I’m thrilled that One Tiny Bubble received second place in the Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design – Children’s Category. A huge congrats to designer Alisa Baldwin and the Owlkids Publishing team! Dawn Lo’s wonderful illustrations gave them so much to work with. You can read the list of winners here.
Many thanks to Anne-Marie Strohman for her insightful writing-craft review of my picture book One Tiny Bubble, illustrated by Dawn Lo. Anne-Marie and I both attended the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she is certainly a writer to watch.
In her article, Anne-Marie looks at how my writing choices pull the reader into the story of LUCA – our Last Universal Common Ancestor – through the use of direct address, invitation to the reader, kid-friendly comparisons, alliteration, repeated sequences, and more. She begins:
“Non-fiction books are meant to provide information to young readers. But many non-fiction books also tell the reader a story. And some of the best non-fiction books go the extra mile to pull readers into that story. Exhibit A: One Tiny Bubble: The Story of Our Last Universal Common Ancestor by Karen Krossing.”
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I first crossed paths with Anne-Marie Strohman when we both attended the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA), and I quickly learned that she is an insightful writer and a fabulous community organizer. It was an honour to be interviewed by Anne-Marie on KidLitCraft, especially because she asked so many thoughtful questions. We discussed writing inspiration, what I learned at VCFA, writing quests, and more. Please take a look, and don’t forget to sign up for the KidLitCraft newsletter for more great content.
Today on the Picture Books, Eh! blog, I chat with illustrator Dawn Lo about our upcoming nonfiction picture book One Tiny Bubble and reveal a sneak peak!
To check it out, go to Creator chat: ONE TINY BUBBLE!
What do you do when your fantastic editor, Stacey Roderick of Owlkids Books, asks you for photo references of a one-celled life-form that lived over 3.5 billion years ago? You turn to an expert.
I’d like to thank Dr. William F. Martin of the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf for generously sharing his time and expertise to review the text and advise me when I needed to provide photo references for LUCA – our Last Universal Common Ancestor. LUCA is the one-and-only organism that every living being on Earth can be traced back to. It’s also the subject of One Tiny Bubble – my upcoming picture book with illustrator Dawn Lo, published by Owlkids Books.
Dr. Martin was also generous enough to provide an expert review of the finished book. Here’s what he had to say:
I can’t wait to share LUCA’s inspirational story and Dawn’s vibrant illustrations with our whole Earth family in September.