UPCOMING APPEARANCES

Margo Sorenson, author of the picture book Aloha for Carol Ann, published by Marimba Books, will be a featured author at the Duarte Festival of Authors on Saturday, October 8, 2011 at the Westminster Gardens in Duarte, CA. Margo will also make an appearance by Skype at the 3^rd Annual Literacy in a Multicultural World Conference at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania on Monday, October 10.

Wade & Cheryl Hudson will be among 500 African-American History Makers who will participate in the 2^nd Annual Back to School program on Friday, September 23, 2011. The program is sponsored by the History Makers, the nation’s largest African-American video oral history archive. The African-American history makers will visit schools across the country, sharing their personal and professional stories that they hope will motivate and encourage students as they begin a new year. Among those participating include Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, former Ambassador Andrew Young, actor/rapper Common, singer/actress Melba Moore, Broadway choreographer George Faison, poet Nikki Giovanni, actress Marla Gibbs (“Room 227”, “The Jeffersons”), Ambassador Carol Mosely-Braun, actress T’Keyah Crystal Keymah (“In Living Color”, “Cosby” and “That’s So Raven”) and poet/author Sonia Sanchez. Wade & Cheryl will visit a school in East Orange, NJ.

 

Wade & Cheryl will also attend the Virginia Library Association Annual Conference that on October 27 and 28 at the Portsmouth Renaissance Hotel in Portsmouth, VA.

 

On Sunday, October 30, the Hudsons will speak and autograph books at the Douglass Park Elementary School in Portsmouth, VA from 2:00 to 4:30. The event is hosted by the Gamma Delta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, which sponsors an annual bookfair or author event with Just Us Books every year. The event is free and open to the public.  

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A Conversation with Margo Sorenson,

author of Aloha for Carol Ann

&

Priscilla Garcia Burris

Illustrator of ALOHA FOR CAROL ANN

In April, Marimba Books released Aloha for Carol Ann, a picture book about an eight-year-old who moves to Hawaii and struggles to feel at home in this new place until she discovers the true meaning of aloha, a Hawaiian term that means "hello," "welcome" and so much more.

Meet the author: Margo Sorenson

Marimba Books: Do you remember when you began writing? What was your first piece?

Margo Sorenson: I wrote my first “book” at age 6, titled LEO AND BO-PEEP, and I illustrated it, too (unfortunately!). I still have it, and it makes me giggle. When I do school visits, the students always ask me this same question, so I show them the tattered and ancient “book,” much to their glee!

MB: How did you get started in children's book publishing?

MS: I taught high school and middle school English for many years, and I was lucky enough to have excellent mentoring from writing instructors in the teaching of writing, including the UCLA Writing Project. Parents of my students would ask me why I didn’t write, and I always answered that I could teach students to write, but I couldn’t write, myself. My mother, also an author of children’s books, encouraged me to go to an SCBWI workshop with her. I went ― kicking and screaming ― and have never looked back.

MB: What was your first published book and how many have you had published so far?

MS: My first published book was one I co-authored with Anne Polkingharn, the wonderful and legendary librarian of the California K-8 school at which I was teaching, Harbor Day School. It was a reading record book with multiple activities for students to report on their reading, titled HOW TO SNEAK UP ON A GOOD BOOK (Perfection Learning), which is now out of print. At the same time, I had just begun working on Aloha For Carol, and I was writing a work-for-hire for Bantam Sweet Dreams series, under my pseudonym Marcie Kremer, titled ALOHA LOVE (Bantam, 1994, out of print), a very “demure” teen romance about two debaters at Aina Hau School (Punahou School, where our daughters attended and where I taught) in Honolulu. ALOHA FOR CAROL ANN is my twenty-seventh published book, but, I have probably eighty to ninety unpublished manuscripts!

MB: You have an interesting story of perseverance regarding the publication of Aloha For Carol Ann. Can you share that?

MS: I first began writing Aloha For Carol in 1989, and I would read the various versions aloud to my middle school students, who would make comments, trying to spare my feelings! I began submitting it to publishers, and it was rejected many, many times. When I’d get feedback from editors, I’d revise it again, and I’d ask my fellow teachers for help, as well. I believed in the story, because I’d seen it reenacted so many times during our ten years in Hawaii, and I wanted to share the aloha spirit that our family had found there. Twenty-two years later, I was still keeping an eye out for a publisher that I thought might be interested in the story, and lo, and behold, Marimba Books was founded, the perfect publisher for this story. I queried, was asked to send the manuscript, and the Hudsons acquired it, much to my and my family’s joy!

MB: Aloha For Carol is about a girl who is a new student in a new place: Hawaii. Why did you pick Hawaii for the setting of this book? Do you have any personal connections to Hawaii?

MS: Our family lived in Hawaii for ten years, and, so often, I saw what a difference kids could make in welcoming someone new to such a different and unusual place. The aloha spirit of kindness and welcoming others is part of Hawaii, and the multicultural setting seemed perfect for the story I wanted to tell. We return to Hawaii every year, and we still have dear friends there whom we visit and who come to the Mainland to visit us, as well. Living in Hawaii has become an integral part of the fabric of our family’s life, and I am so grateful that Marimba Books has made it possible to keep these special memories alive and to share them with young readers.

MB: Where did the inspiration for this book come from?

MS: After we moved from Hawaii, we missed it a great deal. I wanted to keep those memories alive for our family, so I began writing the story. Carol Ann is actually a real person (she gave me permission to use her name!), a young Marine wife we met at our church, who was having a difficult time adjusting to life in Hawaii, and she ended up loving it there because of people’s welcoming attitudes. Carol Ann’s story seems to span the generations, both young and old, and watching kids exemplify the aloha spirit by welcoming others in our daughters’ classrooms and in my own classroom inspired me to share the story with young readers who also might have to move somewhere new and different, or might have someone new come to their school. The acclaimed author Virginia Hamilton once wrote, “Writing is what you know, remember, and imagine,” and that’s how Aloha For Carol came to be.

MB: Why do you think Aloha For Carol Ann is an important book?

MS: First, the gorgeous and engaging illustrations by Priscilla Garcia Burris make this a memorable experience for readers young and old. She truly makes Hawaii, its spirit, and its children come to life on the pages. Also, so many of my friends have told me that Carol Ann’s story resonated with them immediately, because, when they were young, they had to move somewhere new and different and didn’t want to leave their old friends. Somehow, her story taps into a reserve of memories for them that they empathize with. I hope young readers will find hope and promise in Carol Ann’s story – how to show and how to accept kindness from others in new situations, where they might feel alone.

MB: What message or messages would you like to leave with those who read Aloha?

MS: I hope young readers will see that it is important not only to show kindness to others, making them feel welcome, but also to be willing to accept that kindness and that wonderful welcome. Coach John Wooden said, “You cannot live a perfect day until you do something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”

MB: Why do you write?

MS: I’ve always loved to read and to be taken on adventures, and I love to play with words to see if I can create new adventures on the page for young readers. Writing is filled with constant surprises, and it’s always fun to find out what my characters are going to do that I had no idea they were going to. As a child, books were my best friends and helped to broaden my horizons, and I would love to be able to try to continue that legacy for young readers.

MB: Are you working on other projects?

MS: I’m always working on other projects; I have some new picture books I’m revising and three others that I’ve just recently begun to write. Additionally, I’m working on revising a YA novel set in Italy and some other tween/middle grade novels. There aren’t enough hours in the day!

MB: Do you have any advice for aspiring children's book writers?

MS: Read widely, widely, widely! Then, work hard. Beryl Markham (WEST WITH THE NIGHT) once wrote, “Work and hope. But never hope more than you work.” As Yoda said in Star Wars, “There is no try. Only do.” It’s all about perseverance and being open to critiques and being willing to revise, revise, revise – but, at the same time, staying true to your own ideas. As my wonderful critique partner and long-suffering friend and fellow author Bonnie Graves says, “Spare! Spare!” We can cut words, sentences, scenes, subplots, and, yes, even characters, sometimes. But, we can create more, as well. Putting manuscripts away for a while is always important, because we writers think we’ve written something really special – until we take it back out of that drawer. Then it’s often, “Goodness! What was I thinking?” Believe in yourself, but be willing to make changes. The sign on my classroom wall read: “Writing is Messy Work!”

Born in Washington, DC, Margo Sorenson spent the first seven years of her life in Spain and Italy, where books became her earliest friends. She finished school in California, graduating from UCLA. After teaching high school and middle school, Margo began work as a full-time writer and has since published 27 books, including Danger Marches to the Palace; Queen Luili'uokalani and Secret Heroes. When she isn't writing, she loves visiting her grandchildren, playing golf, reading, watching sports, traveling, and hearing from her readers. Margo and her husband now live in California. Margo's Hawaiian name, Leipua'ala, given to her by a Hawaiian family friend, means lasting gifts for children.

To learn more about Margo, please visit her web site: http://www.margosorenson.com/

 

Meet the Illustrator: Priscilla Garcia Burris

Marimba Books: When did you recognize your artistic talents?

Priscilla Burris: From a very young age I was habitually doodling with any paper available! Throughout school age years I continued with the love of doodling, sketching and drawing both informally (while taking notes in class), and formally (when asked to create posters or flyers for events).

MB: Do you remember any of your first drawings?

PB: Yes! I have a sweet framed crayon-rendered image I created in Kindergarten. It is a drawing, in full color, of my home including my address over the front door, along with a chimney and strand of gray smoke billowing out of it (this was purely my imagination, as we never had a fireplace). Also included in the drawing is a little girl with a beautiful red dress (triangle shape), a happy smile, and 3 hair bows; one on the top of her head and one on either end of upswinging braids! There are also lower case letter ‘m’s – or rather, several colorful birds flying in the sky.

MB: How did you begin working in children's book publishing?

PB: My career in children’s book publishing started when I was assigned illustration work for an educational publisher. Creating 10 of these books a year gave me ample opportunity to grow and learn and hone my skills in illustrating children and animals for this specific field of art. A few years after this start, I created picture book dummies – or mock-ups of picture books with text, and submitted these to a publisher who went on to publish 4 of these such books. One of these books was written by my sweet husband!

MB: What was your first published book? And how many published books have you illustrated?

PB: Two of my earliest published picture books are titled “Christopher Is Not Afraid...Anymore” written by Craig Burris, and “Carefree Play Summer Day” written by Julie Hendrickson (1994). To date I have illustrated more than 30 books.

MB: How would you describe your artistic style or approach?

PB: For children’s books, I work in two different styles; one with more of a sketchy-loose line, and the other much more structured and contained. Creating and evoking expression and emotion has always been my approach in any illustration projects or books.

MB: Has your artistic style changed much from when you first started your career?

PB: Yes. While I have illustrated in educational, mass, and trade publishing through the years, my style has grown from the experience in all fields. In some ways it has more recently evolved into a new look, however in another way it has come full circle and I am illustrating in the way I have always loved to create – with heart, soul and joy! And most of all, with expressiveness both facial and in the body language of the characters I create.

MB: What medium do you enjoy most?

PB: Digital painting and pastels tools. Traditional medium would be chalk pastels. I love sketching with either pencils or ink pens best.

MB: What attracted you to this particular project―illustrating Aloha For Carol Ann?

PB: First, when reading the manuscript at the beginning of the story, “Carol Ann trudged down the path to her new classroom.” I loved that it began with a true-felt emotion of a child who has moved far away and has to now adjust to a new place to live. Secondly, when I was asked to give samples of flora and fauna, as this would be needed for this picture book, I knew I’d thoroughly enjoy the research of the Hawaiian setting, as I have never been there myself.

MB: Do you have a favorite illustration in the book?

PB: My favorite illustration has to be the two-page spread where Carol Ann’s new friend, Maile, is helping her put a fresh hibiscus flower behind her ear and where some new classmates are nearby during recess, enjoying their snacks sitting under the banyan tree. I imagined the coolness of the ground under their feet, and the fragrant breezes that would surround them.

MB: What advice do you have for aspiring artists looking to break into children's book publishing?

PB: Research the market, spending lots of time reading through the genre in children’s book publishing that you are interested in, such as picture books or chapter books. Continually and regularly create new images that tell a story. Create characters, both children and animals. Join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (www.scbwi.org), a professional organization specifically helpful for anyone seriously interested in this field of illustration.

Illustrator, designer and author, Priscilla Garcia Burris was born and raised in Southern California. An artist from a very early age, she earned degrees in both Fashion Design and Early Childhood Education, and taught pre-school for several years. She serves on the Board of Advisors for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and she has illustrated educational, mass market and trade books and other materials for children, parents and teachers. Her published books include Five Green and Speckled Frogs, which she wrote and illustrated; What Do Angels Do?, and I Love You All Day Long, which she illustrated.

To learn more about Priscilla, please visit her web site http://www.priscillaburris.com/