Photototz: Call for Entries

Feel free to repost!

Joan and I are launching a segment called: Photototz over at readertotz! We are inviting all authors/illustrators to send a cover of their latest book AND a photo of when they were a tot. We'll stream these onto the blog and collect the entries in the sidebar. It should be fun!

If you'd like to participate, send your images to readertotzatclearwiredotnet Share a little baby smile and celebrate your recent release!

To get things going, here's mine. I'm a tot of 20 months. :~)

And if you are a parent or grandparent of a tot, feel free to send a photo of you reading together to the above address. We'll be happy to share it with our growing community!

Show us those baby faces, readertotz!

Hug Hug! Press Release

Immediate Release

CO-FOUNDER OF READERGIRLZ AND READERTOTZ CELEBRATES A NEW BOARD BOOK: HUG, HUG!

Author/illustrator Lorie Ann Grover's new board book for babies and toddlers embodies the love of a hug.


December 16, 2008 (Seattle, Wash.) – readergirlz and readertotz co-founder and author/illustrator Lorie Ann Grover's new board book Hug Hug! has just been released from Little Simon. Endearingly illustrated by Rebecca Malone, the work beautifully expresses love from the largest animals to the smallest bug.

Hugs with our noses. (elephants) Hugs in red roses. (ladybugs)

Hugs round the neck. (giraffes) Hugs with a peck. (chickens)

"I loved the thought that we all snuggle and hug each other," says Grover. "It was exemplified as I watched Sumner High School band students greeting each other, and swallows were nesting in the school vents. Pairing a rhyme with each spread was the perfect format to mimic a hug and share this concept with parents and their babies."

Hug Hug! is a sturdy board book which introduces a love of reading to preschoolers and reinforces the comfort of a hug.

About readergirlz, readertotz, Lorie Ann Grover, and Rebecca Malone

readergirlz is the foremost online book community for teen girls, led by six critically acclaimed YA authors. The site is the recipient of a 2007 James Patterson PageTurner Award and the Association for Library Services to Children, ALA, Great Web Sites Award. www.readergirlz.com

readertotz is a blog which showcases infant-toddler books as an important addition to children's literature. http://readertotz.blogspot.com

Lorie Ann Grover is the author of three young adult verse novels (Loose Threads, On Pointe, Hold Me Tight) and three board books (When Daddy Comes Home, Hug Hug!, Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish). http://lorieanngrover.blogspot.com

Rebecca Malone is an illustrator from Massachusetts who enjoys creating beautiful works with acrylic paints. www.rebeccamaloneillustration.com

Contact information:
Email: lorieanngrover@clearwire.net
Website: http://lorieanngrover.blogspot.com

Where is everything?

Sometimes as an author you stop and say, "Wait. Where is everything?" So here's where it's all at right now.

Hug Hug! comes out December 16th from Little Simon. I'll be doing something very fun for the launch with my amazing friend Joan Holub.

The new paperback of Rainy Day Slug comes out March 1st.


Hm. Then my Scholastic Cartwheel board book, Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish comes out in June, I think. I have the cover but don't know if I can share it yet! Debra Ziss has made the sweetest Little Fish.



My novel about Korea is in the hands of my amazing agent, Elizabeth Harding. Will I need another rewrite or not, is the question! This part is very nervy making. (The following photos are my collages or visual maps of my works in progress.)

Then my prose fantasy is off to my fab critique group buddies, Joan Holub and Dia Calhoun. I expect at least a month of work when they send their comments back to me. My dear friend Justina Chen Headley may read it in October in China. Then there will be--another rewrite.


So what right now? Well, there's a first draft of a verse novel I can get back to in the meantime. I wrote a work after the experiences of my daughter's friend Sarah. (Sarah is in the foreground, and Emily is in the background.)


There's much to do on the work. Sarah's story is chilling, and I'm so ready to get back to it. I'm right at that juncture where I need to breakaway away into fiction. Opening your hand and letting the truth go to make a better story is a distinct step in writing from life experiences. That is exactly where I'm at. And I have a few minutes right now to get going!