Illustration Friday - Paisley

Cora in her paisley dress from my award-winning picture book, Cora Cooks Pancit. In a week I'll receive the APALA picture book award for this book at the ALA conference in Washington DC!

Illustration Friday - Slither

Another illustration from my picture book, DANCING DREAMS, to be published by Accord Publishing in Sept 2010.

Illustration Friday - Early

This is an early peek at a picture book I have coming out in Sept 2010. The title is DANCING DREAMS, to be published by Accord Publishing. In this story, Gracie dreams of dancing everything from ballet to hula to flamenco to country.

Illustration Friday - Fearless

Oliver the puppy isn't afraid to join in and sing out loud. He obviously agrees with Buddy the Elf who taught us, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."

I illustrated these for the picture book Oliver's First Christmas, to be released in October, 2010, by Accord Publishing.

Illustration Friday - Ahead

I just finished this cover illustration for a picture book I have coming out this fall called Oliver's First Christmas, to be published by Accord Publishing. The snowflakes in the snow globe will actually be animated with an animotion window.

What's ahead for this little puppy? Lots of mischief!

3 months old

My squeaker is 3 months old today, and she's been a dream baby - sleeping 11 hours at night, playing so nicely next to me as I work, giving me lots of her adorable smiles, and just being a joyful blessing!

Happy Easter

"He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less." — C.S. Lewis

We had a beautiful Easter day celebrating Jesus' gift to us. Hope your Easter was just as lovely.

Illustration Friday - Rescue

From the picture book, CORA COOKS PANCIT.

Picture Book Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature

More great news: CORA COOKS PANCIT was the Picture Book Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature! Last year, the winner was WABI SABI, which is an incredible picture book, so I'm thrilled to be in such amazing company!

The award ceremony is during the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. in June.

Go CORA!

CORA COOKS PANCIT is in the annual best-of-the-year list of the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC), called CCBC Choices 2010. Yay! The complete CCBC Choices 2010 publication featuring books published in 2009 will include annotations and recommended ages for all of the books included, as well as an author/title/subject index, and a commentary on the publishing year. It'll be available in March.



More great news: CORA COOKS PANCIT was reviewed in the November, 2009 issue of School Library Journal!

LAZO GILMORE, Dorina K. Cora Cooks Pancit. illus. by Kristi Valiant. unpaged. glossary. CIP. Shen's. 2009. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-885008-35-0. LC 2008045836.

PreS-Gr 3--When Cora's Filipino family cooks together, she's always stuck doing the "kid jobs." Then one day when her older siblings are out and about, Cora gets her chance to bond with Mama in the kitchen. She even gets to choose her favorite dish, so the two of them make a large bowl of noodles, chicken, and vegetables called pancit. Clear expository prose explains how to perform kitchen tasks. For example, Mama tells Cora, "Open the package of rice noodles and put them in this bowl of water." Then she engages her daughter by asking her, "Do you know why we soak them?" These scenes effectively model how adults can introduce children to cooking. The simple, direct style also makes the book equally well suited as a read-aloud and for newly independent readers. The artwork nicely complements the text, as Valiant's warm hues of gold, red, and orange highlight the family's loving relationship. They also capture Cora's feelings through facial expressions. Wide eyes and smiles show the child's joy at cooking with her mother, while a downcast mouth and arched eyebrows illustrate her anxiety that her family won't like her pancit. Although this dish is unique to Cora's culture, children of all backgrounds will share her feelings at being allowed to help cook a meal for the first time. A solid choice for schools and public libraries, especially where family-based programming is popular.--Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY