Three Times A Charm with Marit Menzin


Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with you.

Today’s guest is author and artist, Marit Menzin. Marit tell us about yourself, please.

I’m a collage artist as well as an author. My award-winning art has been seen in galleries, magazines, and other publications. I was the recipient of the 2010 Ann Barrow Scholarship from the New England chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and a finalist at the 2005 SCBWI Winter Conference Showcase in New York City.
In college, I studied chemistry and biology, and later computer science. I have loved art since childhood, and Song for Papa Crow, my first picture book, combines my love of nature and art. I’m a member of SCBWI.

What a seemingly eclectic background for an author/artist. Tell us more about Song for Papa Crow.

I’m the Author/Illustrator of Song for Papa Crow, a children’s book published by Schiffer Publishing, on July 28, 2012 for Pre-K to 2nd grade. My book received a Mom's Choice Awards Gold Honor for Distinctive Illustration in December 2012.
"The illustrations of this book are done in collage. Each bird comes to life with this technique and each one looks amazingly realistic. The story is one that is entertaining and easy to understand. It's one that can provide lots of discussion, not only about the various birds in the story, but about being oneself. The story ends with Little Crow learning an important lesson and returning safely home with Papa Crow. Children will be fascinated to learn that hummingbirds often use the silk of a spider's web when building a nest." - Cindi Rose, Examiner

"Our songs are to be shared with all, but especially the ones we hold dear. Song for Papa Crow is a children's picture book following Little Crow as he tries to learn more songs to fit in with the other birds, but soon learns that the song most important to him and his father is his own. Song for Papa Crow is a story of being yourself, with charming and colorful illustrations throughout, making it a choice pick for parents to read along with their children." - James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Diane C. Donovan, Editor Midwest Book Review

2012 Top Ten Reads MyShelf - http://www.myshelf.com/toptenreads.html

Now, for the Threes. Share with us your top 3’s to help us know you a little better.

  • Top 3 books you recommend reading and why you recommend them.

Holes by Louis Sachar

This is one of the best Young Adult books that I have ever read!! Stanley Yelnats -- note the palindromic name that implies a trap -- is a good boy with bad luck, who is sent to a boys' detention camp for a crime that he did not commit. After digging holes with the other boys in the hot Texan sun, Stanley realizes that the purpose of his hard labor is not just to build character, but there is something specific that the warden is looking for. Stanley decides to dig for the truth, and in the process he learns about friendship, survival, control, and the unbearable cynicism of life.

Timeless by Alexandra Monir

In the book Timeless, I traveled with Michele Windsor to New York City in 1910. Michele thinks that she's an ordinary California girl, but her life shatters into pieces when her mother dies in a car accident and she has to move to New York to live with her aristocratic grandparents. There, at her wealthy grandparents Fifth Avenue mansion, Michele discovers a diary that takes her back in time where she meets her ancestors, and a very special man, Phillip Walker. Michele falls in love with him and she is torn between the present and the past. I LOVE this book and wish that it never had to end. The author, Alexandra Monir, is a singer/songwriter, and the book contains my favorite mix of different concepts – time travel, romance, music, and historical fiction. My only wish for the book is that the author would have expanded more on both the history of New York City and the city’s high society at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Overall, I still give the novel FIVE STARS, and I can't wait for the sequel!



The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

This is an interactive children’s book for little fingers that follows a hungry caterpillar as he eats his way through the days of the week.  The illustrations are beautiful and colorful, and the book is a delight for parents and children alike.


  • Top 3 most admired people and why you admire them.

Steve Jobs – for being a creative genius who contributed so much to today’s technology.

Franz Peter Schubert – for his passion and amazing uplifting contribution in music.
           
            M.C. Escher – for his genius mathematical art.

  • Top 3 pieces of advice for kids these days.

Listen to your parents—they know what’s best for you!

Be grateful to your family—they help you feel comfortable about yourself.

Part of being cool is having the courage to say “No!” to your friends.

  • Top 3 professions you wanted to be when you grew up.

A scientist, an author, and a conductor.


  • Top 3 personal mantras or inspirational phrases.

 “Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same.”
- Franz Peter Schubert

"I would trade all my technology for an afternoon with Socrates."

- Steve Jobs

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”

- Henry Ward Beecher


Marit, where can our tech-savvy readers go to keep up with you and your writing?

Marit Menzin
Website: http://www.maritmenzin.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MaritMenzinFan
http://www.twitter.com/SoUGotPublished

Thanks for charming us on this week’s Three Times A Charm, Marit. Best of luck with your creative work.

THANKS!

OPEN CALL FOR GUESTS!  I am always looking for guests for Three Times A Charm. If you are an author, illustrator or book reviewer, an agent or an editor. If you have something related to children’s publishing that you’d like people to know about, feel free to contact me about a future appearance.

Comments

  1. Beverly Stowe McClureFebruary 7, 2013 at 10:18 PM

    I enjoyed the interview, ladies. What a lovely cover. It must be nice to illustrate your work and get it just the way you want it. Congratulations on the award. Best of luck with your book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kai Strand, AuthorFebruary 8, 2013 at 7:39 AM

      I agree, Beverly, that is a lovely cover. Makes me want to open the book to see more.

      Thanks for stopping in.

      Delete

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