Meet the Author! Indiana State Library's Kid Lit Pick for the Library of Congress National Book Festival's 2024 Great Reads Youth List
• Saturday, August 24: 3:30 - 4:30 pm
• Roadmap to Reading Hall DE (2nd floor)
• signed copies available for purchase at the Politics and Prose shop in Hall DE
I'll be enjoying all that the festival has to offer first as a *reader,* by attending talks, meeting fav authors, and exploring the Reading Hall looking for swag . . . and then at 3:30 I put on my author hat and hang out at the Indiana State Library table to chit with readers. AND I get to be in charge of the Indiana stamp!
Roadmap to Reading, Hall DE: Follow the Roadmap to Reading
Take a literary trip around the country by visiting the Roadmap to Reading, sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
The Roadmap to Reading will feature tables with representatives from 54 Centers for the Book: one for each state PLUS the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands + the Northern Marianas.
Every year, each Center for the Book selects a children’s book + one for a general adult audience, creating a list of books called Great Reads from Great Places.
Pick up a Great Reads from Great Places brochure + visit each table in the Roadmap to Reading to explore each state’s great reads and receive a unique stamp; those who collect all of the stamps can receive a special giveaway at the IMLS booth!
The 2024 National Book Festival will be held in the nation’s capital at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday, August 24, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (doors open at 8:30 a.m.). The event is free and open to the public.
Get festival schedule, map, downloads— like the Great Reads Youth List AND a fun map for collecting State Library stamps—here:
https://www.loc.gov/events/2024-national-book-festival/
#IndianaStateLibrary #IndianaAuthorsRoom #KidsInkChildrensBookstore #IndianaCenterfortheBook #LibraryofCongress #NationalBookFestival #InstituteofMuseumandLibraryServices #NationalEndowmentfortheHumanities #ChiefOfficersofStateLibraryAgencies #greatreadsfromgreatplaces
Stroll Stroll: What a Map Can Do
Getting some nifty yard signs printed with the pages from What a Map Can Do printed on the front and back. We’ll post these near my local library and share them with area schools. So fun.
Activity: Who's that Dinosaur?
Who's that Dinosaur? An animal guessing game by author Gabrielle Balkan and illustrator Sam Brewster
Book Scavenger Hunt
You've got to be a dinosaur detective to guess the prehistoric animals in this book. Read the book once and then read it again to find these details. Add a check mark once you find the item!
Click here to download this activity in COLOR.
Click here to download this activity in BLACK and WHITE.
Share your work online to connect with other dino lovers!
@gabriellebalkan @sam_brewster @phaidonpress #WhosThatDinosaur
Activity: Book of Dinosaurs
What things would you do if you had traits like some of the dinosaurs in the book? Use your imagination to complete each sentence. Challenge yourself and draw your response on a separate sheet of paper!
Click here to download both pages of this activity.
Share your dinosaur work online to connect with other dino lovers!
@gabriellebalkan @sam_brewster @phaidonsnaps #BookOfDinosaurs
Review: Book of Dinosaurs (5 Stars from Youth Services Review)
Review: Youth Services Review
This oversized text is brimming with fascinating facts about ten remarkable dinosaurs. First off, it’s important to note that the touch and feel aspect of the illustrations is not only ingenious and sophisticated in its approach, it’s also fun and inviting. Children aren’t the only ones who will enjoy touching the bones, scales, skin, and beaks of these magnificent creatures!
Each of the record-breaking dinos is introduced by two pages that invite the reader to guess its name using some background information and clues along with a detailed skeletal diagram of the mysterious creature. The following two page spread presents the dinosaur in its lush habitat and provides further information about its lifestyle, features, and the time period it roamed the Earth.
Children are inherently curious about dinosaurs and this book is sure to satisfy their need to know more. The end matter introduces the reader to the idea that modern day birds have evolved from dinosaurs, and it explains that what we know about dinosaurs is also constantly evolving. A glossary provides key vocabulary needed to navigate the text independently, and a specialized species index allows for quick access to dinosaurs of particular interest.
Young children will enjoy scanning and touching the illustrations, while elementary aged children will also appreciate the guess and check nature of the text, along with the detailed information that is easily accessible to them.
• Who should buy this book? Elementary schools and libraries• Where would you shelve it ? J 567
• Should librarians + readers put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Yes
• Reviewer: Linda Broderick, Lincoln Street Elementary School, Northboro, MA
• Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5
#youthservicesbookreview
#BookofDinosaurs #SamBrewster #PhaidonSnaps #oblongbooks #paleontologist #paleontology #signedbytheauthor #parasaurolophus #albertacanada #latecretaceous #hadrosaur #noisiestcall #nearcrestedlizard #Cretaceouscritter
Mystery Animal Challenge #1 (hint: paperclip)
Way back in March I recorded a Flipgrid video with a challenge for readers to find something that was the same size as a mystery animal...at the time, I thought I would record a video challenge every day...but I never did. Should I get back to it?
Here’s the challenge! https://flipgrid.com/7333c607
WHOSE BONES - in the wild!
One of my favorite little sisters on the planet is also a favorite event planner at Wild Rumpus, a magical children’s bookstore in Minneapolis, MN . Wild Rumpus always has excellent events and you can keep up with their virtual storytimes online. I was so tickled to get a late night text with some pictures of my first ever board book, Whose Bones: An Animal Guessing Game. I LOVE the way the fold-out pages turned out…don’t you?
I’ll post more pics when I get my own copy and here are some from Drew to tide both you and me over until then! Thanks, Drew!
BOOK OF FLIGHT earns 2020 Indiana Author Award Nomination
in Good News
Congratulations to Book of Flight and the seven excellent children’s books selected for the 2020 Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards shortlist.
We love this award because it encourages people to read local and celebrate the creative forces in their community. You know the shortlist books are superb because they were selected by a committee of former winners, writers, educators, local bookstore owners + librarians who have all been reading + reviewing nominations for the past five months. As you can imagine, the shortlists are made up of the best books nominated in each category + display exemplary quality given the conventions of their nominated genre. Huzzah!
Feast your hungry eyes upon the CHILDREN’S SHORTLIST
“The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Mya in the Middle” by Crystal Allen
“Granted” by John David Anderson
“Clackety Track: Poems About Trains” by Skila Brown
“Can I Be Your Dog?” by Troy Cummings
“Hello, I’m Here!” by Helen Frost
“Wake Up, Woods” by Gillian Harris, Shane Gibson and Michael Homoya
“Attucks!: Oscar Robertson and the Basketball Team that Awakened a City” by Phillip Hoose
ABOUT THE AWARD
The Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards celebrate the best books by Indiana authors written in eight different categories and published during the previous two years. Books must be nominated to be considered.
Winners will receive a $5,000 prize, a physical award featuring Indiana limestone and the opportunity to make a $500 gift to an Indiana public library. A Literary Champion Award recognizes an individual or organization for significant contributions to Indiana’s literary community. Winners of the Literary Champion Award receive a $2,500 prize.
ORDER Signed + Personalized Copies from Oblong Books
If you’d like to have a signed and personalized copy of any of my books, contact the good people at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY. They can ship anywhere!
Visit them online to learn more: www.oblongbooks.com/autographed-books
Guess Who Has the Smallest Bones
NEW BOOK: 50 Odd Couples: True Stories About Unlikely Animal Friendships
in Good News
With the good people at Scholastic and The Dodo, I had the good fortune to write about 50 unlikely animal friendships. It is available through Scholastic Book Clubs and, as of February 4, 2020, everywhere books are sold. I wrote under the name Gabe Polt for this one.
“These pairs of unlikely animal friends -- as seen in The Dodo's viral videos -- are sure to warm your heart! These animal pairs don't look like they'd be the best of friends -- but sometimes a new friend is closer than you think! This book features more than 100 pages of unexpected, heartwarming, and unlikely animal friendships! These 50 odd couples -- from dogs and ducks and cats and mice, to lions and tigers and even bison and pigs! -- have all been featured on The Dodo. Their inspiring stories are the perfect example of the compassion, resilience, and love that animals have for their humans -- and for each other. Each true story is accompanied by adorable full-color photos of these mismatched animal friends and simple nonfiction facts.”
112 pages with color photos
DEAL: Book of Bones as a Book Club Paperback
Hip hip hurrah! Scholastic Book Clubs has a $9 touch-and-feel paperback edition of Book of Bones available this fall. Big bucket list item for me! Contact your child’s teacher to find out if your school participates in the SBC. See the entire Scholastic Book Clubs October Spooktacular Flyer here.
Activity / Extension for Book of Bones: Fantastical Dinos
"Family Friday project for October! After reading about real animal skeletons we created fantastical dinosaur skeletons by pinching scraps of bone-colored paper and gluing to black background, inspired by Book of Bones @g_balkan #kidsnonfiction#handsonlearning🙌🏻 #skeletons#halloweencrafts" - Brooklyn Arbor @Materials Depot
REVIEW: 50 Cities: "a coffee table book for kiddos"
In KTVK's "Look what we found!" segment, Good Morning Arizona hosts delight in being able to "sound like an encylopedia" thanks to the Phoenix spread in #50citiesbook.
EVENT: Evening Safari at the Potawatomi Zoo (Aug 19 @ 5:30 p.m.)
in Author Event
This bird claims it can move faster than an Indy 500 race car. Find out whether this bird can do just that and more with children's book author Gabrielle Balkan at the Potawatomi Zoo.
Participants will also learn about animals and their habitats, meet an animal ambassador, make an animal enrichment item, and get to know more about animal skeletons through BOOK OF BONES.
LEARN MORE: https://www.potawatomizoo.org/edzoocation/#safari
FULL EVENING SAFARI DESCRIPTION
Evening Safari: Family Programs
Around the World
Join us for our summer safari series for a trip around the world! Learn about exotic animals and the environments in which they reside. Meet an ambassador animal, make enrichment, and much more! These programs are great for the whole family!
Time: 5:30 – 6:30 PM (see the zoo after hours!)
Address: Potawatomi Zoo: 500 S Greenlawn Ave, South Bend, IN, 46615
Cost: $6/participant (Members)
$8/participant (Non-Members)
Children under 2 get in for free
REVIEW: 50 Cities has "modern spin" - Goop
From the Tiniest Astronaut to Future Engineers: 12 Ways to Jump-Start Kids’ Imaginations
The golden ticket: activities and toys that both entertain your kiddo and encourage their future paths. Here, our picks for inspiring the littles in your life.
JET-SET TRAVELER
From LA to Charleston, kids get to explore the entire country via this beautifully illustrated book. Author Gabrielle Balkan includes every facet of the cities she covers, including facts with an unexpectedly fun cultural bent (we love the Willie Nelson trivia on the Austin page) and a modern spin (city parks and food trucks get prominent mentions).
– goop
Touch the Best Bones: Book of Bones and its Korean debut!
Korean publisher 키다리의 참좋은날 made a surpasingly useful video showing exactly what it's like to experience the textures pages. They even changed the title to "Touch the best bones" to really make the special feature stand out. Why didn't we think of that?!
Activity / Extension for The 50 States
"Happy Presidents Day!!! How I am celebrating with a toddler & preschooler: a U.S. Presidents scavenger hunt & bingo game. I did this last year & it was a hit — I illustrated portraits of a variety of past Presidents using the artwork at the back of the “50 States” book as a guide (link in profile). I laminated the cards and made a bingo-type reference sheet. I hid the cards all around the house and the kids hunted for the Presidents with their Easter baskets. This year we also have President flashcards scored from the #targetdollarspot this summer ///// George and Abe peg dolls available over at my Etsy shop ❤️" -- @the.silvan.reverie always has incredible ideas for her homeschool projects that combine art and exploration and lots of other things, too. https://www.instagram.com/p/BfYUrqfnMOI/?hl=en&tagged=50statesbook
Activity / Extension for Book of Bones: X-Ray Animals
in Activity
"X-ray animals! After reading this stunning & informative book (which also reads well) I had the kids make x-rays of animals from the book using black card stock (I cut the animal shapes) and Q-tips cut to a range of sizes. This book was a huge hit for my animal-loving crew, and the activity has to be one of my favorite things we have done together in recent memory." #xisforxray #letterxunit#bookofbones - @the.silvan.reverie
NEW: 50 States Matching Game
The best part of publishing as part of a team is seeing what the various geniuses come up with...like this very cool, very fun, very useful The 50 States Matching Game! So happy to have worked with Rock Point Gift & Stationery (Quarto's stationary arm) on this beauty. They've also created a snazzy Flashcard Set that I'll write about later.
DETAILS: Grow your state smarts by matching famous faces, landmarks, and geographical features! The facts and art in this handsome and sturdy USA memory game is culled from the book that School Library Journal called "A colorful introduction to the 50 states" and "an above-average title on a popular topic.”
This 7" x 9" memory game includes 51 pairs to find and match, a legend with extra info about the state, and a sturdy case.
Available wherever books are sold, including your local independent bookstore!