Book Giveaway: A Place to Start a Family: Poems About Creatures That Build by David L Harrison

David L Harrison has new book, A PLACE TO START A FAMILY: POEMS ABOUT CREATURES THAT BUILD coming out next week. Giles Laroche created the amazing illustrations. Giles was featured on Illustrator Saturday. You should take a look to see how he creates his books using cut paper and paint.

David has agreed to give away a copy to one lucky winner. All you have to do to get in the running is to leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or talk about it on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Just let me know the other things you did to share the good news, so I can put in the right amount of tickets in my basket for you. Check back to discover the winner.

A Place to Start a Family: Poems About Creatures That Build

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

A poetry collection introducing animal architects that build remarkable structures in order to attract a mate and have babies.

Many animals build something–a nest, tunnel, or web–in order to pair up, lay eggs, give birth, and otherwise perpetuate their species. Organized based on where creatures live–underground, in the water, on land, or in the air–twelve poems bring fish, insects, reptiles, mammals, and birds to life. Back matter includes more information about each animal.

“A fine synthesis of poetry and science” — Kirkus Reviews

BOOK’S JOURNEY:

I’ve been observing wild things since I picked up a wounded black snake when I was three. My first story, written for a college course my senior year, described a life or death struggle I’d watched between a wolf spider and a predatory wasp. Two biology degrees later my appreciation for the balance of nature was greatly expanded and fueled a lifetime of watching, reading, and writing about the creatures around us.

When asked if I’d rather write about kids or animals, it’s animals hands down. The complete answer is that I’d rather write about animals for kids. For one thing, writing well about nature is a thoroughly enjoyable product of careful, patient observation. The more we look, the more we learn. The more we know, the better we write, and that works for children as well as for adults.

Twelve years ago I made a list of topics I’ve written about. They filled two pages. There would be many more than that now. A Place to Start a Family is my 93^rd published book and five more are on their way this year and next. Anyway, here’s one paragraph from the list: Hippopotamus, monkey, piranha, caiman, stars above the Amazon, fleeing butterfly, couple in dugout canoe, butterflies drinking, trees at night, Indian families in rain forest, myth of ants turning into vines, jungle birds, jungle rain, treetop frog nurseries, fallen tree, dark passage through the jungle, river dolphin, old woman, night sounds, rhythms in the rain forest, gnat, tick, mosquito, fly, spider, flea, mite, goose, turtle, chigger, baboon, friendless man, caterpillar, rooster, missing frog, wizard, sneezing, opossum, mud pies, man on the moon, cursive writing, having to go to the bathroom, fish in frozen pong, bugs under a rug, Harold the Hog, singing pig, mud, pet shop owner, smelly socks, drawing a horse, eating too many tacos, first day of school, getting kissed by girls, thinking about the future, worm, lizard, rat, meter in poetry, memory-based poems, how to revise, how to write stories, the last ice age, substitute teacher, ghost towns, prospector, writing poems.

When my artist pal, Giles Laroche, suggested a book about the kinds of constructions some animals create in which to produce their next generation, I was delighted to become part of the project. We both love our editor, Karen Boss, so with her blessings we set out to make a list of potential subject matter. Over time we picked our featured creatures and arranged them by chief habitat: underground, land, water, and air; thirteen of them, plus 100-word end notes to further describe each one. That’s a lot of material to include in a 32-page book, especially when you get page after luxurious page of Laroche treasures in the bargain!

Our first collaboration, Now You See Them, Now You Don’t, snared a Kirkus starred review, was named by NCTE as a Notable Book of Children’s Poetry, and won best children’s nonfiction book of the year awarded by The Society of Midland Authors. We have high hopes for equal or better success with this new title. Kathy will tell you how you might win a copy.

Kathy, thank you for inviting me to your blog. It’s always a pleasure and an honor.

DAVID’S BIO:

David Harrison has published ninety-two titles that have earned dozens of honors, including the Christopher Award for The Book of Giant Stories.  His work has been translated into twelve languages, anthologized more than one hundred eighty-five times, and appeared in over eighty magazines and professional journals. In Springfield, MO, David Harrison Elementary School is named for him. His poem, “My Book,” is sandblasted into The Children’s Garden sidewalk at the Burton Barr Library in Phoenix, Arizona and painted on a bookmobile in Pueblo, Colorado. David’s poetry inspired Sandy Asher’s popular, award winning school plays, Somebody Catch My Homeworkand Jesse and Grace and has been set to music performed for numerous live audiences. In 2007, the Missouri Librarian Association presented David with its Literacy Award for the body of his work. David holds science degrees from Drury and Emory universities and honorary doctor of letters degrees from Missouri State University and Drury University. He is poet laureate of Drury. David lives with his wife, Sandy, a business owner and retired guidance counselor. He is working on many new books.

http://davidlharrison.com
http://davidlharrison.wordpress.com

GILES’ BIO:

When Giles is not writing and illustrating  his own children’s picture books, Giles enjoys partnering with writers and poets
and creating cut-paper illustrations inspired by their words. Giles first book with David L. Harrison is titled NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DON’T. He has worked with Philemon Sturges on BRIDGES ARE TO CROSS, SACRED PLACES, and DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS and April Jones Prince on WHAT DO WHEELS DO ALL DAY?

Find out more about Giles and see more of his art on his website; http://www.gileslaroche.com “Art for kids and beyond” or at Charlesbridge Publishing’s website; http://www.charlesbridgepublishing.com.

Thank you David for sharing your book and journey with us. It looks like a wonderful mix of poems, educational information, and creative artwork from Giles Laroche. Good luck with the book.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy