This week, Billie Jean King approves of her picture book biography; Holly Black makes new friends; Debbie Levy and Jo Ann Allen Boyce celebrate their historical picture book; Deborah Underwood and Misa Saburi share their inspirations with readers; and Minnesota writers honor Robert F. Sibert Award winners.
It’s Good to Be [Billie Jean] King
Tennis great Billie Jean King cozied up with her copy of I Am Billie Jean King by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos (Dial). The book is an addition to the Ordinary People Change the World series of biographies, and is the first-ever picture book published about King.
Give Us a Sign!
As part of a tour for The Wicked King (Little, Brown), book two in her Folk of the Air series, Holly Black signed books for a group of more than 120 fans at Parnassus Books in Nashville. One of her youngest fans, Aiden, and his mom, Haley, got the chance to meet Black and even touch her elf ears—just hidden behind her hair.
History in the Making
Debbie Levy (l.) and Jo Ann Allen Boyce recently had their West Coast launch for their children’s book This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality (Bloomsbury) at Children’s Book World in Los Angeles. Jo Ann Boyce was one of the Clinton 12, the African-American students who were among the first individuals to desegregate a southern high school following Brown v. Board of Education.
Teddy Bear Time
Deborah Underwood and Misa Saburi shared Bearnard’s Book during a story time event at Children’s Book World in Haverford, Pa., on February 4. Underwood spoke with attendees about where to find inspiration for a story, and she showed a picture of her childhood teddy bear, which was one of her inspirations for Bearnard. Misa offered a drawing presentation, first drawing Bearnard and then taking suggestions from the audience to draw a silly picture.
Cake and Crowns for Sibert Winners
A previously planned gathering of Minnesota writers turned into an impromptu celebration for two recent recipients of the Robert F. Sibert Award recipients. Catherine Thimmesh (l.) received a Sibert Honor for Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild at the 2019 ALA Youth Media Awards, and Joyce Sidman was awarded the Sibert Medal for The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science, both published by HMH. Author Lisa Bullard (Turn Left at the Cow) created celebratory crowns for Thimmesh and Sidman, and author-artist David LaRochelle (Isle of You) snapped their photo.
