The Weekly 411 (9/30/22)

 

© Gillian Gamble

Sept. 30, 2022 vol 39

The Weekly 411 gathers all the links added to Kidlit411 each week. To receive this post by email, sign up for our email updates. Are you on Facebook? Join our Kidlit411 group for conversations and camaraderie. This week's illustration is by Gillian Gamble.

Author Spotlight

We're excited to feature author Jaime Formato and her middle-grade novel, Roll for Initiative (Running Press Kids, September 27, 2022). Enter to win a copy!

cover art: Sara Gianssi; design: Marissa Roebuck

Picture Book Giveaway

We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Kimchi, Kimchi Every Day, by Erica Kim (Soaring Kite Books), out on Oct. 4. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below!

About the Book: Whether round and crunchy like a kimchi pancake or pinched and plump like a kimchi dumpling, there are so many ways to enjoy this Korean traditional dish.

Explore the different ways to eat kimchi in this fun, rhyming tale that also teaches the days of the week. Korean-American author-illustrator Erica Kim shares her pride in her delicious cultural food through her cut paper art technique. The Hanji paper that is used to illustrate the book comes from a paper mulberry tree native to Korea.

About the Author-Illustrator:  Erica Kim is an author, illustrator, and teacher. She enjoys working with cut paper and incorporates it into her illustrations. Erica grew up in Connecticut, but also spent several formative years living in Seoul, Korea.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Another Picture Book Giveaway

We are also pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Alycat and the Cattywampus Wednesday by Alysson Foti Bourque, illustrated by Chiara Civati, released May 9, 2022. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below!

About the Book: Alycat wakes up to seafood gumbo for breakfast, and even though her house is the first stop for the school bus, the bus is already full when she boards. Alycat's whole day is turning topsy-turvy. What is happening? Young readers will tag along on Alycat's adventures during her very "cattywampus" Wednesday and learn that a little help from some friends and a good attitude can make your day! 

The themes of the books in the Alycat Series all reflect a reliance on friendships, imagination, and creativity towards problem-solving. The character traits of Alycat and her friends inspire and encourage young readers to find their own special gifts.

About the Author: Award-winning author Alysson Foti Bourque is a certified elementary education teacher and earned a law degree from the Southern University Law Center in 2007. After practicing law for six years, she traded in writing trial briefs for writing children's books. Alysson collaborates with non-profits to support philanthropic initiatives and enjoys speaking with children and teachers at schools and libraries, where she is accompanied by the life-size Alycat mascot. About the Illustrator Chiara Civati has illustrated each of Alycat's adventures. She studied fashion and textile design as well as visual design and illustration. When she's not busy illustrating, she spends her time traveling the world with a backpack full of books on her shoulders or hiking with her dog.

About the Illustrator: I'm a children's illustrator based in a small town on Lake Como, Italy. I actively work with both Italian publishers and clients from all over the world. I studied Fashion and Textile design in high school, then I attended a course in Visual Design and Illustration in Milan. When I'm not busy working, I spend my time traveling the world with a backpack full of books on my shoulders, as well as hiking with my dog when in my hometown.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

For Writers

How to Use Chapter Cliffhangers in Your Fiction

Close Off Your Protagonist's Easy Off-Ramps

Rules of Writing Large Casts of Characters

Writing Courses

Oct 1, 1-4 p.m. Three Character Revealing Secrets That Make Editors Swoon In this Zoom workshop, picture book and middle grade author, Tami Lewis Brown, teams up with YA author, Catherine Linka, to show how the answers to three revealing questions can help writers turn a character into one who readers, agents and editors can’t resist. Intended for writers of picture books and picture book biographies, middle grade and young adult novels. Lecture will alternate with writing exercises.  

Submissions: Agents & Editors

Introduction to Writing IP and Book Packaging

Inspirational Things

It's Never Too Late: Seven Authors Making Their YA Debuts After Age 50

Decision Trees, Angry Bees, and Other Writer Brain Hacks