Monday, August 2, 2010

Ballet for Martha

Tomorrow, August 3, is the official publication date for Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring, written by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, which I illustrated. I’m very happy to report that the book recently picked up its fifth starred review. (The stars have come from The Horn Book, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and, most recently, School Library Journal. Excerpts are on my web site here.) An interview with me on the SLJ site is here. The idea of leaping into the air for the accompanying photo was not mine but I was game, despite the fact that the photo shoot came the day after I tried wakeboarding for the first time, and that I was sore that day in muscles I didn’t even know I had. Other reviews that have warmed the heart have appeared on the Fuse #8 blog, here, and from the San Francisco Chronicle, here. Thank you to all the reviewers!

As I hope I’ve conveyed in the interviews I’ve done for the book, this was a wonderful project on which to work. I’m grateful to editor Neal Porter for thinking of me for it, and for the chance to work with Jan and Sandra on the book. I hope you’ll give the results a look!

3 comments:

Lauren Castillo said...

5 starred reviews!!! Incredible. I got a sneak-peak at the book yesterday, and it was beautiful (of course)! Congratulations, Brian :)

Brian Floca said...

Thanks, Lauren! I've been too busy or too on the road the past couple of weeks to blog much about it, but the review news is very exciting! Thanks for your kind review, too!

Marc Tyler Nobleman said...

Five stars times five means this is a 25-star book. Congratsssss (that's five again)! I am remiss in that I've not gotten it yet but I fully intend to. And I assume you've already arranged for that dance pose shot to be added to the first reprint?