Here's pb24Galore member Jenin Mohammed's new book

THEY BUILT ME FOR FREEDOM

written by Tonya Duncan Ellis and illustrated by Jenin Mohammed.

Balzer and Bray, May 14, 2024

About the book

A moving picture book about the history of Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas—and the origins of Juneteenth.

When people visit me, they are free—to run, play, gather, and rejoice.

They built me to remember.

On June 19, 1865, the 250,000 enslaved people of Texas learned they were free, ending slavery in the United States. This day was soon to be memorialized with the dedication of a park in Houston. The park was called Emancipation Park, and the day it honored would come to be known as Juneteenth.  

In the voice and memory of the park itself—its fields and pools, its protests and cookouts, and, most of all, its people—the 150-year story of Emancipation Park is brought to life. Through lyrical text and vibrant artwork, Tonya Duncan Ellis and Jenin Mohammed have crafted an ode to the struggle, triumph, courage, and joy of Black America—and the promise of a people to remember.

Cover Reveal & Enter to Win a Portfolio Review!

Thank you, Vivian Kirkfield for hosting our UNICYCLE DAD cover reveal on her blog! https://viviankirkfield.com/ Enter to win a portfolio critique #giveaway from ALICIA! And a manuscript review from SARAH HOVORKA. Go to Vivian's blog to enter. Vivian will draw a winner by the end of October.

UNICYCLE DAD

written by Sarah Hovorka and illustrated by Alicia Schwab
Amicus Ink, March 12th, 2024!
You can pre-order the book here.
 @amicus_publishing @authorsarahhovorka @viviankirkfield

#PB24Galore: new picture books to explore!

Meet our fabulous team of explorers! We all have new picture books in 2024. Check back for more news and giveaways.

ADAM MING linktr.ee/adamming

ALICIA SCHWAB linktr.ee/AliciaSchwab

COLLEEN MUSKE colleenmuske.com

JEANETTE FAZZARI JONES https://jeanettejones1981.wixsite.com/jeanettefazzarijo

JENIN MOHAMMED https://www.jeninmohammed.com/books/

MIRKA HOKKANEN smart.bio/mirkahokkanen

SARAH KURPIEL https://sarahkurpiel.com/

ZAINAB KHAN https://www.facebook.com/zainab.khan.967

Sun Sailor Newspaper

On August 18, 2023, my local Twin Cities paper, the Sun Sailor, ran a feature on our book, THE HOUSE WE SHELTERED IN / THE MASKS WE WORE, written by Freeman Ng and illustrated by 16 illustrators.

The book is about the pandemic and how the world learned to live during this challenging time in our history. A dual volume: two stories that start from each end of a flippable book. The flippable dual structure of the book seemed a natural expression of its yin-yang nature. The first poem, The House We Sheltered In, is inward-looking. It’s about comfort and security. The second poem, The Masks We Wore, is outward-looking, about the actions we took in the world to combat the virus.

Order your copy today at www.pandemicpb.com

Reading Wednesdays

What are you reading? This week, I’ve hauled a big stack of #libraryloot to the studio!

Bizzie Mizz Lizzie, by David Shannon
Beware the Monster, by Michaël Escoffier and Amandine Piu
Bug in a Vacuum, by Melanie Watt
That’s What Dinosaurs Do, by Jory John and Pete Oswald
Dragons Rules, Princesses Drool, by Courtney Pippin Mathur
Pandamonia, by Chris Owen and Chris Nixon
Gator Dad, Brian Lies
What Kind of Car Does a T-Rex Drive?, by Mark Lee and Brian Biggs
Billy Bloo Is Stuck in Goo, by Jennifer Hamburg and Ross Burach
The Snurtch, by Sean Ferrell and Charles Santoso
Bonkers, by Cath Jones and Chris Jevons
All the Wild Wonders, by Wendy Cooling and Piet Grobler
Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein, by Linda Bailey and Júlia Sardà
Where is my Balloon?, by Ariel Bernstein and Scott Magoon
Gloria’s Big Problem, by Sarah Stiles Bright and Mike Deas

Reading Wednesdays

Another big stack of #libraryloot I’ve been hauled to the studio! I’m reading for research. I support #FReadom (pushing back against book banning).

Fallingwater: The Building of Frank Lloyd Wright's Masterpiece, by Marc Harshman, Anna Egan Smucker, and LeUyen Pham
Sunday Funday in Koreatown, by Aram Kim
Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party, by James Dean and Kimberly Dean
Aliens Love DinoPants, by Claire Freedman and Ben Cortisones
The Fox on the Swing, by Evelina Daciutè and Aušra Kiudulaite
Eraser, by Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant
Brave Girl, by Michelle Markel and Melissa Sweet
XO, OX, by Adam Rex and Scott Campbell
The Knight Who Said “NO!”, by Lucy Rowland and Kate Hindley
Have You Seen my Trumpet? by Michaël Escoffier and Kris Di Giacomo
Keat’s Neighborhood: An Ezra Jack Keats Treasury, by Ezra Jack Keats
The Whatifs, by Emily Kilgore and Zoe Perisco
A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin, by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet
Sleep Tight, Charlie, by Michaël Escoffier and Kris Di Giacomo

ChildrensIllustrators.com

I’m having a good month at ChildrensIllustrators.com! Their February newsletter theme is “bear”, and they highlighted my picture book, THE MUKLUK BALL written by Katharine Johnson, illus. by AliciaSchwab. Published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press.

Also, my art for an upcoming SCBWI IA/MN conference featured this week (Feb. 6—12, 2022) on the ChildrensIllustrators.com homepage!

Reading Wednesdays

February is Black History Month. The theme this year is “Black Health and Wellness”. What are you reading? This beautifully written and illustrated book is very inspiring. I support #FReadom (pushing back against book banning).

All Because You Matter by Tami Charles and illustrated by Bryan Collier. “In a beautiful ode to generations of Black sacrifice, happiness, and love, a family tells the story that brought a young boy into being and emphasizes his inherent worth.”

American Library Association Notable Children’s Book of 2021 https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb

All Because You Matter, by Tami Charles and Bryan Collier

To the Edge of Our Galaxy

I was inspired by the James Webb telescope launch to make this art. The telescope was designed to unfold like origami and travel to the outer edge of our galaxy. It is hard to imagine how far away that is. But I wonder what is out there.

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/Gallery/JWST.html

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/16/1036600340/nasa-is-launching-a-new-telescope-that-could-offer-some-cosmic-eye-candy

https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/the-long-awaited-james-webb-space-telescope-has-a-big-to-do-list

Reading Wednesdays with author, Matt Lilley

Are you hungry? There’s a ton of good eating if you know where to look. My friend, Matt Lilley has a yummy, new book coming out from Tilbury House in January 2022, Good Eating: The Short Life of Krill and is illustrated by Dan Tavis. Perhaps krill are not the kind of food you and I eat but they are on the menu for many ocean creatures from humongous blue whales to not-so-big penguins. I recently received the ARC and the Reader Guide (link below) for this thought-provoking book. It is a belly-full of animal facts about their eventful lives and has been nominated as a “Junior Library Guild Selection”.

“Good Eating: The Short Life of Krill follows the life of an Antarctic krill, starting with an egg sinking in the deep sea. The 2nd-person narrative follows the krill as it metamorphoses from a “six-armed oval” into a 26-legged glutton, and as it rises from the ocean’s deep midnight zone to the surface, encountering all sorts of hungry sea creatures as it grows. 

Antarctic krill can catch and eat one-celled phytoplankton, and krill in turn are eaten by the largest animals ever to live on earth—blue whales—as well as by seals, penguins, and a host of others. Antarctic krill are the keystone species of the Southern Ocean.

This book will lead to discussions about

·      The ocean food web
·      Life stages and metamorphosis
·      Narrative point of view”

Matt Lilley is the author of numerous nonfiction and educational titles. Find more of his books here: https://www.mattlilley.ink/books

Reader Guide

ORDER THIS BOOK

https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780884488675

https://www.redballoonbookshop.com/book/9780884488675

Reading Wednesdays

Merry Christmas and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I love learning about different cultures. There are many holidays at this time of year.

I support #FReadom (pushing back against book banning).

Our Favorite Day of the Year, by A. E. Ali and Rahele Jomepour Bell. “In this charming story of friendship and celebrating differences, young readers can discover how entering a new friendship with an open mind and sharing parts of yourself brings people together. And the calendar of holidays at the end of the book will delight children as they identify special events they can celebrate with friends throughout the year.”

Every year, my mom sends me a Jan Brett book for Christmas. We love her books. And Jan loves Christmas!

Here are some of Jan Brett’s author-illustrator books:

Home for Christmas
Gingerbread Friends
The Animal’s Santa
The Nutcracker
Gingerbread Christmas

Happy Hanukkah, Little Dreidel (Finger Puppet Board Book) by Brick Puffinton, Cottage Door Press and Juliana Motzko. “Mazel tov! It’s time to spin the dreidel! Hebrew school is in session for little dreidels everywhere, and they’re hard at work learning all the game rules and practicing their biggest and best spin moves.”

My Family Celebrates Kwanzaa by Lisa Bullard and Constanza Basaluzzo. “Kwanzaa traces its origins to the American Civil Rights era. Critical thinking questions and fast facts prompt young readers to engage with this fun narrative and learn all about Kwanzaa.”

Jaheem’s First Kwanza, by Zephaniah Martin and Bilal Karaca. “Jaheem learns the importance of honoring his cultural roots. He is introduced to Kwanzaa as a family tradition. African American families gather together to celebrate their culture and heritage.” Martin is just ten years old. His book was featured on the local news segment about the Midtown Global Market holiday event in December 2021. https://midtownglobalmarket.org/new-events/2021/12/26/first-day-of-kwanzaa-live-music-by-elliot-crafts-and-black-entrepreneurial-vendors

Under the Bodhi Tree: Story of Buddha, by Deborah Hopkinson and Kailey Whitman. “Bodhi Day is the Buddhist holiday that commemorates the day that Gautama Buddha (Shakyamuni) is said to have experienced enlightenment.”

Reading Wednesdays

I’m reading for research. Look at the #libraryloot I’ve been hauling to the studio!

One Trick Pony, by Nathan Hale

Look Out, Leonard, by Jessie James and Tamara Anegon

Mr Brown’s Bad Day, by Lou Peacock and Alison Friend

I Will Not Eat You, by Adam Lehraupt and Scott Magoon

Dinosaurs Don’t Have Bedtimes! Timothy Knapman and Nikki Dyson

Dogosaurus Rex, by Anna Staniszewski and Kevin Hawkes

My Big Dumb Invisible Dragon, Angie Lucas and Brigitta Sif

Got To Get To Bear’s! by Brian Lies

That’s Not a Hippopotamus! By Juliette MacIver and Sarah Davis

If Kids Ruled The World, by Linda Bailey and David Huyck

Begin With A Bee, by Liza Ketchum, Jacqueline Briggs Martin, Phyllis Root, and Claudia McGehee