My Children's Book Academy blog post is now live!

I wrote my first blog post as a regular on the Children's Book Creative Blogonauts site! I talk about the preliminary process of coming up with the illustrations for The Girl Who Saved Yesterday. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Click here to read. I'll post the full blog here on Communique at the end of the week.

CAF Announces Program to Honor Women Airforce Service Pilots

My illustrated book, Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee, by Marissa Moss, was the story of one of the first Asian-American women pilots to serve as a member of the WASP during WWII. It was a pleasure and a privilege to have met Maggie in person and to hear her stories. let alone illustrate them. Marissa Moss and I were able to see her receive the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2010. She's no longer with us, but her spirit and inspiration live on.

Via Warbirds News:

"PRESS RELEASE – The newest addition to the CAF national educational outreach program is CAF RISE ABOVE: WASP. The initiative will bring the legacy of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) to a nationwide audience, with the inspirational story of a group of women that overcame social stigmas to serve their country with distinction."

Click here to read more. Hopefully, somewhere in the clouds, Maggie Gee is smiling.

Mondays with Mira: Mira Reisberg of the Children's Book Academy gives high marks to The Girl Who Saved Yesterday!

Very fortunate to have world-renowned children's lit expert and professor Mira Reisberg reviewing the collaboration between myself and Julius Lester! The post on the Children's Book Academy blog contains a text and video review, plus and interview with yours truly. I've embedded the two videos below. Here is a quote from the text review:

Carl Angel does a magnificent job of bringing this legend-inspiring story to life. From the very beginning, Silence’s adoptive family of trees captures the reader’s attention and doesn’t let it go. While the trees do have humanoid characteristics, they are clearly enigmas with facial features reminiscent of wooden tribal masks seen in a wide variety of cultures. His work with color to provide impact and emphasize light and darkness is truly remarkable, and many of his illustrations have a slightly blurred soft-focus effect that adds to the mythical quality of Silence’s journey to save Yesterday.

If you want to read the complete text review, click here:

Good Reads with Ronna praises The Girl Who Saved Yesterday!

Thanks to Christine Van Zandt for reviewing the book! Here's an excerpt:

In this beautifully written book, Silence recognizes the sounds of an unloved heart. Determination takes her to the mountain’s top; there she discovers the source of sadness and understands how to end the illness which had befallen this land.

Lester’s poetic lines are complemented by Angel’s bright, expressive images that help young readers understand the heart of this story: you cannot have Today without Yesterday. Once the ancestors’ memories are found, the spirits “encircled the people of the village, holding them in an embrace as gentle as eternity.”

For the complete review, click here::

Booklist Review

Forgot to add this review from earlier this month. Thank you, Booklist! 

"A young girl named Silence, who has been raised by the ancient trees of the forest, is directed to return to her village in order to save all the Yesterdays. Obediently she complies, although she doesn’t quite understand her task. Eventually she climbs a nearby mountain where she uncovers some glowing pink stones that mark the graves of village ancestors. Once the area around the stones is cleaned and restored, the markers release memories that save the Yesterdays. This lyrical fable fairly brims with rich language, and while the story’s meaning may take a few readings to become clear, the pleasure of Lester’s words makes the journey worthwhile. Angel’s lush and colorful spreads beautifully complement the text, setting the story in a small African village. Most impressive are his portrayals of personified trees and the magical memories that emanate from the ancestors and their graves. In addition to providing some excellent examples of vivid prose, this story is sure to spark discussion of cultural customs that honor the dead."
— Kay Weisman, Booklist

 

Finally...

The Girl Who Saved Yesterday, my latest illustrated book, will be available April 2016! In the month building up to the official release of the book (and throughout) I'll be posting images from the book as well as images of the process. 

Here's more information:

http://crestonbooks.co/static/yesterday.html

And a few reviews to get you primed:

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/julius-lester/the-girl-who-saved-yesterday/

http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/feb_16.htm

Thanks to both publications for truly understanding the book!