Picture Book Birthday for Award Winning Author K.L. Going + Giveaway

Dear Friends,

Please welcome K.L. Going, my dear and brilliant friend and my fellow faculty partner for the Highlights Foundation Workshop, Novel Beginnings. I first met Kelly more than a decade ago at Curtis Brown Literary Agency in NYC where she was working at the time. In fact, it was at the very beginning of Kelly's career as an author and she told me about her soon to be published YA novel,  Fat Kid Rules The World, which went on to win a Printz Honor Award. Kelly is one of those rare and multi-talented writers who has published Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Picture books. I’m thrilled to share her newest title with you this week, Bumpety, Dunkety, Thumpety-Thump! with a follow up  post next week and a second picture book birthday for, The Shape of the World: A Portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright. Kelly is generously donating an autographed copy to a lucky winner who leaves a comment. (Look for the small word, comments, at the bottom of the post. Click on it. Then scroll down until the comment box appears.) We love hearing from you!

Inspiration: Part One – Bumpety, Dunkety, Thumpety-Thump 

by K.L.Going

Sometimes two things that seem to share nothing in common are actually connected by a gossamer thread, an unseen strand that exists only in the artists’ mind. Inspiration. It can come from anywhere at any time, merging unique things together into a brand new artistic experience.

The initial seed of inspiration for Bumpety, Dunkety, Thumpety-Thump came from reading Eric Carle’s The Very Busy Spider to my young son. Ashton was only a toddler at the time, but he loved to run his fingers over the raised lines of the spider’s web.

As a picture book author who has also worked in publishing, I know that “extra” features, like the raised line, cost publishers more money, which is why they are rare instead of common. Yet I wished there could be more books like this on the market because children love to explore textures.

I wondered if there might be a way to recreate a tactile sensory experience using words.

That’s when I thought about yet another wonderful read-aloud picture book. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. has been a favorite since its publication by Simon & Schuster in 1989. Could rhythm help to replicate the senses?

I decided to create a text that used words and rhythm to bring alive the sounds and textures of the world around us, and hopefully in the process, invite children into an imaginative state where they can experience the bumping, thumping, playful world all around us.

Author K.L. Going with her favorite reader

The result is Bumpety, Dunkety, Thumpety-Thump. I hope you and your little ones will enjoy the experience of reading this book together!

Booklist: Clunkety-clunk! Bumpety bump! This onomatopoeic treasure begs to be read aloud. Short, intuitive rhymes move readers along as two young siblings (big sister and little brother) have a simply wonderful day... An obvious choice for storytimes or units on rhymes, this will also be great for introducing beginning writers to the wonders of words—especially those that don’t appear on standard vocabulary lists.

School Library Journal: This onomatopoeic book is a lively read-aloud that will be requested often for storytime or bedtime.–Maryann H. Owen, Children’s Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI

Kirkus: This winning read-aloud should encourage multiple recitations. (Picture book. 2-5)

I’ve already purchased this book for a special niece. I know her parents will love reading it to her and that Bumpety, Dunkety, Thumpety-Thump! will be a favorite bedtime, anytime book for its wonderful onomatopoeia words and rhythm.

So please join the Book Birthday celebration and leave a comment for Kelly. The winner will be announced next week when Kelly will be back to share about another new picture book, The Shape of the World: A Portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Learn more about Kelly and her books: www.klgoing.com

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The winner of last week’s comment contest for Are We Pears Yet? is:  

Congratulations, MARTIN SEGAL! (Please send me an email with your mailing address and to whom you’d like the book inscribed: claragillowclark(at)gmail(dot)com.)  

Thank you, Miranda, and thank you, dear readers, for your wonderful comments and support of authors and good books.  ~Clara