Shennen Bersani's Weblog

Looks like I have a little catching up to do...

Time flies when I'm illustrating books... It occurred to me that I have a little catching up to do.  

Here are some photos of events I attended:

Here I am at The National Book Festival in Washington, DC.  It's an annual event held on the National Mall.

The state of Montana selected  The Glaciers are Melting! to represent them at the festival.  Here is a peek at the Montana booth before the crowds arrived and took away their book marks!

The following week I attended the South Shore Buddy Walk with my sister Holly and My Sister, Alicia May's author Nancy Tupper Ling.

I brought along most of my books with me.  Here I am highlighting Home in the Cave.

Last month I did an art activity at the Medford Family Network followed by a reading at Best Sellers Cafe.  

I received a little assistance from Pluribus Packrat and his flashlight.

Spring has heralded in two new book releases!  The first one is Butterfly Colors and Counting. Butterfly Colors and Counting received a Starred Review from Kirkus 

and its art made the cover of Charlesbridge's gift catalog. 

My second spring release is Shark Baby.  Here he gets a helping hand from the postman.  :-)

Speaking of Shark Baby its publisher, Sylvan Dell Publishing, has fabulous free resources for teachers, librians, and home schoolers - or just moms, like I was when my kids were young, who can't get enough science info in front of their kids!  Here are the coloring pages you will find on their website (along with other really awesome Teaching Activities!).

I now find myself back at the drawingboard - look for more butterflies and ocean books to be released in 2014!

Well over two million copies of my books have been sold world wide.  Here's a quick link to most, not all, of my books on Amazon.  Happy Reading!!

Yahoo!! For Montana and the 2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival

I am yahoo-ing with excitement!  Montana State Library and Humanities Montana have selected “The Glaciers are Melting” as THE book to represent Montana at the 12th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival, which will be held in Washington, DC, September 22 & 23 on the National Mall.  The Pavilion of the States is Saturday only.  From the festival's website:

Pavilion of the States (Saturday only)

The Pavilion of the States, sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, salutes the literary traditions of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories. A brochure available in this pavilion, called “Discover Great Places Through Reading,” offers a list of 52 great reads. Many of these books will be for sale in the Book Sales Pavilion.

Celebrate the Book with Two Days of Writers, Poets & Pavilions

Enlarge

Come to the 12th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. The festival is free and open to the public. Festival poster by Rafael López.

Download Poster (PDF, 2.1 Mb) 
See gallery of all posters

This year's festival will feature authors, poets and illustrators in several pavilions, including two Sunday-only pavilions: Science Fiction, Fantasy & Graphic Novels and Special Presentations. Festival-goers can meet and hear firsthand from their favorite poets and authors, get books signed, hear special entertainment, have photos taken with storybook characters and participate in a variety of activities.

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Meet the characters:

Peter Pika 

Wiley Wolverine

Harry Hare, Mandy Marmot, and Sally Squirrel 

the ever lovely Tammy Ptarmigan 

with a special guest appearance from The Mountain Monarch!

Art from The Glaciers are Melting!  written by Donna Love, illustration copyright Shennen Bersani, Sylvan Dell Publishing 2011. 

Does Wiley Wolverine have these five fine friends [over] for dinner?  Does the glacier melt?  You'll have to read the book to find out!

Hope to see you in Washington, DC, on Sept. 22!!

Book signing at Bayswater Books, Center Harbor, NH

Photos from today's book signing.  I'm wearing my Pluribus Packrat necklace.  These are some of the actual items I illustrated for Pluribus' nest.

from Home in the Cave, written by Janet Halfmann, illustration copyright Shennen Bersani, 2012.

Joining me in these photos is author Jean Heilprin Diehl.  It was a real pleasure meeting her in person! 

 

Book updates

First, a BIG Shout Out for Home in the Cave for winning the 2012 Gold Gelett Burgess Award for the Growing Up category.  Amazingly, Let My Colors Out won the same award for 2011!  I'm very proud of both!!

I'm tremendously excited about my upcoming spring 2013 releases! 

I have two butterfly books coming out with Charlesbridge, written by Jerry Pallotta.  The first will be released in spring 2013 - Butterfly Colors and Counting.  Isn't this THE perfect Spring book?!

Just in time for summer reading adventures, also being released spring 2013 from Sylvan Dell Publishing, written by Ann Downer, is Shark Baby.  You can follow Shark Baby on Facebook.  

I had a couple adventures of my own preparing to illustrate these books!  

For my two butterfly books, I have had numerous visits to The Butterfly Place in Westford, MA; Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory & Gardens in South Deerfield, MA; and the Butterfly Garden at the Museum of Science in Boston, MA (of which I've been a member for over 20 years and highly recommend!).  

Shark Baby had me packing up my suitcase!  Always starting from Boston - my home base - I first visited The New England Aquarium (I'm a member there, too!) - but Shark Baby is the story of a baby swell shark whose egg case gets torn loose in a storm and finds himself on a journey through different ocean habitats; kelp forests, coral reefs, and seagrass meadows... so.... I followed in Shark Baby's fins and flew out to the kelp forest of Monterey Bay and visited the aquarium there...

Me, holding a swell shark egg case in Monterey Bay

While on the West Coast I stopped by the California Academy of Sciences and took a look at their horn shark specimens and also, while in San Francisco, stopped in at the Aquarium of the Bay where they have a terrific adult swell shark on display.  

But Mother Ocean has our hero Shark Baby visiting other habitats - so I also flew to Crystal River, Florida, where I went swimming with manatees.

I wonder where my next book will lead me??

(I'm currently illustrating my 17th children's book, in case you are keeping count.)

 

A weekend on Aquidneck Island.

I had the distinct pleasure of revisiting Aquidneck Island, RI, for March Into Reading this past Friday and Saturday.  Aquidneck Island is made up of the towns of Portsmouth and Middletown and the city of Newport.  Friday morning I visited the third graders at the Aquidneck School and the Forest Ave. School, both in Middletown.  After lunch I visited with the students at St. Philomena's School in Portsmouth.  Wonderful Middletown librarian Tara Manion drove me around and was an angel of mercy helping me schlep my sketch pad and supplies!!  Thank you Tara!!  St. Philomena's librarian Jeanne Kelley had a special surprise for me - a terrific fifth grade gentleman named Ben introduced me!  Ben had written a great introduction for me!  He told me he researched and learned all about me by reading this blog.  :-)  

On Saturday I signed books and then gave a featured presentation in the Bazarsky Lecture Hall at Salve Regina University, Newport, RI.  Ben was present and introduced me.  Here's Ben.

And here are some photos of me at Salve:

On Friday and Saturday I wore this necklace.  It has some of the actual objects Pluribus Packrat had gathered into his nest.

From, Home in the Cave, written by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Shennen Bersani (me), Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2012.  Illustration copyright, Shennen Bersani, 2012.

Thank you Kitty Rok and all the people involved with the Aquidneck Collaborative for Education (ACE) for inviting me.  It is always a pleasure to visit with the children of Aquidneck.  :-)

March Into Reading 2012

I am very excited to be returning to Aquidneck Island on March 2nd and 3rd for March Into Reading 2012.  I always enjoy visiting and meeting the students in Middletown, Portsmouth, and Newport, RI.

Here's a fabulous website with lots of details: Wild About Reading and the official info on Salve Regina University's website: Aquidneck Collaborative for Education

Here's the official flyer:

I think Baby Bat and Pluribus Packrat will make a guest appearance.  :-)

From Home in the Cave, written by Janet Halfmann, Sylvan Dell Publishing 2012.

Heck of a Bunch-February 2012
A book with delightful illustrations, Home in the Cave is a keen story for younger children to learn about bats and caves.  A baby bat doesn't want to leave the comforts of the cave but soon runs across a rat that explores the cave with him, showing why bats are important to other animals and the different animals that dwell in caves.  The baby bat learns that it's important to learn to hunt and leave the cave so it can be dependable to the other cave creatures.  In the "Creative Minds" section at the back of the book you can learn about life in cave zones, rock formations, cave habitats, bat ecolocation, and more.
Go to review online

Reading 2 Know-February 2012
Home in the Cave is the first book we read and quite possibly my favorite. This, despite the fact that I am not fond of the little buggars. (We have had a bat or two inside our home. Two of which we've discovered flying over us in our bed at 2 a.m. Not exactly my idea of a good time or a welcome houseguest!) This one though is by one of our favorite animal authors, Janet Halfmann. In this story, Baby Bat loves his cave home and thinks he never wants to leave it, despite the fact that his mother is telling him he needs to practice flying so that he can go out and hunt for his own food. He makes friends with another cave dweller, a packrat, who shows him around the cave and teaches him how necessary bats are when it comes to sustaining cave life for other animals. This book is informative and interesting.
Go to review online

Hope to see you at Salve Regina University on Saturday!

 

 

Ringing in the New Year with a New Book

I end 2011 illustrating my 14th book.

Today something special came in the mail - my early copy of Home in the Cave.  

Written by Janet Halfmann, published by Sylvan Dell Publishing.  Available in February 2012 or by preorder on Amazon now.

"Baby Bat loves his cave home and never wants to leave it. While practicing flapping his wings one night, he falls, and Pluribus Packrat rescues him. They then explore the deepest, darkest corners of the cave where they meet amazing animals—animals that don’t need eyes to see or colors to hide from enemies. Baby Bat learns how important bats are to the cave habitat and how other cave-living critters rely on them for their food. Will Baby Bat finally venture out of the cave to help the other animals?"

Other exciting book news -

The Glaciers are Melting! made the 2012 Green Earth Book Award SHORT LIST.  Winners will be notified the end of January.  

 

 

 

 

 

I'm looking forward to school visits, book signings, and more adventures in 2012.

Happy New Year!

Four Awards for 2011

My books have won some recent awards and recognitions!

The Glaciers are Melting!  is a USA "Best Books 2011" Awards Finalist, Children's Picture Book: Hardcover Fiction.

The Long and the Short of It: A Tale About Hair  is a USA "Best Books 2011" Awards Finalist, Children's Picture Book: Hardcover Non-Fiction

AND

A 2011 Gold Mom's Choice Award winner!

Astro: The Steller Sea Lion  is a 2011 Gold Mom's Choice Award winner.

Three great reviews and another two awards :-)

I want to mention three new really great reviews, two for Astro The Steller Sea Lion and one for Let My Colors Out.  

First Jennifer Kulman wrote a terrific review about Astro for For Immediate Release Reviews - KIDS!

Equally terrific is Cindi Rose's Astro review for The San Francisco Children's Fiction Examiner.

But on the heels of Let My Colors Out's fifth award, National Health Information Award, Silver 2010, comes this gem of a review by Pam Stephan for About.com: Breast Cancer.

I hope you get a chance to check them all out.

update:

Nana, What's Cancer? won its fourth award, National Health Information, Gold 2010!

Off The Shelf with Leslie Gaydos on NECN

I was interviewed this morning by Leslie Gaydos on Off The Shelf on NECN.  I talked a bit about my books and, of course, Astro.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

'Astro: The Steller Sea Lion'

Illustrator and cancer survivor Shennen Bersani  opens up about her work

Growing With Science Blog review

Here's a fabulous review about Astro The Steller Sea Lion written by Roberta Gibson on Growing With Science Blog.

Roberta gives valuable information about Steller Sea Lions, a video link to Sea Lions' disappearance, an Astro link, and some fun stuff about me.

She had written to me and had asked if I would be interested in revealing my technique for creating the illustrations. I was happy to tell her about Arches watercolor paper, colored pencils, and layers.  I also told her how I included likenesses of real people in the book, including myself!

Me, looking at the Northern Fur Seals.

I also told Roberta how I snuck myself into two other books.  Here I am in Nana, What's Cancer?

and My Sister, Alicia May:

   

Can't you tell I love what I do?  (Being an illustrator!)  :-)

Catching up, once again

Time flies and it feels like life's a whirlwind! 

I had the wonderful experience of presenting at March Into Reading again this year.  Three elementary schools in Portsmouth, RI, and a presentation at Salve Regina University in their auditorium.

During the spring I illustrated my third ACS book, The Long and the Short of It: A Tale About Hair.  This will be released in December and is already available on Amazon for pre-order.

Let My Colors Out won its fourth award, National Indie Excellence Awards Program, Finalist Children's Nonfiction 2010.

Astro The Steller Sea Lion was released.

And I'm finishing up the art for my second Sylvan Dell book, The Glaciers are Melting! (spring 2011)

 

Nana, What's Cancer? wins a GOLD Mom's Choice Award

Nana, What's Cancer? has won a GOLD award in the Children's Picture Books (Health & Safety) category of the Mom's Choice Awards.

 

One year anniversary!

Today marks the one year anniversary of my being cancer free!