Travis Jonker
576 Articles
One Star Review Guess Who? (#69)
Can you guess the classic children’s book by its scathing one-star review on Goodreads or Amazon? Here is the first betrayal in a long life of betrayals, child. Your parents told you it was a classic, didn’t they? Their eyes were probably limpid with nostalgia as they gave it to you. “It’s about imagination,” they […]
Books on Film: Michelle Obama at ALA Annual
You know how First Lady Michelle Obama was the opening speaker for ALA Annual in New Orleans? You know how if you were there, it was great, but if you weren’t you were bummed? Bum no more. The whole (wonderful) conversation between Michelle Obama and Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden is available now for your […]
Photos from Nerd Camp 2018: Day 1
For two days in July, the small town of Parma, Michigan becomes the center of the literacy universe. I’m off to Nerd Camp and will be sharing photos here throughout the conference. Check back and I’ll be adding to this post as the day goes along. What is Nerd Camp? Short versh: an “un-conference” focused […]
Wreck This Picture Book!
Don’t write in them. Don’t tear the pages. Don’t eat them. These are a few of the accepted “rules” of picture books, right? But some books don’t follow these rules. And we love them for it. I’ll share a few books that intentionally flaunt the rules, but I know there are more out there – […]
Your 2019 Newbery/Caldecott ‘Hey, Keep an Eye Out’ Lists
Once the midway point of the year hits, I usually like to see what’s happening on the Mock Newbery and Caldecott lists over on Goodreads. Are these lists in any way official? Nope. Just interested readers voting for the books they think might take home the awards. So consider these books you might want to keep an eye […]
Auto-Completed Children’s Books (#6) The Carrot Seed
Okay, Google – you think you’re pretty smart? How about you try completing the text from famous children’s books. I’ll type the beginning of each line into a Google search (plain text below), and you try to finish the line (bold text below). (All credit to @botnikstudions for the inspiration) Previously . . . Auto-Completed Children’s […]
Exclusive Cover Reveal: One Third Nerd by Gennifer Choldenko
Here at 100 Scope Notes, we pride ourselves on being your most trusted source of Gennifer Choldenko cover reveals. Remember last time? Well, the Newbery Honor winner has a new book on the horizon and today called One Third Nerd. What’s it about? Liam and his sisters love their dog, Cupcake, but lately, she’s been […]
Collaborators: Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Travis: Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen have worked together to make some of the most indelible picture books of the last decade. Colby sat down with the duo at the NCTE conference to discuss their work and how they make books together. We hope you enjoy the episode. Subscribe below to catch every episode. Click […]
Notes on June 2018
(gif via H. Goodspeed) In June . . . . . . I challenged your book cover deciphering skills. Can you name the LEGO book covers? . . . we hugged the unhuggable. Explore a picture book mini-trend in the making. . . . we stepped inside the Illustrator Studio. Tundra Books has a new […]