Adventures at Wilder Farm

Pennies for Elephants is a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award!

You can download the full list of finalists — books in Children’s/Young Adult Lit here.

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We have a spindly tree on the way to our front door that seems to mysteriously get decorated when we leave the house, most recently with a Bird Talk theme!

This isn’t the first time. Even before the tree was in the ground we came home one afternoon to find some strange objects on it.

Hmmmm. It all looks strangely similar to our friend Kim Cunningham’s found object art.

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(Written by Dave) We were just updating several of the pages on Lita’s website and thought we’d post a few pencil sketches. These are part of a story that’s currently percolating. (Click on any of the images to see them larger)

More sketches are here and more illustrations are here.

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(Written by Dave) We just got back from a few cold days in New York City and had a great time there. We made a quick stop at the Children’s Center at the New York Public Library and I got a picture of Lita out front with one of the Library Lions.

After the library and a quick hello to Betsy Bird, we had lunch with Lita’s wonderful agent at Metrazur on the balcony above Grand Central Station. It was really fun! Then we visited lots of great book stores, like Books of Wonder, Barnes and Noble at Union Square and The Strand. We wanted to get up to the Bank Street Books (Children’s Bookstore) but never quite made it up that way.

I just saw an article in the NY Times which said the number of visitors in the city was down a few percent in 2009, but we saw unbelievably huge crowds at the Natural History Museum and at the Met. At the MOMA people were lined up outside the building all the way to 6th Ave. We never did get in there — didn’t even try. At Rockefeller Center, in the early evening, there was a human traffic jam like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I can’t imagine fitting more people into the space.

The window decorations at Bergdorf Goodman were pretty good this year:

Good trip overall, but now we’re glad to be back in New Hampshire!

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Just a few days ago the Smithsonian Magazine put out an annual list called the Smithsonian Notable Books for Children 2009. Here’s how they described their list last year: “… at Smithsonian Magazine, we’re reviving a tradition: our annual selection of outstanding books for children, a compendium of surprising, inspiring titles—everything from picture books and novels to memoirs—for youngsters and the grownups who read to, and with, them.”

For the 2009 list, they said, “This year’s titles range across cultures, into the past and toward the future. Their creators have relied on humor to touch our hearts; documentary accounts to bring history alive; biography to convey the true meaning of courage; poetic language to demonstrate the power of the written word—and the artist’s brush or camera to create ravishing illustrations.”

We were excited to see Yellowstone Moran included on the 2009 list!

And here’s what they said about Yellowstone Moran: “In 1871, a young artist joined an expedition of scientists setting out to explore the West. The monumental canvasses based on his travels would become iconic images that are now part of our nation’s heritage.”

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Written by Dave.

We just heard some good news for Pennies for Elephants! It’s one of the winners of the 2009 New Hampshire Literary Awards. Here is the complete list of the award winners:

• Outstanding Work of Children’s Literature: Lita Judge, Pennies for Elephants and Joseph Monninger, Hippie Chick
• Outstanding Book of Fiction: James Patrick Kelly, The Wreck of the Godspeed
• Outstanding Book of Nonfiction: Mimi Schwartz, Good Neighbors, Bad Times
• The Jane Kenyon Award for Outstanding Book of Poetry: Mimi White, The Last Island
• Donald M. Murray Outstanding Journalism Award: John Walters, Collection of articles from Kearsarge Magazine and Upper Valley Life
• Lifetime Achievement Award: David Carroll

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