ISSUE PREVIEW
DECEMBER 2021
Our December line-up includes interviews with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Ashley Belote, D. J. Steinberg, Danielle Lee, Philip and Erin Stead, Oliver Boydell, Larry Smith, Prince A. Sanders, Charles Beyl, and Lucy Cousins! Our newest columnist Taylor Moxey discusses gratitude, Judy Newman is ready for winter, Linda Harkey has a doggone writing assignment for little readers, and Nick reviews Encanto. Check out our newest book reviews and holiday gift guide! It's all inside! Happy holidays to all of our story monsters!
Sponsored by Linda Harkey.
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FEATURES
GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM
Hits a Home Run with New Picture Book
by Melissa Fales
By all accounts, Gavin Newsom is a successful man. In addition to being elected the 40th Governor of California and recently surviving a failed recall attempt, he’s managed more than twenty businesses and served as the mayor of San Francisco despite struggling with dyslexia his whole life. In his new picture book, Ben and Emma’s Big Hit, Newsom seeks to show the millions of children who experience learning differences that within those challenges they can find opportunities to excel. “For me, dyslexia turned out to be the greatest gift and the reason for any success I’ve had in life,” he says. “Dyslexia isn’t a burden, it’s a gift. This book is about how all of those liabilities you feel when you have learning differences can become your greatest strengths.” Read the full article.
ASHLEY BELOTE
Invites Little Readers to Climb The Me Tree
by Melissa Fales
When she was growing up, Ashley Belote’s parents owned a small, independent publishing company, providing her with an insider’s view of the industry and instilling her with a lifelong appreciation for books of all kinds. “I would travel to book shows with them and run the cash register and help out any little way I could,” she says. “I developed a love of reading through that involvement, and I had access to hundreds of books all the time.” Belote recently made her debut as an author/illustrator with her early reader book, The Me Tree, released on November 9. Subscribe now to read more.
D. J. STEINBERG
Pens a Festive Picture Book of Poems
by Melissa Fales
D.J. Steinberg’s best-selling Here I Come! series offers books about many of the major milestones in a young reader’s life. The latest book in the series, Christmas, Here I Come! heralds the arrival of what is one of the most anticipated days of the whole year for children. “Christmas, Here I Come! is a collection of funny poems about different aspects of the holiday, from dragging the box of decorations up from the basement every year to Christmas dinner and everything in between,” says Steinberg. Subscribe now to read more.
CHANGEMAKER:
Danielle Lee
by Melissa Fales
Sixteen-year-old Danielle Lee is passionate about the environment. A scientist at heart, she’s always learning more about the Earth, and specifically about the manmade issues that are harming natural habitats and threatening life as we know it on the planet. Eager to sound the alarm about climate change and global warming, Lee has written and self-published a children’s book called Still Waiting in the hope that once kids understand what’s happening and how urgently change is needed to stop it, they’ll be willing to take the necessary steps to protect the Earth’s future. “I am a strong believer in the idea that educating kids at a younger age is much more effective than trying to cram it into the minds of already-matured adults,” says Lee. Subscribe now to read more.
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PHILIP AND ERIN STEAD
Bring Back a Beloved Character
by Melissa Fales
Ten years ago, husband and wife creative team Philip and Erin Stead won the Caldecott Medal for their 2010 children’s book, A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Over the course of the past decade, they welcomed a daughter, toughed out the pandemic, and realized just how much they missed their buddy, Amos. Now, they’re sharing another adventure with the beloved zookeeper in their new book, Amos McGee Misses the Bus. “It took ten years because we weren’t totally convinced it was a good idea,” says Erin. “We didn’t want to spoil anyone’s experience with the first book. The sequel was hard to get right. We had to be very careful.” Subscribe now to read more.
CHESS CHAMPION OLIVER BOYDELL
is Ahead of His Game
by Melissa Fales
Sixteen-year-old Danielle Lee is passionate about the environment. A scientist at heart, she’s always learning more about the Earth, and specifically about the manmade issues that are harming natural habitats and threatening life as we know it on the planet. Eager to sound the alarm about climate change and global warming, Lee has written and self-published a children’s book called Still Waiting in the hope that once kids understand what’s happening and how urgently change is needed to stop it, they’ll be willing to take the necessary steps to protect the Earth’s future. “I am a strong believer in the idea that educating kids at a younger age is much more effective than trying to cram it into the minds of already-matured adults,” says Lee. Subscribe now to read more.
DON’T MISS AN ISSUE
LARRY SMITH:
Created an Inspiring Collection
by Melissa Fales
The Covid-19 pandemic has been hard on everyone, but the particular challenges it presented for teachers, students, and parents of school-age children was undeniably difficult. From the social isolation to the need to adapt to new technologies for remote learning, young people and those charged with educating them had it rough. A Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year, is the tenth book to emerge from Larry Smith’s Six-Word Memoirs project. Released in October, it’s a collection of hundreds of six-word memoirs written by those who tried to teach, learn, and parent during those unprecedented days. “I’ve always been interested in getting stories from regular people,” says Smith. “Just regular people, not celebrities or someone stuck on a mountain forced to cut off their leg. This collection of six-word memoirs is from regular people doing the best they can during a dark time.” Subscribe now to read more.
ONE TO READ:
PRINCE A. SANDERS
by Melissa Fales
In his children’s book series, The Extraordinarily Ordinary Life of Prince, Prince A. Sanders uses his personal experiences from growing up to encourage children to follow their hearts and create their own extraordinarily ordinary lives. In the second and latest book of the series, Everybody’s Good at Something, Sanders shares how he followed his passion for dance even though it labeled him as different and made him a target for bullies. “As a child I thought my life was pretty ordinary,” says Sanders. “Later in life, as I would share stories with friends and colleagues, many of them found my life to be pretty special. It was through their eyes that I discovered my ordinary life may have been extraordinary after all.” Subscribe now to read more.
COLUMNS
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Life of a Reader
Decembrrrr
by Judy Newman - Read Now!
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Q&A
with Charles Beyl
by Julianne Black DiBlasi
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The Book Bug
Lucy Cousins
by Raven Howell
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Monsters at the Movies
Encanto
reviewed by Nick Spake
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Liv On Life
Which Way Home
by Olivia Amiri
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Doc's Dog Days
Arrival at Ocate Mesa
by Linda Harkey
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