SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: HAND IN HAND
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.alyssacapucilli.com/
CITY: Hastings on Hudson
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 332
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born November 2, 1957, in Brooklyn, NY; married Bill Capucilli; children: Peter, Laura.
EDUCATION:Sarah Lawrence College, B.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Dancer, teacher, and author. Has taught writing at Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY, and for Highlights Foundation; Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, New York, NY, lecturer. Former professional dancer and dance instructor.
MEMBER:Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Authors Guild, Authors League.
AWARDS:American Booksellers Association Pick of the Lists designation, 1994, for Good Morning, Pond, 1996, for Biscuit, and 1997, for Bathtime for Biscuit; Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, 2002, for Biscuit’s New Trick, and 2004, for both Only My Dad and Me and Biscuit’s Big Friend; Washington Irving Children’s Book Choice Award, 2004, for Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats; Garden State Book Award, 2005, for Biscuit Goes to School; honors from American Literacy Council, Bank Street College of Education, and American Library Association.
WRITINGS
Author’s books have been translated into Afrikaans, Bulgarian, French, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.
The “Biscuit” series was adapted for the stage by ArtsPower as Biscuit the Musical, with a national tour debuting in 2017.
SIDELIGHTS
Alyssa Satin Capucilli’s stories for young audiences include her popular series of beginning readers starring a rambunctious golden-haired puppy named Biscuit. Capucill’s other creations include lift-the-flap books for toddlers that feature gentle, lovable characters and easily identifiable objects as well as beginning readers cited for their child-friendly narratives and repetitive vocabularies.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1957, Capucilli developed an early love of books and weekly trips to the library with her mother and sisters. “I could hardly wait to choose a special book from all of the books that lined the shelves,” she once recalled to SATA. “As a matter of fact, my sisters and I would often play library at home! We would take turns pretending to be the librarian, and we would recommend books to each other, check them out, and tell each other to ‘SSSSHHH!’” Among Capucilli’s favorite authors were Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, and Beverly Cleary, whose stories about Henry and his dog, Ribsy, she loved.
Although she wrote stories, poems, and puppet shows, Capucilli never took her writing seriously until many years later. In the meantime, she focused on her love of dance, a way of “telling stories in another way.” She became a professional dancer and soon was teaching as well as performing on stage. While reading to her own two children, Capucilli’s love affair with children’s books was rekindled, and she began to split her time between work as a dance instructor and performer and work as a writer. As she stated on her website, “I still love to dance, but now I find that I enjoy inventing worlds through words even more.”
Capucilli’s first published book, Peekaboo Bunny, is a lift-the-flap story that saw print in 1994. Illustrated by Mary Melcher, the book helps small children navigate in a garden, and it was popular enough to prompt a sequel, Peekaboo Bunny Friends in the Snow. The connection between objects and sounds has inspired several of Capucilli’s other books, including Good Morning, Pond, which uses repetition and rhythm to teach the names of pond-dwelling creatures. Another work, Inside a Barn in the Country: A Rebus Read-Along Story, encourages young listeners to mimic barnyard noises by using puzzles mixing letters and pictures, and it prompted Booklist reviewer Stephanie Zvirin to praise this book’s text as “part poetry, part puzzle game, and part tool for learning the sounds animals make.”
Capucilli’s Biscuit books feature unthreatening, toddler-type adventures and the canine-centered tales are illustrated by Pat Schories. A soft-eared and lovable puppy with golden-brown fur, Biscuit bounds into the life of a young girl and quickly becomes her best friend. From wanting a small snack before bedtime to being tucked in snugly under layers of blankets, the activities of girl and puppy play out in “oodles of contextual clues,” easy-to-read sentences, and “repetitive word and phrases,” according to School Library Journal reviewer Gale W. Sherman.
Novice readers can follow Biscuit’s exploits in numerous stories. In Bathtime for Biscuit the task of getting the pup into warm water is made easier through a variety of antics, and Capucilli tells her story in a way that “makes this a good choice for the youngest readers and listeners alike,” in the opinion of School Library Journal contributor Sharon R. Pearce. The pup celebrates his first birthday with friends in Happy Birthday, Biscuit!, a book that will appeal to “librarians who find it difficult to sustain a squirmy toddler’s interest,” predicted Lauren Peterson in Booklist.
Biscuit’s Valentine’s Day, a lift-the-flap book, describes the pup’s busy day chewing on ribbon and playing with balloons. Youngsters “will enjoy the simple action,” predicted Booklist critic Ilene Cooper. In Happy Hanukkah, Biscuit!, another lift-the-flap holiday book, the pup attends a Hanukkah celebration where the spinning of the dreidel leads to all sorts of mischief. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews deemed the work “a pleasant addition to the Biscuit canon.”
The playful pup follows his friend to school and tackles the ABCs in Biscuit Goes to School, a story “that will capture the attention of the newest reader,” in the view of Cooper in Booklist. Capucilli’s “hallmark combination of questions and statements, … executed in the most basic language,” is both “familiar and encouraging” to children, remarked a Kirkus Reviews critic. In Biscuit in the Garden the energetic and curious pooch discovers the wonders of nature, from a butterfly to a bird, during an outing with his owner. “The simplicity of the story makes it work, as it has since the beginning of the series,” noted another Kirkus Reviews writer.
Capucilli introduces a character who shares her love of dance in Katy Duck, the first book in another child-friendly series. Illustrated by Henry Cole, Katy Duck centers on a duckling that enjoys twirling and spinning about the house but finds herself overwhelmed once her mother enrolls her in Mr. Tutu’s dance class. According to School Library Journal critic G. Alyssa Parkinson, young readers will identify with the protagonist’s “initial fears of performing in front of a group.” In Katy Duck, Center State the plucky heroine experiences a moment of stage fright during a recital, and Katy Duck Is a Caterpillar finds Katy determined to land a starring role in the spring pageant. Capucilli’s “clear words … will easily appeal to young children,” Hazel Rochman stated in her Booklist review of Katy Duck Is a Caterpillar.
In Katy Duck’s Happy Halloween the duckling worries that her unicorn costume will be overshadowed by her friend’s dazzling mermaid outfit, while Katy Duck and the Tip-Top Tap Shoes shares an energetic tale in which the duckling’s new friend introduces her to a new style of dance. “Beginning readers will find reassurance in this easy-to-decipher story,” wrote School Library Journal contributor Gloria Koster in appraising Katy Duck’s Happy Halloween, and Mary Hazelton wrote in the same periodical that “the vocabulary [in Katy Duck and the Tip-Top Tap Shoes ] is repetitive and easy to sound out, providing good practice for building fluency.”
Apart from her series books, Capucilli is known for featuring genial, engaging creatures in her stand-alone stories. In What Kind of Kiss? a bear cub seeks the answer to his questions about smooching, and Booklist reviewer Connie Fletcher called this story “a satisfying snuggle of a book.” Only My Dad and Me describes the outdoor adventures of a young rabbit and his father. According to School Library Journal contributor Leslie Barban, “children will delight in discovering what the cozy twosome” have planned.
Furry felines are the subject of Capucilli’s popular books Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats and Little Spotted Cat. In the former, Mrs. McTats lives happily with her gray cat Abner, but when stray cats Basil and Curly come a’scratching at her door, she invites the two felines to stay. More and more cats now start arriving, in alphabetical order, until Mrs. McTats’s house is filled to bursting. Even with twenty-five cats, the woman feels that something is missing, until a puppy named Zoom shows up to balance the scales. In Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats Capucilli creates “a picture of cozy domesticity while incorporating a subtle lesson in letters and numbers,” observed a Publishers Weekly reviewer.
A kitten refuses his mother’s call to take a nap in Little Spotted Cat. Tangling with yarn and hopping along behind a grasshopper prove far more appealing to the little cat, which prefers plants obeying his mother. According to New York Times Book Review contributor Jessica Bruder, Capucilli “peppers the text with appealing sounds, like the ‘slip-slap-SPLASH!’ of a tumbling water bowl.” Also reviewing Little Spotted Cat, Booklist critic Jennifer Mattson predicted that young readers of Capucilli’s tale will “recognize … their own reluctance to miss out on fun” in the world around them.
The bond between humans and animals is the focus of several of Capucilli’s stories. In Pedro’s Burro a boy and his father have difficulty choosing the right burro to help with their chores until they spy a playful creature sporting a jaunty hat. In School Library Journal Barbara Katz complimented the “repetition and humor” in the author’s story here, and a Kirkus Reviews critic described Pedro’s Burro as “expert fare for individual reading.”
The author goes to the dogs in Tulip Loves Rex, focusing on the relationship between an energetic girl and a fluffy homeless dog that shares her love of dancing. According to Maryann F. Owen in her review of Tulip Loves Rex for School Library Journal, young readers “will enjoy … seeing how Tulip’s talents lead her to a kindred spirit.” In a second book, Tulip and Rex Write a Story, Tulip and Rex take their new notebook and leash—presents from Grandma—to the park, drawing words from their spontaneous actions along the way and then using them to write a story. Suggesting that children may be inspired to go on word walks of their own, a Kirkus Reviews writer concluded: “This sweet story makes a good springboard for vocabulary-enrichment activities in and out of the classroom.”
Working with illustrator Lorna Hussey, Capucilli wrote Not This Bear: A First Day of School Story along with This Bear’s Birthday. In Not This Bear, a little cub resists invitations to have fun at preschool because nothing is quite what he is accustomed to, but eventually he is able to loosen up and enjoy the present moment with some new friends. Rachell Anne Mencke, in School Library Journal, found that the book offers “a just-right blend of repetition and gentle humor to comfort reluctant new preschoolers.” In This Bear’s Birthday, the little cub helps prepare for his birthday party—and cleverly figures out what to do when wind-blown leaves threaten chaos. A Kirkus Reviews writer concluded, “Bear’s confident, lovable approach to life will serve little ones well.”
Capucilli’s stories with warm and sentimental messages include I Will Love You, in which a mother draws on nature metaphors to assure her daughter about the extent of her love. A Kirkus Reviews writer called the text “poetic” if “syrupy-sweet.” Amina Chaudri, in School Library Journal, appreciated illustrator Lisa Anchin’s depiction of an apparently interracial family and called I Will Love You a “tender paean” that “will be much appreciated by women who see their own adoration reflected in the words.”
Blanket of Love depicts all the aspects of nature in which kids can feel wrapped up like a blanket—including sand, sea, wind, sunshine, and moonlight. A Kirkus Reviews writer praised the “soothing rhyming text” and said of young readers, “the gentle and tender words … will indeed wrap blankets of love around them.”
[NEW PROSE]
Capucilli’s Good Night, My Darling Baby is part of the “New Books for Newborns” series of lullabies, which feature gentle rhymes and soothing artwork appropriate for very young audiences. Illustrated by Annie Bach, Good Night, My Darling Baby depicts a host of farm animals, including sheep, horses, and ducks, preparing their offspring for a night’s sleep. “The repeating language creates a lulling mood … as does the moody, muted palette of Bach’s tenderly illustrated scenes,” a critic noted in Publishers Weekly, and a Kirkus Reviews writer deemed the volume “an excellent bedtime storybook.”
Hush a Bye, Baby focuses on the relationship between fathers and their children, highlighting how “affectionate” the parents can be as they get their infants ready for bed, according to a Kirkus Reviews writer. “The text is for the most part simple and uses familiar vocabulary,” the critic added. Hand in Hand, a third series title by Capucilli, follows a young girl and her mother as they enjoy a stroll through the park and a series of games at the playground. A contributor in Kirkus Reviews applauded the “lovely, rhythmic text” and described Hand in Hand as “a lyrical celebration of an ordinary outing and the bonds between loving adult and child.”
Capucilli provides an interesting twist on the classic tale Stone Soup in Bone Soup: A Spooky, Tasty Tale, colorfully illustrated by Tom Knight. Realizing their cupboard is bare on Halloween, a trio of witches go door-to-door gathering ingredients for a tasty concoction, securing colored flies from a goblin, dried dragon wings from a bat, and sludge from a mummy. “Capucilli’s wordplay here is a delight,” observed a Kirkus Reviews critic, and a Publishers Weekly reviewer similarly noted that the author “deserves kudos for employing plenty of tasty vocabulary.”
[END NEW PROSE]
Mighty Tug, illustrated by David Mottram, is about a little tug boat who graciously helps all those who enter her harbor, who are gracious to her in return. A Publishers Weekly reviewer appreciated the narrative’s “crowd-pleasing sound effects” and concluded that “it’s refreshing to encounter a small-in-stature character who never doubts herself.”
Reflecting on her career, Capucilli once remarked, “One of the most unexpected and gratifying things about writing is that so many children have learned to read and equally important, learned to love to read through my characters and stories.
“It’s wonderful to see children use my books as springboards for their own writing as well. Whether it’s telling their own original story of Biscuit or Katy Duck, or creating a word walk as my characters Tulip and Rex do, or creating a first nonfiction ‘How-To’ book from my own ‘My First’ books, I love seeing how reading inspires young writers and illustrators to create.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, January 15, 1995, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Inside a Barn in the Country: A Rebus Read-Along Story, p. 935; August, 1996, Ilene Cooper, review of Biscuit, p. 1910; May 1, 1997, Ilene Cooper, review of Biscuit Finds a Friend, p. 1503; June 1, 1999, Lauren Peterson, review of Happy Birthday, Biscuit!, p. 1838; December 15, 2000, Carolyn Phelan, review of Inside a Zoo in the City: A Rebus Read-Along Story, p. 824; February 15, 2001, Ilene Cooper, review of Biscuit’s Valentine’s Day, p. 1139; September 1, 2001, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats, p. 113; November 1, 2001, Hazel Rochman, review of Biscuit Wants to Play, pp. 485-486; April 1, 2002, Connie Fletcher, review of What Kind of Kiss?, pp. 1331-1332; August, 2002, Ilene Cooper, review of Biscuit Goes to School, p. 1969; July, 2003, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Biscuit’s Big Friend, p. 1899; March 15, 2005, Jennifer Mattson, review of Little Spotted Cat, p. 1298; December 1, 2008, Hazel Rochman, review of Katy Duck Is a Caterpillar, p. 58; December 15, 2010, Carolyn Phelan, review of Scat, Cat!, p. 59; May 1, 2013, Ann Kelley, review of Biscuit in the Garden, p. 90; January 1, 2014, Edie Ching, review of Tulip Loves Rex, p. 122; January 1, 2017, Amina Chaudhri, review of I Will Love You, p. 100.
Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2001, review of What Kind of Kiss?, p. 1610; June 15, 2002, review of Biscuit Goes to School, p. 877; November 1, 2002, review of Happy Hanukkah, Biscuit!, p. 1616; March 15, 2005, review of Little Spotted Cat, p. 248; November 15, 2007, review of Pedro’s Burro; July 1, 2008, review of Katy Duck, Center Stage; November 15, 2008, review of Panda Kisses; July 1, 2012, review of Monkey Play; March 15, 2013, review of Biscuit in the Garden; November 1, 2013, review of Tulip Loves Rex; June 1, 2015, review of Not This Bear: A First Day of School Story; June 15, 2015, review of Tulip and Rex Write a Story; April 1, 2017, review of I Will Love You; April 15, 2017, review of This Bear’s Birthday; July 1, 2017, reviews of Blanket of Love and Good Night, My Darling Baby; January 1, 2018, review of Hush a Bye, Baby; August 1, 2018, review of Bone Soup: A Spooky, Tasty Tale; January 15, 2020, review of Hand in Hand.
Publishers Weekly, March 27, 1995, review of Inside a Barn in the Country, p. 84; May 28, 2001, review of Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats, p. 87; September 22, 2003, review of The Brightest Star, p. 69; November 4, 2013, review of Tulip Loves Rex, p. 65; January 30, 2017, review of Good Night, My Darling Baby, p. 202; November 6, 2017, review of Mighty Tug, p. 81; July 2, 2018, review of Bone Soup, p. 66.
School Library Journal, July, 1996, Gale W. Sherman, review of Biscuit, p. 57; October, 1998, Sharon R. Pearce, review of Bathtime for Biscuit, p. 87; June, 2000, Janie Schomberg, review of Biscuit’s New Trick, p. 102; September, 2000, Jane Marino, reviews of The Potty Book for Girls and The Potty Book for Boys, both p. 186; August, 2001, Caroline Ward, review of Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats, p. 144; December, 2001, Karen J. Tannenbaum, review of What Kind of Kiss?, pp. 91-92; May, 2002, Shauna Yusko, review of Bathtime for Biscuit, p. 7; October, 2002, Ilene Abramson, review of Happy Hanukkah, Biscuit!, p. 58; May, 2003, Leslie Barban, review of Only My Dad and Me, p. 109; October, 2003, Susan Patron, review of The Brightest Star, p. 61; June, 2005, Blair Christolon, review of Little Spotted Cat, p. 106; July, 2007, G. Alyssa Parkinson, review of Katy Duck, p. 73; November, 2007, Barbara Katz, review of Pedro’s Burro, p. 87; February, 2009, Martha Simpson, review of Katy Duck Is a Caterpillar, p. 179; October, 2010, Kelly Roth, review of Scat, Cat!, p. 81; July, 2011, Carol Schene, review of My First Ballet Class, p. 82; December, 2011, Blair Christolon, review of My First Soccer Game, p. 98; May, 2012, review of My First Karate Class, p. 86; May, 2013, Mary Hazelton, review of Katy Duck and the Tip-Top Shoes, p. 68; December, 2013, Maryann H. Owen, review of Tulip Loves Rex, p. 89; December, 2014, Gloria Koster, review of Katy Duck’s Happy Halloween, p. 98; August, 2015, Rachell Anne Mencke, review of Not This Bear, p. 57; April, 2017, Barbara Spiri, review of Biscuit Flies a Kite, p. 135; December, 2017, Barbara Auerbach, review of Mighty Tug, p. 83; January, 2018, Mahnaz Dar, review of Hush a Bye, Baby, p. 49.
ONLINE
Alyssa Satin Capucilli website, https://alyssacapucilli.com (July 1, 2020).
No bio
Alyssa Satin Capucilli is the author of the first story about Tulip and Rex, Tulip Loves Rex, as well as the bestselling Biscuit books and many other beloved children's books. She lives in a book-filled home in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.
Alyssa Satin Capucilli is the award-winning creator and author of the Katy Duck series and the bestselling Biscuit series, which has sold over twenty-four million copies. A dancer as well as a writer, she lives with her family in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.
Alyssa Satin Capucilli
CITY OF BIRTH
Brooklyn
STATE/PROVIDENCE OF BIRTH
New York
COUNTRY OF BIRTH
United States of America
CURRENT CITY
Hastings-on-Hudson
CURRENT STATE/PROVIDENCE
New York
CURRENT COUNTRY
United States of America
Alyssa Satin Capucilli was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1957. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, and pursued her interest in dance, becoming a professional dancer and dance instructor. Though Capucilli had written stories, poems, and even puppet shows as a child, she didn't consider a career as a writer until after her own two children were born. To this day she sees herself as both a dancer and a writer, and the two professions complement each other nicely: dancing is, in her words, “telling stories in another way,” and readers of her children's books can attest to the rhythm of her language. Since 1994, she has written more than 15 books for children, and her work has been translated into French, Hebrew, Afrikaans, Greek, and Bulgarian.
Capucilli lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, with her husband and children. They have a chocolate Labrador retriever named Huckleberry, who likes to watch the author at work.
ALYSSA CAPUCILLI
Alyssa Satin Capucilli is the award-winning author of nearly 100 books for children. Her popular Biscuit book series, with more than fifty books, includes picture books, board books, e-books, and Apps. Alyssa’s other series include Katy Duck and Inside (Inside a Zoo in the City, House That Is Haunted, and Barn in the Country); and My First (Soccer Game, Ballet Class, Gymnastics Class, and Karate Class). Alyssa has been honored with numerous awards, including the American Literacy Council Award, the Bank Street College Best Book Award, Washington Irving Award, Oppenheim Portfolio Gold Awards, Children’s Choice Awards, and American Library Association Awards. Visit Alyssa at www.alyssacapucilli.com.
Capucilli, Alyssa Satin HAND IN HAND Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (Children's Fiction) $7.99 1, 7 ISBN: 978-1-5344-4172-9
A young toddler enjoys a day "hand in hand" with a loving, energetic caregiver.
While their relationship is never stated, the Asian-presenting youngster is a diminutive version of the grown-up, right down to the chin-length bobbed hair and bangs. The dyad enjoys a walk through the park, a snack on a park bench, some active play on the playground, and the trip on foot back home, the tired toddler carried by the loving adult. The lovely, rhythmic text is a series of rhymes made up of one to four words per line: "Me / You / We, two / Hand in hand / Through and through." Murray's soft art, which has the look and feel of pencil, pen, and ink, projects a cozy warmth despite a mostly cool, pale color scheme. The bond between the duo is palpable. While this offering is part of the New Books for Newborns series, with text reading like a gentle lullaby, the palette, busy compositions, and age of the featured child makes it feel more appropriate for children taking their first steps. Those children will thrill to see the fun they'll have once they are steady on their feet, playing on the slide, running after a ball, and perching on the playground carousel.
A lyrical celebration of an ordinary outing and the bonds between loving adult and child. (Board book. 1-3)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 8th Edition APA 6th Edition Chicago 17th Edition
"Capucilli, Alyssa Satin: HAND IN HAND." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2020. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A611140214/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=70e51e08. Accessed 22 Feb. 2020.
Capucilli, Alyssa Satin BONE SOUP Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (Children's Fiction) $17.99 7, 24 ISBN: 978-1-4814-8608-8
"Stone Soup" gets a Halloween remake.
Three hungry witches, finding only a dry bone in the cupboard, take their cauldron door to door collecting ingredients for their bone soup. Both the neighbors, who are initially suspicious of the witches, and their additions to the pot will be unfamiliar to children used to grandma's chicken soup: A ghost contributes a giant's eye; a ghoul brings a lizard's tail; a werewolf adds old toenails. The beguiling smell attracts more and more creatures, and as their hunger increases, their patience grows thin: They will not put up with any tricks from the witches. (Capucilli's wordplay here is a delight: " 'Let's wrap this up now,' mumbled the mummy. / 'Don't rattle me further,' clattered the skeleton.") Just as it looks as if the witches will be part of the soup, a monster child saves the day, and bone soup is shared and enjoyed by all. Knight's illustrations, made with charcoal and pencils and colored digitally, have just the right mix of creepy and humorous, treading the line between scary and fun. His palette is suitably Halloween-y.
Just right for sharing with neighbors this October--either the tale or the (real) recipe that follows, or maybe both. (author's note) (Picture book/folktale. 4-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 8th Edition APA 6th Edition Chicago 17th Edition
"Capucilli, Alyssa Satin: BONE SOUP." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2018. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A548137896/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=454a9033. Accessed 22 Feb. 2020.