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[CCBC-Net] Promising Newcomers
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From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman>
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:34:28 -0500
I appreciated both the writing and illustrating in "Bird" (Lee and Low), for which illustrator Shadra Strickland won the John Steptoe New Talent Award. One of the things that struck me was how well matched the art and text were. The gray skies, bare branches and muted tones of Strickland's art make for a somber winter backdrop that suits the tenor of Zetta Elliott's narrative in which a boy is trying to make sense of tragedy and find a source of comfort in the midst of great sadness.
Another picture book newcomer is Gwendolyn Zepeda, author of "Growing Up with Tamales" (Pinata Books / Arte Publico). I love to booktalk this book, and share it with children--it's a delight to read aloud, and immensely satisfying as a story.
Tonya Cheri Hegamin debuted with the novel "M+O 4evr" (Houghton Mifflin) last year. Her quiet narrative is packed with intense emotion. But I'm even more impressed with her picture book that has just come out. "Most Loved in All the World" (Houghton Mifflin) packs the same level of emotional intensity that played out over the course of an entire novel into a short narrative set in the 19th century. It is a story punctuated with the sharp pain of slavery endured by a mother and child, but a sense of immense love grounds the narrative.
Kristin Cashore's young adult novel "Graceling" (Harcourt) was another welcome new voice. I'm already thinking I'd like to read it again (if only there were more time . . . )
Megan
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:34:28 -0500
I appreciated both the writing and illustrating in "Bird" (Lee and Low), for which illustrator Shadra Strickland won the John Steptoe New Talent Award. One of the things that struck me was how well matched the art and text were. The gray skies, bare branches and muted tones of Strickland's art make for a somber winter backdrop that suits the tenor of Zetta Elliott's narrative in which a boy is trying to make sense of tragedy and find a source of comfort in the midst of great sadness.
Another picture book newcomer is Gwendolyn Zepeda, author of "Growing Up with Tamales" (Pinata Books / Arte Publico). I love to booktalk this book, and share it with children--it's a delight to read aloud, and immensely satisfying as a story.
Tonya Cheri Hegamin debuted with the novel "M+O 4evr" (Houghton Mifflin) last year. Her quiet narrative is packed with intense emotion. But I'm even more impressed with her picture book that has just come out. "Most Loved in All the World" (Houghton Mifflin) packs the same level of emotional intensity that played out over the course of an entire novel into a short narrative set in the 19th century. It is a story punctuated with the sharp pain of slavery endured by a mother and child, but a sense of immense love grounds the narrative.
Kristin Cashore's young adult novel "Graceling" (Harcourt) was another welcome new voice. I'm already thinking I'd like to read it again (if only there were more time . . . )
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706 608/262-9503 schliesman at education.wisc.edu www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/Received on Thu 23 Apr 2009 09:34:28 AM CDT
