International Publishing Professionals

Kane/Miller represents nearly 24 countries in our list of award-winning children's books from around the world.

I have come here to the Stanford Professional Publishing Course to meet new people, take home new skills, explore others' ideas and, hopefully, incorporate most of what I learned into the business and marketing plan for the future of our company.

While there are representatives here from both the book and magazine side of the industry, there are also publishing professionals here from - ironically - about 24 countries.

Over the last few days, I've sat down with professionals from South Africa, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Of course there's still dozens of other people who I have yet to talk to.

My horoscope this morning (I read it every day) states:

A foreign person will have a very positive influence in your life today, especially if they are a person from your past...

I may not know anyone here from my past but perhaps Kane/Miller's history will play a role.

International Children's Book Day

Even though all of our titles come from countries other than the U.S. it is a very special day when we can highlight our books that speak about or take place in a land that is somehow different than the ones we're used to seeing in a children's book.

Here are just a few of our books that take place in unique places in our world:

From France

My Father's Shop

From Taiwan

On My Way to Buy Eggs

From Japan

Girl from the Snow Country

From Australia

Are We There Yet?

From Australia

Ziba Came on a Boat

From the Netherlands

Little Fish

Have You Found Your Other Half?

With Valentine's Day two weeks away, folks are either asking themselves what to give their loved ones this year, or when they'll ever find their other half. I'll leave it up to you to decide which question is more prominent on my mind this year!

For those of you who are lucky enough to have someone to share your days (and nights) with, you'll understand the fright - followed by relief - felt by the main character in Gusti's Half of an Elephant. When the world suddenly splits in two and elephant finds half of himself missing, he searches the world over to find a replacement - with no luck.

From Mexico

Half of an Elephant
by Gusti

When the world suddenly returns to normal and his missing half is found, both halves recognize that while they could manage on their own, being part of a whole has its benefits (and they undoubtedly learn not to take one another for granted).

Readers will enjoy the off-the-wall art that Gusti created with his own "found" objects. Come V-Day I'll be reading this one, along with other picture books, with my other half (my son, who knows all too well what the world is like when something - or someone - goes missing).

On the Road Again

I leave this weekend for a quick trip to Canada. Feel free to send me warm wishes as I visit with our neighbors to the North - the cold, snowy North.

My day begins early Sunday morning when I head to Atlanta. Yes, I realize that this is not the direction I'm supposed to be heading but you know how airlines can be. I hang out in the airport for a few hours there before flying into Buffalo, New York. From there, I will take my rental car and drive across the border. I have a feeling that it will be much more difficult to get in and out of Canada than it is to drive South to Tijuana from here (and vice versa). My hotel is in Niagara-on-the-Lake which I hear is quite a pleasant little town.

On the Road
by Susan Steggall

Monday, I will meet our Canadian Distributors for a Sales Presenatation of our Spring 2008 titles, followed by a lunch with author and illustrator, Tina Burke, who recently moved to Toronto from Australia. I'm not sure where I will end up that afternoon, but I meet the crew from H.B. Fenn for a dinner meeting later that evening.

Tuesday morning I have an early lunch with an editor from a Canadian magazine before heading back to Buffalo to try and make it home by 11pm that night. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the flights are not delayed but at this time of year, one can never be sure.

Pay Close Attention!

For those of you with young children, you'll understand my awe at how amazing my son's memory is and the details he notices when we're driving in the car and of course, among the illustrations in the books we read.

Of course, my argument for this is that I'm too focused On the Road to notice the dog in the back of the van or too busy concentrating on reading the words in the story to see the small frogs hiding in the pictures (Paul Needs Specs).

Look closely, and you will discover many things in picture books that you might otherwise miss. Spend a day looking at the pictures alone and ignore the text. You may find a new appreciation for the stories that can be told without words.

From England
On the Road
by Susan Steggall


From Australia
Paul Needs Specs
Written by Bernard Cohen
Illustrated by Geoff Kelly


From Japan
Animal Faces
Written by Kyoko Toda
Photographs by Akira Satoh


From Germany
Something is Not Quite Right!
by Ralf Butschkow

From Japan
Who's Hiding?
by Satoru Onishi


From Mexico
Half of an Elephant
by Gusti


From South Korea
Yellow Umbrella
Illustrated by Jae Soo Liu
Music composed by Dong Il Sheen


From Australia
Fly, Little Bird
by Tina Burke

Now, see if you can't find all twenty-two frogs hidden in the illustrations of Paul Needs Specs, or if you can tell me what your favorite animal is made of from Half of an Elephant (mine is the giraffe made from a tape measure). Happy Hunting!