Roadtrips & Reviews

Our first two books are still feeling the love with two great reviews recently. Check them out:

The Pirate Tree's Lyn Miller-Lachmann writes in "Remembering the Struggles of the Elders: A Review of A Gift from Greensboro," "This brief but powerful book, by the young small press Penny Candy Books, is truly a gift – a gorgeous poem and a story for readers young and old to ponder."

On her blog, Much Ado About Adoption, Merrisa writes, "This sweet book does a wonderful job of breaking down adoption after infertility into an easy-to-tell story. My kudos and gratitude to author Tracey Zeeck and Penny Candy Books for bringing to life a highly relatable, important story that adoptive parents like me can use in this wonderful, challenging journey of adoption."

And, finally, Quraysh Ali Lansana found himself (with yours truly) in Yulee, Florida, last week, where he read and discussed A Gift from Greensboro with 300 third through fifth graders through the Authors in Schools program sponsored by the Amelia Island Book Festival. This was an amazingly attentive and insightful group of kids! Here's a photo of Q signing some books in the school library after the talk: 

Cheers,

Alexis

Holiday Buying Guide? Yes Please.

Check out our holiday buying guide and the holiday sales that go with it! 

15% off each book

25% off 3-book bundle

Meet Tracey Zeeck

As you probably know by now, we've been asking the authors and illustrators of our current and upcoming titles about their favorite childhood books . . . and as a bonus we asked for photos of them as kids! Meet Tracey Zeeck, author of The Not In Here Story, then and now:

Tracey Zeeck was born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma City, where she currently owns a boutique public relations firm specializing in clients with good business practices and better stories to tell. She and her husband were lucky enough to become parents through adoption in November 2007 and have been on a mission to tell the world their family’s love story ever since. The Not In Here Story is the ever-evolving origin tale of her little family.

Tracey writes of her childhood favorites, "I was a HUGE fan of all Dr. Seuss, and my favorite book of all was Green Eggs and Ham. My mom even made it for breakfast once, but nobody ate it. Anyway, I loved the comforting rhythm. It was so balanced . . . and I still feel that way about it."

Guest blog: Reading Tour by Tracey Zeeck

Last weekend Tracey Zeeck, author of the about-to-be-officially released The Not In Here Story, traveled to Colorado to read from her book in bookstores and schools. The OFFICIAL release reading & signing is two days away! Sunday, Nov. 6, 2pm at Full Circle Books in Oklahoma City. 

Tracey wrote about her recent whirlwind tour below. Enjoy!  

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Tracey reads at The Bookworm book store in Edwards, CO

What a weekend! My first promoting my book, The Not in Here Story!

Last week my husband, son, and I left Oklahoma City for Colorado on Thursday afternoon, landing in Denver around 7 p.m. After letting our son eat a healthy meal of airport fast food hamburgers, we jumped in our rental SUV and headed out on I-70. Charlie passed out immediately, still adorned with his paper crown from dinner, and slept the entire way up. We arrived in Edwards, just west of Vail, around 9:10 p.m., to discover that all the restaurants closed about 10 minutes before we got in. Luckily the grocery store was open late, and after scavenging a pretty decadent menu we sat in our room and feasted on ice cream and salami and popcorn and pecans before hitting the sack.

My first reading was at The Bookworm on Friday at 9:15. I had never heard of this place, but Penny Candy Books set it up and I am so glad they did! The Bookworm is a darling little bookstore on the town square with a sweet-as-can-be staff and a robust children's book section.

Now toddler story time is always...entertaining. And this was no exception. Wiggly little kids really crack me up, and even with all of their kinetic listening, they still remained engaged through the whole story. (Whew!) I read a handful of other, mostly Halloween-related, tales, too. And I even sold a book to one of the grandmothers in attendance. Hooray! We said goodbye, bought some books and gifts, and hit the road.

Two hours later, we arrived at Coal Creek Canyon elementary, in the hills somewhere between Golden and Boulder. Principal Livingston is a former Peace Corps volunteer, and runs a pretty peaceful student body. I was lucky to get to read to three different groups: K-2nd; 3rd & 4th graders, and the tony sophisticates of the 5th & 6th grade. What an amazing group! Every reading was meaningful and every group had its own set of questions. I hated leaving, but we had an event to attend that night. It was going to be a late night.

The next morning, I was up at dawn to sit down for an interview with CBS Denver. They have a program that helps match kids in foster care with adoptive families for forever homes. (So if you're looking for a reason to support network TV, there you go!) They were so engaged with the book that they didn't even notice how I got ready for the interview in a Starbucks bathroom! The rest of the day was spent hanging out with friends and stealing chocolate from their kids' Halloween stash.

The crowd in the courtyard of Second Star to the Right Books in Denver. 

Saturday night, we checked ourselves into the hotel, ordered room service, and caught up on some sleep in preparation for the big event the next day. My Sunday reading and signing was at a store called Second Star to the Right Books.

Man. This place. I read my book to a full house, outdoors, beneath a tent with quilts and cushions on the ground. I had family and friends come to this precious place from as far as Trinidad and Boulder, and I will remember that forever. My 87-year-old aunt was among them. And, not too shabby, we sold out the store's entire stock of The Not In Here Story! Then I hugged, said goodbyes, hugged some more, and we made it to the airport in time to catch our flight.

My husband and son and were with me every step of the way. We were a team. We are a team. 

That's family.

What a week: road trip notes & glowing reviews!

What a whirlwind week road tripping with our indefatigable author, Quraysh Ali Lansana and his book, A Gift from Greensboro. Long drives, teaching sessions, presentations, unscheduled appearances, small crowds, big crowds—the man doesn't stop! It was so fun to watch Quraysh in his element, talking to young people—from kindergartners to high school students—about the impacts of the Civil Rights Movement as well as the journey still ahead of us.

We did a lot of driving through the South: Richmond to Farmville, VA to Greensboro, NC to Raleigh. In each city, we learned another unique piece of Civil Rights history, from Farmville's 5-year shut down of public schools to avoid integration and the Black students who initiated boycotts of substandard replacement schools (we met one of them!) to a day-by-day timeline of the sit-ins in Greensboro led by 4 college students who'd had enough. The Greensboro sit-ins weren't the first of their kind, but they were the catalyst for the Movement that swept the South and resulted in lunch counter integration. 

Speaking of lunch counters, we saw the original counter in the International Civil Rights Museum, which used to be the Woolworth store featured so amazingly by Skip Hill in A Gift from Greensboro. The energy of disruption and victory hovers in that room. 

This trip, more than a publicity or book sale opportunity, was simply an honor to be a part of. We're not just making books. We might just be creating community too. 

Quraysh at the Greensboro International Civil Rights Museum discussing the book with students and parents. 

Quraysh at the Virginia Children's Book Festival with a group of high school creative writers (and Chad taking a photo from the other direction).

http://whoorl.com/2016/10/penny-candy-books/

Finally, we woke up this morning after lots of driving and flying, and we discovered this unbelievable post about Penny Candy Books on Sarah James's Whoorl. If you get a chance, give it a read! So great to see that readers—kids and grown ups alike—are digging our mission and our books!!

The Catalog of Catalogs

If you were to take a catalog of our catalogs, the first entry you'd see is this catalog, our first one ever. We hope when the catalogers of catalogs come cataloging, they will find many PCB catalogs in our catalog. But until then, let the record show that this was the catalogus primus and therefore the catalogus supremus. Enjoy! 

Click image for pdf.

Here we go!

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Alexis and Chad at Full Circle Bookstore, Oklahoma City, photo courtesy of Penny Candy author, Tracey Zeeck.

Well, it's official. Penny Candy Books is real. What a journey the last few months have been. Chad and I have made good work of being business partners in two different states. Thank heavens we live in places with nearby airports. We truly believe in our mission: to bring books into the world by diverse authors and illustrators for diverse audiences. We know that diversity has become a buzzword these days, and yet we still find ourselves using it because, well, it's still necessary. And when we say diversity we mean it in its most inclusive sense. In fact, maybe we should think about using the word inclusivity instead! In our planning sessions, we talk a lot about disrupting the narrative; we believe that our dominant culture has defined a narrative that doesn't resonate with a huge portion of our actual human population. Our books seek to add to a new narrative. We are not afraid to ruffle feathers--and no doubt we will on occasion, as with The Hunt, now available for preorder, a brilliant wordless picture book from France's Margaux Othats that takes a stand against violence, particularly gun violence, though it's a metaphor for all sorts of destruction that attempts to crush our spirits. Our books are for kids, yes, but they are also for the adults who want to see their values reflected in works appropriate for their children. They're also, simply put, beautiful objects, if we do say so ourselves. 

Here's the lowdown: we have three books under contract and almost ready for the world! The Hunt, we mentioned above. Check out Margaux Othats' page to find out more about her. Our next book is called A Gift from Greensboro, and follows a friendship against the backdrop of post-Civil Rights lunch counter sit-ins. A Gift from Greensboro is a poem written by Quraysh Ali Lansana and illustrated by Skip Hill. Both men are brilliant artists who are collaborating on a powerful story. Finally, Tracey Zeeck and David Bizarro have teamed up to bring us The Not In Here Story, an adventure that explores adoption through the lens of a couple seeking a child to love. 

Join us in celebrating the birth of Penny Candy Books. Pre-order The Hunt now! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Follow the blog. Subscribe to our newsletter. Join us in our mission to disrupt the narrative and promote diversity and inclusivity in kid lit.