author in exchange
for my honest review.
We worked on
this book over the span of 3+ years. As
an illustrator, my skills grew tremendously with each new piece we added to the
project. In the end, I illustrated over
60 scenes. It was sometimes hard to keep
myself from going back into a previously finished piece to make a small
adjustment or change based on some new technical skill I had picked up along
the way.
ME: What
emotion are you trying to evoke in the reader?
Without
question we want to bring a sense of joy and delight to the reader. Many of the classic fairy tales have some
darker themes in them, but we wanted to keep the focus on telling positive
stories that made each one of the featured children shine.
ME: What
is the most memorable thing about creating this book?
For me it
would be imagining the looks on the kids’ (and their families’) faces when they
saw the final illustrated scenes featuring them as the main characters. Many of them were posing for their photos in
their classroom or in a home and had no idea what we were about to do to
transport them into these fantasy worlds and situations. Knowing that it would make each one of them
feel like a star is my favorite memory about the process.
ME: Can
you explain how your writing/creative process effected the final product in a
book like this?
Since this book is based on fairy tales, folk tales and
nursery rhymes, the process always began with research. First, I reread stories that I have heard my
entire life, but I went back looking for other details and storytelling
elements that could be worked into the illustrations. I took all kinds of notes, so that once the
illustration was completed, I could then work on a draft for its accompanying Chicago
Pretender newspaper-style article that would fit with the clever twists we
added to tell our versions. It was that
combination of figuring out what details to show in the images and what details
to include in the written story that made them work so well together.
ME: Did
you identify with any one part of this book over others? Why?
Larry Broutman did all of the photography, so I did not
meet any of the children featured in the illustrations I was creating until the
book launch celebration, with one exception.
My niece, MacKenzie, and nephew, Decklyn, are featured in the circus-themed
illustration. Their favorite movie at
the time was The Greatest Showman, so I transformed them into the
trapeze artist and the ringmaster. I
loved being able to include them in this project. They were so excited to show it off to their
teachers and friends.
ME: What was
the most rewarding thing about this project?
There are two
things I found the most rewarding about working on this project. The first is how this book celebrates access
and inclusion for all children, regardless of gender, race or ability. It not only shows the children featured in
the book that anything is possible, it subtly shows readers of the book that
all children are capable of great things.
The other rewarding aspect for me personally was getting to work with
coauthor and photographer Larry Broutman.
This is the fourth book in a series of books Larry has published. It has
been such an incredible experience getting to work with Larry. Through this process, I have come to consider
him a great friend. His kindness, his
philanthropy and his friendship have impacted my life in ways he will never
know.
ME: If an
author/illustrator asked you for advice on a project like this, what would you
tell them?
Do it! This
project has given back to everyone involved in so many ways. The author proceeds from the book are being
donated to The Chicago Lighthouse and Access Living. The children featured have been part of
radio, tv, newspaper and magazine articles.
The families have been touched by how special this made their children
feel. It is spreading a message of
access and inclusion for all. It shines
a positive light on the city of Chicago and reminds everyone that Chicago’s
greatest treasure is its children.
ME: Do you
have any plans to do other similar projects?
Larry has plans for all kinds of future book projects, some of which he is already hard at work on. I myself am working on some ideas I have for my own children’s book pitches.
Rich Green is the illustrator and co-author of newly
released Chicago Treasure. Rich created the Chicago Treasure Lighthouse
sculpture that was displayed during the summer of 2018 on Michigan Avenue as
part of Lighthouses on The Mag Mile and now permanently resides at The Chicago
Lighthouse. Rich also illustrated the A Girl With A Pink Cape series, A Boy
With A Cape, and Niko & Kate. He graduated from Columbia College Chicago
with a BA in Computer Graphics and Animation and interned with Disney. Rich is
the Chicago-Area Illustrators Network Representative for the Society of
Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and an Executive Board Member of The
Artist Guild of Lockport. His artwork can be found in regional galleries.
This picture book, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, honors the Cherokee way of being grateful for the many blessings received. In a sense, it is a celebration of all things Cherokee. The author, being Cherokee herself, has brought her special brand of insight to the views of her people and how they celebrate throughout the year.
It is beautifully illustrated by Frane` Lessac in the folk
art tradition. The colors are vivid, imaginative and want to jump off the page.
You can see that special care was given to each scene depicted in order to make
this book special.
I liked that the text is in both English and in Cherokee and
how the author explained the Cherokee celebrations in such a way that all can
understand. There is really not a plot here. It read more like a commentary,
which I am not faulting, because it is a picture book after all.
This is a lovely picture book for ages 3 to 8 years that is
thoughtfully done. My granddaughter and I have already read it several times
and I think this will be one of her favorites. I highly recommend this to all
young readers.
I received a free copy from the author at BEA in
exchange for my honest opinion.
Lumber Jills by Alexandra Davis (illustrated by Katie Hickey) is an early/beginning reader book about the British women that filled the lumberjacks’ place during WWII. The prose is lyrical in nature and simple enough for a very early reader. Each page is beautifully illustrated and my favorite part of this book.
While I wished the story contained more history, I am not
the intended audience. This book is meant to show young girls (target age of
5-7) that they can do anything a boy can do. This is a valuable lesson and one
young girls do not hear often enough.
I loved that the book also referenced numbers in several of
the passages. When my granddaughter and I read it together, we counted along
with the story. I also liked that this book invites the child to ask questions.
Because the back page gave a little more history about Lumber Jills, I was able
to answer questions that came up. Kudos
to the author for giving the adult reader that information.
I recommend this book for an early reader because it shows
women in a role other than a princess. I think we have plenty of those kinds of
books already. I for one want all young girls to realize they can do anything
and their gender should not stop them from fulfilling their dreams. By the way,
my granddaughter enjoyed this book!
I received a free copy from the author at BEA in exchange
for my honest opinion.
Title: The Life of Nuzzels: Nuzzels the Nosey Skunk Author: Finis T. Jones Pub Date: 23-Mar-2016 Rating: 5 Stars
Nuzzles is a young skunk. Like most youngsters he is sometimes way too curious for his own good. He wants to explore outside of the family den despite his mother’s warning of danger. One day he decides to ignore the warnings of his mother and go venture out of the den. He tries to persuade his siblings to join him but to no avail. He meets other creatures of the forest and makes some friends along the way. Unfortunately, he becomes lost and ends up fleeing from danger. What ensues is way more adventure than he expected. We all know he should have listened to his mother!
This is a very entertaining story and is appropriate for ages 3 to 7 years old. For the younger ages it will be necessary for an adult to read. Older children should be able to read themselves with little to no assistance. There are several pages (35 total) with a lot of text; therefore, readers under age 3 may not have the attention span necessary to make it through the whole story. In addition, the illustrations are well done and fit the story and age of reader nicely.
I liked that the story can be used to teach. Not only will children learn a couple of lessons from the story, the story is a great opportunity to discuss nature and how the different animals live. For example, I wanted to know what you called a young skunk. It is a kit! I find my grandkids love to learn and by using a good story like this you can make it fun. I am sure this is a story they will want to read again and again.
Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy to review.
