The Extraordinary Mark Twain: (According to Susy), the second picture book by author Barbara Kerley to be illustrated by Ed Fotheringham, was published in 2009. Starred reviews have already been garnered from Publishers Weekly and the School Library Journal (January 2010). The humorous story of Mark Twain’s daughter, Susy Clemens, contains excerpts from her own 130-page biography of her father, complete with spelling errors, which Twain described as “frequently desperate.”
Ed’s second picture book for Scholastic, a biography of Annette Kellerman, one of the first women to gain notoriety in the sport of swimming, has won rave reviews and award nominations. Mermaid Queen: The Spectacular True Story of Annette Kellerman, Who Swam Her Way to Fame, Fortune, and Swimsuit History, by author Shana Corey, was completed in 2008. It was named a Junior Library Guild selection for Spring 2009, and received a starred review from Kirkus and a rave review from Booklist. “Mermaid” was nominated for the 2009 Cybils Awards in the Non-fiction/Information Picture Book category. This award honors the best children’s and young adult literature of the year, as selected by the children’s book blogging community (http://www.cybils.com). It has also been selected for inclusion on the American Library Association’s “Amelia Bloomer Project” list for 2010, an annual list of exemplary titles that positively portray strong female characters. This story of a plucky Annette, who overcame leg braces and societal restraints placed on women, can be purchased at amazon.com.
What to Do about Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove her Father Teddy Crazy! by author Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Ed Fotheringham was completed in 2007 and immediately began to gather stellar reviews, even before its 2008 publication! Booklist, Kirkus, Horn Book, and the School Library Journal all gave it “starred” reviews. Publishers Weekly selected it as the Best Book of 2008 in the Children’s Picture Books category. Positive reviews in many newspapers and journals, including the New York Times Book Review, were followed by nominations for several awards. “Alice” was named as a Sibert Honor book by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. It was the winner of the Scandiuzzi Children’s Book Award (for picture books) at the Washington State Book Awards ceremony in October of 2009. “Alice” is an Irma Simonton Black Award Honor Book (given by the esteemed Bank Street College) and will be honored in the ceremony in May of 2010. It has also been placed on the Texas Bluebonnet Master List, sponsored by the Children’s Round Table and the Texas Association of School Librarians. This engaging story of Theodore Roosevelt’s irrepressible daughter, Alice, can be purchased at amazon.com
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