Book Giveaway: PATCH OF SKY by Nic Yulo

Nic Yulo has a new picture book, PATCH OF SKY, published by Penguin Random House. They have agreed to send a copy to the one lucky winner in the US.

Just leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or talk about it on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Let me know other things you did to share the good news, so I can put the right amount of tickets in my basket for you. Sharing on Facebook, Twitter or reblogging really helps spread the word for a new book. So, thanks for helping Nic.

If you have signed up to follow my blog and it is delivered to you everyday, please let me know when you leave a comment and I will give you an extra ticket. If you want to make sure you don’t miss seeing that you won, please click “Notify Me of Follow-Up Comments by Email” box. I will leave a comment in reply if you win the book. Thanks!

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

A fiercely determined girl will do anything to help her best pig friend finally see the sky in this unique friendship story.

Pia just found out the terrible news that pigs can’t look straight up, which means her best friend and right-hand-pig Patches has never seen the sky. If you ask her, that is absolutely cuckoo bananas. Now Pia is on a mission to share the beauty of the big wide sky with Patches . . . and she will do whatever it takes!

From debut author-illustrator Nic Yulo comes this story of determination, empathy, and learning to look at the world (and the sky!) in a whole new way.

BOOK JOURNEY:

I still remember the day that I found out pigs couldn’t see the sky. My mom and brother were visiting and I recall telling them something along the lines of “Someone needs to fix this!”. Patch of Sky was born out of that unexpected shock and indignation. Since I wasn’t in a position to remedy the problem, I created someone who could. The phrase ‘Pia is on a mission’ echoed in my head over the next few days and the draft practically wrote itself!

As a kid, I was a Type A perfectionist, so it was important to me to show kids that failure isn’t the end of the story. It’s ok to mess up! Things might not go according to plan, but if you don’t give up, you can still change someone’s world. I wanted to create a protagonist that was able to recognize a problem, try to solve it, and persevere through failure. Pia embodies all of that. She is so clever and observant and cares so deeply about her friends. Kindness is her ultimate strength.

As for the art, I love the illustration style of the fifties and sixties—Cartoon Modern. Think Merrie Melodies musical shorts, Little Golden Books, and Mary Blair. Temper all that with a healthy admiration for comic books and you end up with bright, high-contrast illustrations with thick black lines. I knew I wanted the world of Patch of Sky to be dynamic and eye-catching, a match for the joyful way Pia sees it. All the visual elements align with her point-of-view and the arc of Pia and Patches’ friendship, down to the limited color palette and the changing colors of the sky to match Pia’s mood.

The story seemed to fall into place so smoothly and quickly that I was able to submit a picture book concept design for the Adobe Design Achievement Awards. It was named a Top Talent in Illustration from a pool of over two thousand entries. It has been such an unbelievable whirlwind since. Shortly thereafter, I signed with my brilliant agent, Alexandra Levick, and after a few weeks spent refining the manuscript, we took Patch of Sky on submission where it sold at auction to Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House).

I still have a hard time wrapping my head around all the enthusiasm that continues to materialize for the book, and I am just so thankful every day for the amazing journey I continue to have bringing this story to life. I am so proud of Patch of Sky and so profoundly grateful for everyone that has poured their time, love, and support into this little book. I couldn’t have asked for a better team or a more thrilling debut experience.

NIC’S BIO:

Nic Yulo is a children’s book author and writer-director whose work spans from picture books to AAA video games. She is a 2022 BAFTA Newcomer, a Chinonye Chukwu Emerging Writer Awardee, and a juror for the 2022 BAFTA Games Awards. Her work has received an Alfred P. Sloan Screenwriting Award, an Adobe Design Achievement Award, and has been recognized by the Sloan Film Summit presented by Film Independent, NYWIFT, SeriesFest, and Shondaland.

Her debut picture book, Patch of Sky, which brings easy STEM concepts to life for very young readers, will be published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in July 2022.
https://nicyulo.com/

Nic, thank you for sharing your book and journey with us. I love the idea of a little girl having a pet pig and caring so much about him that she is determine to make him happy. Kids will love the determination and heart of little Pia. I know they will love the fun illustrations and Pia’s blue hair and want to read about a pig who can’t see the sky. Good luck with the book.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy