Helen Schmill announces publication of three books

Helen Schmill

Casper writer Helen Schmill announces publication of three books through Xlibris:

"A Morning with God," an illustrated children's book
"Paradise Lost 2011," described as "a reading play for churches and schools"
"A Grandmother's Old Testament Hymns," a living autobiography

Order copies of Helen's books through amazon.com, xlibris.com or through http://www.wix.com/helenschmill/books#!contact

Lynn Friess wins IPPY Award for "Western Lullaby"

From a press release:

A Jackson Hole picture book, Western Lullaby, written by Lynn Estes Friess (shown in photo) and illustrated by Barbara Leonard Gibson (Mariposa Ranch Press, 2010), has won a gold medal in the national 2011 Independent Publisher Book Awards. Launched in 1996, the “IPPY” Awards are designed to bring increased recognition to deserving but often unsung titles from independent publishers.  Western Lullaby by Jackson Hole resident Lynn Friess took first place in the category of “Children’s Picture Books (7 & Under).”

Author Friess, a grandmother of 10 and avid art collector, wrote the award-winning Western Lullaby as a bedtime story focusing on the nocturnal sights and sounds of the West, combining the dreamy tale of a little cowgirl’s nighttime surroundings with vivid illustrations by Gibson of the Western outdoors.  An audio CD of the lullaby that inspired the book is included, performed by Wyoming singer-songwriter Marilee Gordon.

This year’s “IPPY” Awards presented gold, silver and bronze medals to winners in 69 national categories as well as regional awards and 12 Outstanding Books of the Year.  Western Lullaby tied for the gold in its category with Henry! You’re Late Again! by Mary Evanson Bleckwehl, illustrated by Brian Barber (Beaver’s Pond Press).  According to Independent Publisher, the 346 medal-winning books for 2011 came from a pool of 3,907 total entries, representing 45 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia, seven Canadian provinces, and seven countries overseas.  A full listing of the 2011 “IPPY” Award winners is available here on the Independent Publisher website.

Western Lullaby was the first picture book written by Friess, a close friend and supporter of the Jackson Hole-based National Museum of Wildlife Art.  In September 2010, Friess published her second picture book, Jackson Hole’s Carl Discovers Wildlife Art, illustrated by John Potter, and written as an engaging way to introduce children to wildlife art and the museum.  The Carl title is the first in a planned series, and proceeds from the book help sponsor programs, exhibits and operating support for the museum.

Media Contact: Ponteir Sackrey, National Museum of Wildlife Art, 307.732.5444, psackrey@wildlifeart.org

"Where the Wild Things Are" -- Cheyenne celebrates Maurice Sendak

Author Gene Gagliano to sign books at Wyoming State Museum on Oct. 30

Children’s Author Eugene Gagliano will hold a book signing at the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne, Saturday, October 30, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Gagliano, a Wyoming Arts Council roster artist, has written several children’s books including “C is for Cowboy: A Wyoming Alphabet,” and “Four Wheels West: A Wyoming Number Book.”

Many of the Buffalo-based writer's books will be available for purchase.

The Wyoming State Museum is located in the Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne.

FMI: 307-777-7022.

Gene Gagliano signs latest children's book July 8 at State Museum

The newest children’s book about Wyoming will be available at the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne on Thursday, July 8. Wyoming author Gene Gagliano wrote “Little Wyoming,” which is in board book form for the youngest book lovers.

Gagliano will sign copies of his books from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and again from 4:30-5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 8, at the State Museum.

The event is free and open to the public.

"Get Your Troop in a Group" book signing

Sheridan Stationery, Books & Gallery, 206 N. Main in downtown Sheridan, will be holding a book signing on Saturday, March 6, 11-1 p.m., for Kari Massie McLaughlin, author of "Get Your Troop in a Group".

"So many groups of animals; now tell me, what's the scoop? What's a group of kangaroos called: a herd, a band, a troop?"

People form a group, but what do animals form when they gather together? With delightful rhyme, this book answers just that. Travel with the animals to "Get Your Troop in a Group!"

The author grew up in Sheridan but now lives in Gillette.

FMI: 1-888-266-5730

Maurice Sendak illustrations come to National Museum of Wildlife Art

From a press release:

Show me wild new ways,” a wolfish Max commands in an early draft of Where the Wild Things Are. That early vision of the award-winning 10-line story that came to life as an $80-plus million Hollywood movie is just one of 30 original illustrations celebrating Sendak’s animal artistry on view in a new family-friendly exhibition, “Wild New Ways: Maurice Sendak’s Animal Kingdom,” at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyo., May 15-Sept. 19. Works for the exhibition, drawn from the Rosenbach Museum & Library’s collection of over 10,000 Sendak drawings, manuscripts and working materials, demonstrate the range of styles with which the artist captures textures of fur, feathers, and scales – from the precisely drawn pen and ink bats of The Bat-Poet to the soft watercolors of Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present.

From wild things to domestic animals, and mythical beasts to common farm animals, Maurice Sendak has included animals of some kind in almost every one of the 108 books he has illustrated. In addition to his nuanced rendering of the animals themselves, he famously delves into themes involving the wild and tame in all of us – in keeping with the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s mission of using original art to probe humanity’s relationship with nature.

Over a 60-year career that includes the classic 1964 Caldecott Medal-winning Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak has found that “each book demands an individual stylistic approach.” While his artwork references both artists of the past and pop culture, his driving motivation has always been to satisfy the child in himself.” One of the best-known creators of contemporary children's books, Sendak has won every important prize in children's literature, including the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Illustration (1970), the National Medal of Arts (1996), and a Library of Congress "Living Legend" medal (2000).

Media Contacts: Darla Worden, WordenGroup Strategic Public Relations, 307.734.5335, darla@wordenpr.com; Zeenie Scholz, National Museum of Wildlife Art, 307.732.5437, zscholz@wildlifeart.org