Get Set for Screen-Free Week!

Monday marks the beginning of Screen-Free Week, a time to unplug, experience something new, and take time to be present with friends and family. In anticipation, we’ve put together a list of activities to do with your kids that are inspired by some of our favorite new and classic children’s books.  If you have other ideas, share them with us, and let's make sure our screen-free days are filled with fun and imagination!

 So here we go!


 Monday 4/29

Invent a Hugo Cabret Flip Book


If you haven't seen this beautiful--and quite large--book by Brian Selznick, you're really missing out. Though the size of the book makes it look daunting on the shelf, it pages are filled with mostly illustrations that are both accompaniments to the text, and in parts can stand in place of the text. The resulting hybrid is hard to categorize, and reminds us of a combination picture book, collection of film stills, and flip book. We love the creativity of the story, and so to kick off our Screen-Free Week activities, we thought it would be fun to try making a flip book. It might not be as elaborate or large as Hugo Cabret, but what a great way be crafty and give illustrating a shot.

Tuesday 4/30

Cool Cooking

We're putting out our first kid's cookbook this summer, and it happens to be full of easy, delicious recipes from around the world. You won't be able to make the recipes from the book yet (though we did post a rather yummy dessert recipe from it in a past blog post), but that doesn't mean you can't find other great recipes to experiment with during Screen-Free Week. Look for something new and exciting, go get the ingredients, and spend a day in the kitchen with your kids. At the end of the day, you can all sit down and have a meal together. Family time and delicious food, what could be better?

Read On: Happy National Bookmobile Day!

It’s National Library Week and today we celebrate that glorious invention, the bookmobile! For over 100 years, mobile libraries have brought books to community members unable to make the trip to brick & mortar libraries.  Bookmobiles have brought together communities over the years—and are still rolling today!

And don't forget that in addition to a good read, your local library is a one-stop location for job advice, classes, readings, all-around hullabaloo—oh, and a sense of community. So renew that dog-eared library card, wander on by or happen across their website (or flag down a bookmobile) and show your local library some love, because it's clear that "Communities Matter @ Your Library!"

Libraries—especially the wheeled variety of course—certainly can take you places!

10 Things I Didn't Know Until I Published My First Book: Guest Post By Greg Bancroft

Publishing can be a confusing process, and many first-time writers have no idea what to expect. Or they might expect certain things, but it turns out to be completely different. Today, first-time author, and writer of the newly released Betsy's Day at the Game, Greg Bancroft shares some of what he's learned since beginning his publishing journey.
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1. Working with a publishing company, going into the office, dealing with editors and staff is not as mysterious as I thought. Real people work at real desks in an office focused on selecting and publishing children's literature. However, in a way, when I first visited the office, I felt like I was entering some kind of "special place" - off-limits to only a handful of "special people." I wasn't sure I should enter. In reality, it's a pretty normal office (albeit, a very cool space) where people work very hard at their jobs. Not scary, not mysterious.


2. From submitting a draft to seeing the book on a store's shelf took longer than I had imagined. Add in the time I took researching, writing, field-testing and re-writing, it was a good two years or more.


3. Seeing someone as talented as Katherine Blackmore (and as well-known!) draw such beautiful illustrations and capture the story and relationships so well, was surprising to me. What a talent. What a gift to me and to this book.


4. Seeing people's reaction for the first time, upon reading the book, and responding so favorably is what I'd hoped for but didn't really understand fully. The book has had quite an impact on people: remembering times with family at a game, reflecting on relationships with parents, grandparents, and kids. More than just appreciating a sweet story, it evokes a visceral and emotional response from others.

Tell Me a Story...With Video Games?

Regardless of who was reading, what they were reading, or how they were reading, Story Time was always a standout moment during my childhood. Full of kooky characters and jaw-dropping adventures, there was rarely a dull moment when an adult picked up a picture book and sat at the head of the class. From my best friend’s mom reading Seuss’ The Lorax, to our classroom aide retelling The Giving Tree with wild, elaborate gestures, Story Time had a certain captivating magic. Even now, 15 odd years later, I find reading aloud to be equally entertaining. Sure, the audience has grown up, and the subjects are a little more mature, but there’s an odd sense of wonder that accompanies the act of storytelling that just never gets old.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that we, as readers, crave a good story—a great narrative, complex characters, and pinches of conflict just do a soul good.

And if the story is all that matters, why should the medium make such a difference?

Perhaps, it doesn't.

Play Ball! Betsy's Day at the Game Goes on Tour

It's baseball season, and also time for our second blog tour! This time around, follow Betsy's Day at the Game (pub date: April 9) as it tours its way around the web.

For those of you not familiar with the newest book from Scarletta Kids, Betsy's Day at the Game is the heartwarming story about family traditions and America's favorite pastime. Betsy loves spending time with her grandfather, especially at the ballpark. Today is another game day, and she is ready to show her grandpa all that she has learned about keeping score. Betsy can keep track of it all--foul balls, home runs, and favorite players--but more exciting things are about to happen at today's game than just what's on her scorecard. The book even includes a full scorecard (with more available online). As John Coy, author of Top of the Order and the 4 for 4 series said, "This book celebrates the ways baseball is passed down through generations. Young fans will connect with Betsy and also learn how to keep score." For parents, grandparents, and especially baseball lovers, what could be better?

We have some great stuff planned for the tour, so be sure to check back each day for updated links. And if you follow our social media accounts, we'll also be posting the stops there. Here's a preview of what's to come:

Playing Games in a Reader's World

Confession time: my first love was not reading.

Gasp, I know.

For the longest time, I would pretend to read books as a way to get to recess quicker or impress my teachers—even as a young child, I knew how to manipulate my way in to rewards for all my “hard work.” Actually, I didn’t care to read anything for a good deal of my kindergarten through second grade education.

Rather, I spent a great deal of time dodging books as a way to get back at my mother and father. I thought that by avoiding books, I was actually doing them a disservice, and they would feel terribly guilty for grounding me for this or chastising me for that. Once, at six years of age, I even wrote in a private journal that I would never read again as a way to show my mom how angry I was.  I guess when your family runs a bookstore you have a warped sense of how to show another person you have the upper-hand.

I’ll teach my mom to ground me! I’m never reading again! Can you imagine?

No, reading was not my fist favorite activity. Instead, I spent a great deal of time with a controller in my hand and my eyes glued to the television. Yes, dear readers, I’m afraid that I was a video games kid.

And here’s another shocker: I still am.

Sharing A Day at the Lake: An Interview with Stephanie Wallingford & Dawn Rynders

A Day at the Lake invites the reader to jump right into the colorful sights and playful sounds that accompany long summer days at the lake. To celebrate its release earlier this week, we’re kicking off its very own blog tour right here! We had the opportunity to ask the pair of wordsmiths—and friends—who wrote the book to give us this exclusive first look at the story behind its magic.

Stephanie Wallingford

1.       What inspired you to begin writing books for children? How are children's books  special?

           

Stephanie Wallingford: I’ve been writing my  whole  life. I’ve always liked poetry and combined with a love and deep appreciation of art and illustration, picture books are a perfect match. Besides, what’s more special than sharing a book with a child? 

Dawn Rynders:  I have loved writing since I was old enough to string together words that I copied out of my mom’s magazines.  Once I came around to studying good children’s literature in college, I found myself thinking, “I wish I had written that…”  Then one day, Steph challenged me to try our hand at writing a book and we found the words and rhythm of A Day at the Lake.

2.     The book is definitely filled with playful rhymes and sounds—it's   almost musical. How did you develop this ear for language?

SW: Once we had established the rhythm of the writing, it served as a great framework for writing. We did start to think and talk that way for a while—kind of annoying to the people around us for sure, but…lots of laughs.

DR:  I love the process of discovering the right word for a phrase.  It’s like a puzzle just waiting to be put into place…

3.      How do you collaborate as writers? What is your process like?