THE LOVE LETTER sneak peek!!!

ICYMI, librarian extraordinaire Margie Myers-Culver recently revealed the cover of THE LOVE LETTER (HarperCollins, October 2019) by our very own Anika Aldamuy Denise and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins!

Check out the full interview on Margie's booktastic blog Librarian's Quest!

Mr. Pig Live. . . with Otter!

It's not every day we have an INTERNET SENSATION in the Cottage! (That is, other than me, Mr. Pig.) Which is why I am so excited to introduce you to today's guest. . . OTTER! You probably know Otter from her hugely popular blog: I Am Otter: The Unheard Ramblings of a Modern Day Domestic Otter. But did you know she's also the star of an all-new picture book released just this week? It's called I AM OTTER and it was written with the help of Sam Garton.

Roll tape, please. . .



Marvelous! Let's get a shot of the book cover...

Great stuff. So, what is your full name?
My full name is Otter, Teddy’s full name is Teddy and Otter Keeper is Otter Keeper!

What one word best describes you?
Otter, because that’s who I am. Is this a trick question?

Do you have a belly button?
No, I don’t think so. I didn’t really know about them until you asked me this question, they sound like quite a lot of fun. I’m going to ask Otter Keeper how I’d go about acquiring one. In the meantime, I have a nose, will that do?

Sure. What is the best thing about being you?
Umm, the best thing about being me is that I have Otter keeper and Teddy as best friends. Also I get to do interviews which are really fun, that’s a really good thing about being me! I bet a lot of people aren’t doing a super-fun interview right now!

What is the worst thing about being you?
Having Teddy as a best friend! Although Teddy is fantastic, he gets me into quite a few unfortunate predicaments. My advice: If you want to stay out of trouble, it’s best to steer clear of Teddy.

I'll try to remember that. What is your idea of the perfect day?
There are two perfect days every week; Saturday and Sunday. They are perfect because Otter Keeper doesn’t have to go to work on those days and Teddy and I get to spend time with him.

What is your favorite word?
Toast.

What is your favorite sound?
The sound of the front door when Otter Keeper gets home from work.

What is your least favorite sound?
The sound of the door when Otter Keeper leaves for work.

Share one thing that most of our readers don’t know about you.
I’ve lost Otter Keeper's keys somewhere under the sofa this morning. No one knows about this yet, not even Otter Keeper.

Apart from Otter Keeper's keys, if a genie gave you one wish, what would you wish for?
More toys! Otter Keeper underestimates the amount of toys an Otter needs, and as a result we are lacking in this department. I also have to share the few toys I do have with Teddy, so you can see the problem here.

What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
Toast! Toast is a very good breakfast option, but did you know you can also have it for lunch and dinner?

Now that you mention it, I do enjoy a nice toasted sourdough with a smear of blueberry jam with my tea in the afternoons. Last question, because I'm starting to get hungry. . . What was it like working with Sam Garton?
Oh him? Ummm he’s OK. Sometimes he moans a lot and he’s a bit of a perfectionist, but he’s generally pretty fun. He’s also pretty obsessed with Otters, although when he met a real one it bit him on the arm. I would never do that, biting isn’t nice.

Speaking of a bite, our caterer, the lovely and talented Nina from Mamabelly Lunches with Love has just arrived! While our producers roll the credits, Otter and I are going to scurry off to lunch! All this toast talk has me feeling rather peckish. You can meet us in the kitchen when you're done reading! Let's go, Otter!

Sam Garton began writing and illustrating stories about Otter and her world on the blog I Am Otter: The Unheard Ramblings of a Modern Day Domestic Otter in 2009. He lives in London. He met a real otter once. It bit him.

Learn more about Sam here:

Web: www.samgarton.co.uk
Twitter:@samuelgarton

I Am Otter
by Sam Garton
(Balzer + Bray/ April 29, 2014)
ISBN: 978-0062247759

 “A bright and hilarious escapade about an otter who, bored while her owner’s at work, opens a toast restaurant. Hysterical.”
— KIRKUS REVIEWS (STARRED REVIEW)

Literary Lunch

What happens when an Otter and his Teddy open a Toast Restaurant? Of course, all the toys line up to get seated and try their fantastic toast menu! Sit down, grab a plate and meet Otter from the new book I AM OTTER written by Sam Garton!

Nina from Mamabelly's Lunches with Love made a lunch for toast fans of all ages:

• a checkered table cloth apple
• organic strawberry yogurt dessert with Teddy and edible food color decorations
• and of course TOAST: white, swirled and pumpernickel toast filled with ham & cheese, peanut butter & jelly and lettuce & bacon
• a few broccoli florets (hopefully not just for decoration) 

DELICIOUS! Thanks, Nina! For step-by-step instructions on how to create this and other fabulous  bento box lunch creations, visit her website at www.mamabelly.com. 

Cottager News!

A quick round-up of what we've all been up to, when not bloggin' for The Little Crooked Cottage. :)

New Book Deals. . .

Cottager Kara LaReau just got a two-book deal for a chapter book series called THE INFAMOUS RATSOS! The books, about mischievous brothers (who happen to be rats), will be published by Candlewick Press. Read the deal announcement in Publishers Weekly. Congratulations Kara!

Anika Denise's MONSTER TRUCKS, a picture book about a Halloween race with monster trucks of every kind and a little blue bus that may not be what she appears to be, was acquired by Harper Children's. The talented Nate Wragg has signed on to illustrate. Read more about the deal on the Folio Jr. website. Congtratulations Anika and Nate!

New Representation. . .

Cottager Jamie Michalak has signed on with the fabulous Victoria Wells Arms of Wells Arms Literary! After twenty years on the editorial and publisher side of the business, Victoria has recently jumped the fence and opened her New York City-based agency, and we can't be more thrilled for her. You can read all about Victoria Wells Arms Literary here! Congratulations Jamie and Victoria! 

Upcoming Publications. . .

HUNG UP by Kristen Tracy will be released in hardcover on March 4th, 2014 (Simon Pulse).

Can you fall in love with a voice? This witty romance, told entirely through phone calls, chronicles the tale of a wrong number gone right.

It all started with a wrong number. The voicemails Lucy left on James's phone were meant for someone else - someone who used to have James's digits. But then when James finally answers and the two start to talk, a unique bond forms between the two teens.

Gradually Lucy and James begin to understand each other on a deeper level than anyone else in their lives. But when James wants to meet in person, Lucy is strangely resistant. And when her secret is revealed, he'll understand why…

NO SLURPING, NO BURPING! A Tale of Table Manners by Kara LaReau; illustrated by Lorelay Bové will be released March 4th, 2014 (Disney-Hyperion).

Evie and Simon always mind their manners. But sometimes, they have to mind their father's, too! In this humorous spin on manners books, two kids teach their father everything he needs to know about mealtime etiquette. Everything is going well, until a surprise visitor arrives for dinner! Will Father be able to remember all of Evie and Simon's lessons?

Awards and Reviews. . .

Jamie's latest Joe and Sparky book, JOE AND SPARKY GO TO SCHOOL, is a 2013 Cybils finalist in the Early Reader category! 

http://www.cybils.com/2013-finalists-easy-readers.html

Congratulations to Jamie and to all of the amazing finalists! (You can find a list of them here.) Winners will be announced next month.

HUNG UP by Kristen Tracy
March 4th, 2014 (Simon Pulse)

"In a narrative rendered entirely in voice mails, text messages and transcribed phone conversations, James and Lucy gradually go from strangers to romance.

Lucy starts it off by calling what she thinks is the customer-service number of a company she's ordered a plaque from, but it's actually James' new phone number. The company is defunct, and the order Lucy placed with such care is never going to arrive. Both Lucy and James live in Vermont and go to high school; Lucy's in Montpelier, and James lives in Burlington. Once they get past the initial confusion, their conversations are full of teasing, casual and funny. As the back and forth continues, more serious subjects gradually arise, and eventually they become confidants, more candid with each other in this mediated relationship than they might be in person. However, each of them has something that they hide from the other that their friends already know. And each does something that the other might consider unforgivable. How the friendship heals while the characters remain true to themselves is conveyed in the continuing encounters.

Appealing characters stand out in a quick read that is a lighthearted look at how real friendships develop, grow and deepen."

Finally, we'd all like to congratulate Mr. Pig on his well-deserved PIXIE for hosting Mr. Pig Live!  If you haven't heard of the PIXIE AWARDS, let's just say they're like The Golden Globes of The Enchanted Woods, which, as you know, is where The Little Crooked Cottage is located.

Mr. Pig's been a little hard to live with after winning this award... he wears sunglasses all the time and keeps calling everyone "babe," but we'll let him have his Hollywood moment. Congrats Mr. Pig!