Let the kids try Kartoo.com - visual search engine

If you get a moment, visit KartOO.com - a visual search engine designed by these two French guys. It's an amazing way to look at information - so visit www.KartOO.com and type in your favorite children's book author and see how the results appear. What do you think? Enjoy!

Obama Os - New Breakfast Cereal

Obama O's: Hope in Every Bowl If I were a kid, I'd like to start the day with a bowl filled with "hope." A new travel website, Airbed & Breakfast, created this cereal as a promotion. Yes, there's actually cereal in it. Now, if there was a small story booklet inside ..... Enjoy!

Words Falling from a Book

What fun! Words falling from a book. I don't know the photographer. Thanks to the folks at Inspire me, now! Enjoy!

Lookybook: Good or Bad Idea?

Illustrator and blogger Don Tate asks if Lookybook is a good idea. Lookybook is an online website with the mission to:

"create a comfortable place where a curious and devoted audience can search, view, talk about, and buy from a diverse and rapidly expanding collection of picture books. We intend to create the greatest opportunity for authors, illustrators and publishers to reach interested consumers and dramatically extend the life of their books."

What I like about the site:
1. Easy, convenient ability to search the site via keyword, author or illustrator and subject matter. Yes, there's a Lookybook African American listing.
2. Way to market one's picture book to new audience.
3. New opportunity to post and read reviews
4. Avenue for multi-cultural books to be promoted (I learned about several interesting titles!)
5. View great artwork! One feature I love about real bookstores is the chance to walk into the Children's section and see the outward facing book covers - all the marvelous, varied artwork. I get a similar rush from Lookybook.

What I'm not crazy about:
1. The page-turning images are fine, I just can't read the text of many of the books. There's no button to enlarge or magnify pages. Given the difficulty in reading the text on a computer screen, there's little fear that visiting Lookybook will subsitute for reading and not purchasing a book.

I can't see much differences between what Lookybook is doing than what Google Book Search or Amazon's Search Inside is doing - except for the fabulous emphasis on children's picture books. Where is the value add that Lookybook brings?

Lookybook seems ideal for backlist titles or out of print picture books or even non-English picture books. There are quick links to buy any title - probably via affiliate marketing links where the site gets a commission for each sale. Is there an opportunity for independently owned bookstores to participate?

There seems little reason for visitors to return to Lookybook after a first visit - I've already bookmarked Amazon.com. I WOULD return if Lookybook offered for sale, say, 25 copies of a title autographed by the author and/or illustrator... that would get me back to the site... and give publishers and authors reasons to promote not only the titles, but the site.

I'd LOVE to see Lookybook add picture books titles from other countries - with links for purchasing. What are the best selling UK or South African picture books?

Going back to the out-of-print titles, one of the reasons I buy from ABE.com is to get out-of-print titles. I'd love to SEE the inside of OOP picture books via Lookybook prior to purchasing.

On a minor point, Lookybook should add a counter on its homepage showing how many titles are within the site - unless a visitor clicks around, it's hard to know if new titles have been uploaded since one last visited or even if there's a substantial number of books on the site now (yes, there's over 200).

Don, Yes, I think the site has the potential to be another avenue to reach readers. Enjoy!

Amazon Kindle - Have you tried it yet?

Have you tried the new Amazon Kindle - the hand-size ebook reader? I can't believe it - I got one! Plan to use it extensively this weekend as I downloaded a mystery by a favorite author. Like many others, I'm not crazy about the size page forward and backwards tabs (shown in photo) because it's too easy to leap pages by accident. What I will really enjoy is the EASE of getting new books via Amazon - literally purchase online and the book appears on your device. No trying to learn how to transfer files from a computer. I was surprise to also have internet access via Kindle as well as ability to listen to music via MP3 files. Enjoy!

Amazing ABC Adventure - Make your own!

My Mom would always give us personalized gifts as kids - Lillian Vernon pencils, stationary and, even, personalized books. A co-worker recently sent me this link to Shutterfly's Amazing ABC Adventure video. You can upload a photo of your favorite child (or yourself!) for free - and watch a hilarious video as your favorite child seemingly explores the alphabet. Here's the link to my own video. Enjoy!

1968 Betty Doll Cut Out Book

OK - I saw this 1968 "Betty Doll Cardboard Press-Out Doll Book" from James & Jonathan Lowe No. 2777 on eBay. What a fun image! (P.S. The uncut book sold for about $46.)

Pack of Dogs - Book Ends

Five designers - Ricardo Casas, Héctor Esrawe, Emiliano Godoy, Cecilia León de la Barra, Óscar Núñez - "explore, through concept and form, the interaction in design between traditional materials and techniques, and new processes or unusual applications." Click here to see the five different wooden dogs, each named after Mexican wrestlers! Bow Wow!

Your Own 8 page Book

A couple years ago I attended a local book art exhibit and briefly met Emily Martin, The Naughty Dog Press. One of Emily's pieces I adored was titled, My Twelve Steps (1997 - photo here).

Emily provides free, easy to follow instructions on her site to Fold Your Own 8-page Booklet from a single piece of paper. Be your own author and enjoy! Check out more of Emily's work.

Title makes a Bestseller

For the authors amoung us - have a look at Lulu's TitleScorer. Accoring to Lulu.com, they have analyzed 50 years worth of bestsellers to estimate a book's commercial success given the title.

You can even pit two titles against each other. Wonder how Spike Lee's Please, Baby, Please compares to Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day.