CURRENT ISSUE
Most Perfect You by Jazmyn Simon, illustrations by Tamisha Anthony
CURRENT ISSUE PREVIEW
MAY 2022
Our May lineup includes interviews with Chris Grabenstein, Shannon Hale, Camila Alves McConaughey and Adam Mansbach, Charlotte Offsay, Lindsey Leavitt, Jazmyn Simon, Sue Ganz-Schmitt, Monique Kamaria Chheda, and Liz Garton Scanlon!
Taylor Moxey is spreading some love, Judy Newman's column has gone to the dogs, Linda Harkey has a tale-wagging writing assignment for little readers, Olivia Amiri is learning new life skills, and Nick Spake reviews Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Check out our newest book reviews and spring reading list! It's all inside!
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FEATURES
CHRIS GRABENSTEIN
Is the Smartest Author in the Universe
by Melissa Fales
Chris Grabenstein has written over 50 children’s books, including his New York Times bestselling Mr. Lemoncello series. Grabenstein’s latest, Genius Camp, is the second in his Smartest Kid in the Universe series, starring Jake McQuade; an average 12-year-old boy who becomes extraordinary after ingesting knowledge capsules he mistakes for jellybeans. When Grabenstein launched his career as an author, he wrote for adults until an editor suggested one manuscript be rewritten for a middle grade audience. “That book was The Crossroads, and it went on to win an Agatha and Anthony Award for best mystery for kids,” says Grabenstein. “While writing that book, I discovered my inner 12-year-old and realized that was the audience I was meant to write for.”
SHANNON HALE
Writes a Book for Everyone to Read
by Melissa Fales
Shannon Hale’s new picture book, This Book is Not for You, takes aim at the notion that boys and girls can both enjoy books with male protagonists, but books featuring female main characters are only suitable for girls to read. The New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor author uses humor to make the point that there is no such thing as a “boy book” and a “girl book.” She sets the scene with a boy excited about the arrival of the bookmobile. “The regular bookmobile lady is away, and her substitute has different ideas about who can read which books,” says Hale. “When Stanley wants to check out a book that sounds interesting to him, the bookmobile man lets him know that it’s about a girl and suggests he can’t read that since he’s a boy. And then, silliness ensues.”
CAMILA ALVES MCCONAUGHEY AND ADAM MANSBACH
Serve Up a Picture Book for Picky Eaters
by Melissa Fales
Almost every parent has struggled to get their children to try new, healthy foods. Some parents resort to bribery, others pretend that a loaded fork is an airplane, and some just give up. In her debut picture book, Just Try One Bite, Camila Alves McConaughey offers a twist to this common household battle by making the kids the ones encouraging their parents to sample more nutritious fare. McConaughey teamed up on this project with Adam Mansbach, author of Go the F*** to Sleep, the premier book on another familiar parental problem. McConaughey says Mansbach provided the much-needed comic relief to Just Try One Bite. “Humor was such an important part of this book for me,” she says. “It had to be funny. I didn’t want it to be preachy.”
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CHARLOTTE OFFSAY
Pens a Charming Tribute to Grandmas
by Melissa Fales
In her new picture book, A Grandma’s Magic, author Charlotte Offsay celebrates the precious bond between grandmother and grandchild. A Grandma’s Magic touches on some of the favorite activities grandmothers and grandchildren often do together, with an emphasis on the warm, reassuring presence that only a grandmother can exude. “It’s for kids who ache at the end of a visit, and for their grandmas, whose love and tenderness is with us no matter how far away they are,” says Offsay. “I truly believe that my grandma’s magic has shaped me and stays with me even when we are an ocean apart.”
DON’T MISS AN ISSUE
LINDSEY LEAVITT
Introduces Readers to the Neighborhood New Life Coach
by Melissa Fales
In Lindsey Leavitt’s new book, Willis Wilbur Wows the World, readers meet Willis: a 9-year-old boy facing a long, lonely summer vacation because his best friend is going away on a trip. To fill the void, Willis embraces his entrepreneurial side. He starts a life-coaching business to help other kids solve their problems and achieve their dreams. “Willis is my favorite character I’ve ever written,” says Leavitt. “I know you aren’t supposed to pick favorites, but that rule was probably made up by a not-favorite kid. Adult characters who are almost as cool as Willis include: Ted Lasso and Leslie Knope.”
JAZMYN SIMON
Writes a Perfect Picture Book Debut
by Melissa Fales
Best known for her role as Dr. Julie Greane on HBO’s Ballers, actress Jazmyn Simon has recently released her first picture book, Most Perfect You. The book, inspired by a heart-wrenching conversation Simon once shared with her daughter, encourages young people to embrace everything that makes them uniquely themselves. “In all honesty, I am trying to write books I would have liked as a child,” says Simon. “Books that my children would enjoy; books with messages I feel they need to hear.”
ONE TO READ
SUE GANZ-SCHMITT
by Melissa Fales
When author Sue Ganz-Schmitt isn’t running a marathon, performing on Broadway, earning a yoga certification, or studying for her upcoming real estate license exam, she’s writing children’s books. Her latest book, Now I’m a Bird, recently won the Story Monsters Approved Book of the Year. It’s about a young girl named Julianna who, slowly, feather-by-feather, transforms into a bird. At first, her classmates tease her about her new wings, but Julianna eventually comes to be proud of her exquisite uniqueness. “Now I’m a Bird shows kids that we all have vulnerabilities,” says Ganz-Schmitt. “Whether our differences are external (like Julianna’s feathers) or hidden on the inside … we all can feel as if we are ‘other.’ We are each wonderfully different and can feel joy in honoring those differences in ourselves and each other.”
COLUMNS
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Life of a Reader
MAY
by Judy Newman -
Q&A
MONIQUE KAMARIA CHHEDA
by Julianne Black DiBlasi -
The Book Bug
LIZ GARTON SCANLON
by Raven Howell -
Monsters at the Movies
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
by Nick Spake -
Taylor Talk
Shower the People You Love with Love…
by Taylor Moxey -
Doc's Dog Days
NEWT’S ICE CREAM
by Linda Harkey -
Liv On Life
LIFE SKILLS
by Olivia Amiri
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