|
By Donna Cangelosi  Actress and kidlit author Jamie Lee Curtis recently made an appearance at Bookends in Ridgewood, NJ, promoting her new picture book, THIS IS ME: A STORY OF WHO WE ARE & WHERE WE CAME FROM. The audience was a diverse, inter-generational crowd; young moms with babies in tow, preschoolers, school-age children, teens, movie buffs, and in the third row, two aspiring picture book writers- my critique pal, Nancy Anton, and yours truly. Full of energy, Jamie arrived early and shared backstories about movies, took selfies with everyone in the audience, and signed books. She described THIS IS ME as a story about identity. THIS IS ME, written from a teacher's point of view, opens with the line, "My great-grandmother came from a far, distant place. She came on a boat with just this small case." The story addresses ancestry and family values and invites young readers to explore items that represent who they are. Jamie commented about the book's universal theme. "It doesn't matter what color or religion we are or what we believe, we all came from somewhere."  A master at capturing universal themes, Jamie Lee Curtis has written ten additional picture books that tackle the struggles and wonders of growing up. Illustrated by Laura Cornell, each of these books is filled with heart, humor, magnificent images and relatable characters. And they have fun titles too! MY BRAVE YEAR OF FIRSTS: TRIALS, SIGHS & HIGH FIVES, 2012 (new experiences) MY MOMMY HUNG THE MOON: A LOVE STORY, 2010 (mother-child bond) BIG WORDS FOR LITTLE PEOPLE, 2008 (communication & empowerment) IS THERE REALLY A HUMAN RACE? 2006 (self-awareness) IT'S HARD TO BE FIVE: LEARNING HOW TO WORK MY CONTROL PANEL, 2004 (self-control) I'M GONNA LIKE ME: LETTING OFF A LITTLE SELF-ESTEEM, 2002 (self-esteem) WHERE DO BALLOONS GO? AN UPLIFTING MYSTERY, 2000 (imagination & loss) TODAY I FEEL SILLY, AND OTHER MOODS THAT MAKE MY DAY, 1998 (moods & feelings) TELL ME AGAIN ABOUT THE NIGHT I WAS BORN, 1996 (adoption) WHEN I WAS LITTLE: A FOUR-YEAR-OLD'S MEMOIR OF HER YOUTH, 1993 (growing up) The Takeaway: Writing about a universal theme makes our books more relatable. Share your experiences about writing picture books that capture universal themes in the comments below.  Oh, This Is Me with Jamie Lee!
6 Comments
10/19/2017 07:16:43 pm
Such a nice author! I'm so happy for you because you got the chance to meet this amazing author. By the way, you both looked pretty in that picture you posted in this blog. I hope you do more of this meet and greet with some of the most inspiring authors out there. Please keep on sharing this kind of blog post because I think it has a better quality content than any other kind of blogs. 3/23/2018 05:53:21 am
a wonderful book, I'm sure that she has already sold a large number of copies, I wish you success in the difficult matter of the writer 6/19/2018 01:26:05 am
It was very unexpected and everyone was also surprised. The article shows the most necessary facts. 7/11/2018 01:28:19 am
It is these books that help parents bring up in your child a personality that will be self-sufficient and developed for a successful life. 1/24/2020 05:34:26 pm
I was thinking; how can you write a book for kids and you need to sound like a kid to your book? That's quite challenging, isn't it? But I can feel that Jamie Lee Curtis can do it without any effort. Actually, I have read several books that were all written by Jamie Lee Curtis, and I must say that she is really a good author. I just hope to meet her as soon as possible because she is indeed a good author and it would be a huge honor for me to get a photo with her! Leave a Reply. |
AuthorsDonna Cangelosi and Chana Stiefel are picture book critique partners & friends who are passionate about kids' books & are eager to share tidbits from their writing journey with other aspiring writers. SubscribeArchives
July 2019
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed