The Weekly 411 (1/24/25)
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| © Steve Asbell |
Jan. 24, 2025 vol. 4
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. We can also be found on Bluesky. This week's illustration is by Steve Asbell.
About the Book: Today’s the day! Rosa will take the stage next to her mami and play along with her popular mariachi band. But as they fasten the shiny botonaduras and tie the moños on their charra suits, Rosa begins to worry. What if the audience doesn’t like her? Is she ready to perform?
With her mamiachi and madrinas by her side, Rosa’s stage fright is soothed away by the sound of trumpets, guitars, and violins. Centering on the power of sisterhood, community, and music, the warm and lively text provides a unique perspective to the male-dominated world of mariachi. Back matter includes additional context on the history of the beloved Mexican tradition and the rise of all-female mariachi groups, as well as a glossary, a bibliography, further reading, and a fun, detailed look at a mariachi’s signature charro suit!
About the Authors: Jolene Gutiérrez and Dakota Gutiérrez, a mother-and-son writing duo, have always loved mariachi music. Dakota's family has roots in Jalostotitlan, Jalisco, Mexico, where some of his favorite memories are of visiting the plaza to watch the mariachi bands perform on the weekends. When a year of virtual learning meant Dakota couldn’t join his school’s mariachi band, the pair teamed up to write Mamiachi & Me to honor the strength and beauty of women performing in what has historically been a male-dominated art form.
Jolene is an award-winning neurodivergent teacher librarian who has been teaching neurodivergent learners at Denver Academy since 1995. She is an active member of SCBWI and a Highlights Foundation faculty member. Her books have been printed in 10 countries and 9 languages. Find her online at www.jolenegutierrez.com or on social media @writerjolene. Dakota is a college student at the Colorado School of Mines where he is majoring in Civil Engineering and is active in the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and intramural sports. He will graduate with a Master's Degree in May 2026.
About the Illustrator: Mirelle Ortega is the author-illustrator of Magic: Once Upon a Faraway Land, for which she received
a Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor and an International Latino Book Award, and River of Mariposas, which School Library Journal praised in a starred review as “a heartfelt ode to Mexico and the power of children’s imaginations.” Mirelle was born and raised near the Papaloapan River in Veracruz, Mexico, surrounded by amazing mariachi music and Son Jarocho. She now lives in Los Angeles, California.
About the Book: Write Here, Write Now inspires all kids to find joy in writing, no matter what, where, why, when, or how they write. It encourages reluctant writers to tap into their interests while motivating more prolific students to keep doing what they love. Appealing to readers of books like How To Write a Story by Kate Messner and Write! Write! Write! by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Write Here, Write Now presents a plethora of ways for kids to play with words while discovering the type of writing that’s “right” for them.
About the Author: Rebecca Gardyn Levington is a children’s book author, poet, and journalist with a particular penchant for penning both playful and poignant picture books and poems – primarily in rhyme. She is the author of Whatever Comes Tomorrow (winner of the SCBWI Atlantic Division Crystal Kite Honor award), Brainstorm!, Afikoman, Where'd You Go? A Passover Hide-and-Seek Adventure, Little Dreidel Learns to Spin, and has seven additional rhyming picture books forthcoming. Rebecca writes reviews and conducts author interviews monthly for the Picture Book Builders blog. Her award-winning poems and articles have appeared in numerous anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. She lives with her family in Summit, N.J., where she enjoys bouncing on a mini-trampoline, playing mahjongg, and eating chocolate-peanut butter ice cream (although not usually at the same time!). Find out more and sign up for Rebecca’s monthly newsletter at www.RebeccaGardynLevington.com.
About the Illustrator: Andrea Boatta was born in a seaside town in southern Italy and grew up around vibrant colors and nature. After graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts, she came to love illustration and animation and continued her post-graduate studies at the National School of Cinema. Today she works in Naples, Italy, as a freelance illustrator and concept and background artist in the world of animation.
When Yarrow vanishes after a particularly confrontational meeting, A discovers that SOSAD doesn’t just feel soul-sucking…it’s run by an actual demon who feeds off the pain and misery of kids like him. And it’s not just SOSAD—the entire world is beset by demons dining on what seems like an endless buffet of pain and bigotry. But how is one trans kid who hasn’t even chosen a name supposed to save his friend, let alone the world?
About the Author: Kyle Lukoff is the author of many books for young readers. His debut middle-grade novel, Too Bright to See, received a Newbery Honor, the Stonewall award, and was a National Book Award finalist. His picture book When Aidan Became a Brother also won the Stonewall. He has forthcoming books about mermaids, babies, apologies, and lots of other topics. While becoming a writer he worked as a bookseller for ten years, and then nine more years as a school librarian.
Jan 22-March 19 (no class Feb 19) Writing MG for PB Authors - an in-depth course for experienced picture book writers, covering everything you need to know to draft a novel. The course includes analyzing a mentor text and developing your own story ideas.
Jan. 30, 1-2:15 pm ET Using Layouts to Take Your Picture Book to the Next Level Sure, word count matters, but what’s much more important is pacing. Is your book too long here but too short here? Does the ending just happen with little fanfare? Is there too much dialogue? This is where layouts come into play. Editor Carter Hasegawa will show you how revising with layouts can help you turn a good picture book into a great one. He’ll discuss pagination vs. layouts, dummies, page turns and spreads, wordless books/pages, and yes, word count. Replay available for 30 days after the class ends.
Fun giveaways! And I'm excited to check out the link about BookTok alternatives since I don't currently have TikTok.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to win A WORLD WORTH SAVING by Kyle Lukoff. I really enjoyed DIFFERENT KINDS OF FRUIT. Thanks for the chance to get a copy!
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