Category Archive

“Mouse Guard - Fall 1152″ recently arrived at my 5th & 6th grade library and the graphic novel has been a downright hit with kids. Creator/author/illustrator David Petersen has been having an exciting month, receiving a couple of Eisner Award nominations for his work. Mr. Petersen graciously took the time to be interviewed for the 100 Scope Notes “5 Questions With…” series.

Scope Notes: This month you were nominated for two Eisner Awards for “Mouse Guard” (for Best Publication for Kids and Best Graphic Album - Reprint), what was your reaction upon hearing the news?

David Petersen: I woke up a little early the day I found out. I was tired and thought about going back to bed for a few hours, but first I checked my e-mail. The news that I was nominated was sitting there in my inbox from my publisher. I read it, and then re-read it (making sure I wasn’t misreading). Then I said it aloud, so that I could hear myself say it. I was thrilled! It’s a dream come true. I realize how lucky I am to have a book so young and different be nominated for the honor. I decided not to go back to bed that morning.

SN: For all those aspiring comic creators out there: What is the most difficult part of the process? What is the most rewarding?

DP: Believing in what you do is the hardest part. Just because you have some issues under your belt doesn’t make the next issue that much easier. It’s easy to doubt your work (as either a writer, artist, or both). You just have to work though it. Know that everything you do won’t be perfect, but to put the best book you can out there and always try to make it better.

The most rewarding is having people who are fans of your work. Sometimes all it takes is one of those nice fan e-mails to turn around the doubt I mentioned before.

SN: Which graphic novels do you think should be standard in school and public libraries?

DP: Hmmm, well, I think MAUS is a an obvious choice. The Bone books (or single ‘brick’ compilation) are well liked by young and old, I really enjoy Rick Geary’s Victorian Murder books, so I think at least one of those would showcase historical GN work. Watchmen is such a pinnacle of the medium, I can’t think of a book more well known or respected. And it seems like a Will Eisner book should be in every collection as well.

SN: Your illustrations have been getting a lot of attention. Is the style for “Mouse Guard” something you had in your mind from the beginning, or was there a lot of trial and error?

DP: There certainly was some trial and error. My first mice were blatant copies of the work of a children’s book illustrator named Tom Pohrt. I eventually figured out that I had to draw in a natural way and couldn’t rely on someone else’s style because I had to draw more mice than I would ever have other artist’s reference for. So I think while I knew at the start of Mouse Guard that it was going to focus on a style of ink line illustration I had toyed with, it evolved from issue 1 up until now.

SC: “Mouse Guard Winter 1152” series is currently being published in installments, with a collected edition available in November. What can readers expect from this continuation of the story?

DP: The winter book shows another settlement the Guard visit, it focuses more on the relationships between our heroes. It opens a can of worms about the history of Celanawe, the old Black Axe mouse they met in the fall. It also pits them against one of the toughest trials they can face: the grueling, unyielding, harsh winter weather that no mouse should be out in. On top of all that, a main character will perish.

To read an outstanding review of Mouse Guard Fall 1152 by children’s lit blog A Fuse #8 Production, click here.

To visit the Mouse Guard website, click here.

To head on over to David Petersen’s blog, click here.

I’m sure I’ll get better at this.

I have to admit it - I’m a pretty poor book signee. Friday I had the opportunity to meet three tops children’s book author/illustrators, and I don’t have many good stories to tell. I’m still perplexed with the etiquette at these events. I wasn’t sure if it was okay to have more than one book signed, or if I should ask for pictures, so I just went ahead and did it. Here’s how the day went:

After school, with books in tow, I beelined to the outstanding (and almost local) Pooh’s Corner children’s book store. There I met Jon J. Muth (of “Zen Shorts” fame) and Mordicai Gerstein (”The Man Who Walked Between the Towers“). Both books are regulars in my “picture books for upper elementary” recommendations, so I was about to lose a shoe over seeing them live. Both were nice enough to sign personalized copies of their books for the libraries where I work. Here’s a picture with Mordicai Gerstein and I:

Is it lame to hold the book up? You gotta help me out on these things.

After that I rolled over to Calvin College where Kadir Nelson was doing his John Hancock thing. The setting for that was very cool. He was signing in the middle of a gallery where original artwork from his books was being displayed. There were even some works from his latest “We Are the Ship” (which you definitely need to pick up if you haven’t - outstanding). I knew going in that most of the originals for that book were large (click here to listen to Mr. Nelson interviewed on NPR), but they were impressive in person. An amazingly talented guy. While sitting in a gallery showing my art as I was signing copies of my latest critically-acclaimed book would have given me a really big head, Mr. Nelson was a very nice guy and gracious enough to pose for a picture:

There I go again with the book.

My only regret was not testing out my “Year of Kadir” catch phrase on him to see what he thought. Here’s how I’m guessing that exchange would have gone:

Me: Hey, it’s the “Year of Kadir”!

(suddenly the sound of crickets chirping is noticeable, despite being indoors)

Me: (under my breath) Well, it is.

A great day.

Ah, the trickiness of working at four schools. Last week, one of the schools that I work at had the pleasure of hosting a visit by Leslie Helakoski, author of the recently released “Big Chickens Fly the Coop” (read the 100 Scope Notes review) and “Woolbur”. The tricky part? I was working with students at another elementary across town on the same day. I did my best to catch Ms. Helakoski’s presentation, and I’m glad I did. She gave it the “best of both worlds” treatment - informative and entertaining. She talked about the inspiration for some of her books, the process of writing a book for children, and had plenty of pictures to show. To round it all out, the very affable Ms. Helakoski read her two new stories and took questions from students. An exciting day to be sure.

Click here to read the recent 100 Scope Notes interview with Leslie Helakoski

I’m thrilled to have the first 100 Scope Notes author interview with Leslie Helakoski, author of “Big Chickens” and “The Smushy Bus”. It’s been a busy January for Ms. Helakoski, as she will have two new books published this month, “Big Chickens Fly the Coop” and “Woolbur”. I caught up with Ms. Helakoski (before her author visit to my school) to ask her about her career and the warm reception her books have been receiving.

Scope Notes: “Big Chickens” was selected as the 2007 Michigan Reads! Book. It was sent to 5,000 schools and libraries state wide. What was your reaction upon hearing this news?
Leslie Helakoski: I did the chicken dance, of course! It was very good timing
because I had quit my job to write and paint full time and I was kind
of nervous about it.

SN: Students want to know: when did you decide to become an author?
LH:When I read Jon Scieszka’s book, The Stinky Cheese Man. I was a graphic designer like he was and the book was such fun. I thought, “I want to do this.”

SN: “Big Chickens” has been a hit read-aloud in our libraries. Have you had any memorable reactions from students?
LH: My favorite reaction is laughter. I also love when kids are inspired to write or draw something after hearing the story.

SN: Was “Big Chickens” inspired by any real life events?
LH: Yes! The chickens in the book are me and my three sisters! When we were young, we would often play in the woods and pastures nearby. I was afraid of all the things in the Big Chicken book–leaping across a deep muddy ditch, cows, and falling in the water –although it was a bayou, not a lake. The cave/wolf part is made up but sometimes we
were chased by a large dog.

SN: You have two new books out: “Woolber” and “Big Chickens Fly the Coop”. What should readers expect from these?
LH: In Big Chickens Fly the Coop, the chickens really want to see the farmhouse but each time they set out, they get scared and run back to the coop where it is safe. Woolbur is about a sheep that does things his own way which drives his teachers and parents crazy. Both books are lots of fun and I can’t wait to read them to you. You can also be the first to know, I just finished writing a third chicken book called, Big Chickens Go to Town.

A big thank you to Leslie Helakoski for taking part!

Click here to visit her website

How can you not love an author visit? You get to hear all the behind the scenes tidbits about how books are created, all while indulging in the intoxicating atmosphere that a brush with minor celebrity provides. Last week, my school was visited by PaleoJoe, author of the Dinosaur Detective Club series from the good Michiganders at Mackinac Island Press.

While I am fairly inexperienced at the whole author visit thing, I have to say that I was impressed by Mr. Joe’s ability to bring the information while still connecting with children. An while I have not yet read PaleoJoe’s books (*Update* Read the review here), I have to say that I’m interested after having met the man.

First of all, he shows up in full “my job is to search for dinosaur bones” attire: very khaki, very pocketed, very sun shielding. You’ve gotta love that. If a wise man once said (forgive me for butchering this) “90% of success is just showing up”, then I would like to amend that quote with “… and 95% of a successful author visit is showing up in costume”. I was unsure of what to call our visitor, but was relieved when he came right up and introduced himself with “hi, I’m PaleoJoe”. When his audience arrived, he jumped right into things, explaining his day job and his foray into authorship. Then he pulled out the dino-poop.

Yep, the first item he pulls out of his bag of ancient archaeological artifacts was some petrified dinosaur droppings. If it’s possible to hear the sound of 100 children simultaneously wishing to grow up to become paleontologists, I think I heard it.

Paleo J continued on with some other interesting fossils and facts before his wrap-up. A successful visit and a lot of fun.