KU prof releases ‘Snails are just my speed!’
McCloskey’s fourth children’s book awarded Junior Library Guild Selection
Kutztown University professor Kevin McCloskey has completed his fourth children’s book for Toon Books. His “Snails are Just my Speed!” has been awarded the distinction, “A Junior Library Guild Selection” for Spring, 2018. The Junior Library Guild’s medallion will appear on the book cover when the first edition is released next April.
The Junior Library Guild Selection designation is unique in that it is typically awarded in advance of publication. As one of the first awards given, it is often viewed as a bellwether of future success. Publishers large and small value the prestige that comes with having their books named JLG Gold Standard Selections. The guild reads and reviews the most anticipated books in manuscript or in preproduction stages. Over 95% of JLG Selections become award-winners and/or receive favorable reviews.
The New York publisher, Toon Books, specializes in high quality hardcover comic books for young readers. McCloskey’s Giggle and Learn books are informational, focused on natural science for beginning readers. According to Toon Books, “Kevin McCloskey mixes snail science, art, and hilarity for the newest book in his Giggle and Learn series, praised by The New York Times as “a winning combination of facts and gross-out fun.”
Since the success of his We Dig Worms! in 2015 Kevin McCloskey has traveled the country from the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia to the California Academy of Sciences sharing fascinating facts about common creatures. He is also a frequent visitor at Pennsylvania elementary schools. Snails are Just my Speed! will debut locally at the Kutztown University Children’s Literature Conference, April 21, 2018.