My name badge from the TD Book Week kick off party.
I really must quit putting all sorts of other things ahead of blogging. I like blogging, I really do. But sometimes I obsess too much over what to say. So much so that I’m often paralyzed with indecision and then just end up saying nothing. Bad, no?
So I’m going to try to kick that and, in the next few days, blog about my awesome trip earlier this spring for Canadian Children’s Book Week 2013! I was honoured to be chosen to talk to many children in communities across northern Saskatchewan about “Sorting through Spring” as well as my other books.
The Next Big Thing is a global blog tour, started in Australia, to showcase authors and illustrators and their current work. I was tagged by the talented Cynthia Cotten. Thanks Cyndy! And I should also give a nod to another talented friend, Mary Cronk Farrell, because she tried to tag me earlier this year and I was too swamped to participate.
So now I’ll answer some questions about my newest book, then pass the Q&A along to two others who’ll pick up the tour next week.
1) What is your next big thing? That would be my newest book Sorting through Spring.
“Sorting through Spring,” by Lizann Flatt and Ashley Barron
2) Where did the idea for the book come from? My kids would complain that doing math patterning problems seemed to have no purpose. It made me think what if…? What if you could see animals and nature making patterns and sorting all around you?
3) In what genre does your book fall? It’s a nonfiction picture book.
4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition? Well, since there are only animals in the book, I’d hope Disney’s Pixar would make the movie. I can see them having fun with the schools of smelt and the mosquitoes. Think this or this.
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? If animals and nature knew numbers like you, can you imagine the sorting and patterning they’d do?
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript? It took about a month, but before that it took a lot of time to decide the content and focus of the series. I’d say nearly a year till the four-book format was set. (Sorting through Spring is book two in the series– Counting on Fall is the first, Sizing up Winter will be the third, and Shaping up Summer will be the fourth.)
8) What other books would you compare this book to within your genre? It deals with some of the same ideas as Math for All Seasons. These books, in a running story format, go into deeper detail about math concepts that are in my book: The Great Graph Contest, A Very Improbable Story.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book? It sounds cliche, but Nature fascinates and inspires me all the time. Math was never my favourite subject. Put one with the other and hopefully it results in some fun with both math and nature.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest? The art is gorgeous and invites you to touch the page. I think with the different spring nature phenomena and some rhythmic or rhyming language it’s a less serious way to talk about math, plus you can use the book with young children as a segue into more math, language, or science.
Now I get to tag a couple other lucky people. Hope you’ll drop in next Thursday, April 25th to these blogs for their next Next Big Thing:
Love this conversation snippet I overheard at the library this weekend between two 10- or 11-year-old boys as they were playing a video game at the public computers.
Boy 1: “There’s nothing holding me back now!” Boy 2: “Yeah, except your mother.” Laughter.
I’m pleased to be hosting Nonfiction Monday here at The Flatt Perspective. I can’t wait to see what nonfiction books other Kidlitosphere bloggers have been talking about this week. I know it’s going to be great. Please leave the info about your Nonfiction Monday post here on the Google form. Then check back tomorrow, Tuesday, to see the complete round-up of what’s what in nonfiction for kids and teens this week.
For now, I’d like to share the terrific “Counting on Fall” Teacher’s Guide pdf that OwlKids Books put together for my newest nonfiction picture book. It’s free and full of activities and reproducibles for the K-2 classroom or home or library. “Counting on Fall” is about math and fall nature phenomena. What if animals and plants knew math, just like you? Would leaves fall in patterns? Would whales enter a race? Count on some math fun while thinking about those what if’s and more.
Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll count on seeing you tomorrow!
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Okay, now we’re ready for our roundup! Don’t you love how those asterisks let us jump in time? Magical I tell you.
Nonfiction Picture Books
Waiting for Ice | Going Up!: Elisha Otis’s Trip to the Top | Seahorses
Laura Salas is talking about Waiting for Ice over at her blog LauraSalas: Writing the World for Kids. Laura says “Waiting for Ice is a beautiful nonfiction picture book about an orphaned polar bear cub’s efforts to survive.”
From The Nonfiction Detectives, Louise and Cathy share that “We had the opportunity to interview Monica Kulling about her new picture book biography.” Check out the interview and a review of Going Up! by Monica Kulling.
Jen at Perogies & Gyoza is also featuring Monica Culling’s Going Up!: Elisha Otis’s Trip to the Top this week. She says of the book: “Great introduction to the world of invention and entrepreneurship via the invention of the elevator.”
Noah Webster & His Words | Barnum’s Bones | Brothers at Bat
Hop on over to Supratentorial to see Alice’s review of these three books. Alice says: “I am sharing three new picture book biographies: Noah Webster and His Words, Barnum’s Bones and Brothers at Bat. The subjects are different but all three books have in common that they are great short biographies for elementary school students.”
Helen’s Big World | Touch the Sky | A Leaf Can Be…
Jeanne’s blog True Tales & A Cherry On Top features the picture book biography Touch the Sky – Alice Coachman, Olympic High Jumper. Jeanne says: “Touch the Sky is an inspiring true story about a young woman who dreamed to soar, and pursued her dream. As the book jacket says, ‘In Alice Coachman’s Georgia hometown, there was no field where an African-American girl could do the high jump, so she made her own crossbar with sticks and rags.'”
And don’t miss Heart of a Child where Rob Reid features A Leaf Can Be…. as a great read-aloud choice. And there are a few Q&As, too, with the book’s author, Laura Purdie Salas.
Animals Big and Small | Patterns Outside
Finally Roberta of Wrapped in Foil brings us two titles in the Math Every Day series. She says “These books are a great way to introduce beginning math concepts.”
Early, Middle Reader and YA Nonfiction
Bill the Boy Wonder | Snakes | Environmental Disasters
Amelia at Challenging the Bookworm features Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman. She explains, “I bought this book for my library specifically with a graphic novel fan in mind, and she didn’t disappoint me. I’ve never known a lot about comics, although I’ve enjoyed the films over the years, and now I can impress someone with my new knowledge. Plus, it’s a Cybils contender in the Nonfiction Picture Books category.”
And you won’t want to miss Sal’s Fiction Addiction where Sally shares Nic Bishop Snakes. Sally says, “I love sharing the books that I am reading with others who are interested in literature for children and their adults…be they teachers, parents or extended family.”
SimplyScience features the timely Environmental Disasters. Shirley describes the book: “Environmental Disasters is about several major environmental disasters, their causes, and their consequences. It discusses the efforts made to change or improve conditions so that they don’t occur again.”
Becoming a Ballerina | National Parks | Surf Dog Miracles
Abby of Abby the Librarian shares that “Just in time for Nutcracker Season, I have a book all about the behind-the-scenes of becoming a ballerina and starring in the show.” She does indeed. She features Becoming a Ballerina.
Jennifer of Jean Little Library gives us a quick overview of some new Bearport titles. Featured books include the Water Babies series, Meat-Eating Plants: Toothless Wonders from the Plant-Ology series, and, from the Dog Heroes series, the title Surf Dog Miracles.
Veterans Day | Lives of the Presidents
Janet features the title Veterans Day written by Marlene Targ Brill with illustrations by Qi Z. Wang over at All About the Books.
I think that’s all for Nonfiction Monday this week. Did you enjoy it as much as I did? It’s been a pleasure to look at this terrific selection of books and blogs. I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone (if so just email me to let me know and I’ll add you). Have a great week!
