A Tree is a Community

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I learned that the first review of my upcoming book with Holiday House, A Tree is a Community, is a starred review from Kirkus. “Writing in animated free verse that calls urgently to be read aloud…An effervescent appreciation of all that trees do and are.” “And best of all, the poem ends, when spring comes round again, new seeds will drop so that ‘very soon / we will have / a fine new tree. / OH YES!’”

KATE COSGROVE illustrated the book, our third title together, and Kirkus loves her work too. “As small creatures crawl or flit through leafy boughs above in Cosgrove’s bustling, populous illustrations, two brown-skinned children below blow bubbles or peaceably share a rope swing in the cool shade.” Kate is the #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator of A Day With No Words by TIFFANY HAMMOND.

A Tree is a Community will be released on September 17, ten days after Charlesbridge publishes Wild Brunch, illustrated by GILES LAROCHE. Both books are on Amazon and can now be pre-ordered. Come on September!

The Dirt Book out in paperback

Hi everyone,

Yesterday a box was delivered with samples of The Dirt Book in a paperback edition. What a surprise! It comes at a good time because the hardback is on this year’s master reading list for the Texas Bluebonnet Award and this way a lot more families may add a copy to the book budget.

Another reason I like this version is because some nice things have happened to the original since it came out in 2021 and two of them now appear on the cover of the paperback: Outstanding Science Trade Book , National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Children’s Book Council (CBC); and Notable Books – Best Poetry and Verse Novels for Kids, 2022, National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE). And of course KATE COSGROVE’S wonderful artwork leaps off the cover (and throughout the book) at you. Kate has had her own share of high recognition for her masterful illustrations. And to think, she and I are at work on another book for 2024!

Some other kinds of recognition received by The Dirt Book include

•	Named as one of eleven “Can’t Miss” poetry books on “2021 Poetry: Versification for the Masses,” for School Library Journal, 2021
•	Art from the book displayed in New York City at The Society of Illustrators “Original Art” exhibit. This exhibit showcases original art from the year’s best children’s books as determined by a jury of outstanding illustrators, art directors, and editors.⁠
•	Named by New York City Public Libraries as one of the six best books of children’s poetry published in 2021. Three of the poets are from Argentina, Chili, and Haiti.
•	On master list of finalists for the state of Kansas Bill Martin, Jr. Picture Book Award.
•	Texas Bluebonnet 2023-2024 Master List

Here I go, off to meet some new people with a smile on my face.

Kate Cosgrove rocks

Hi everyone,

Kudos to KATE COSGROVE, the artist for two of my books with Holiday House, and working on a third as we speak.

Both books have done well. And the Bullfrogs Sing, A Life Cycle was a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, and a Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award Honors book.  The Dirt Book: Poems About Animals That Live Beneath Our Feet, was juried into The Original Art 41st Annual Exhibition in NYC by the Society of Illustrators. It was also a New York Public Library Best Book of the Year. It has been named to two state reading lists for this fall, Texas Blue Bonnet and Bill Martin Jr. list in Kansas.

Kate’s most recent triumph is A Day with No Words, by TIFFANY HAMMOND. The subject is autism and it has gone straight to the top of the charts, reaching #1 on the New York Times picture book best seller list and #1 on Amazon for Children’s Books on Disabilities. Here’s what one critic has to say. The American Library Association Booklist starred review boasts, “The story is written from the boy’s first-person perspective, however—a clever choice in that it gives readers a direct look into his mind and reinforces the book’s crucial statement that nonverbal people have as many words and as much intelligence as anyone else. Cosgrove’s art, throughout, does an amazing job of transporting readers into his perspective, employing various color tones, metaphoric imagery, and ‘camera’ angles to reflect the deep expressiveness contained in every page.

Way to go, Kate! I’m so happy for you and glad that we are working on our third book together!

A poetry kind of post

Hi everyone,

I have known for some time about the good news regarding The Dirt Book, and have told you about it here, but the conference made it official. The book has won recognition for KATE COSGROVE’S outstanding art and was recently named to the Texas Bluebonnet Master Reading List for 2023-34. Our astute editor was GRACE MACCARONE at Holiday House. I’m proud to see the title listed as one of the 2022 Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels Selected by the NCTE Award for Excellence in Children’s Poetry Committee.

I’m in the company of many wonderful, gifted friends. In poetry books, JOYCE SIDMAN won for Dear Treefrog, JANET WONG won for Good Luck Gold & More, NIKKI GRIMES won for Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance, GEORGIA HEARD won for My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness, KALLI DAKOS won for They Only See the Outside, and in verse novels CLAUDIA MILLS won for The Lost Language. And there are more. Copy the list and you have a handy reference list of “must read” books when you’re in the mood for poetry.

The selection committee for 2022 needs to be recognized for the hard work they put into the process. I’d hate to guess how many books they each had to read! Thank you, committee!

2022 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children Committee Members:
Ted Kesler, Chair, Queens College, CUNY, Flushing, NY
Ryan Colwell, Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT
Deanna Day, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA
Rebecca Kai Dotlich, author, New York, NY
Gabrielle Atwood Halko, West Chester University, West Chester, PA
Heidi Mordhorst, Rockview Elementary School, North Kensington, MD
Mary-Kate Sableski, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH

The big news is that Georgia Heard was named recipient of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Hooray for Georgia! She is a worthy recipient and will represent children’s poets and their poetry during the coming year. Thanks to Janet Wong, the past years recipient for all the great work she has done. It’ a great tradition.

About the Texas Bluebonnet

Hi everyone,

After I’d already announced that THE DIRT BOOK is one of 20 titles selected for the 2023-2024 Bluebonnet Master List, I found this picture posted on the Texas site, plus some factoids. The list was chosen from 1018 books that were submitted. The books are for grades 3-6. Each year, more than 75,000 third-through-sixth graders from across Texas vote for their favorite title from the master list. “Read 5, then decide” is a slogan known by school librarians, public librarians and homeschooling parents across the state.