Hello fans! Thanks so much for stopping by to check out the JLB Creatives Blog.
Summer is in full swing, and we're having a blast preparing for our upcoming tour of
Maycly! Author Janet Beasley and Illustrator Dar Bagby will be appearing at
three locations in Michigan's U.P. Aug 30 - Sept 1.
Maycly is available in paperback and ebooks.
Taking the middle grade and YA arena by storm!
Stay tuned to the JLB Creatives Blog for dates and details...coming soon!
This week we're proud to offer the fabulous author
Jo Linsdell in an Author Splash.
~ ~ ~
Introduction to
Jo Linsdell
~ ~ ~
1980 was a
special year. J.R. got shot in Dallas,
the David Letterman Show debuted on NBC-TV daytime and Walt Disney's
"Fox & The Hound" was released. It was also the year that I came
into the world ;)
I was born in
Gillingham in the UK but have moved house and travelled repeatedly ever since I
was young. In fact I think I attended every type of school there is in England.
From mixed-sex comprehensives to single-sex grammar schools. This didn't stop
me from making some exceptional friends and being part of the action though.
Oh
no, I was always centre stage and loved acting, art and basically anything
creative. It wasn't really a surprise when I came out of school with high
grades in subjects like English language and literature, drama and art. I often
participated in theatre productions and I also did some modelling over my
latter teen years and into my 20's.
In July 2001 I
decided to come to Rome, Italy with the intention of staying for 3 days and
then going on to visit the rest of Europe. I'm still here! Weeks turned into
months and then into years and although I occasionally get the urge to venture
off and discover new places, I can't really imagine living anywhere else now.
I met my now
husband at Piazza di Spagna and after several years together, we got married in
July 2006. We now have two wonderful sons together. Matteo who is 4 1/2 years
old and Lorenzo who is 10 months.
Although I've
been writing pretty much since I could hold a pen, I only started taking my
writing career seriously in 2006. I'd had various jobs writing for others
including working on publications for the dental industry and writing research
papers for the Department of Neurology at Rome's main hospital, but it wasn't
until I saw an ad asking for submissions for an English language newspaper in
Florence that I started writing about topics that interested me. I sent off an
article and it was accepted and published in the very next issue.
Since then I've
come a long way and had numerous articles published both online and off for a
large number of clients. I'm an avid blogger and have won several awards over
the years and in 2009 was name in the "Who's Who of Literary Society"
by Literary World. I've also published several books including Italian for
Tourists, A Guide to Weddings in Italy and most recently the
children's picture book Out and About at the Zoo (for which I'm also the
illustrator).
I opted to self
publish my books as I wanted complete control all aspects and I'm really
pleased with the results. Out and About at the Zoo was released on 1st
June 2012 and already has a large collection of 5 star reviews in it's favour.
I love my job as
it allows me to combine the things I'm most passionate about; writing, art and
marketing (I'm a huge social media junky too ;)).
~ ~ ~
Out and about at the zoo
Written and illustrated by Jo Linsdell
Rhyming text and colourful pictures accompany
this fun day out discovering different animals at the zoo.
Available on Amazon!
Zoo based lesson plans
By Jo Linsdell
Jo Linsdell is the author
and illustrator of the rhyming children's picture book OUT
AND
ABOUT
AT
THE
ZOO.
Find out more about her at www.JoLinsdell.com
Children will love
learning about the zoo with these simple lesson plans:
●
Animal picture
books- Provide each child with several pages of paper folded and stapled
together into a book. Give them pictures of animals cut out from magazines and
get them to choose which pictures to glue into their books. Then have them
label the names of each animal.
●
Zoo
collage- Get the children to cut out
pictures of animals and make a collage.
●
Teach children
about habitats. Place 3 plates on the table. In one put water, in one put sand
and in the other some grass. Have some small toy animals and get children to
put them in their natural habitat.
●
Play pretend.
Get the children to act out being zoo animals. How do they move? What noises do
they make?
●
Animal fact
file. Have children research the different animals and put together a fact file
for each one.
●
Animal poetry.
Talk about the different animals at the zoo. Talk about poetry and show them
some examples. Have the children write their own poem about one of the animals.
●
Have each
child make a word-search using the names of zoo animals. Each child then
completes the word-search of another.
●
Alphabet
animals. Get the children to help you create a list of animals using the
letters of the alphabet e.g. A for Alligator, B for bear, etc...
●
A quick
research on the internet and you'll be able to find a huge variety of zoo
themed colouring pages for some creative fun.
Have you done a zoo based
lesson with your child?
~ ~ ~
Release Date: 1st June 2012
Product details:
ISBN/EAN13: 1477446591 / 9781477446591
Page Count: 32
Binding Type: US Trade Paper
Trim Size: 6" x 9"
Language: English
Colour: Full Colour with Bleed
Related Categories: Juvenile Fiction /
Stories in Verse
Purchasing links:
Contact
details:
Email:
webmaster@jolinsdell.com
~ ~ ~
Reviews:
5 Stars
I
review many books. When I see a children's picture book, I tend to savor the
artistic way the writer and the artist tend to mesh. Sometimes its the blending
that makes a simple child's book something really worth reading.
Out and About at the Zoo is a combination of the artist and the writer being
the same person Jo Linsdell. She crafted a very cute and adorable children's
volume. This simple children's book with bright colors of animals from the zoo
is crisp in it poetic delivery. The art sparkles in its simple characters of
the zoo animals.
Ms Linsdell seems to know her target audience and gives them a bright a images
for them to enjoy. These young children will delight in this books rhythms that
come from its verses and art. It is a good book to give for those young and
young at heart".
5 Stars
"This is a fun, short book for the grandkids! If you love reading to
your children or grandchildren, this book will become a family favorite quite
fast. The simple wording and bright interaction of characters makes it easy for
very young readers and exciting for toddlers still listening.
Jo puts some serious thought into toddler reactions and includes those in the
book. My favorite part was the last page, because my toddlers decided
immediately that we needed to take a trip to the Denver Zoo. "Yay!!! I get
to see the elephants!" (Okay, that part was ME not them. But they get to
go too.)"
5 Stars
"Out and About at the Zoo by
Jo Linsdell is a delightful story set in rhyme about a boy and his mum. The two
spend the day at the zoo and meet many animals along the way. Your child will
enjoy reading this book time and time again. The colorful illustrations make
this book a joy to read. Pick up a copy of this book and share a day at the zoo
memory with your little one".
5
Stars
"Out And
About At The Zoo is a cute book that describes a child's memory filled trip to
the zoo. Are you heading to the zoo and you would like to tell your kids what
animals they will see there and what they might be doing? Then Out And About At
The Zoo would be a great choice. Easy to understand and easy for children to
read along with. It is filled with simple yet colorful pictures that even held
my one year old's attention!
Would also make a good gift for young readers who are just beginning to
read!"
5
Stars
"What is
your favorite animal to see at the zoo? Author and illustrator Jo
Linsdell both describes and pictures a fun day at the zoo that a young lad has
with his mum. They get to look at colorful parrots, tall giraffes,
screaming monkeys, meat-eating lions and tigers, striped zebras, scary
crocodiles with big teeth, hopping kangaroos, bathing hippos, and huge
elephants. But how does the boy feel when it’s time to go
home? How would you feel?
Children love to
visit the zoo. Our two boys certainly did when they were little, and
we still do even today. Jo Linsdell is a freelance writer and artist
who is originally from the United Kingdom but now lives in Rome, Italy, with
her husband and their two young sons. The rhyming text and colorful
pictures in Out and About at the Zoo not only make a truly fun
story for children to read or have read to them and imagine what it’s like, but
will also help to familiarize them with the different kinds of creatures that
they will discover at the zoo when they do go."
5
Stars
"I have
always been told that if you are going to write a rhyming picture book you had
better make sure the entire thing rhymes. An author named Verla Kay has many picture books written only in rhyme. Her rhymes are
excellent and I use her as a standard for good rhyming. She would enjoy this
book!
Jo Linsdell has
written a picture book with pictures that are so adorable you want to hug each
animal in the book. Both the pictures and the text bring a child's wonder and
excitement during a day at the zoo to the reader. The illustrations leap off
the page and the animals are so inviting. Each one has a smile and the text
tells children what each one does. I think this would be a great bedtime story
for any child or a good introduction to a day at the zoo. As a primary teacher,
I recommend this highly for a beginning reader. After a few readings the child
will be able to read many of the words."
5
Stars
"Jo has chosen a palette of bright flat colours
such as young children love for her first picture book, “Out and About at the
Zoo”, which she wrote with her small son acting as honorary head of her
children’s consumer advisory panel. Her son influenced her story’s
creation each step of the way, which has made the whole
experience of making this, their first picture book, very special indeed.
The images of the animals are cheeky and fun and are
complemented by the simple narrative with a strong rhyming element. Children
love the musicality in rhyme so I can see why her little boy loved this mode of
storytelling. I’m sure other children will find it fun too!"
By Jennifer Poulter
5
Stars
Out
and About at the Zoo is such a fun book. I can't wait to read the rhymes in
this story to my grandbabies. I know I will be sending them their own copy of
this book to read and soak up the colorful pages.
The illustrations are so cute and will definitely grab the child's attention to
the bright colors and the zoo animals they are visiting in this darling book.
Here is one of my favorite pages, it teaches the child about the description of
the animal and teaches colors in fun rhyming words.
"Zebras with stripes
of black and white
trotted over, much to my delight."
page 14
I see this as not just for a fun read but also for the education of young
children.
I highly recommend this book!
I rated this book a 5+ out of 5
~ ~ ~
That wraps it up for this week!
We certainly hope you enjoyed discovering author
Jo Linsdell, and will make her one of your kids
favorites!
