2013 Eisner Award Winners


"Comic-Con International is the home of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the comic book equivalent of the “Oscars.” The Eisner Awards, named after famous comics creator, Will Eisner (The Spirit, Contract with God), who is regarded as the father of the modern graphic novel, started at Comic-Con in 1987. For the awards' first two decades, Eisner himself was on stage to present the awards to each year’s recipients. The Eisners are given out each year at Comic-Con International: San Diego in a gala event held the Friday evening of the convention at a local hotel. The awards feature more than two-dozen categories covering the best publications and creators of the previous year. A blue-ribbon committee selects nominees from thousands of entries submitted by publishers and creators, which are then voted on by members of the comic book industry." - About Comic-Con

Congratulations to the following winners:


Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7): Babymouse for President, by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House)


Best Publication for Kids (ages 8–12): Adventure Time, by Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, and Braden Lamb (kaboom!)


Best Publication for Teens (ages 13–17) A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle, adapted by Hope Larson (FSG)

To see all the winners: click here.

To see all categories and nominees, click here.

Top Ten Picture Books for the First Half of 2013

We have just moved beyond the half-way mark in the year and I thought it would be fun to list my favorite picture books for the first half of the year.   Books selected had to be released by June 30, 2013.  Last year, two of my 10 went on to win Caldecott Honors.  Will there by any award winners in this group?! Not sure, but certainly hope so.



Bluebird by Bob Staake (Schwartz & Wade)


Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle (Chronicle Books)


Exclamation Mark! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal; Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld (Scholastic Press)


The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt; Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers (Philomel)


Miss Maple's Seeds by Eliza Wheeler (Nancy Paulsen Books)


No Fits, Nilson! by Zachariah Ohora (Dial)


The Story of Fish and Snail by Deborah Freedman (Viking Juvenile)


The Mighty Lalouche by Matthew Olshan; Illustrated by Sophie Blackall (Schwartz & Wade)


The Beatles Were Fab (and They Were Funny) by Kathleen Krull, Paul Brewer; 
Illustrated by Stacy Innerst (HMH Books for Young Readers)


Illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Balzer & Bray)

Book Review - Battle Bunny

Author: Mac Barnett, Jon Scieszka
Illustrator: Matthew Myers
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 22, 2013)
Source: An advanced copy
Audience: Ages 5 and older

Description from GoodReads:
Encourage creativity with this wildly entertaining picture book mash-up from the minds of Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett. Alex has been given a saccharine, sappy, silly-sweet picture book about Birthday Bunny that his grandma found at a garage sale. Alex isn’t interested—until he decides to make the book something he’d actually like to read. So he takes out his pencil, sharpens his creativity, and totally transforms the story!

Birthday Bunny becomes Battle Bunny, and the rabbit’s innocent journey through the forest morphs into a supersecret mission to unleash an evil plan—a plan that only Alex can stop.

Featuring layered, original artwork that emphasizes Alex’s additions, this dynamic exploration of creative storytelling is sure to engage and inspire.


My thoughts on this book:
Since Battle Bunny doesn't come out until October, I was thinking of waiting to review this one. However, after ALA, I started seeing some buzz on Twitter about it and thought I would post a review now. 

When I first saw the Folded & Gathered (F&G) for Battle Bunny, I  wondered a lot about this book.  After reading it, I realized this book was not a typical picture book or early reader? And this was not going to be a cute little read aloud either.   For a moment, I even questioned the state of mind of Scieszka and Barnett.  I mean absolutely no disrespect for either of these two authors.  Both are brilliant and very talented.  Let's take a look at the book for a moment. 

Battle Bunny begins in a manner that is reminiscent of a Little Golden Book. Here is the cover for Home for a Bunny:



Here is the cover for Battle Bunny.  See the similarity underneath all the scratch outs?



And when you open up to the first page of Battle Bunny, there is a sense that you are taken back to the 1940's and 1950's. 
   

Now turn the page, and the fun begins....


I like to imagine what the creative process was for Battle Bunny.  Did Barnett and Sciezska send the text for Birthday Bunny to Matthew Myers, who then sent back clean illustrated pages made to look like a Little Golden Book?


And if so, can you imagine his reaction, when receiving "edits" on pages like the one above after Mac and Jon had some fun?  Birthday Bunny has morphed into Battle Bunny. 


I realize that Mac and Jon may likely have been working in different states as they wrote this book, but I enjoy imagining that the two were sitting together with pencils out and a mad gleam in their eyes as they "re-wrote" the book. 


I wondered how much they shared with their editor in advance and how much was a surprise?  If I was the editor, I am not even sure where to begin in giving feedback. Did the editor get into the fun? Or did she just pull out an ice pack for her headache and reach for the anti-acids and let this creative team run ripshod over the book?


Regardless of the process, the end results are actually brilliant.  Now what to do with this book?

If you know of or have seen an earlier copy of this book, please talk it up with booksellers and librarians and teachers.  I am so thankful that many of my twitter friends get this book, but my fear is that there are many teachers who will not find this book or may not see the potential for how the book can be used in the classroom.

Yes, this book could be enjoyed one on one with a young child, but this will be an excellent text for discussion the writing and editing process with older students.  Locate all those old Little Golden Books in storage, pull out a document camera, and begin to have fun with this book.  

Though this site isn't fully functioning yet, check back closer to the release date for the website for Battle Bunnymybirthdaybunny.com

Fun Summer Read: Like Bug Juice on a Burger

by Julie Sternberg; Illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Harry N. Abrams (April 1, 2013)

Description from GoodReads: I hate camp. I just hate it. I wish I didn’t. But I do. Being here is worse than bug juice on a burger. Or homework on Thanksgiving. Or water seeping into my shoes. In this sequel to the critically acclaimed Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, Eleanor is off to summer camp. At first she’s excited to carry on the family tradition at Camp Wallumwahpuck, but when she gets there she finds icky bugs, terrible food, and worst of all: swim class, where she just can’t seem to keep up with everyone else. But as the days go on, Eleanor realizes that even the most miserable situations can be full of special surprises and that growing up is full of belly flops.

My thoughts on the book:
Finding fun reads for 2nd to 4th graders can be difficult.  Two years ago, I discovered Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie.  It was a great read that was fun, but also had a wonderful story about dealing with and accepting change.  When I discovered Like Bug Juice on a Burger, I was thrilled to have a sequel to the first book.

Ellie is back and this time she is going to summer camp.  The same summer camp that her mother attended when she was a girl.  Her initial excitement about camp soon fills with uncertainty. Yes, camp may be a family tradition, but it also has icky bugs, and terrible food, and the dreaded swim class.  

Sternberg approaches first time camp experience with humor and sensitivity.  Readers experience camp right along with Ellie.  And as with the first book, Sternberg shows readers how they can learn and grow from their experiences.    

If you haven't read Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, I would highly recommend reading it along with Like Bug Juice on a Burger.




A Little Small Talk with Julie Sternberg - an interview video with Julie as she talks about her first book:



Check out the activity pages for both books on Julie Sternberg website

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - Mister and Lady Day: Billie Holiday and the Dog Who Love Her

Author: Amy Novesky
Illustrator: Vanessa Brantley Newton
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers (June 18, 2013)
Source: Personal Copy
Audience: Grades 1 to 3
Keywords: Biography, American Jazz, Women Singers

Description from GoodReads:
Billie Holiday—also known as Lady Day—had fame, style, a stellar voice, big gardenias in her hair, and lots of dogs. She had a coat-pocket poodle, a beagle, Chihuahuas, a Great Dane, and more, but her favorite was a boxer named Mister. Mister was always there to bolster her courage through good times and bad, even before her legendary appearance at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Newton’s stylish illustrations keep the simply told story focused on the loving bond between Billie Holiday and her treasured boxer. An author’s note deals more directly with the singer’s troubled life, and includes a little-known photo of Mister and Lady Day.

My thoughts on this book:
Picture Book biographies are difficult on a variety of levels.  How do you condense someone's life down to 32 to 40 pages and most often without a lot of words? Then there is the challenge of what colorful bits of a person's life do you keep in and what do you leave out.  Some individuals made some great contributions to art or music or science or math but along with being absolutely brilliant they often had some interesting character traits which may not be the best thing to highlight in a book written for 7 or 8 year olds.

With that in mind, I appreciate how Amy Novesky tackles the life of Billie Holiday.  In this picture book biography, Novesky shares Holiday's rise to fame and musical contributions through a unique aspect of the singer's life, her love of dogs.  And she certainly loved dogs.  There are at least eight dogs mentioned in this book.  However, the main focus is on a boxer named, Mister.  Did you know Mister had a mink coat? Pretty stylish dog. 

Though Novesky does not explicitly mention that Holiday spent a year in prison for drug possession, she does mention that the singer got into "trouble and had to go away for a year".  The book wraps up with Holiday's return to stage and Mister's presence in the wings on that evening.  The author's note at the end provides more insight into Billie Holiday's life and some additional resources.  Vanessa Brantley Newton's illustration compliment and enhance Novesky's words making this a win-win on several levels.

I am looking forward to including this book in some of the units that I do with students during the school year.  Look for a copy of this book at your local library or independent bookstore.    


Don't forget to link up your nonfiction picture book reviews...