website update

Finally, a website update! There's new art and reviews from my latest couple books up in the "illustration" and "books" sections. Head over and take a peek! http://laurencastillo.com

Melvin has PA fans!

I was super excited to learn that The Pennsylvania Center for the Book named MELVIN AND THE BOY a 2012 Best Children's Book for Family Literacy!

This from their website:

The Pennsylvania Center for the Book works with hundreds of children's books each year while preparing booklists, activities, and curriculum materials. Our Family Literacy Activities Web page is designed to help parents and caregivers fill each child's world with a love of books. We consider these 13 titles—a Baker's Dozen—to be the very best picture books published in 2011. They fulfill the goals of family literacy programs across the nation: to create lifelong readers and lovers of books and to start with the youngest audience—preschool children.

Huge thanks to The Pennsylvania Center for the Book for selecting Melvin as one of their Baker's Dozen — I am so honored to be a part of this list.

Thank you, Bankstreet!

Bank Street College of Education has released their 2012 edition of the Best Books of the Year, and I was very happy to find out that both SPUNKY TELLS ALL and MELVIN AND THE BOY made the list (age 5-9 category)!! You can read more about Bank Street College of Education, and how they choose books for their annual list, right here. Thanks again to the fantastic committee for selecting my two titles!

Alabama is a fan of Spunky!

Good news: Spunky Tells All has been chosen as a 2012-2013 Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Award selection! You can find out more about the award and program right here. Thanks to the state of Alabama for including Spunky on your list :)

BEA Annual Children's Art Auction

It's time once again for the Annual Children's Art Auction and Reception at BookExpo America! Come out to the Jacob Javits Center tomorrow evening, June 6th, and bid on some great art — all proceeds will go to the ABFFE (American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression). My donation this year is a little ink and watercolor personal piece that I made for Earth Day~

Hope to see you there!
xo~L

Concert & Launch party for The Broadway Lullaby Project

Luckily I live in New York City, which made it very easy to attend the concert and launch party for the release of The Broadway Lullaby Project on May 7th. Over a dozen of the 26 lullabies were performed, accompanied by their illustrations on the large screen behind the performers at the Stephen Sondheim Theater. And Edie Falco was the evening's host! It was a great night of celebration, and fun to be able to rub elbows with some big deal folks in the Broadway biz. Here's a little photo recap of the evening:

Please visit the website, and consider purchasing a CD or a hardcover book (or ebook!) to help fight breast cancer!

Over The Moon

 I'm so pleased to say that I was able to contribute, in a small way,

to this great project that is raising funds to help fight breast cancer.  

Over The Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project

From the website:

Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project is both a timeless benefit effort and a uniquely compelling, multimedia experience. The ambitious project — which incorporates a 2-CD, 26-song set; a lavishly-illustrated hardcover book of 17 songs from the album; a corresponding e-book encompassing the entire collection; and a documentary film and web series — gathers many of contemporary musical theatre’s greatest composers and vocalists, as well as illustrators, all of whom have donated their talent to deliver an emotionally affecting set of new lullabies, some written specifically for this project.

This collection puts a fresh spin on the classic lullaby form, creating a warmly expressive song cycle that will touch listeners of all ages, while raising funds for respected breast cancer charities, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Young Survival Coalition. The book features 17 songs from the album, with the lyrics illustrated by some of America’s most esteemed theatrical designers and children’s book illustrators, each offering a memorable visual interpretation of a song from the CD bound in the book. The e-book includes illustrations for all 26 songs.

My illustration accompanies the lullaby titled “I’ll Always Be There,” written by Jeff Blumenkrantz and sung by Victoria Clark.  Please check out the Over The Moon website to find out more about this wonderful project, and how you can help! 

XO~Lauren 

p.s. Kathy Lee and Hoda think it's a pretty great project, too!

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hip hip hooray!

I'm so HAPPY that Happy Like Soccer has been collecting some really great reviews! Thank you JLG, SLJ, Booklist, and Kirkus. Here are a few snippets:

A Junior Library Guild Selection 

Starred Review Publisher's Weekly:

"....unexpected emotional depth...a thought-provoking read aloud."

  School Library Journal:
"This tender story, written in lyrical text, perfectly blends the protagonist's joy at playing her favorite sport with the loneliness of being the new kid in unfamiliar territory. Castillo's muted colors reflect the narrator's thoughtful mood....This quiet gem is lovely for one-on-one sharing."

  Booklist:
"Castillo’s stylized, expressive watercolor illustrations effectively depict the bleakness of Sierra’s situation and her small triumph. Realistic without being overly sentimental, Boelts’ uplifting story realizes the impact of family, community, and even a little cheering in a child’s life..."

  Kirkus:

"Castillo's watercolor-and-ink illustrations of the city's landscapes feature towering buildings in an austere setting. In contrast, drawings of Sierra's home and her aunt's workplace depict warm, cozy scenes. Scenes with the dark-skinned, crinkly-haired auntie and niece emphasize the close, nurturing relationship. Action-filled paintings of the soccer games capture the fast-paced excitement of the game. Boelts' quiet tale celebrates the perseverance of a young girl as she attempts to achieve her goals."

 

HAPPY LIKE SOCCER release!!

 

 Today is the official release of my new book HAPPY LIKE SOCCER! There is a wonderful interview with the books' fabulous author, Maribeth Boelts, right here. Head on over, and enter to win a free copy!

Alfie goes to Korea

Alfie made it all the way to Korea! :) Many thanks to the wonderful people at Hansol Education for publishing a Korean edition of ALFIE RUNS AWAY. Seeing my work translated into other languages is never ever ever going to get old~