It was so fun to hear the story behind the story from Josh Funk and Carrie Finison for Picture Book Hour Live at Brookline Booksmith. The basement space was full and there were plenty of enthusiastic littles including Carter Hasegawa’s! Carter is an editor at Candlewick Press and I was thrilled to meet him!
I also got to talk to Carrie Finison’s dad, also a writer, who gave me an idea for a future picture book biography about the first Chinese man born in Boston. I was also able to catch up with two fellow writers from The Writers Loft as we waited for the line to dissipate for the book signing. Finally, I was sad that I wasn’t able to meet Federico Erebia who found me on Twitter tweeting about this event:
Frederico: @pragmaticmom You were there? I would have loved to meet you! We had a lot of fun.
I tweeted back: Did I miss you? Darn it!!
Frederico tweeted back: Yes, I was there. Entering the writing community during the pandemic has been odd. It surprises me that folks I know on social media live in the Boston area. I’m looking forward to more live events.
I tweeted back: There are so many of us here in Boston. I hope to see you soon!
Frederico has a young adult novel coming out in June of 2023 published by Levine Querido:
Pedro and Daniel are Mexican American brothers growing up in 1970s Ohio. Their mother resents that Pedro is a spitting image of their darker-skinned father, that Daniel likes dolls, that neither boy plays sports.
Life at home is rough, but the boys have an unbreakable bond that will last their entire lives.
PEDRO & DANIEL is a sweeping and deeply personal novel that spans the years from childhood into adulthood, while tracing the lives of two brothers who are there for each other when no one else is.
Together the brothers manage an abusive home life, coming out, first loves, first jobs, and the AIDS pandemic, in a coming-of-age story unlike any other.
You never know who you will see at a children’s book event. I hope that I run into Frederico and the gang soon!
To learn about My Pet Feet by Josh Funk, illustrated by Billy Yong, and Hurry Little Tortoise, Time for School by Carrie Finison, illustrated by Erub Kraan, check out the video that I made of their event here:
Finally, I gave my copy of Hurry Little Tortoise, Time for School to my 17-year-old son who is self-studying the art of Japanese woodblock printing. The woodblock illustrations in this picture book are gorgeous!
p.s. Related posts:
Top Ten Picture Books about Pets
Josh Funk’s Top 10 Fractured Fairy Tales
Top 8 Picture Books Featuring Anthropomorphic Foods
Favorite New Picture Books of 2019
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BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.
