Langston's Lil' Library

Hello! Langston here reporting. I have officially opened Langston’s Lil’ Library for business. Opening a library up is a big deal. But I have a secret. 

Reading isn’t always my favorite thing to do. Especially when I can jump on my trampoline or play video games with my friends.

So why did I want to be a librarian of this library? Because I like to read these type of books!

Books like Colleen Paeff’s THE GREAT STINK: HOW JOSEPH BAZALGETTE SOLVED LONDON'S POOP POLLUTION PROBLEM.

I like to read books where I am on the cover!!

In GRACIAS, OMU! (Oge Mora), HAIR STORY (NoNieqa Ramos) and LUCA’S BRIDGE (Mariana Llanos), I see me! 

Almost all the books in my Lil Library by the Soaring ‘20s are in my big library at home. I say almost because they keep writing books!

Thank you Soaring ‘20s for donating your books and books by other authors you love!

Finally. My Lil Library is bussin because it has books in Arabic and Spanish. Can you help me and send more? I would love books in Kurdish, Hindi, Swahili, and more. 

You can DM my mom through her website, www.nonieqaramos.com, if you would like to donate!

Free Virtual Visits on World Read Aloud Day 2023

Mark your calendars for February 1, 2023 — it’s World Read Aloud Day! 

LitWorld started World Read Aloud Day (WRAD) in 2010 to honor the power and joy of reading. To celebrate, authors and illustrators come together each year to offer virtual classroom visits around the world.

Several Soaring ‘20s authors and illustrators still have spots available.

Most virtual visits go something like this:

• 1-2 minutes: Creator introduces themself and talks a little about their books.

• 3-5 minutes: Creator reads aloud a short picture book, or a short excerpt from a chapter book/novel

• 5-10  minutes: Creator answers a few questions from students about reading/writing.

• 1-2 minutes: Creator book-talks a couple books they love (but didn’t write/illustrate!) as recommendations for the kids.

Before you sign up, most authors request you have the following available.

• School name, grade level/teacher name, and approximate number of students

• Platform (ex. Zoom, Google Meet, Skype)

• Cell phone number for day-of-event emergencies

NOTE: Please pay attention to each creator’s time zone when scheduling. We are located across the US!

To check availability and/or schedule with an individual creator, click on their name below.

Qing Zhuang

Qing Zhuang

Books: Rainbow Shopping and How Long Is Forever?

10 am-12:20 pm ET

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Candy Wellins

Candy Wellins

Books: Saturdays Are for Stella, The Stars Beckoned: Edward White’s Amazing Walk in Space, and Mabel’s Topsy-Turvy Homes

9 am-3:30pm CT

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Susan Kusel

Susan Kusel

Book: The Passover Guest

9 am-4 pm ET 

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Isabella Kung

Isabella Kung

Books: No Fuzzball! and No Snowball!

9:30 am-1:30 pm PT

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M.O. Yuksel

M.O. Yuksel

Books: In My Mosque, One Wish: Fatima Al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University

8 am-2:20 pm ET

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Kjersten Hayes

Kjersten Hayes

Book: The Elephants’ Guide to Hide-and-Seek

7:30 am-12:30 pm PT

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Joana Pastro

Joana Pastro

Books: Lillybelle, a Damsel Not in Distress and Bisa’s Carnaval 

9 am-10:50 am and 12:30 pm-1:50 pm ET

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Lindsay H. Metcalf

Lindsay H. Metcalf

Books: No World Too Big: Young People Fighting Global Climate Change; No Voice Too Small; Beatrix Potter, Scientist; and Farmers Unite!

11 am-2:20 pm CT

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Julie Rowan-Zoch

Julie Rowan-Zoch

Books: Louis; I’m a Hare, So There!; and Not All Sheep Are Boring!

9:30 am-10:50 am MT

CLARINET AND TRUMPET Book Birthday and Giveaway!

By Melanie Ellsworth

John Herzog and I are blowing our own horns as we celebrate the birthday of our new picture book, CLARINET AND TRUMPET! Join in the fun by entering the giveaway for an author-signed copy of the book.

CLARINET AND TRUMPET is a friendship story. Friendships aren’t always easy, and sometimes we need a little reminder — like Clarinet gets in this book — about the importance of our friends.

Melanie Ellsworth with her clarinet

CLARINET AND TRUMPET is also a story about community. In a band, each instrument’s voice is unique and important. When you put all those voices together, you have big, beautiful, bold MUSIC! I hope this book makes readers laugh at the musical puns and the instruments’ antics. But I also hope it reminds us all that it takes a multiplicity of voices to make something bigger, better, and more beautiful, whether it’s a school or a business or a town or a country (or a book!).

To learn more about CLARINET AND TRUMPET, tune in to my book talk here:

Thanks to my editor, Chris Krones at HMH, for all her fine-tuning work on CLARINET AND TRUMPET, to my agent, Christa Heschke, and her assistant, Daniele Hunter, for helping me stay upbeat during submissions, and for my critique group for their sharp eyes as they read my stories. And thanks to my family, who lets me know which of my ideas are a bit flat. 

For any readers out there who love clarinets, trumpets, and the Cantina tune from Star Wars, check out this duet.

And here’s a joke shared by one of my critique partners in honor of CLARINET AND TRUMPET’S birthday: 

Where do clarinets go when they get sick?

Walter Reed.

Stay tuned for the May 5 webinar event at Print: A Bookstore with me and John Herzog to discuss the making of CLARINET AND TRUMPET.

Giveaway Details

For a chance to win a copy of CLARINET AND TRUMPET, enter the Rafflecopter below by 11:59 p.m. PT on April 5. I’ll announce the winner on Twitter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Details

CLARINET AND TRUMPET

by Melanie Ellsworth, Illustrated by John Herzog

Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0358107477
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

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Photo by Amy Wilton

Melanie Ellsworth writes picture books, including HIP, HIP…BERET! (HMH, 2021) and CLARINET AND TRUMPET (HMH, 2021). Over the years, Melanie has played a variety of instruments, including the piano, saxophone, and clarinet. She has yet to try out the trumpet. (Pssst … don’t tell anyone, but clarinet is her favorite!) Visit Melanie at her website, on Twitter, Instagram, or on Facebook.