Summer Olympic Sunshine
July 2024 Edition of the Super Readers Club
Hiya Super Readers! How’s your summer going? Have you lost all sense of time and space yet? I’m fully in the summer smoosh zone where I’ve nearly lost track of what day/week/month/year it is! But never fear, because I did remember to send you this latest edition of the Super Readers Club and it’s full of goodies: a NEW Kitty & Cat comic, a spirited Summer Olympic Song, a Mer-Creatures Draw-Along Video AND a NEW kidlit mini interview with author Constance Lombardo! Yay!
The Funnies
What’s your favorite olympic event? I’m fan of track & field, swimming and diving!
News
Want a fun way to get the littles excited for the Olympics? Check out the new song single, Summer Olympics, by children’s musician, Laura Doherty! I had the pleasure of illustrating and designing the album cover (see below!)—how fun is that?!
Mer-Creatures
Have you done the Mer-Creatures drawing activity from the SRC Summer Activity Kit yet? I thought we could do it together!! So I made you this fun draw-along video for you and your littles—check it out below!
(PS I can’t wait to see your Mer-Creature drawings ! Share em’ on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter + tag me OR email them to me at jane@superjane.com!)
Super Story Time LIVE
Super Story Time LIVE is back this month (YAY!) with a super fun new release, Itty Bitty Betty Blob, by my talented friend, Constance Lombardo, and a classic fav, Miss Meow, by me! Join us for a dual reading on Instagram LIVE this WED 7/10 at 10am PST / 1pm EST—it’ll be cute and pink and fun!
Interview Mini with Constance Lombardo
Q: Micah Player’s artwork is the perfect complement to your sweet story! Tell us a bit about the experience of seeing the finished picture book for the first time.
CONSTANCE: I have long been a fan of Micah Player and was so happy to have him on board the Betty train. Seeing his developing character sketches for Betty and her fellow monsters was a thrill, and I knew the finished book would be amazing. But when I got it—BAM! Way beyond amazing. Just perfect! (Yes, happy tears!)
Micah brought so much of his vision to this project: Betty melting into her bed, the old-fashioned gramophone that gets Betty and her mom dancing, Betty’s vibrant pinkness in a black & white world, the issue of Bitter Gnomes & Gardens that arrives in the mail—so many wonderful details I know young readers will return to again and again.
Q: Betty is the cutest little blob monster! If you were to be a monster, what kind would you be—vampire, Sasquatch, ghost, etc.?
CONSTANCE: My editor told me mermaids are not monsters (even if they have fangs,) so I’ll go with blob – because blobs can be anything! Imagine the flexibility. I can just see me on the dance floor of Studio 54 for Monsters now!
Q: What have you been reading/watching/listening to lately?
CONSTANCE: Two new picture books: Of Words and Water, The Story of Wilma Dykeman by Shannon Hitchcock, illustrated by Sophie Page. The language is so poetic, and the art is unique, artistic, and gorgeous. And Ed Vere, whose work I adore, has a new one called The Elephant and the Sea - heart-achingly beautiful and sweet!
My son and I have been revisiting some of our favorite animations, including Monsters vs. Aliens – a movie with a super cute blob! My son is also more or less in charge of our daily soundtrack. Lots of Abba. (not complaining!)
• Visit Constance here and check out all her books!
See You Later, Alligator
Thanks so much for hanging out with me today! I’m really and truly grateful that you’re here! Now go enjoy your summer smoosh zone and read-draw-write until the sun sets and your loved ones are calling you to the car for an ice cream run!!!
Beautiful ❤️