1. Happy September!! What better way to anticipate the best season of the year than with Heegyum Kim’s delicious art. The little girl and her animal friends are celebrating fall with pumpkin cupcakes and donuts, apple pie and carrot cake. Yes, please. 🙂

Originally from South Korea, Heegyum is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer currently based in NYC, where she lives with her husband and two corgis, Fry and Mandu.

She studied Communication Design at Pratt Institute and Ewha Women’s Institute in Seoul. After working as a graphic designer in the beauty industry for ten years, she decided to shift her focus to illustration. Her favorite subjects are animals and nature depicted in a whimsical, humorous, and graphic style. She likes to explore shapes and colors to show characters’ unique personalities, and typically works in gouache and colored pencil.

She recently published her first children’s picture book, Un Hiver Chez Bleuet (Michi, 2023). This project actually began during the pandemic, when she shared a drawing of a blue bear on Instagram (she’d always loved the color blue and often made pictures entirely in blue). Her followers loved it so much that she started a Blue the Bear series, which she made into a postcard book.

She was then contacted by a French editor, asking if she’d like to do a Blue the Bear picture book. I do like the idea of a homebody bear who enjoys doing simple things — reading, drinking tea, etc. One winter’s day he’s forced to leave the house because he’s out of blueberry pie (read more about this charming book here).

In addition to this book, Heegyum’s published a series of instructional drawing books, and a coloring book featuring Mr. Fox, another of her favorite characters.

Learn more at Heegyum Kim’s Official Website and Instagram. You can purchase prints, stationery and handmade gifts at her Etsy Shop. Check out her YouTube channel for some instructional videos.

Enjoy this one about how she transitioned from a graphic designer to an illustrator.

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2. New Picture Book Alert: Today is official release day for Betty and the Mysterious Visitor by Anne Twist and Emily Sutton (Candlewick, 2023):

Betty loves visiting Grandma and playing in her beautiful garden, Acorn Hollows. It is her most favorite place in the whole world! Together they tend to Grandma’s wildflowers and berry bushes, and even make jam to sell at the local farmers market. But when a mysterious creature starts destroying the Hollows, Betty is determined to find a way to stop it. Can she come up with a plan to save their beloved garden?

Debut author Anne Twist creates a truly touching celebration of nature and time spent together, lovingly brought to life by renowned illustrator Emily Sutton’s exuberant, joyful images.

As you probably know, I’m a big Emily Sutton fan and have been looking forward to this new book for awhile. Can’t wait to read Anne Twist’s story and pore over Emily’s sure-to-be gorgeous illustrations. You may know Anne is singer/songwriter Harry Styles’s mother, a popular Instagram influencer (2.6 million+ followers) and a longtime philanthropist. This is her picture book debut.

Anne and Emily are doing a virtual story time and Q&A event via the Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Texas, this coming Sunday, September 10, 2023 at 1 p.m. CDT/ 2 p.m. ET!! You can purchase a ticket for this Zoom webinar at Eventbright. Your ticket price includes a copy of the book with a bookplate signed by Anne.

*Sidenote: Back in July, Emily met King Charles III at a celebration marking 400 years since the initial publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio. As I mentioned in a previous Roundup, Emily is illustrating the very first children’s edition of the FF (pub date, Spring 2024).

Congratulations and Happy Book Birthday, Anne and Emily!!!

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3. Ceramics Fix: So excited that award winning children’s author-illustrator Anna Alter is now selling ceramic pieces via her website shop.

She decorates mugs, plates, platters and bowls in her signature style with flowers, birds and other animals. Small batches of handmade pieces are either handbuilt or wheel thrown with a white clay body, then painted with an underglaze using the same brushes she uses for her book illustrations. Finally, she applies a clear glaze coat with a subtle crackle finish.

All pieces are microwave and dishwasher safe. Love the sweet, delicate designs! Follow Anna on Instagram for process videos and to keep abreast of new items. FYI, you can also purchase prints, cards, and books at her online shop.

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4. New Mouthwatering Middle Grade Book Alert! Look what’s coming out a week from today on September 12: Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods, by Grace Lin (Little, Brown BFYR, 2023)!!

Newbery and Caldecott honoree and New York Times bestselling author Grace Lin delivers a groundbreaking, lushly illustrated, and beautifully written full-color book that explores the whimsical myths and stories behind your favorite American Chinese food.

From fried dumplings to fortune cookies, here are the tales behind your favorite foods. 

Do you know the stories behind delectable dishes—like the fun connection between scallion pancakes and pizza? Or how dumplings cured a village’s frostbitten ears? Or how wonton soup tells about the creation of the world?  

Separated into courses like a Chinese menu, these tales—based in real history and folklore—are filled with squabbling dragons, magical fruits, and hungry monks. This book will bring you to far-off times and marvelous places, all while making your mouth water. And, along the way, you might just discover a deeper understanding of the resilience and triumph behind this food, and what makes it undeniably American.  

Award-winning and bestselling author Grace Lin provides a visual and storytelling feast as she gives insight on the history, legends, and myths behind your favorite American Chinese dishes. Chinese Menu makes the perfect gift book for anyone who loves good food—and an even better story.

Does this one have my name written all over it, or what? So, so excited to feast on what promises to be a fun, enlightening, inspiring, totally delectable book by longtime fave author Grace Lin! It’s one thing to savor dishes you particularly love, quite another to learn the stories behind them. Nothing enhances flavor and appreciation more.

Perfect for readers ages 8-12, for adults to share with younger children, or really for anyone of any age with an interest in culinary history and good stories, Chinese Menu will satisfy the palate with about 40 lip smacking stories. It’s already earned **five starred reviews**:

The book is available for pre-order right now: Educators, if you pre-order from the Carle Museum, you’ll receive a free virtual classroom visit with Grace celebrating the Moon Festival on September 29. Everyone is welcome to pre-order from Porter Square Books for signed copies.

Check out the Chinese Menu webpage for One Minute Myths videos and downloadable PDFs of recipes like Buddha’s Delight and Kung Pao Chicken. Enjoy this sample video about Fortune Cookies:

Click here for The Chinese Menu Book Tour dates. After her Porter Square Books Launch Party this Sunday, September 10, Grace will be heading out to the West Coast for lots of other fun events.

You can see why I’m excited (and extra hungry for) Grace’s new book!! Pre-order your copy now — what are you waiting for? 🙂

Congratulations, Grace!

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5. More Alphabet Love: Last year I featured a couple of Shelli Graham’s ABC tea towels — “A Very English Alphabet” and “A Very Scottish Alphabet.” Recently I saw even more of her wonderful designs at one of my fave places to shop online, The Bee’s Knees British Imports. They carry some of her greeting cards and tins in addition to tea towels.

The cards measure about 5″ x 8″, while the tins are around 5.5″ x 7.5″ x 2″ deep. I admit to being addicted to tins; no matter what size, I manage to find good use for them (and there are SO many wonderful designs!). These smaller size tins would be great for storing jewelry, beads, stationery, coins, buttons, stamps, or other precious bits and bobs.

The tea towels are made from premium quality cotton, and the ‘blank inside’ cards are printed onto high quality trucard, a specialist card made to last (glossy and scratch proof on the outside, uncoated on the inside).

Now I know my ABCs, next time won’t you sing with me? 🙂

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6. New Novel Alert: Two weeks from today, September 19, 2023, will mark the official release of Frances Park’s The Summer My Sister Was Cleopatra Moon (Heliotrope Books, 2023):

The Summer My Sister Was Cleopatra Moon is an emotionally charged, cautionary tale about alienation and the spiritual deformity that ensues when it feels like the whole world hates you. In the summer of ’76, with no other Koreans in Glover, Virginia, fourteen-year-old Marcy Moon idolizes her irreverent big sister Cleo, who has her pick of lovers and uses her sexuality to prevail against racism. In Marcy’s eyes, every guy would cut off his ponytail, burn his guitar and shoot old ladies if you told him to. Her dream, a dangerous one, is to be like Cleo. Central to the story is the girls’ inability to bond with their mom, who left her heart behind in North Korea and finds it difficult to love her daughters the way a mother should. Most heartbreaking is the sisters’ love for their dad, a complicated and worldly man who wants to be the best father and provider, but, in the end, cannot escape his demons.

About this book, Frances says:

“My forthcoming novel THE SUMMER MY SISTER WAS CLEOPATRA MOON is a revised and streamlined version of a novel that was published in 2000, long before the era of K-Pop and K-Dramas. Nearly a quarter century later, the Oscars have proven that stories about the Asian American experience have certainly come to light, and that audiences are receptive. That said, playing in my mind like vintage footage, I was always hoping that somehow, someday, I could bring the Moon family back to life, sisters Marcy and Cleo cruising around in that yellow Mustang on their way to Taco Town in the summer of ’76. And, indeed, the stars fell into place.”

I enjoyed the 2000 version of this novel and am looking forward to reading this updated edition. Needless to say, I have an especially keen interest in stories about the Korean American experience, and since I’m already a fan of Frances’s powerful writing, I’m sure I will not be disappointed. I remain in awe of her ability to write so well for both children and adults, fiction and nonfiction.

Congratulations, Frances!

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7. Crank up the music! Folk rock duo Pete and Maura Kennedy have a new CD out! Just released August 25, 2023, Headwinds is their first studio album in five years.

In an interview with Andrew Frolish at Americana UK, Maura discusses how she and Pete wrote the songs for Headwinds:

“Back when the pandemic struck New York City, we left our Greenwich Village apartment and moved in with my sister, Suzy Allman, and her husband in a small village perched above the Hudson River. During the years of lockdown, we spent a lot of time outdoors in nature – hiking, bicycling, kayaking – and the experience was one of growth, personally and creatively. It was in those surroundings, amid the stress of the pandemic, that we wrote the songs for ‘Headwinds’, and recorded them in our own studio.”

Also during those pandemic days, Pete and Maura explored classic American songwriting in depth and did free livestream shows every Sunday at 2 p.m. (EST). Though I had seen them perform before in the D.C. area (and as part of Nanci Griffith’s Blue Moon Orchestra), I knew very little about their individual personalities. Every Sunday afternoon I looked forward to watching them on YouTube, and can say their wonderful music, candor, caring and humanity made those dark days more bearable for me and so many others. Especially liked their tributes to Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and of course, Nanci Griffith. Music uplifts and heals!

Now that they’re back to performing in-person live gigs, they do livestream shows every second Sunday of each month (watch on YouTube or FB). Recently, they performed the entire Headwinds album — all 13 songs in order — for Livestream #139. They also explained the genesis of each song. Interesting and well worth watching!

Here is a video of the title track, beautifully filmed at the Hudson River, Saugerties Lighthouse, and a nearby lake surrounded by abandoned buildings. Read more about the inspiration behind this particular song at Americana UK. Enjoy!

For more, visit The Kennedys Official Website, their YouTube Channel (all their Livestream Shows are archived there!), and their Facebook Page.

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8. Mixed Bag: Nothing could be cuter than a soft and cuddly novelty bag by Jellycat. Hard to pick a fave, but of course Mr Cornelius likes the Bartholomew Bear bag best.

As for me, I think the Popcorn bag is pretty cool, but you gotta admit, the Happy Boiled Egg bag is irresistible.

All of these are suitable for ages 3 and up. See the full collection at the Jellycat website, along with all their other fabulous soft toys. So much fun to browse. This is one time I don’t mind being left holding the bag! 😀

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9. Topping off this roundup with a Roundup: Check out “Books That Are Incredibly Filling,” a recent mostly picture book roundup of new and recent food-related titles from the Taste of Tundra blog.

All except one of the picture books are new to me, as are the two middle grade novels on the list. I’m looking forward to checking out these delectables. I do like Tundra, Canada’s oldest children’s book publisher (they celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2017). They were ahead of the curve when it came to publishing multicultural books, with many good titles in their catalog well before the “We Need Diverse Books” movement in the U.S.

Here are some titles in their roundup:

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I’m sharing this month’s Swoon Tune to mark a significant September milestone: our 45th wedding anniversary. 🙂

Though I was obviously an infant at the time 😋, I remember everything like it was yesterday. Ceremony at Putney Methodist Church, reception at The Elizabethan Rooms in Queen’s Gate. Family flew into London from Hawaii and New Hampshire. “Greensleeves” played on the lute, boar’s head paté, syllabub, and mead all around. The bride carried pink roses; the groom wore a 3-piece grey suit.

And it all began with this song. “How Deep Is Your Love” was written and recorded in early 1977 by the Bee Gees, then released in September of that year, about a month after Len and I first met in Wimbledon, England. You probably know it was included on the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.

We saw the film with our friend Jim at the Odeon Cinema in Putney. The movie soundtrack became the soundtrack of our year-long courtship. As we sped along country roads in Len’s Prussian blue Triumph, “How Deep is Your Love” is all we heard on the radio as England revealed its secrets and splendors. Of course “How Deep Is Your Love” quickly became ‘our song.’ Of course.

The song won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Group in 1978, and was nominated for “Best Original Song” at the 35th Golden Globe Awards. Barry Gibb has stated that it is his favorite Bee Gees song.

Thought I’d share The Bee Gees’ official video and two covers, the first by Australian guitar virtuoso Tommy Emanuel, the second by Stan Taylor with Brother Stone and The Get Down. Such a fab song that lends itself to so many different interpretations; I thought you’d enjoy Tommy’s solo guitar, which spotlights the sheer beauty of the melody, and with Stan Taylor’s rendition, it’s nice to revel in the song’s warm harmonies and textures.

Do you and your significant other have a special song?

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HAPPY TUESDAY

HAPPY WEEK

ANTICIPATE FALL

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLIN FIRTH (SEPTEMBER 10)

TAP DANCE

MAKE AND EAT PIE

WATCH SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

READ GOOD BOOKS

THINK BLUE

BE TRUE

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**Copyright © 2023 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.