Last week author and illustrator Leslie Helakoski visited my school. We had a great time and I have the pictures to prove it. Looks like someone’s school got a new electronic sign that doesn’t photograph as nicely as the old one! In the weeks leading up to her visit, I read a bunch of […]
I met Jorge Lacera at the NCTE conference this year. Jorge illustrated the cover for The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya. He told me that he and his wife Megan had a picture book coming out in the spring and when I saw the cover/title, I was in. We are here today […]
On April 2nd the latest book in the Mercy Watson universe arrives: A Piglet Named Mercy. I spoke with illustrator Chris Van Dusen about the process of making the book. Travis: Hi Chris! I’m happy to see that Mercy Watson is returning, this time in picture book form. Have you known for a while that […]
The Good Egg – a follow-up to the bestselling picture book, The Bad Seed – publishes today. To mark the occasion I talked with author Jory John about his creative process and snack preferences. Travis: Hi Jory! Thanks for taking my questions. Jory: Hi Travis! Thank you for taking my answers. T: How do you approach writing […]
It’s the second day of the Sydney Taylor Book Award 2019 Blog Tour (click here for the full schedule) and I’m honored to talk with the creators of Sydney Taylor Honor winner A Moon for Moe and Mo: author Jane Breskin Zalben and illustrator Mehrdokht Amini. Travis: Congratulations on the Sydney Taylor Honor! How did you […]
Here at 100 Scope Notes, we pride ourselves on being your most trusted source of Gennifer Choldenko cover reveals. Remember last time? Well, the Newbery Honor winner has a new book on the horizon and today called One Third Nerd. What’s it about? Liam and his sisters love their dog, Cupcake, but lately, she’s been […]
Deb Pilutti, maker of such fine books as these . . . . . . visited our school last week. It was a great day. Let’s take a look. We try to begin the hospitality outside the building. Author visit suggestion: make some bootleg coloring pages for kids featuring characters from the author’s books (you’ll […]
Author Jason Reynolds was on Late Night with Seth Meyers a couple nights back. I would say “Hey, isn’t it cool and unusual that a middle grade and YA writer is on a late night show?” But really, Jason Reynolds is the kind of captivating person where this stuff just makes you say “Of course […]
I recently finished the graphic novel adaptation of Laurie Halse Anderson’s modern YA classic Speak. Boy is it well done. It’s illustrated by Emily Carroll. I’m always curious about how a novel becomes a graphic novel so I asked Laurie a few questions about it. Me: Hi Laurie. How did the idea to adapt the book […]
I was given the opportunity to ask children’s literature legend Nikki Grimes a few questions. This was a chance I jumped at. Travis: What was it like winning the Wilder Award? What’s it been like since? Nikki Grimes: Earth-shaking. It took me a while to find my feet. It’s one award I never imagined winning. […]
Who is Celia C. Pérez? Maybe you’ve seen/heard about (including here) her debut middle grade novel: The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez | August 22, 2017 | Viking When I learned that she is also a librarian and longtime zine maker, I knew I had to chat with her. So we did […]
Matthew Reinhart is the guy who pretty much makes every pop-up book not made by Robert Sabuda. The guy is a paper engineering wizard. Science Friday recently interviewed Reinhart in his studio with fascinating results. In this video you will learn: The basic pop-up folds and how they are used. How Reinhart approaches each pop-up […]
If you really want to send chills down the spine of trick-or-treaters this year, there’s only one jack-o’-lantern guaranteed to scare ’em all:
I recently talked to John Bemelmans Marciano about his new series with illustrator (and reigning Caldecott Medal winner) Sophie Blackall. Travis: Why witches? Why Benevento? What was the spark that let to this new series? John: While in Naples in the early 2000s, I came across a paragraph in a guidebook about a nearby town […]
Previously… ‘And You Shall Know Me by My Twitter Bio’ (#1) ‘And You Shall Know Me by My Twitter Bio’ (#2) ‘And You Shall Know Me by My Twitter Bio’ (#3) ‘And You Shall Know Me by My Twitter Bio’ (#4) ‘And You Shall Know Me by My Twitter Bio’ (#5) Sure you may know […]
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