Tag: illustrations

Poetry Friday: Dog-eared books, comfort zones, and blue corn mush – an interview with “Everybody Counts!” illustrator Emma Graham

On By Matt Forrest EsenwineIn poetry13 Comments

It’s Friday, and that means it’s Poetry Friday – and yes, I have a very apropos poem coming up! But first – I’m so excited to welcome my Everybody Counts! illustrator and fellow SCBWI member Emma Graham to Radio, Rhythm, & Rhyme today.

Thanks so much for joining me here at the ol’ blog, Emma. I have to say it again:  I love what you did for the illustrations. Before we get into that, though, I wanted to ask about what led you to becoming a children’s book illustrator. After graduating Norfolk Institute of Art, you had done a lot of corporate artwork like greeting cards, album covers, and sculpture painting, so how did you find your way to where you are now?

© Emma Graham

Hi, Matt, thanks for asking me! I trained as a graphic designer and worked a while in publishing and packaging design, then when my children came along I fell back in love with children’s books. I read a lot as a child and still have many of my books. It was a joy to read with my children and see their love of books develop.

There is something rather special about a dog eared book that a child wants read over and over again. I decided to give it a go, my early attempts weren’t good, but I refused to give up and it is so lovely to see my work in print. But without the authors there would be no books, it is a partnership, we bring each other’s work to life.

Aside from honing your craft, where there any specific skills or things you learned over the past 30 years that helped with this transition?

I’m always learning. Each project brings new challenges in research and design. I try to bring something fresh and new to each book and I love experimenting with new techniques and colour pallettes.

Well, I have to say I love the color palette you chose for our book – it’s soft, but vibrant, as well. So please tell me how you began your approach to illustrating Everybody Counts!

Sherry at The Little Fig sent over your wonderful text for me to read through and sketch ideas. I have to be honest, I started with children (which I imagine you were expecting), but drawing humans is way out of my comfort zone, and after many pages of sketching I felt that I just couldn’t capture the beautiful diversity of all those cultures.

As much as anything, I didn’t want to get something wrong, so I went back to [editor] Sherry Bushue with my worries, we discussed it and we said how about the animal – which I LOVE drawing – from each of those cultures. Then it was into the research of the animals, culture, food and all the little extra elements like pattern that I love to add.

Are those watercolors or digital? They certainly have the look of being hand-painted.

All hand drawn and painted in acrylic ink, which is similar in many ways to watercolour but a bit more versatile to build layers and keep colours vibrant. My artwork is then scanned and tidied in photoshop, ready to send to Sherry and the designer.

What did you find most challenging about the project? Any surprises along the way?

I think the hardest part was finding reference to the Navajo taa’niil, not an easy recipe to find!

© 2023 The Little Fig, LLC & Emma Graham, all rights reserved (click to enlarge)

Ah, yes – blue corn mush! So how was the process for Everybody Counts! different from the process for other books you’ve illustrated, like Señior Saguaro or Symphony Hollow?

There was much more research with ‘Everybody Counts’ with the 12 different cultures. Usually a picture book will have one main character and a few others that pop up on their journey. With 12 cultures, there were all the animals, food, settings, numbers, patterns and countries to ‘get right’.

Trust me, I can guess how much research you must have done – this book probably took me longer to write than any other!

Thank goodness for the internet and my collection of many books. I have to admit the recipes were wonderful, it made me rather hungry and wanting to try new things, I saved the recipes on Pinterest and think Sherry will add a link on the website to these to link in with the book.

I’m so glad to hear Sherry will be sharing the recipes – I’d wanted to include them in the book but quickly realized the amount of information would be overwhelming for a reader. Now, I know you have several books of your own that you’re working on; are there any upcoming projects you’re at liberty to share?

Ha ha, yes, I love to write, too. I think at last count I have 18 picture book stories written and 2 YA novels. I’d love to have one or more of my own published. I’m in discussion with a UK publisher at the moment, so fingers crossed.

One of my stories, ‘The Owl Who Wanted to Sing’ was a finalist in Stratford Literary Festival’s Stratford-Salariya Prize for picture books 2017. It was inspired by an owl who would sit in the tree outside my bedroom window and hoot at dawn. It made me smile, so I wrote the story.

© 2023 Emma Graham, all rights reserved (click to enlarge)

Well, I wish you the best with getting it placed, Emma – and congratulations on your other books and projects, as well! I hope we get to work together again at some point.

Speaking of working together…

I had asked Emma to send me a favorite illustration of hers that I could write a poem about – and she sent me the most colorful, fun, energetic picture I could have asked for:

Ocoustic-pus

I have a diverse sort of musical soul;
my style is folk-polka-rock ‘n roll.
If you happen to take in one of my shows,
I’ll have you dancing and tapping your toes.

So let’s join together!
Quick, go grab a mic!
We can play any music or rhythm we’d like.
Alas, no big band or jazz tunes yet –
I’ve no way of holding a clarinet.

© 2023 Matt F. Esenwine, all rights reserved

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Molly Hogan is hosting today’s Poetry Friday roundup at her blog, Nix the Comfort Zone, so be sure to head on over and check out all the poetry links and fun!

Read Across America Day ~

Would you like to have an author visit your classroom for free? I’m once again offering free, 20-minute virtual visits all day Thur., March 2, for Read Across America Day! I’m usually jam-packed with a couple of visits every hour, all day long – and spots are filling up.

If you’ woul’d be interested in having me join your class for a 20-minute visit via Zoom, GoogleMeets, or MS Teams, send me an email! I’ll read one of my books, share some poetry, and talk a little bit about the writing process and how they all came to be! Just email me at matt(at)mattforrest(dot)com and I’ll reply as quickly as I can.

I’m booking author visits for the 2023 spring semester:

Click the graphic for more details!

I love chatting with elementary and middle school classes about writing: why poetry is fun to read and write, the importance of revision, and how one’s imagination and creativity can lead to a fantastic career! My presentations are tailored to fit the needs of the classes and students’ ages. One day I might be sharing details of how a picture book like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) was created; the next, I’ll be discussing dinosaurs, tree ferns, or origami sea turtles!

Student presentations include:

  • The Making of a Picture Book (featuring “Flashlight Night”)
  • How a Child Saved a Book (featuring “Don’t Ask a Dinosaur”)
  • “Once Upon Another Time”
  • The Most Imporant Thing about Writing Poetry
  • “I Am Today”

Adult presentations include:

  • The Making of a Picture Book (featuring “Flashlight Night”)
  • Poetry: An Introduction to the Most Important Genre
  • The Most Important Thing about Writing Poetry
  • Free Yourself with Free Verse
  • Tight Language, Loose Narratives: Crafting a Non-Traditional Picture Book

Learn more at MattForrest.com!

If you or someone you know might be interested in having me visit your school, library, or other organization, please email me
at matt(at)mattforrest(dot)com!

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AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE:
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EVERYBODY COUNTS!
(The Little Fig, LLC, 2023)

Order a PERSONALLY-SIGNED copy of this or or ANY of my books
from my local independent bookstore!

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I’m very happy to be part of the BOOKROO family!

Create an account to add books to wishlists and be notified of special deals and dates…create custom collections…and discover and follow your favorite authors & illustrators!

Find out more about BOOKROO here!

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I continue adding to my “Wit & Wordplay” videos ! These videos were created for parents and educators (along with their kids) to learn how to write poetry, appreciate it, and have fun with it. From alliteration and iambs to free verse and spine poetry, I’m pretty sure there’s something in these videos you’ll find surprising! You can view them all on my YouTube channel, and if you have young kids looking for something to keep busy with, I also have several downloadable activity sheets at my website.

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Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!

You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Astra Young Readers, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!

Click here to view all my books and to order!

Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)

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Thank you to everyone for your support!

FLASHLIGHT NIGHT:

DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR:

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Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!

To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right!  (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

Poetry Friday: Saying goodbye to Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert

On By Matt Forrest EsenwineIn poetry14 Comments

If you have not heard the news, the world of children’s literature has lost two amazing and irreplaceable talents in one week.

First came news of Ehlert’s passing on Tue., May 25 at the age of 86. The next day, Eric Carle’s family announced that he, too, had passed away on Sunday, May 23. He was 91.

It’s interesting to note that not only did these two create bold, timeless, illustrations, but they both did so with cut-paper collages. Yet although their choice of media was similar, their styles were all their own.

Ehlert was known for simple yet bright, color-saturated shapes such as what one would find in Bill Martin Jr.’s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Simon & Schuster) or Ehlert’s own Planting a Rainbow (HMH Books for Young Readers).

Carle’s hand-painted paper collages, on the other hand, brought texture and life to books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Busy Spider (World of Eric Carle) or Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Henry Holt & Co.), also written by Bill Martin, Jr.

So for today, I wanted to share a poem from Carle’s beautiful Eric Carle’s Animals, Animals (World of Eric Carle), a poetry anthology compiled by Laura Whipple that blends poetry from around the world with poems from such diverse poetic icons as Valerie Worth, Shakespeare, and Ogden Nash. With more than 70 animals represented so beautifully in word and picture, it’s a poetry book no home should be without:
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I throw myself to the left
I turn myself to the right.
I am the fish
Who glides in the water, who glides,
Who twists himself, who leaps.
Everything lives, everything dances, everything sings.
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—African pygmy

Doesn’t that poem just seem to sing out joy and hope? When I read that, it felt it was describing Ehlert’s and Carle’s illustrations as much as it was describing life…all that leaping, gliding, dancing.

Singing.

And although this is my tribute, the best tribute one can offer to folks like Carle & Ehlert is to continue sharing and purchasing their work. I certainly plan to do so; I hope you will, too.

Last Friday, Christie Wyman celebrated her birthday while hosting the Poetry Friday festivities, and this week, it’s Michelle Kogan’s turn to blow out the candles! For today’s complete Roundup, head over to Michelle’s blog to read Ruth Whitman’s “Birth Day” along with Michelle’s poem “Birth Plant,” inspired by Whitman’s poem, and to check out all of today’s links!

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I’m now a part of the BOOKROO family!

Children's Book Subscription: Bookroo - Sincerely Stacie

Create an account to add books to wishlists and be notified of special deals and dates…create custom collections…and discover and follow your favorite authors & illustrators!

Find out more about BOOKROO here!

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Talkabook is setting out to inspire children by connecting them with authors and illustrators! Click here to view my profile and learn more!

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I continue adding to my “Wit & Wordplay” videos ! These videos were created for parents and educators (along with their kids) to learn how to write poetry, appreciate it, and have fun with it. From alliteration and iambs to free verse and spine poetry, I’m pretty sure there’s something in these videos you’ll find surprising! You can view them all on my YouTube channel, and if you have young kids looking for something to keep busy with, I also have several downloadable activity sheets at my website.

===========================================================

Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!

You can purchase personally-signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Boyds Mills Press, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly EVERY book or anthology I’ve been part of!

Click any of the following covers to order!

Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send a comment to the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH requesting my signature and to whom I should make it out. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it, and then they’ll ship it! (Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookseller – and won’t that make you feel good?)

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Thank you to everyone for your support!

FLASHLIGHT NIGHT:

DON’T ASK A DINOSAUR:

============================================================

Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!

To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right!  (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day) . Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

“Don’t Ask a Dinosaur” turns one year old! (w/GIVEAWAY!)

On By Matt Forrest EsenwineIn Uncategorized12 Comments

It’s hard for me to believe, but my second picture book, Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (POW! Kids Books, 2018), turns one year old today!

From our national book launch at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA! (Cake courtesy of my step-daughter, Jess Corsetti)

Yes, it’s been 365 days since my co-author Deborah Bruss and I unleashed these wild and silly creatures on the world, and we’re so happy, we’re celebrating by offering YOU a gift! (More on that later.)

Deb, illustrator Louie Chin, and I all thought that it might be fun to share with you some of the questions we receive when doing school visits and book signings. We shared our most common questions with each other…then answered them all! So here we go:

What’s your favorite Dinosaur?
LOUIE:  My favorite dinosaur is the T-Rex! I even spent some time at KidLitTV in New York City and KidLit TVshared my process for drawing a T-Rex just like the one in the book – so if you’ve got kids who want to learn, I hope they’ll check out the ReadySetDraw! video.
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DEB:  Deinocheirus used to be my favorite (anyone with a talent like balancing a spoon on your nose has to be awesome!) but I have a new favorite now:  Zuul! Never heard of him? It’s a newly-discovered species! With a cool name, a shovel for a mouth, and a wrecking-ball tail, I can’t resist! (Besides, it’s easy to pronounce)

MATT:  I have two favorites; one is in the book, the other isn’t. I love Therezinosaurus because he’s so unusual – with the longest claws of any dinosaur (up to 3 feet!), a giant pelvis designed for prolonged sitting (you can’t make this up), a bird-like beak, his skeleton has been described as being “assembled by a drunken sailor who got quite confused.” My other favorite is Quetzalcoatlus, one of the largest flying creatures of all time. Approximately the same size as a small Cessna aircraft and named after the Aztec serpent god, Quetzalcoatlus is just too cool for words!

(click to enlarge)

How long does it take to write/illustrate a picture book or poem?
DEB:  I’ve never had a poem published, so that I don’t know. If I could write a poem worthy of being published, it would probably take me 50 years. For a picture book, anywhere from 6 months to many years. The original idea for Don’t Ask A Dinosaur sprouted in 1997, except the animals were current day creatures such as porcupine, moose and elephant.

MATT:  I always respond by saying, “as long as it takes” – which is honestly NOT a cop-out answer! Dinosaur went through 20 revisions before we started sending the manuscript out to potential publishers, yet a board book I have coming out next year was written in one evening, revised a few times, and was accepted. You just can’t ever tell!

LOUIE:  It takes a long time to illustrate a picture book. From the first sketches to the finished artwork, it can take almost half a year!

How did you decide which dinosaurs to include?

Some of Louie’s early sketches!

DEB:  When I exchanged contemporary animals for dinosaurs, I picked ones that were fairly common and had strange attributes. Matt, the dinosaur buff, dug around for the weirdest ones, some of which were recent discoveries.

MATT:  We wanted a good mix of dinos – some well-known favorites, some brand-new species – but they all needed exceptional, distinguishing characteristics. There were several dinosaurs and early reptiles we initially included that didn’t make the final cut, like Anchicertops, Spinosaurus, Microraptor, Archelon, and a few others.

Was it hard working together? Were there any problems?
LOUIE:  Working together was easy!
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DEB:  I also found it easy to work with someone – that someone being Matt – because feedback was fairly quick and to the point. The only problem was when Matt’s enthusiasm for the latest and coolest dinosaur bubbled over late at night and he had to wait until morning for my opinion. At least, I imagine that’s what happened.

MATT:  Actually, I think the only “problem” (if you can call it that) was that by the 17th or 18 revision, we both started over-thinking things and began adding in lines or rhymes that we’d previously taken out – ha! Once a writer gets to that point, you know it’s time to give it a rest.

How involved were you with the illustrations?
DEB:  I think our situation was fairly unusual. The editor sought our opinion on illustrative styles.
MATT:  We did have a bit of a say as to how things were going, but Louie pretty much did his own thing, and we were very happy with it!
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LOUIE:  There wasn’t a lot of communication directly. Most of it was relayed through the editor.
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No, Lioplurodon is not really a dinosaur, by definition – but he was just too fun to leave out! (click to enlarge)

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Why are there are no flying dinosaurs in the book?
DEB:  Good question! Matt, what do you have to say?

MATT: Technically, the flying reptiles known as pterosaurs (including my buddy, Quetzalcoatlus) were not true dinosaurs. Neither was Lioplurodon, either – but somehow he managed to stay. I’m guessing it’s because he was making cake, and everyone loves cake.

What’s the most memorable question you’ve been asked?
LOUIE:  I can’t recall a question that stood out, but it’s a lot of fun hearing all the dinosaur facts and stories from the children.
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DEB:  After reading to a bunch of four-year-olds, I asked, “Does anyone have a question for me?”
Child #1: “I have a crystal.”  
Child #2: “I do, too!”  
Child #3: “Me, too.”

MATT:  When I’m speaking at schools, I usually mention that being a kid is way more fun than being a grown-up because people ask kids questions like, “what’s your favorite dinosaur?” but no one ever asks ME that – it’s like they don’t even care! A student will invariably shout out, “Well, what’s YOUR favorite dinosaur??” To which I respond my thanking him/her and announcing Quetzalcoatlus. (and you know what? There’s always at least one student who goes, “YESSS!!”)

Now that the book is out, do you have any questions about it? 
DEB:  I want to know, how do all those dinosaurs fit inside a house?
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MATT:  I’m wondering if those dinosaurs that were outside, like Ankylosaurus and Argentinosaurus, ever got any cake.
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LOUIE: I’d like to know what other wild things other dinosaurs not in the book would do, if they were invited to a birthday!
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READY TO WIN A FREE COPY??

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Just leave a comment below, and you’ll be entered to win! I’ll announce the winner on Poetry Friday, April 26, so you’ve got a week and a half to tell your friends and ask them to enter, too. Good luck…and thank you for your support!

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The 2019 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem continues! Each day during April (National Poetry Month), a different writer/ blogger adds a new line to the poem until it concludes April 30. You can follow along at the sites listed below.

2019 Progressive Poem schedule:

April

1 Matt @Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
2 Kat @Kathryn Apel
3 Kimberly @KimberlyHutmacherWrites
4 Jone @DeoWriter
5 Linda @TeacherDance
6 Tara @Going to Walden
7 Ruth @thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown
8 Mary Lee @A Year of Reading
9 Rebecca @Rebecca Herzog
10 Janet F. @Live Your Poem
11 Dani @Doing the Work that Matters
12 Margaret @Reflections on the Teche
13 Doraine @Dori Reads
14 Christie @Wondering and Wandering
15 Robyn @Life on the Deckle Edge
16 Carol @Beyond LiteracyLink
17 Amy @The Poem Farm
18 Linda @A Word Edgewise
19 Heidi @my juicy little universe
20 Buffy @Buffy’s Blog
21 Michelle @Michelle Kogan
22 Catherine @Reading to the Core
23 Penny @a penny and her jots
24 Tabatha @The Opposite of Indifference
25 Jan @Bookseestudio
26 Linda @Write Time
27 Sheila @Sheila Renfro
28 Liz @Elizabeth Steinglass
29 Irene @Live Your Poem
30 Donna @Mainely Write

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Ordering personalized signed copies online?
Oh, yes, you can!


  Coming July 2, 2019!

You can purchase personalized signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Boyds Mills Press, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly ALL of the books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH a note requesting the signature and to whom I should make it out to. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it for you, and then they’ll ship it. Try doing that with those big online booksellers! (Plus, you’ll be helping to support local book-selling – and wouldn’t that make you feel good?)

=========================================================

Thank you to everyone for your support!

=========================================================

Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!

SCVBWI_Member-badge (5 years)
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right!  (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day)
 .
Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

Learn to draw a T-Rex w/ “Don’t Ask a Dinosaur” illustrator Louie Chin!

On By Matt Forrest EsenwineIn Uncategorized2 Comments

Want to learn how to draw a T-Rex? Then I have just the thing for you!

Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018) illustrator Louie Chin recently visited the studios of KidLitTV in New York City, where he showed viewers his step-by-step process of drawing dinosaurs, specifically the T-Rex from our picture book. Louie breaks down the method simply, so the 5-minute video is great for both adults AND kids. Whether it’s you who wants to learn – or your child! – you’ll both enjoy watching the dinosaur come to life on the page.

My thanks to Julie Gribble and Tracey Cox at KidLitTV for featuring Louie. If you spend some time searching around their website, you’ll find all sorts of other cool videos, too…like THIS ONE with Flashlight Night (Boyds Mills Press, 2017) illustrator Fred Koehler chatting about his process for creating the amazing illustrations in that book.

Well, today is the first day back to school for my kids, and I’m sure if yours haven’t started yet they will be soon…so enjoy your week!

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Ordering personalized signed copies online? Oh, yes, you can!


  (coming Sept. 25, 2018!)

You can purchase personalized signed copies of Flashlight Night, (Boyds Mills Press, 2017), Don’t Ask a Dinosaur (Pow! Kids Books, 2018), and nearly ALL of the books or anthologies I’ve been part of!

Just click the cover of whichever book you want and send the good folks at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH a note requesting the signature and to whom I should make it out to. (alternatively, you can log onto my website and do the same thing) They’ll contact me, I’ll stop by and sign it for you, and then they’ll ship it. Try doing that with those big online booksellers! (Plus, you’ll be helping to support local book-selling – and wouldn’t that make you feel good?)

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Thank you to everyone for your support!

=========================================================

Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!

SCVBWI_Member-badge (5 years)
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right!  (I usually only post once or twice a week – usually Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day)
 .
Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!

A Flashlight Night at the Museum

On By Matt Forrest EsenwineIn Uncategorized3 Comments

Well, now…this was unexpected:

Photo courtesy Fred Koehler (click to enlarge)

This is a photo from a new display at the Polk Museum of Art in Florida – and is probably the coolest thing I’ve seen so far pertaining to Flashlight Night! Each original piece of artwork for the book is displayed with the text beneath it; viewers are guided along so they can “read” the book as they marvel at illustrator Fred Koehler‘s work.

If someone had told me 5 years ago that my words would end up on a museum wall, I’d have told them they were nuts. The bathroom wall, maybe – but not the actual museum’s wall. But what do you know.

By the way, if you’re wondering where to get a copy of Flashlight Night and when you might be able to get it signed, here’s my schedule so far:

  • Oct. 11, 6pm :  Barnes & Noble, Manchester, NH (TOMORROW  NIGHT!)
  • Oct. 14, 2pm:  Books-A-Million, Concord, NH (THIS SAT. AFTERNOON!)
  • Oct. 27, 6pm:  Barnes & Noble, Manchester, NH
  • Nov. 1, 12pm:  Concord Hospital Early Childhood Learning Center / Gift Shop, Concord, NH
  • (soon-to-be-confirmed: Toadstool Bookshop, Keene/Peterborough/Milford, NH

I’ll continue updating this as dates are added…and thank you again for your support!

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Thank you so much to all who have enjoyed “Flashlight Night” enough to write about it:

“Delicious language…ingenious metamorphoses” – Kirkus Reviews

“The verse is incantatory…a simple idea that’s engagingly executed” – School Library Journal

An old fashioned, rip-roaring imaginary adventure” – The Horn Book

“[Esenwine and Koehler] don’t just lobby for children to read—they show how readers play” – Publisher’s Weekly

“Imaginative…fantastical” – Booklist“

“Favorably recalls Where the Wild Things Are” – Shelf Awareness

“Begs to be read over and over” – Michelle Knott, Mrs. Knott’s Book Nook/Goodreads

“A poetic and engaging journey” – Cynthia Alaniz, Librarian In Cute Shoes

“Illuminates the power of imagination” – Kellee Moye, Unleashing Readers

“Readers will be inspired to…create their own journey” – Alyson Beecher, Kidlit Frenzy

“Beautiful words and stunning illustrations” – Jason Lewis, 5th grade teacher at Tyngsboro Elementary School, Tyngsboro, MA

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Did you like this post? Find something interesting elsewhere in this blog? I really won’t mind at all if you feel compelled to share it with your friends and followers!
SCVBWI_Member-badge (5 years)
To keep abreast of all my posts, please consider subscribing via the links up there on the right!  (I usually only post twice a week – on Tues. and Fri. – so you won’t be inundated with emails every day)
 .
Also feel free to visit my voiceover website HERE, and you can also follow me via Twitter , Facebook, Pinterest, and SoundCloud!