Capstone Connect

Fiction Friday: Building Books, Or How a Twentysomething Rediscovered His “Superman” Underpants

"Draw a crazy picture. Write a nutty poem. Sing a mumble-gumble song. Whistle through your comb. Do a loony-goony dance across the kitchen floor. Put something silly in the world that ain't been there before." -Shel Silverstein

At the age of seven, the world seemed to be a more manageable place, or at least that’s how I remember it.  After all, if the anxiety of having your younger sister step on your newly assembled Lego castle matches that of a global financial meltdown, things are pretty good, right?  We’ve all had that hazy, nostalgic fever brought on by the aging process.   And for me, last October when I started at Capstone, I felt it once again.  I felt old—really old. 

I soon discovered that working on children’s books would be this old man’s obstacle.  Have I really been that far removed?  What happen to that seven-year-old that turned every blanket into a Superman cape, every corduroy coach cushion into a stepping stone surrounded by hot lava, and every fallen stick into a warrior’s saber?  After my first day, I remember thinking, “Maybe it’s time to turn off C-SPAN and see what’s on Nickelodeon these days.”  And so I did.  In seeking out design inspiration, I would have to rethink everything.  It was not long before I begin my bookstore adventures at the back, starting with the kids’ section and slowly working my way forward to the “Best-Sellers.”

 Working at Capstone really has rekindled those early, ephemeral memories.  And I welcome it wholeheartedly.  Not in an existential Peter Pan Complex kind of way, but more in those everyday subtle reminders that allows you to reshuffle the days’ trials and tribulations to a kinder, gentler understanding of time and place—that restless curiosity can never be wavered.  And now at 27, I realize the craving for fruit snacks may have been replaced by sushi, but these “Man of Steel” underpants aren’t goin’ anywhere. 

Russell Griesmer
Graphic Designer

Preview Our New Fall Releases!

Want a sneak peek of our most exciting new fall releases? Head on over to NetGalley where we have electronic galleys of some of our most buzz-worthy new series like Tony Hawk’s 900 Revolution, the re-release of Myth-o-Mania, You Choose: Survival, and Monster Science.  NetGalley members (there are more than 25,000) have access to hundreds of electronic advance reader copies from more than 100 publishers. It’s totally free to join for anyone who reads and recommends books (reviewers, bloggers, librarians, teachers, booksellers, etc.). 

Find us on NetGalley by selecting Capstone under the publisher listing, request an e-galley, and then let us know what you think about the book!

Christmas/Library Carol

Everyone knows the movie "A Christmas Carol" right?  Where the Scrooge goes back in time to evaluate the Christmases of the past, present and future. 

Imagine if we could write a script and produce a new movie called "A Library Carol" - maybe Steven Spielberg would even produce it...ok well maybe not. 

We could walk back in time to see The Royal Library of Alexandria which was the largest and most significant great library of the ancient world. Today's library looks more like the picture below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But what does the future library look like? Capstone knows!  

It's a combination of trusted and beloved Capstone books on the library and classroom shelves and now it's myON reader providing a virutal backpack of over 1300 enhanced digital books available anywhere there is an Internet connection and will be on mobile devices in 2012.  

We might not exactly know what the future of the library looks like but we do know what The Future In Reading looks like!

 

 

 

New Program for Reading Intervention

As the Director of New Initiatives, I work on many different projects here at Capstone. It is an exciting job most days, but definitely an education every day! Currently I am working with a team to develop a reader program for our classroom market. It is truly amazing what it takes to pull together a set of books for reading intervention.

First, we found science, math and social studies topics that correlate to most state and Common Core standards. Then we wrote the books, making sure that the level of writing is close to our intended level. I thought writing for this age would be a breeze. Well, let me tell you, it is not as easy as you might think! Our consultant, Adria F. Klein, has been an incredible resource for us. We look at sentence patterning and sentence length, language structure, print placement, and the background knowledge of most kids this age (about grade 1). Decoding is not the only thing to consider…text complexity is the key.

After we have the text right, we then go off and find photographs to match the text. That is not easy either, and we have a great staff of photo researchers who find spectacular photos! Our Wonder Readers are coming out this fall in paperback for our classroom division. I think they will be a great tool for reading intervention!

Maryellen Coughlan-Gregoire, M.Ed., Director of New Initiatives

The Illustration Process and Bigfoot

When you look at an illustrated book, do you ever wonder what goes into that finished product? I never really did until recently. This past season I got my first illustrated series. And now that I’ve done one … I love it! Here’s a brief look at the process from start to finish.

Once the manuscript has been approved, the designer writes up illustration notes for the illustrators to use for sketches. Sometimes the author or editor will write up their ideas as well.

For examples I’m using Bigfoot and Adaptation from our new Graphic Library series Monster Science.

Illustration notes example:

Panel 11.3   
Text: The Emperor penguin also has a thick layer of fat, or blubber. Both the feathers and this layer of fat keep it warm in the freezing water or on land. The penguins also huddle together to trap heat. These physical and behavioral adaptations increase the penguins’ chance of survival.

Art: Show several Emperor penguins huddled together. Bigfoot is huddled under one of the penguin’s wings for warmth.

For some books we choose to do rough sketches, more refined sketches, and then final art. We typically do this for more complex titles, such as this one. The illustrator takes the text and our art suggestions to pull together some rough thumbnail sketches for us.

Spread 11 Rough Sketches:
 

After seeing all of the rough sketches, I route the layout to the book team (editor, product planner, art director, managing editor, editorial director, and content consultant). They make all of their comments, and I compile them to send back to the illustrator for changes. The illustrator will then send me more refined sketches with the changes made.

Spread 11 Pencils:
 

The layout is routed once again for comments. At this point there usually aren’t as many changes. Once comments are sent back to the illustrator, he or she can begin working on final art. This is my favorite part!

And here is the final spread:


The art process can take anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks depending on the title. With a graphic novel, it takes more time because of the amount of steps and details put into it. 

I hope you enjoyed the brief look into the art process of an illustrated title. It takes me back to the days of watching Mr. Rogers when he’d take us on a journey through factories of how things are made! We’d love to hear feedback. Is there anything else you’d like to know about?

Ashlee Suker, Graphic Designer

Fiction Friday: Field Trip Mysteries

 

Each designer has their own pet project, one we keep close to our heart for many reasons. Mine would have to be Field Trip Mysteries. I did not start the project; my good friend Carla Zetina did 3 years ago. When I inherited it, I kind of adopted it as my own and molded it into what you see today.

With every season, subtle changes move the series forward. We have the best of the old, and push the new. This upcoming season, we have a new illustrator who brings bright color palette into the mix, yet keeps the mysterious look kids learned to love about this series. We also chased a different approach with the covers this season. We simplified title treatments, making the illustration and typography become one in the composition more than ever before. We decided to have the characters and environment as the focal point, to connect with the readers eye to eye. We pushed the interior design, in full mystery gear.

Kids and mysteries go hand in hand. I see it at home with my nine-year-old daughter. She tries to solve the mysteries every single time. And yes, she is starting to keep score. Field Trip Mysteries: 7, Victoria Fraser: 5. She is hoping that with the next season her score might even out. The first finished copies of the four newest books just arrived on our desks!

Kay Fraser
Art Director

Capstone’s Very Own Library: Our Warehouse

Jelly is to jam as a library is to…Capstone’s warehouse? It may sound odd, yet I’m convinced our warehouse acts like a library (on a slightly larger scale). 

• Our warehouse has over nine million books in 70,000 square feet. Nine million! Ok, so perhaps that’s more than the average library, but stick with me. Much like a library, we have to keep track of our book inventory. Through the use of scanners, we have software that records and updates to the second the status and location of inventory. It’s our own library automation system of sorts. (Wouldn’t it be nice if you could say with certainty Kylie Jean: Blueberry Queen was in locker 312A five minutes ago?)

• Just like a library, Capstone books are always coming and going. Over 1,500 semitrucks arrive and depart from our warehouse yearly. I’m not going to compare students to semitrucks, but both require a highly-organized, tightly-run center to find what they are looking for quickly and efficiently.

• Our warehouse has a book processing area that is full of library carts and materials (barcode labels, spine labels, card kits, etc.). (Reminder: We provide FREE processing and shipping for Capstone Rewards members). 

• According to Jay Thomas, our warehouse manager, the warehouse is “surprisingly quiet and peaceful…the loudest sound is a tape gun dispensing tape.”

Perhaps the most obvious similarity between a library and Capstone’s warehouse is our devotion to making sure kids receive books they love to read. For more information on our warehouse, Capstone Rewards, or anything else Capstone feel free to contact customer service at 800-747-4992.    

-Amber Storms, Marketing Coordinator

Dog Days of Summer

School is out! The 4th of July holiday has come and gone, now what? Well it's officially the dog days of summer.  What a better way to help students than to prepare to provide them tools to increase their reading skills. 

 

PebbleGo Animals, PebbleGo Earth and Space and the soon to be released PebbleGo Biographies are motivating for students to research topics that they are interested in!

 

Capstone Interactive LIbrary provides a library of ebooks of over 450 books for schools to provide the first experience with ebooks.

 

myON reader is a personalized reading environment that matches student intersts to their reading level and generates a recommended book list for students from the largest digital library with over 1280 enhanced digital books. myON reader monitors, tracks and measures time spent reading, reading comprehension and forecasts reading growth.

If you haven't asked for a trial to any of these products you don't know what you are missing!  ContactCapstone Digital and ask for a free 30 day trial or visit our website!

Nap Time for Kitty

 
There is plenty of good news for Nap Time for Kitty by Michael Dahl. See this review in the July 1 edition of Booklist. 

"Toddlers will see themselves in this kitten who just doesn’t want to take a nap. When Mama calls him in, he has been busy ogling a bird—and leaping into the birdbath, though all he gets is wet. Inside, he finds himself tangled in a ball of yarn. The tagline after each small adventure is: “I’m not sleepy now.” Mama

Cat tries to convince him that the playing, pouncing, rolling, and running are tiring him out, but it’s not until he is in his bed that the lids begin to close. The cute cats have a slightly stylized and digitized look. Minimal text and plenty of action are just right for the intended age group and children who also may not know when to quit."

— Ilene Cooper

 

Happy Independence Day!

Today we celebrate the 235th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in the United States. For many Americans, it's hard to understand the impact of an event that happened 200 years ago. But young and old alike can understand—can relate to—the impact of events happening now. Today thousands of men and women protect the country's shores both at home and abroad, safe-guarding the freedoms that were won so long ago. 

As we celebrate the U.S. Independence Day, let us take a moment to thank the dedicated men and women of the armed forces—the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force, the Coast Guard, the National Guard, and the Reserves. Let us also say a word of thanks to our local heroes—our firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and police officers. 

Protecting 235 years of history is a heavy weight that we place on your shoulders.

All of us here at Capstone thank you.

 

 

 

 

Jen Besel, Senior Editor