SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: WOVEN OF THE WORLD
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: kateyhowes.com
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 355
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; children: three daughters.
EDUCATION:Holds a degree.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Former physical therapist specializing in brain-injury rehabilitation; speaker at conferences. Girl Scouts leader.
AVOCATIONS:Creating, exploring, traveling, swing dancing.
MEMBER:Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators; Picture the Books (founding member).
AWARDS:Anna Dewdney Read Together Honor Book, Children’s Book Council, 2018, for Grandmother Thorn; Social Justice Literature Award, International Literary Association, 2020, for Be a Maker.
WRITINGS
Contributor to websites and blogs, including All the Wonders, KidLit411, Nerdy Bookclub, SubItClub, STEAM-Powered Family, Imagination Soup, and Multilingual Parenting. Also author of the Katey Writes blog.
SIDELIGHTS
Katey Howes is an author of picture books that often put girls and their inherent interests front and center. As a child growing up in the environs of Kalamazoo, Michigan, she always loved reading and writing stories and poems—cocreating and illustrating her first joint collection with a girl named Rejane at age nine—as well as scripting plays and acting them out with friends. She told interviewer Margaret Langan on Read. Learn. Repeat, “I was exceptionally lucky to have parents who encouraged me to explore whatever topics interested me, and also took me to the library all the time (sometimes with a wagon to pull the stack of books home!) This let me develop passions for a wide variety of subjects—from literature to biology to languages.” Howes attended a magnet high school in Kalamazoo with a focus on mathematics and science, and although she was the poetry editor for her college’s literary magazine for a year, she was led to start a career in physical therapy. Over ten years and three daughters later, she decided to leave her work in order to focus on her family. With the added time, she set out to start a new career as a writer for youths. Contributing frequently to websites and her own blog, she often focuses on the topic of raising readers.
Howes made her debut with Grandmother Thorn, about a staunch and stubborn elderly woman in Shizuka Village who devotes all her energy to keeping her garden, with its arrays of plants and pebbles, in perfect order. She welcomes her friend Ojiisan (“Grandfather” in Japanese) despite the effects of his crooked foot on her pathways. But when Ojiisan encourages a merchant to bring a strange new berry her way, and the merchant picks a flower from her garden, and Grandmother Thorn chases him away, a cast-away berry sprouts a rogue weed. Grandmother Thorn soon gets so upset that she needs time at her niece’s to recover—and in time Ojiisan brings a gift that makes her grateful for the changes after all. To accompany the setting, the book includes a few phrases in Japanese. A Kirkus Reviews writer observed that “Howes’ protagonist learns a good lesson” in this “lovely” book. Reviewing Grandmother Thorn in School Library Journal, Marilyn Taniguchi concluded, “This well-crafted tale offers a gentle lesson of stewardship and living in peace with nature.”
Speaking with Langan about her creation of the protagonist of Magnolia Mudd and the Super Jumptastic Launcher Deluxe, Howes related, “I wanted to give my girls—and their generation—a female role model who embraced her love of math and science, found everyday ways to celebrate her preferences and personality, and couldn’t be boxed in by existing stereotypes. Why shouldn’t a girl be smart AND trendy (cue Magnolia’s pink hair), smart AND outspoken, smart AND funny? From that rather lofty goal, Magnolia was born.” In the book, Magnolia’s uncle, her favorite inventing partner, is getting married, and when his fashionable fiancée wants Mags to be the frilly flower girl, she resists—and comes up with a more inventive way to participate in the wedding. A reviewer in Happily Ever Elephants called Magnolia Mudd and the Super Jumptastic Launcher Deluxe “an adorably fun read that subverts traditional gender roles and lets girls be the star of the STEM show.”
Howes’s picture book Be a Maker, following a young girl as she awakes and goes about her imaginative day, is an ode to all the ways that kids can be creators. The girl is found not only making things like a tower, a spaceship, and a drum set, but also making a new friend and—through a lemonade stand and a heartfelt donation—a difference in the world. A Kirkus Reviews writer called Be a Maker “an excellent read that will empower readers to reflect on their own lives and make a change or two or three.”
[open new]Speaking with the Lerner Blog about her inspiration for her next picture book, Rissy No Kissies, Howes confided: “I have three daughters who all show affection in very different ways. For example, one has an aversion to being hugged—it makes her feel anxious and trapped, not comforted and safe. … At first this upset me. As a mom, I wanted her to accept my preferred way of sharing love. I sometimes felt rejected or sad or even that I was a bad parent when she refused hugs. Luckily, there were people in my life who helped me realize that what mattered most was that my child felt loved, comforted, safe and in charge of her own body—and that she knew she would not be judged or rejected for the way she reacted.” Howes concluded, “I wanted to create a book that helped kids … feel good about identifying, communicating, respecting, and celebrating the different ways we show we care.”
Rissy No Kissies finds one young lovebird, unlike her three siblings, displeased by others’ attempts to show their affection by kissing her. She manages to ward off kisses with squeaks, but being considered rude by Grandma, confused by Miss Bluebird, and mean by her classmates stresses Rissy out. When she starts questioning her very identity as a lovebird, her mother finds just the right assurances to validate her stance and ease her mind. In Booklist, Ronny Khuri found that Howes’s “singsong, rhyming text” makes this story an “easy means of conveying big concepts–body autonomy, boundaries, consent.” A Kirkus Reviews writer praised the verse as “both rollicking and steady, which offsets Rissy’s vulnerability without undermining it.” The reviewer hailed Rissy No Kissies as an “artistic gem for … anyone who champions children’s agency.”
Howes offers a lyrical history of the art of weaving in Woven of the World, which finds a brown-skinned woman and child bonding over the elder’s clacking, loving labor at the loom. The first-person narration touches on weaving in ancient Chinese, Egyptian, Islamic, and other cultures around the world, and the back matter features a glossary and elaborations of the cultures depicted. A Publishers Weekly reviewer observed: “Paralleling the intricate patterns discussed, Howes’s rhythmically woven verse layers poetry and onomatopoeia.” A Kirkus Reviews writer appreciated how the book conveys both the mechanics of weaving and the “sense of community experienced by weavers and the stories and spirit incorporated into their pieces.” This reviewer deemed Woven of the World an “exceptional ode to the music and art of the loom.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, March 15, 2021, Ronny Khuri, review of Rissy No Kissies, p. 66.
Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2017, review of Grandmother Thorn; January 15, 2019, review of Be a Maker; January 1, 2021, review of Rissy No Kissies; December 1, 2022, review of Woven of the World.
Publishers Weekly, December 19, 2022, review of Woven of the World, p. 86.
School Library Journal, August, 2017, Marilyn Taniguchi, review of Grandmother Thorn, p. 72.
ONLINE
Darlene Beck-Jacobson website, https://darlenebeckjacobson.wordpress.com/ (March 4, 2021), “Katey Howes Talks about Bodily Autonomy and Consent in Her New PD: Rissy No Kissies.”
Frog on a (B)log, https://frogonablog.net/ (December 16, 2017), Lauri Fortino, “Interview Alert: Katey Howes.”
Happily Ever Elephants, https://happilyeverelephants.com/ (January 19, 2018), review of Magnolia Mudd and the Super Jumptastic Launcher Deluxe.
Jenna Grodzicki website, https://www.jennagrodzicki.com/ (January 16, 2018), “KidLit Coffee Talk with Katey Howes.”
Katey Howes website, https://kateyhowes.com (June 8, 2023).
KidLit411, http://www.kidlit411.com/ (September 1, 2017), “Author Spotlight: Katey Howes.”
Lerner Blog, https://lernerbooks.blog/ (March 1, 2021), Megan Ciskowski, author interview.
Read. Learn. Repeat, https://readlearnrepeat.blog/ (April 20, 2018), Margaret Langan, “Interview with Author Katey Howes!”
Writers’ Rumpus, https://writersrumpus.com/ (July 11, 2017), Carol Gordon Ekster, “Meet Debut #kidlit Author, Katey Howes.”
Katey Howes is an award-winning picture book author. She's passionate about raising kids who love to read, and about helping kids recognize that they are makers, inventors, and creators!
A former physical therapist, Katey is fascinated by physics and biology, reads everything from classic children’s lit to modern neuroscience, and has
strong opinions about commas.
When not writing for children, Katey contributes to websites such as Nerdy BookClub, KidLit411, STEAM-powered Family, and Imagination Soup. She has presented at NCTE and several nErDcamps and taught picture book writing and revision at the SCBWI NJ Fall Craft Weekend.
You can hear Katey interviewed on podcasts such as Reading With Your Kids, Lu and Bean Read, and All the Wonders.
Katey lives in Bucks County with her husband, three children, and a pup named Samwise Gamgee. She and her family enjoy making everything from cupcakes to castles to catapults, exploring their wooded property, and traveling to new and exciting places.
Katey is represented by Essie White of Storm Literary Agency.
KATEY HOWES
Katey Howes is thrilled to be writing books for children. She is the author of the picture books Magnolia Mudd and the Super Jumptastic Launcher Deluxe, Grandmother Thorn, and Be a Maker. Katey lives in Upper Makefield, Pennsylvania, with her husband and three adventurous daughters.
Book Me
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INTERVIEW
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
What’s your favorite line from a book?
“Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WONT’S
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me-
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.”
-Shel Silverstein"
Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
Madeline L’Engle, Evan Turk, Margarita Engle
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
Books have always been my way to feel connected—to other people, to other places, to abstractions and emotions, hope, fear, and faith. I respect books, rely on books, escape with books. And I’ve always loved to play with words. I didn’t really plan to become a published author, until some of the words I was playing with demanded to be shared. Now that I’ve seen that books I create can give children those connections, those escapes, that love of words—there’s nothing else I’d rather do.
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
I recommend not only reading widely, but reading WITH children and talking with them about the books. Don’t put your ideas in their heads, your words in their mouths. Just honestly listen to what they see, hear, feel and think when you share different books. It will help you find your purpose and style, and to understand your audience.
Katey Howes
Twitter: @Kateywrites • Facebook: kateywrites • Website: Kateyhowes.com • Instagram: kidlitlove
Twitter: @Kateywrites • Facebook: kateywrites • Website: Kateyhowes.com • Instagram: kidlitlove
Katey Howes is an award-winning children’s author and poet. She's passionate about raising kids who love to read, and about helping kids recognize that they are makers, inventors, and creators! Her work spans a wide range of topics and styles, including books with STEAM and SEL (socio-emotional learning) themes.
A former physical therapist, Katey is fascinated by physics and biology, reads everything from classic children’s lit to modern neuroscience, and has strong opinions about commas. When not writing, Katey stays busy raising three ravenous readers, crafting with a wide variety of materials, and working to restore native plants to the woods and wetlands around her home. She enjoys attending book festivals and presenting at schools, libraries, science museums, colleges, and conferences for writers or educators.
Katey’s books include Grandmother Thorn (Chicago Review Press), Magnolia Mudd and the Super Jumptastic Launcher Deluxe (Union Square), Be A Maker (Carolrhoda), Rissy No Kissies (Carolrhoda), A Poem Grows Inside You (The Innovation Press) and Woven of the World (Chronicle Kids.) She has also had poems published in several anthologies.
Upcoming titles from Katey include The Reindeer Remainders (Sourcebooks, Summer 2024) and Where the Deer Slip Through (Beach Lane Books, 2025.)
Many of Katey’s books have been celebrated with starred reviews and awards. Be A Maker was given the ILA’s Social Justice Literacy Award and named the #1 Makerspace Read Aloud of 2019. Rissy No Kissies was included on the RISE Feminist Book List and the Kirkus Best Books of 2021. Woven of the World received a 2023 Bologna Book Festival Ragazzi award (special mention, nonfiction category.)
Katey has been featured on many podcasts as well as on Reading Rainbow Live and the Philly Play Jawn television program. You can find her at kateyhowes.com, or find her under a big tree on a small mountain in Eastern Pennsylvania, jotting ideas in a notebook while she eats caramel corn (and hides it from her rescue pup, Samwise.)
RISSY NO KISSIES: AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR KATEY HOWES
A lovebird who doesn’t like kisses? Rissy’s friends and family wonder if she’s sick, confused, or rude. But kisses make Rissy uncomfortable. Can one little lovebird show everyone that there’s no one right way to show you care?
Rissy No Kissies carries the message that “your body and your heart are yours, and you choose how to share.” A note at the end provides further information for kids, parents, and educators about body autonomy, consent, and different ways to show affection.
Today author Katey Howes joins us to discuss her inspiration, creative choices, and why it’s important to introduce consent to young readers.
Where did you get the idea for Rissy No Kissies?
I have three daughters who all show affection in very different ways. For example, one has an aversion to being hugged – it makes her feel anxious and trapped, not comforted and safe. I’ll freely admit that at first this upset me. As a mom, I wanted her to accept my preferred way of sharing love. I sometimes felt rejected or sad or even that I was a bad parent when she refused hugs.
Luckily, there were people in my life who helped me realize that what mattered most was that my child felt loved, comforted, safe and in charge of her own body – and that she knew she would not be judged or rejected for the way she reacted. Rather than being sad that she didn’t want a hug; I could learn to treasure the handholding and nose-nuzzling she DID want.
Each of my children, and each of the many children I’ve become close to as a camp counselor, physical therapist, and Girl Scout leader, have their own preferences for giving and receiving affection. Kids know what feels right to them! I wanted to create a book that helped kids – and their caregivers – feel good about identifying, communicating, respecting, and celebrating the different ways we show we care.
How do you like to show affection? What about the rest of your family?
I really do love a good hug – but I also show I care with simple, everyday actions, like brushing my daughters’ hair, sneaking a treat into their lunchbox, or dropping a kiss on top of my husband’s head as he works at his desk.
One of my daughters loves to snuggle up next to me and read together. Another likes to rub noses to show she cares. My youngest started drawing tiny, cute animals on scraps of paper and sneaking them into people’s pockets when concerns about COVID-19 made it unsafe to get close for cuddles. She calls them “hugs,” and they make my heart so happy!
Why did you decide to make your main characters lovebirds?
I almost always write with human characters, so “branching out” into the world of birds was new for me! In this case, I wanted the illustrations to be as warm and inviting as possible, because I knew that the topic itself could be a little disconcerting. I wanted a level of cuteness and connection, but also a bit of distance. An animal character could provide those things.
I settled on lovebirds because of the common perception that, as a species, they must be very loving – and because videos of lovebirds “kissing” are adorable! I knew that it would be easy for kids to quickly understand that kissing was the expected form of affection in the story, and that any lovebird who didn’t show affection that way would feel like she didn’t belong.
When Rissy asks, “are you sure that I’m a lovebird?” readers will recognize that she feels her differences have taken away any chance of belonging. That’s a tough, sad feeling to relate to! I think using an animal character cushions the feeling a little more than if it were a human character asking, “are you sure I’m even human?”
Did any other books influence you as you wrote Rissy No Kissies?
While drafting Rissy No Kissies, I did my research and looked at mentor texts on the topics of consent and autonomy. Many of the books available on the topic were great teaching tools – but not necessarily engaging stories. One that stayed with me, however, was Will Ladybug Hug? by Hilary Leung. Its simplicity and sweetness strongly informed my goals for this book. I also leaned into my lifelong love of Noisy Nora by Rosemary Wells, a classic picture book about a child who deals with the stresses of family life and of feeling ignored. You’ll find echoes of the rhythm and refrain of Noisy Nora in the structure of Rissy No Kissies – and hopefully I’ve been able to imbue a similar re-readability and relatability in this book.
Why did you write this particular story in verse?
I very much wanted this story to have a refrain, because of the ways repetition helps children engage actively in a book as it’s being read aloud to them. A book a child engages with is a book a child remembers! Simple, predictable rhyme also gives children a sense of power during a read aloud, because they can guess what words come next. That sense of agency compliments the message in Rissy No Kissies that you get to choose your own ways to share affection.
The educational materials at the end of Rissy No Kissies talk a lot about “consent” and “autonomy.” Why are these topics important to discuss with young children?
We learn so much in our early years that informs how we feel about ourselves and how we relate to others as we grow! When we teach young children that they are in control of their own bodies, and that they have to respect other people’s bodies, we empower them. They grow up knowing how to set boundaries and to say “no” to touches they don’t like. They grow up asking before touching others. These basic concepts reduce the risk of the child becoming a victim of sexual assault or of touching others in inappropriate ways. Instilling a strong sense of autonomy and an understanding of consent from a young age builds strong, confident, and respectful individuals.
Spread from Rissy No Kissies in which Rissy speaks to her family.
The educational materials for caregivers also mention sensory processing disorder. Can you explain a little more about what that is and how it is relevant to Rissy No Kissies?
People with a sensory processing disorder have differences in how they understand and process sensory information. Some are hypersensitive to certain sounds, smells, touches or other sensory experiences, and will try to avoid them because they are distressing. Others are hyposensitive, so they seek out more intense sensory experiences. These sensory differences can greatly influence the ways kids – and adults – experience physical expressions of affection.
It’s very important that we understand that for one person, a long, strong hug provides the deep sensory input he or she needs to feel calm and safe. For another, that same hug could cause anxiety, nausea, or a “melt-down.”
At a crucial moment in the book, Rissy says to her mother, “Kissies make my tummy icky. I feel worried, weird, and wrong.”
I included this line specifically to give children with sensory processing issues a relatable moment. It’s important for them to see that they aren’t alone in not just disliking certain touches, but in being overwhelmed and even sickened by them. I wanted caregivers to read it and recognize that for some people, not liking hugs or kisses isn’t “being difficult” or “antisocial” or “rude”- it’s not even a matter of opinion. It’s how their body responds to the world.
Between my own family, my friends, my physical therapy clients and kids I’ve worked with in camps and extracurricular activities, I’ve gotten to know many people with sensory processing issues. And I’ve seen how much more enjoyable and less stressful their lives are when the people around them understand and respect their differences. I hope Rissy No Kissies helps improve understanding and acceptance of sensory processing disorders.
What do you hope readers take away from your book?
I hope both children and caregivers come away from Rissy No Kissies with a sense of autonomy – of knowing that they are in charge of the ways they give and receive affection. I hope they learn to ask others how they like to show love, and to respect and celebrate everyone’s choices, without shame or judgement. Hopefully they realize that even a little bird can make her voice heard “with a most emphatic squeak.”
Katey Howes Talks About Bodily Autonomy and Consent in Her New PD: Rissy No Kissies.
Posted on March 4, 2021
Today it is my pleasure to host award-winning picture book author KATEY HOWES who will talk about her new book RISSY NO KISSIES. The book explores the topics of bodily autonomy and consent, very important concepts to instill in young children. Here is my review of this important book:
“When a love bird doesn’t like to get or give kisses, she wonders if something is wrong with her. How can she show those she loves that she cares?
With gentle assurances in words and illustrations, this story teaches young children and those they love, the importance of bodily autonomy and consent. It should be a part of every child’s library and is the perfect introduction for discussions about these important concepts.”
And now, here’s Katey!
Thanks so much for having me on your blog today, Darlene. I’m delighted to share a little bit about the process of writing my consent-themed picture book, Rissy No Kissies. (Illustrated by Jess Engle)
Rissy Cover
How and why did you decide to write on this topic?
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One of my three kids is exceptionally cuddly. The other two are much less comfortable with physical expressions of affection. I’ll admit that, early on, this was sometimes difficult for me to accept and respect. Even knowing how important it is for children to have control of their own bodies, there were times I really just wanted to give them a squeeze!
But as they grew, I grew, too – in my understanding of sensory processing differences, in my joy at seeing the unique ways they shared love, and in my conviction that there were not enough resources – for kids OR parents – that explained how common our family’s experience was. I grew more convinced that families needed books highlighting how natural it is to have differing preferences regarding touch and affection, resources that teach the importance of bodily autonomy and consent.
I had been playing with the idea for several months when I visited Minneapolis while promoting another picture book, Be A Maker. Lerner Publishing is headquartered there, and their team was so kind to me, helping me contact local schools and bookstores and setting me up with a tour of their offices. During that trip, I had the chance to meet up with my Be A Maker editor, Shaina Olmanson, and to bounce some of my manuscript ideas off of her. Shaina also felt strongly that kids and caregivers could really use stories that shined a light on boundaries, autonomy and consent. Her interest motivated me to work even harder on this concept!
How did you arrive at a rhyming scheme to tell the story?
It’s funny. Often, I try really hard not to rhyme, but can’t seem to get away from it. When I first started writing this story, I kept finding rhyming couplets in my work, even when I was aiming for prose. At first, I contained the rhyme to a refrain between prose sections. The original refrain was:
Kisses are something
That Love Birds like best
But Rissy No Kissy
Is not like the rest
With reflection, I realized this refrain centered Rissy’s differences, not her strengths. I dropped it and worked to rewrite with a focus on Rissy’s powerful opinions and proud voice. My character notes show a few words I used to envision Rissy:
Determined
Tenacious
Persistent
Emphatic!!
That descriptor “emphatic” made its way into a new refrain:
“No kissies,” Rissy chirruped, with a most emphatic squeak.”
and soon set up a rhythm and rhyme scheme that I was able to use to structure the entire text. If you check my notebooks from the time, you’ll find extensive lists of words that rhyme with “chirp,” “tweet,” and “squeak.”
Did you know from the start it would be lovebirds?
I almost always write human characters, so this book was a departure for me. It was, however, a calculated departure.
I knew going in that, for kids who have been made to feel left out or rejected when their preferences don’t fit in with other’s expectations, the interactions in this book could be really painful. Seeing a character too much like themselves being called rude, mean or sick because they don’t like hugs and kisses might make the book too emotionally taxing – and I wanted it to be a book that instead balanced the honesty of those hard moments with warmth and light and comfort.
The rhyming text helps strike that balance, as do the soothing palette and adorable characters illustrator Jess Engle created. By making Rissy an animal, we let readers put a little distance between her experience and their own. By making her a lovebird specifically, we play on the idea that your whole species might be defined by a certain way of sharing love – but that you don’t have to be.
Please add anything else you want readers to know
There have been a number of picture books about autonomy and consent released recently, and I am so thrilled to see this. No one book speaks to every reader, or gets all aspects of this nuanced concept across. I’d love for teachers and parents to check out other suggestions including:
this post by author Carrie Finison on Pragmatic Mom (https://www.pragmaticmom.com/2021/02/new-picture-books-to-teach-consent-signed-book-giveaway/) or
this list on books about boundaries I wrote for Nerdy Book Club (https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2021/01/09/ten-picture-books-to-boost-discussion-of-boundaries-by-katey-howes/)
In addition to reading books on the topic, it’s important for caregivers to grow their knowledge base and practice the skills needed to set, communicate, and respect boundaries. I highly recommend following @comprehensiveconsent on Instagram for daily parenting advice from a fabulous and frankly funny consent educator.
You can also check out this printable lesson plan created by my cousin-in-law (that’s a thing, right?) and curriculum expert Leah Robinson. It includes a lovebird craft and role play cards (sample below) perfect for 4-8 year olds learning about consent.
thumbnail_Screen Shot 2021-02-07 at 2.08.39 PM
You’ll find even more activities on my website – including this kid-friendly recipe for Sunflower Love Cookies: perfect to pair with Rissy No Kissies.
thumbnail_Screen Shot 2021-02-07 at 2.12.27 PM
Katey Howes HeadshotKatey Howes is an award-winning picture book author and literacy advocate. Her picture books Be A Maker and Magnolia Mudd and the Super Jumptastic Launcher Deluxe are popular in maker spaces and STEM education, and her debut book, Grandmother Thorn, was named an Anna Dewdney Read Together Honor Book. A former physical therapist, Katey lives in Eastern Pennsylvania with her husband, three daughters, and a pup named Samwise Gamgee. She loves reading, weaving, cooking, camping and travel. In addition to writing for children and raising kids who love books, Katey contributes to parenting, literacy, and STEAM education websites.
“You can order a signed copy of Rissy No Kissies from my local indie, Newtown Bookshop. Just follow this link: https://www.newtownbookshop.com/katey-howes-author-page
I’m also happy to snail mail a signed bookplate to you with proof of purchase. Email howes_kathryn@yahoo.com with mailing address and personalization request. Or tag @kateywrites on Twitter with a photo of your copy or receipt for your pre-order. I will follow and DM for your mailing address. “
Katey Howes, illus. by Dinara Mirtalipova.
Chronicle, $17.99 (44p) ISBN 978-1-4521-7806-6 "Clack. Clack. Swish--pull back."
Howes (A Poem Grows Inside You) and Mirtalipova (Leila in Saffron) explore the technology of weaving across space and time. Inventive spreads feature a patient elder and an affectionate child, both portrayed with brown skin, and a playful blue cat alongside a loose chronology of weaving: "I imagine skeins of history/unfurled across the room--/ wrapping me in warm tradition, crossing borders, spanning years,/ as the clack then swish of loom song/ carries stories to my ears." Foregrounding decorative patterns and rounded human forms, Mirtalipova paints garments and textiles woven by arrisans across China, Egypt, the Islamic civilization Al-Andalus, and many more. Meanwhile, the eldet teaches the child how to weave, passing "much more than yarn between us/ as the loaded shuttle glides." Paralleling the intricare patterns discussed, Howes's rhythmically woven verse layers poetry and onomatopoeia. The beauty of decoration and embellishment, the multiplicity of practices, and the way knowledge is passed across generations and cultures are all celebrated in this story "of ties that bind us, one and all,/ no matter where we stand." Back matter includes a visual weaving glossary and contextualizes the weaving cultures described. Ages 5-8. Author's agent: Essie White, Storm Literary. Illustrator's agent: Chrystal Falcioni. Magnet Reps. (Feb.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Woven of the World." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 53, 19 Dec. 2022, pp. 86+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A731556027/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=da1b097d. Accessed 18 May 2023.
Howes, Katey WOVEN OF THE WORLD Chronicle Books (Children's None) $17.99 2, 7 ISBN: 978-1-4521-7806-6
Intelligent rhymes and handsome folk-art patterns spin a global story of weaving through the millennia.
The narrative opens as an adult in a long black dress invites a child clothed in red (both are brown-skinned and blue-haired) to listen to the loom: "Clack. Clack. / Swish-- / PULL BACK. / Bobbin and heddle, / foot pedal, no slack." (Specialized vocabulary is defined and illustrated in a glossary.) The characters' presence throughout, along with that of a playful blue cat, adds a personal dimension. Describing the loom's "song" ("skeins of history / unfurled across the room "), the text is told in first person, presented in an ABCB rhyme scheme with an appropriately lilting rhythm. A limited but vibrant gouache palette of black, blue, orange/rust/brown, forest green, and white depicts weavers throughout history and cultures--we see portrayals of the craft on Chinese porcelain, Egyptian pottery, Moorish carpets, and more. Delicate spot line art contrasts with rich color on double-page spreads for a pleasing variety. Author and artist convey technical and functional information about weaving as well as the sense of community experienced by weavers and the stories and spirit incorporated into their pieces. Ending in the third person plural, Howes speaks of the beauty, purpose, and strength of the textiles and of those who create and appreciate them: "We all are tapestries / lifelines interlacing ." (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An exceptional ode to the music and art of the loom. (author's and illustrator's notes, historical and cultural information on weaving) (Informational picture book. 5-9)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Howes, Katey: WOVEN OF THE WORLD." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A729072477/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=457a9250. Accessed 18 May 2023.
Rissy No Kissies. By Katey Howes. Illus. by Jess Engle. Mar. 2021.32p. Carolrhoda, $17.99 (9781541597983). PreS-Gr. 1.
Rissy is a lovebird hatchling, with one unusual quirk: she doesn't like kisses! One by one, her family and friends learn this the hard way, as they attempt to show affection, tuck her into the nest, or soothe her boo-boos. Each time, Rissy responds with the same "emphatic squeak": "No kissies!" The other birds wonder if Rissy is sick or confused or just mean and rude, but when she despairs that she'll never belong, her mother assures her that she is still a true lovebird and that how she chooses to receive or show affection is entirely her choice. It's a purposeful story, but Howes' singsong, rhyming text, coupled with Engle's charming characters and gentle watercolors, makes it an easy means of conveying big concepts--body autonomy, boundaries, consent--to the littlest readers. Back matter includes a "note to kids," sharing small lessons on establishing boundaries and respecting others', as well as a "note to caregivers," which defines key terms and explains the importance of beginning this kind of education early. A cute conversation-starter. --Ronny Khuri
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 American Library Association
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Khuri, Ronny. "Rissy No Kissies." Booklist, vol. 117, no. 14, 15 Mar. 2021, p. 66. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A656304138/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=906c503d. Accessed 18 May 2023.
Howes, Katey RISSY NO KISSIES Carolrhoda (Children's None) $17.99 3, 2 ISBN: 978-1-5415-9798-3
A young bird, warm and lively, can’t bear kissing.
Rissy is a solid, roundish, colorful lovebird with three siblings, one mother, and one father who are all also lovebirds. They’re an affectionate bunch, as are their friends and relatives. Rissy’s on board for holding wings, “sky-high hugs,” tumbling, and roughhousing, but she can’t bear kisses (giving or receiving). She heads them off admirably—“ ‘No kissies!’ Rissy chirrup[s] with a most emphatic squeak”—but it’s stressful for her. Miss Bluebird accuses her of confusion, Grandma Lovebird of rudeness; schoolmates “think Rissy’s being mean.” Why? “We know lovebirds all love kisses,” they parrot. “ ‘Am I mean, Mom?’ Rissy wondered, / ‘or confused or rude or sick? / Are you certain I’m a lovebird? / Are you sure that I’m your chick? // Kissies make my tummy icky. / I feel worried, weird, and wrong. // If I can’t show love with kissies, / then I’ll never quite belong.’ ” Mom’s bolstering of Rissy’s boundaries and reassurance that she’s a lovebird family member are cheerworthy; now Rissy can explain her preferences more fully, with greater assurance than before, secure in her family and identity. Howes’ rhyming verse is both rollicking and steady, which offsets Rissy’s vulnerability without undermining it. Engle’s wonderfully stocky lovebirds are multicolored, with watercolor hue gradations and expressive beak shapes. This is an artistic gem for consent discussions, sensory-processing contexts, and anyone who champions children’s agency and bodily autonomy.
Radiant. (note to kids; note to caregivers) (Picture book. 2-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
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MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Howes, Katey: RISSY NO KISSIES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A646950185/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ef29d052. Accessed 18 May 2023.