Brillante Weblog Premio Award

Anastasia Suen nominated the Kane/Miller Kidlit blog for the Brillante Weblog Premio Award so I'm doing my part by adhering to the rules:

1. The award may be displayed on a winner’s blog.

2. Add a link to the person you received the award from.

3. Nominate up to seven other blogs.
   

4. Add their links to your blog.
   

5. Add a message to each person that you have passed the award on in the comments section of their blog.

Because I already have a blogroll which is included in the sidebar, I thought I'd use this as an opportunity to introduce blogs which I have discovered from our common membership in the Book Blogs social network, created over at NING.

Here are my nominations:

1. Aloi Reads
2. Reading, Writing, and Ranting
3. Out of the Blue
4. booklit: a literary handout
5. Reading Room

If you've guessed method of selecting the blogs (and bloggers) in this list, you'll be pleased to know that this is where a contest comes into play.

In the comments field, provide me with a list of the countries represented from the above bloggers and you'll be entered to win a set of our Fall 2008 titles (Ironically, winners must provide us with a U.S. address for which we will use to send the books to). Email must be included (it won't appear on line) in order to be eligible.

And, in case you're not already aware of the upcoming blogger events, check out the following links for details about Blog Day and Book Blogger Appreciation Week.

School Starts Soon

For many of us this week marks the last and final week of summer vacation. My son is here with me in the office this week and I hate to admit this, but I have yet to purchase anything on his school supply list. I have a feeling by the time I get to the stores this weekend the Halloween decorations will be on display and the people behind the counters will look at me funny when I pull out the list.

Needless to say, he is much more prepared for the new school year than I am. He's starting Pre-K and has been in "school" since he was eighteen months old. So why do I get teary-eyed when thinking of sending him off to a new adventure with a group of children his age?

Here's the Kane/Miller books that we read today, and those that we've read in the past (more for my benefit than his, of course!):

Kevin Goes to School


Little School


Something for School


Tibili: The Little Boy Who Didn't Want to Go to School

Big Brothers Are...

I don't have any brothers so I can't say for sure what the experience is like but watching my nephew with his new baby brother was certainly a pleasure and a treasure I will remember as they get older. I can just hear myself now, telling stories to the two of them about how loving and affectionate big brother J was towards his baby brother (at least that was the case last week).

I wish I could capture how much love was expressed in the countless number of times my three-year-old nephew brushed his lips on his brother's hair or toes, or fingers, or... you get the point. The fact that he did this all on his own, at random times throughout the day, made it even more poignant.

My sister is a few years older than me and among my dozens of cousins, there are mostly females (on both sides of our family), and we all, for the most part, have sons of our own. Watching babies and children grow up has been a life-changing experience and my little guy is not even five yet.

Check out the following Kane/Miller books that touch on the subject of new babies, siblings and family. They make great gifts when welcoming a loved one into the world.

And After That...


Little Brothers Are...
(Toddler Tales)


Purple Hair? I Don't Care!


What's Going On?

When I Was a Baby
(Toddler Tales)

Library Visit

I just got back from the library.

I'm in Minnesota right now, visiting family and having a true vacation (I haven't checked my work email since I got here). Some of my friends questioned why I chose to come here for my week off (as opposed to going someplace more flashy like Mexico or Miami).

Family is a priority for me and since my sister just had her second baby I wanted to meet him as soon as possible. This week I'm here with both her 8 week old baby and his three year old brother. Believe it or not, it has been very relaxing.

During our trip to the library, Big Brother and I had the difficult task of picking out books from the library (which is part of the Hennipin County Library System).

In a matter of minutes, we had over a dozen books in our pile, many of which were Kane/Miller titles that I did not pick out. There were several Kane/Miller books that I came across while looking through the picture books but my nephew managed to add Yellow Umbrella (that was missing its CD) and My Father's Shop to our reading pile.

Yellow Umbrella

We did finally narrow down the number of books to six (My Father's Shop made it to the last round). Immediately, my nephew wanted to read them so he chose one to look at in the car on the way home and we read three more when we got back to the house.

My Father's Shop

The library is a great place to spend a hot summer day. It's also a great time for people-watching. There were families there with young children, young adults on the computers and adults of various ages enjoying quiet time with a book.

If there was anything I was meant to "get" out of my time here this week, it's that reminder that I need to take advantage of the San Diego library more often. My son has a growing library of books at our house, but it's not often enough that we experience what the library has to offer.

My son is with his dad this week on the East Coast, but I know that when we're both back in Southern California, one of the first places we'll head to is our local library and I'm looking forward to reading with him - one of the main things I miss when we're not together.

Happy Birthday Janine!

Today is Janine Dawson's birthday. Janine is the illustrator behind Bobbie Dazzler and our Jack Russell: Dog Detective series.

Janine was born in New South Wales in 1957. She has lived and worked in Los Angeles, Canada, Taiwan, Thailand, and Sydney. She has worked as a film animator, director and teacher of English before settling on a career as a children's book illustrator.

Happy Birthday Trudy!

Today is the birthday of Australian author/illustrator, Trudy White. She wrote and illustrated our amazing gift book, Could You? Would You? which was featured on The Martha Show back in February of this year.

Trudy recently became a mom for the first time and we look forward to hearing more about her new baby as well as learning more about her upcoming projects. Of course, she's probably still enjoying life with a little one so we wish her a Happy Birthday and many sleep-filled nights.

Back-to-School Bash

Kane/Miller is pleased to be one of many sponsors for the upcoming VIRTUAL BACK TO SCHOOL PARTY - FOR ADULTS ONLY!

Getting ready for back to school isn't easy. Parents and educators deserve a bash too, right? Head to this back to school bash for a chance to connect with others and win some cool prizes (not JUST back to school gear for kids, but some great goodies for you, too).

Date: August 16
Time: 9pm
Location: MommyTalk




They will also announce the winner of the big Back to School Contest, which you can enter until August 15th. The grand prize is a Back to School Prize Pack worth more than $140! Be sure to register ahead of time (it's free!) so you can hop right into the chat room. Just show up at the time of the Back to School Bash and you're in.

BE SURE to invite your friends... Everyone is welcome.

Happy Birthday Julie!

Julie Vivas, of Australia, celebrates her birthday today. She came to Kane/Miller back in the early days of our company with the gorgeous art inside Mem Fox's Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

Illustration from Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge

We've had the pleasure of working with Julie on other titles over the years - Samsara Dog being her latest.

We wish her another year of happiness and health.

Bad for Business

Gas prices are the talk of the town lately. Every town. Is your business being affected by the high costs at the pump?

Supporting independent and locally owned businesses has always been a goal of Kane/Miller. We're a small, independent publisher and we know how important it is to support those who have supported us from day one.

If you own or manage an independent retail store let us know what you're doing to increase your sales during the dog days of summer. We could all use some innovative ideas to keep customers coming back for more.