A wild welcome for It's a Jungle Out There!

We're thrilled to welcome the companion to Jennifer Ward's popular I LOVE DIRT! this month---and we're sure parents and kids are going to be wild about it! UrbanBaby recommended IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE! as their "Daily Pick" of the day today!

More reviews and mentions---listen to the buzz!
Ohdeedoh loves it: city kids can enjoy nature too.
Eco Child's Play recommends as one of five green products
Nature Moms talks about using the book in your city

Once again, Susie Ghahremani's gorgeous artwork fills the interior pages, and this time is also featured on the eye-catching cover! Watch for the virtual book tour, book giveaways and more coming soon at Jennifer Ward's website www.jenniferwardbooks.com

City Nature Adventures

City kids might be more used to the elements of the concrete jungle (subways, taxicabs, and crowds) but there is also much for them to explore in the natural world. From the author of I Love Dirt! and Let's Go Outside! comes a new guide for urban children and their parents, It’s a Jungle Out There! 52 Nature Adventures for City Kids. Author Jennifer Ward provides unique activities, games, and adventures specific for city environments so curious kids can engage their sense of wonder and imagination.

It's compact (throw it in your purse moms) and complete with practical information including "Plant the Seed" sidebars that help direct your child's learning. All the seasons are covered in the chapters as well as an additional tool, "Indoor Inspirations: Activities to Experience the Outdoors When the Weather Prevents Going Out and About."

52 Open-ended activities include:

* Packing and Tracking in the Park
* Pondering Ponds and Puddles
* Stars Above
* Neighborhood Nest Map
* Snow Stories

Jennifer Ward offers additional resources ad recommendations at the conclusion of her book to help exploring families that want the journey to continue. Susie Ghahremani's appealing and simple illustrations add to the gentle feel of this handy book.

Whether the weather is wonderful or wicked help your child become connected to the rhythms and opportunities that abound in nature.

Available at Amazon.com

Also by Jennifer Ward, with illustrations by Susie Ghahremani:

Introducing Sara!

Happy summer! We’re thrilled to kick off the summer by “officially” introducing our newest agent at Full Circle, Sara Sciuto!

Sara has been working with Full Circle behind the scenes since last September, and is a recent graduate of University of California, San Diego. Before joining Full Circle, she gained valuable experience working on film and foreign rights with Taryn Fagerness Agency.

This is good news for Full Circle and great news for authors! Sara is actively building her list with a focus on some areas that Full Circle Literary hasn’t represented in the past. You may have noticed a recent update on our FCL Submissions Guidelines opening the doors to dystopian and science fiction submissions, for example. I’ve asked Sara to share a bit about her interests—here are a few words from Sara and you’ll be hearing more from her on our blog!

***

Hello! My name is Sara Sciuto and I’m over-the-moon about joining such an amazing agency, and wanted to share a bit about me and the kinds of projects I’d like to see. I am actively building my list with a focus on middle grade and young adult fiction—dystopian, science fiction, fantasy, unique paranormal, and contemporary stories with a strong, unique voice.

My personal wish list includes: a gritty dystopia, like SHIP BREAKER; a story with an experimental narrative structure, reminiscent of FEED; a utilitarian dystopia (I’m pretty sure I just made that term up, but if it makes sense to you I’d like to see your work! Hint: MATCHED, DIVERGENT); something creepy, or that utilizes mixed media, or both as in MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN. I’m also a sucker for anything in the Deep South (sweet contemporary to dark paranormal), gritty contemporary, dystopian thrillers, anything with international locales or period settings (think flappers or "Mad Men"), and anything with artistic themes.

A paranormal warning: I'll likely be passing if I see the words “vampire” or “werewolf”; and if you're writing about angels/immortals/demons there needs to be another element (e.g. dystopia, à la ANGEL BURN) or a really unique twist. Better yet, it’s a creature or phenomena that I’ve never seen before. For contemporary stories I steer away from teen or relationship drama (i.e. teen chick-lit)—I prefer contemporary stories with some grit or quirkiness to them.

I would also consider picture books with a quirky or humorous narrative. I'm also considering select nonfiction in the areas of craft, design, how-to, lifestyle, and pop culture. Currently, I'm NOT considering any adult fiction (all genres). I hope that gives you a sense for my tastes; though honestly, when I’m going through submissions, overall I’m looking for a unique concept and strong writing. I’m accepting submissions via email only per our FCL Submission Guidelines at: submissions (at) fullcircleliterary (dot) com

At various points in my life I’ve wanted to be a food writer, a child psychologist, a vagabond, a molecular biologist, and a professional photographer, to name a few!—so agenting is the perfect job for me in that I can explore my inanely broad and ever-changing interests in many different types of projects. My great passions in life are travel and good food (really, they go hand-in-hand)—and, of course, good books but I think that goes without saying!

If you’d like to meet me in person, I’ll be on faculty at the following conferences in the coming months and hope to see you there!

SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles, Aug. 5-8

SCBWI OC Editor’s Day, Cal State Fullerton, Oct. 1

Avondale Writers Conference, Avondale, AZ, Oct. 29

If you want to read more about me check out my recent blog interview with Mother. Write. (Repeat.)

International Latino Book Awards 2011 winners announced

The 2011 International Latino Book Awards were announced at the annual BookExpo America conference on May 25 at el Museo del Barrio in New York. In total 137 literary awards were presented in 53 categories. Honorees from throughout the USA, Latin America and Spain were honored---including several of our FCL authors. Congratulations Alma Flor Ada, Mara Price and René Colato Laínez!

Best Children’s Picture Book – English
First Place, Me, Frida, Amy Novesky, Abrams Books For Young Readers
Second Place, The Tooth Fairy Meets El Ratón Pérez, René Colato Laínez, Tricycle Press
Second Place, My Shoes and I, René Colato Laínez, Boyds Mills Press
Honorable Mention, La Noche Buena, Antonio Sacre, Abrams Books For Young Readers

Best Children’s Picture Book – Spanish
First Place, Manual de Piratas, Monica Carretero, Cuento de Luz
Second Place, La Gallina Cocorina, Mar Pavon, Cuento de Luz
Honorable Mention, Kiki Koki, La Leyenda Encantada del Coquí, Ed Rodriguez, Idearworks

Best Children’s Picture Book – Bilingual
First Place, From North to South/Del Norte al Sur, René Colato Laínez, Children’s Book Press First Place, Grandma’s Chocolate/El Chocolate de Abuelita, Mara Price, Arte Publico Press
Honorable Mention, Let Me Help!/¡Quiero Ayudar!, Alma Flor Ada, Children’s Book Press

Click here for a complete list of winners in all categories.