Out of the Park!
In the last inning of opening day for She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story, Curious City launched the trailer for author Audrey Vernick. For the picture book biography of the Negro League’s ‘mother hen,’ Curious City turned to Dion Graham, the award winning narrator of We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball (Brilliance Audio) to voice our script. John Marshall Sound welcomed Dion in to do the initial (brilliant) recording and then William Dufris of Mind’s Eye Productions beautifully layered in...
read moreEvery View is a Donation to a Zoo!
Share this book trailer with your fellow readers as the author Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen is making a donation to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to support zoo and endangered animals for every view! Share...
read moreReaders Sketch Every Nest Nook & Cranny
Teens gathered in the Teen Library Lounge of the Portland Public Library to hear author Susan Blackaby and illustrator Jamie Hogan talk about their creative process and their constant attention as artists to the world around them. Teens were then invited to attend either an interactive workshop on poetry or a workshop on drawing led by the two creators. Each teen will receive a free sketchbook and pencil. This event launches a new series at The Portland Public Library for teen readers where they can interact with...
read moreFor Librarians: Chapter Book Giveaway that Helps Breast Cancer Research
In honor of Breast Cancer Month, author Charlotte Agell will be giving away a dozen copies of the chapter book The Accidental Adventures of India McAllister. For every librarian who enters to win, the author will give $1 to Project Pink.* Why? The character, India’s artist mom is a Breast Cancer Survivor. In fact, on page 24 you will spot an illustration of India’s mom artistic reaction to loosing her breast. Some people flipping through the book have wondered about this illustration and wondered WHAT it was...
read moreBenny and Penny in the Library!
Curious City created madcap game for Geoffrey Hayes the creator of the early reader comic series, Benny and Penny . Young readers stepped, stopped, and spun to the comic book frames of the books, Benny and Penny in the Big No-No and Benny and Penny in the Toy Breaker to win a bucket of comic books from Toon Books. Hayes later signed his book at Casablanca Comics. The event was sponsored by The Portland Public Library, Casablanca Comics, and Curious City. See the Event Album. Share...
read moreJust Read
Every book that is handed to me by publishers and creators is a challenge. Each book challenges me to imagine the audience, the slice of story that will draw that audience to the book, the way to trumpet that slice, and how and when. This is work I adore, but it does take away a bit of the delicious abandon of the READ. I thank my mighty book group for the permission and abandon to devour a YA novel with no thought towards its marketing. This month, I have to also thank Tim Ditlow of Brilliance Audio who upon learning at ALA that I...
read moreBaby Cheeks & Turtle Spots
To say that my job is a privilege would be an understatement. Here I stand 2 years after a conversation I had with Cathryn Falwell about how hard it is to find a visual clear (but compelling) picture book or board book for children 15 months to 2 years. As the book consultant for Raising Readers, I review over 500 board and pictures books a year looking for books with clarity, curiosity, and humor that kids can grasp at the youngest of ages. So here I stand with the original art to Cathryn’s Pond Babies due out from Down...
read moreNest, Nook, & Cranny Trail
Nest, Nook, & Cranny is a book for all ages featuring tongue-in-cheek sonnets and lyrical free verse by poet, Susan Blackaby. The collection of poems explores the many kinds of homes animals make for themselves. Readers experience different habitats–desert, grasslands, shoreline, wetland, and woodland–and the animals that call them home. “As a writer, I’m often asked where I get my ideas, and I usually say that I poke my nose out the front door. I suggest you do the same,” says author Susan Blackaby, “If...
read moreHappy Birthday, Raising Readers
With over 1.3 million books given to Maine children, Raising Readers celebrated their 10th Birthday at the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor, Maine. Almost 300 readers and readers-to-be turned out to tumble through the museum looking for the books, authors, and illustrators that make up the Raising Readers’ latest anthology for 5-year-olds in their program, Books from Maine: A Raising Readers Collection. Children’s Museums are wonderful places to hold book events if you respect the fact that they are places to...
read moreKindergarten Teacher Giveaway!
Curious City was happy to help Toni Buzzeo design a giveaway for her new title Adventure Annie Goes to Kindergarten. To celebrate the book’s release, Toni will be giving away 10 backpacks with Adventure Annie books and school supplies inside to Kindergarten and Pre-K teachers! Kindergarten and Pre-K teachers will also be able to enter their favorite school librarian to win a backpack of books from her Mrs. Skorupski picture book series as well as R is for Research and The Library Doors. Tell your favorite K or Pre-K...
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