author/illustrator interviews

[chat + giveaway] Candice Ransom on Juneberry Blue

~ jama ~ 9 Comments

Today we’re happy to welcome back prolific award-winning author, intrepid adventurer and pie lover Candice Ransom to discuss her latest middle grade novel, Juneberry Blue (Peachtree, 2024), officially out next week.

Set in the tiny forgotten town of Morning Glory, Virginia (pop: 8), this beautifully crafted tale of magical realism centers around eleven-year-old Andie Jennings, who instead of inheriting her family’s unique ability to create life-changing recipes, discovers her special gift is being able to communicate with spirits.

If Andie and her brainiac friend Tanner can help the local ghosts at the abandoned Juneberry Blue soda factory ward off a shady property developer, gain access to a locked tower and unravel secrets surrounding the factory’s closing, they might be able to save their sleepy town. Reopening the factory would draw visitors to Morning Glory, generate business for her family’s struggling diner, and best of all, bring Andie’s father home for good from his truck-driving job.

On Test Day, Andie hopes her juneberry pancakes will confirm she’s inherited the matrilineal gift. Juneberries resemble blueberries but taste more like a combination of dark cherries and raisins with a hint of almond (click for recipe at Spirit and Abundance).

A heartwarming, suspenseful story, Juneberry Blue is equal parts fairy tale, magic, mystery, and local history flavored with sly humor. Candice celebrates her love of small towns, rural settings, close knit communities, and the power of storytelling passed down through generations. Add a ghost cat, memorable characters, a sentient potted plant with attitude, a tiny terrarium, and cool animal guides for a thoroughly enchanting read. Oh, and did I mention the cathead biscuits and bacon, grilled pound cake, butterscotch pie, skillet fried potatoes, walnut brownies and fried bologna sandwiches? 😍

Our thanks to Candice for dropping by to tell us more and for sharing such wonderful personal photos.

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[chat + giveaway] Emma Bland Smith on The Fabulous Fannie Farmer

~ jama ~ 32 Comments

Today we’re happy to welcome San Francisco author Emma Bland Smith to discuss her latest picture book, The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook (Calkins Creek, 2024). Charmingly illustrated by Susan Reagan, this engaging, well researched account of Fannie’s professional life as an author, culinary expert and teacher officially hits shelves today and will inspire you to whip up one of Fannie’s recipes. 🙂

Even if you’re unfamiliar with the Fannie Farmer Cookbook (initially published as The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book in 1896), Fannie’s lasting contribution of standardized level measurements is likely part and parcel of your cooking and baking regime. Yes, we have Fannie to thank every time we level off a cup of flour or sugar with a butter knife before adding it to the mixing bowl.

Fannie’s precise, comprehensive recipe instructions included scientific explanations of the chemical processes that occurred in food during cooking, taking away the guesswork and ensuring consistent results.

So who was this woman who revolutionized home cooking, making it accessible to everyone? How did her can-do spirit enable her to pursue her passion for the culinary arts — even opening her own cooking school — after being sidelined from a college education due to polio-related partial paralysis?

And how many can say that their cookbook remains in print 100+ years after it was first published, having sold more than 7 million copies to date?

I know you’ll enjoy hearing lots more from Emma. We thank her for sharing her insights and so many wonderful photos!

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[book birthday+ giveaway] Chatting with Charles Ghigna about The Father Goose Treasury of Poetry

~ jama ~ 54 Comments

We’re excited and honored that beloved Alabama poet, author, and intrepid tree house dweller Charles Ghigna is here to tell us all about The Father Goose Treasury of Poetry (Schiffer Kids, 2023), which is officially out today!!!

This 101-poem anthology is a thing of inimitable beauty, magic and wonder. Poems are presented in seven sections: Home, Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, Animals, and Poetry. All are graced with Sara Brezzi’s evocative, sometimes whimsical mixed media illustrations – a perfect complement to Ghigna’s lovingly crafted verses.

The treasury has a classic feel and belongs on all library, classroom, and home shelves to be savored and shared again and again. It showcases Ghigna’s love of the natural world, his astute powers of observation, and his uncanny ability to capture small fleeting moments that might otherwise be missed.

Kids will delight in the stunning images, wide range of emotions, effortless lyricism and gentle humor. We’re reminded of fresh ways to see the world through a child’s eyes, even learning how chickens really feel about chicken soup, and whether pigs resent barbecue. Irresistible, right?

Let’s find out more from Father Goose himself. Honk!

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[author chat + giveaway] Patricia Toht on Pick a Perfect Egg

~ jama ~ 25 Comments

We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the season of blossoms, bunnies, chicks and eggs than by talking to Patricia Toht about her brand new picture book, Pick a Perfect Egg (Candlewick, 2023).

This third title in the wonderful series that includes Pick a Pine Tree and Pick a Pumpkin is once again beautifully illustrated by British artist Jarvis, and is, in many ways, a perfect book. 

Pitch perfect rhyming text? Check. Lively, inventive, never predictable rhymes frolic and sing as the narrative hums along. An absolute joy to read aloud. 

Illustrations that perfectly detail each story beat while capturing all the joys of the season? Check. Gorgeous colors and textures showcase spring loveliness, while an endearing main character positively sparkles as she picks, dyes, decorates, and hunts for eggs with neighborhood friends. And her adorable dog is always smiling. So much fun!

Pick a perfect egg
with care --
choose a white one
nestled there.

From farm fresh egg to Easter egg, this story is eggsactly what the Easter Bunny ordered. Sure to be a perennial favorite, it’s proof positive that when it comes to authors and illustrators, Toht and Jarvis are perfectly paired. 🙂

Welcome back, Patricia!!

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Author Patricia Toht

Please share a fond Easter egg memory from your childhood. How did you like to decorate your eggs? 

I grew up in a big family, so we had lots of coloring going on! My parents would spread a big drop cloth on our long table, and line it with mugs. I loved the fizzing tablets that dissolved in water to reveal their colors, and the smell of vinegar that was added to set the color. 

The “Easter Bunny” hid the colored eggs around the house, along with plastic eggs…until the year the dog ate all of the hard-boiled eggs, and we woke up Easter morning to find a very vomit-y dog! 

Childhood pic of Patricia (left front) with her family.
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[Chat + Giveaway] Aram Kim on Tomorrow is New Year’s Day

~ jama ~ 24 Comments

Today we’re welcoming back NYC-based author, illustrator, book designer and art director Aram Kim to talk about her brand new picture book, Tomorrow is New Year’s Day: Seollal, a Korean Celebration of the Lunar New Year (FSG, 2022).

This year, Lunar New Year falls on Sunday, January 22. While many of us may think of Lunar New Year as Chinese New Year, there are actually other Asian communities (including Vietnamese and South Korean) who also observe this important holiday at the same time, each with their own set of traditions.

I was especially happy to see Tomorrow is New Year’s Day because I don’t know of any other picture books about Korean Lunar New Year. Aram has created a much needed, charmingly illustrated, truly delightful story centered around family, togetherness, and the joy of celebrating age-old cultural traditions.

Since it’s her favorite day of the year, Mina is excited to share the customs of Seollal with all her classmates. Dressed in traditional clothes (hanbok), she shows them how to play games, do sebae (a special bow to respect elders), and how to make tteokguk (rice cake soup). She’s proud to have both parents there to help, but her little brother Miro is in a bad mood. Will he spoil her special day?

I love Aram’s colorful, emotive illustrations. You can just feel the happiness and excitement of Mina’s classmates (as well as Miro’s obstinance), and there are lots of interesting details for eager eyes to discover in each picture.

She varies single and double page spreads (some with speech bubbles) with step-by-step action sequences, displaying a masterful use of scale and cool perspectives (check out the yutnori board game illo). There’s also an illustrated recipe! Dare I say, I find her art absolutely adorable (Cat on the Bus fans have surprises in store too). 

Let’s find out more from Aram, who was born in Ohio, grew up in South Korea, then later returned to the U.S. to study art and work in children’s book publishing. 

Saehae bok mani badeuseyo! Happy New Year!

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