Saturday, February 2, 2008

Virtual Book Tour: Day 2

Welcome back to the tour! For today’s stop, we’re visiting the Web site of my publisher, Sleeping Bear Press. What an honor it has been to work with them these past two and a half years while writing the book, working with E.B. Lewis as the illustrator, and getting the book ready for production. They have a great team of editors and an awesome staff.

Check out the free teacher’s guide for D is for Drinking Gourd! First, go to the Web site of Sleeping Bear Press. Then click on the picture of my book. When the next page comes up, click on the link on the right side of the page that says Teacher’s Guide. A downloadable pdf file will appear with lots of great activities to do in your classroom or on your own. Oh, and while you’re at that site, be sure to check out the other wonderful books they have to offer!

Just for Kids:
If you’re like a lot of other kids, you’re probably wondering how long it took to write D is for Drinking Gourd. After I got the idea and contacted Sleeping Bear Press with my idea, it took several months for them to decide they wanted me to write the book. Then it took me three months from start to finish to actually write it. I worked on it full time, but I already knew a lot of the basic information because I’ve been doing research about African American history for other books I write, too. It took a couple more years, however, to get the book ready for publication. During that time, I worked with my awesome editor, Aimee Jackson, to revise certain sections and polish the text. E. B. Lewis came on board and then he needed time to paint all the beautiful illustrations. So from the time I first got the idea for the book until it came out in the bookstores, it was about two and a half years. Yes, a book can take a long time to make!

Yesterday’s Trivia Q and A:
Yesterday’s question was: Which famous scientist was also an artist?
The answer is: c. George Washington Carver. Before he was invited to teach at Tuskegee Institute, Carver dreamed of a career as an artist. Even after he became famous for his experiments with the peanut and the sweet potato, he continued to paint.

Today’s Trivia Question:
Which of America’s Founding Fathers was the Frederick Douglass of his generation?
a. Richard Allen, founder of the AME Church
b. Barzillai Lew, fifer and drummer in the American Revolution
c. Benjamin Banneker, inventor, astronomer, and mathematician
Submit your answer by posting it as a comment on today’s blog. This comment won't be published on the blog, but your name will be put in a hat to be drawn for 5 prizes to give away at the end of the tour. Check back in tomorrow for the answer!

Coming tomorrow:
On Day 3 of my Virtual Book Tour, I’ll post photos of historic sites I visited last June of some of America’s Black Founding Fathers who lived in Philadelphia during the early years of our nation’s history.

2 comments:

Carol M. said...

Nancy -
I checked out our local library (Newark, Delaware) and they have a copy of your book! Everyone should do the same...if you library does not have it then request they purchase a copy!
Carol

Nancy I. Sanders said...

That's great news, Carol! Yes, libraries are one of the best places to find books--I'm hoping to visit our own city branch today!
-Nancy