Ask the editor: Do publishers have rules about POV?

http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2009/05/26/ask-the-editor-do-publishers-have-rules-about-pov/

Great article on Point of View

Caldecott Winners Commentary - 100 picture books by summer's end

A question was posed to an audience I was a part of recently to find out if we were aware of some of the industry award recipients and the origin of the awards title. Unfortunately, I didn't know enough to answer the questions asked. So I decided to do some research.

My library made it easy for me. So I'm challenging myself, by the end of the summer, to have read 100 picture books. Most of these will be Caldecott, Newberry and Coretta Scott King Award winners. That will give me a good start on developing my sense of quality.

Well, I've already did 3 for today:

"Flotsam" by auth./ill., David Wiesner (Caldecott 2007) - I will comment on this in a sec....

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers" by auth./ill., Mordicai (Caldecott 2004)

"Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" by auth./ill. Mo Willems (Caldecott Honor 2003) -(I've previously read this one)

I just want to comment real quickly on "Flotsam". I can so see why this book won an award. When I first opened it, I didn't realize it until about the 2nd or 3rd page that I was just reading pictures (Like I did when I was two!). So I thought, "Ok, the words are coming soon....". But they never came. And thank goodness! The pictures were SOOOOOO strong, that words were unnecessary. At that moment, I understood what one of the speakers at the conference meant when she said that the pictures must hold the readers attention enough where words are not needed. The words are important, but IN A PICTURE BOOK, the pictures should be able to tell the story. This book sucessfully did that.

It was a joy to read it with my eyes. :)

Oh Portobelo....I miss it

OK, so for some reason I am going through Portobelo withdrawls again. I could understand why I was last year after I returned but I guess with it almost being a year later it's on my mind heavily again. I just went online and looked at some sites that had pictures of the children there and saw some familiar faces.....I think I miss them the most....(though I also think about Dona Sesi's recipes and the advise she gave me at least once a week when I cook for mi familia.)

The book is complete, though we ran into some snags with production. No biggie....we'll be back on track soon. So I'll let you know how it progresses. I'm looking forward to getting the children their copy so they can actually see what they helped produce.

Patience patience patience.