Twig and Turtle for Early Readers

One of my finds at the wonderful Bath Book Bash in Bath, Maine two weeks ago was Twig and Turtle, No Hard Feelings by Jennifer Jacobson. I’m new to this early reader series, coming in at number #6, but now that I’ve found it, gift giving for my eight-year-old Grand One, Emily, is in the bag.

Pop singer Mae, with a hit environmental song and accompanying dance called Mae’s Say that sisters Twig and Turtle love to perform, is coming to town to visit her cousin - Twig’s friend Lottie. Lottie can invite one friend to dinner. Who will it be? When Twig experiences two rejections in one day, she stumbles upon a TED talk speaker who loses his fear of rejection by actually trying to get people to say NO to him one hundred times. When Twig’s and Turtle’s family agrees to the challenge of gathering five rejections in one week, Turtle is off and running. “May I have a taste,” she asks a stranger with a Danish.

Sometimes rejection is hard to come by. But Mom, Dad, Twig, and Turtle each have their turn at the prize of being royalty for a night. Twig realizes that there are often reasons for rejection and learns to take them less personally. When Mae surprises Twig and Turtle with a visit in response to Twig’s letter, everyone gets to sing and dance Mae’s Say with its famous artist. Illustration sketches by Paula Franco add to Twig and Turtle’s charm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praise for Twig and Turtle come from School Library Journal and The Horn Book. My Christmas shopping for Emily is done!

At the Book Bash, Jennifer Jacobson shared a table with Jamie Hogan, illustrator of Jacobson’s picture book Oh, Chickadee!

 

An International Book Signing

 

Authors dream of publication and of book launches celebrating this wondrous achievement. Memories of my first published book, Feathers & Trumpets, A Story of Hildegard of Bingen, and its launch party are still sweet. However, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine my next book would have an international book signing. This fall, I found myself doing just that in Japan.

 At the Asian Rural Institute's 50th Anniversary, many Japanese told me how happy they were to be able to read this book in their language. One professional translator remarked that the translation was excellent. Comments that the book, with its poetry and wonderful artwork, captured the ARI spirit warmed my heart.

 Art Exhibition

We had been asked to bring along the original watercolor paintings for an art exhibition – not hard to do when the artist is a personal friend! So, we spent two weeks matting, framing and hanging the paintings at a wonderful café in an old school. Opening day was another memorable event, with the book selling out. We had a table with kids’ activities – origami farm animals to fold, tracings of the book’s art to color, and yummy farm animal sugar cookies. Not only was I enjoying an international book signing - my illustrator Susan Rock was having an international art show!

 

 

In an unforgettable moment, three members of the ARI community performed a song whose lyrics were from the book text. Ramon, the guitarist, had composed a melody and put all the haiku in the book to music!

A Special Engagement

The day set aside for the ARI community to visit the exhibition was my favorite time. These participants from so many different countries engaged with the art on a level all their own. They were looking at paintings depicting their own experience at ARI. The book’s sustainability message was what they were living.

 

The teacher in me couldn’t let that moment pass. We had a ten-minute haiku lesson. I handed out paper and pencils and asked them to choose a painting that spoke to them and to write a haiku about it in their own language. I loved watching them standing in front of a painting, counting out syllables on their fingers! As I signed their books, they thanked me for writing Food for All Our Tomorrows. “It will help us explain our ARI experience to people back home,” they said. My heart warmed again. I am full of gratitude for this opportunity to experience book signing activities on an international level.