The Neighborhood Sing-Along

©Nina Crews 2011 Greenwillow Books, HarperCollins Publishers ISBN 9780061850639

• Bank Street Children’s Book Committee – Building Blocks Selection for Children Five & Under

Playground songs and classroom songs, silly songs and sweet songs, wake–up songs and bedtime songs… Everyday, children, parents, friends, brothers, and sisters sing songs to one another.

Nina Crews brings her energetic style of illustration to this collection of thirty-four perennial favorites. From “Miss Mary Mack” (watching fireworks from her balcony) to “London Bridge” (built by a brother and sister in the living room) to “Skip to My Lou (in a rolling green park), the songs make this companion to the acclaimed The Neighborhood Mother Goose a treasure for every child in the neighborhood.

Kirkus Reviews – “A collection that begs to be sung in all neighborhoods—city stoops or country front-porch swings alike.” (Picture book. 3-6)

Seeing Into Tomorrow: Haiku by Richard Wright

Haiku copyright © 1998 Ellen Wright. All other text & illustrations copyright © 2018 Nina Crews. Published Millbrook Press ISBN 978-1-5124-1865-1  ISBN 978-1-5124-9862-2 (eb pdf)

• NCTE Notable Poetry Books for 2019
• School Library Journal Best Books of 2018
• New York Public Library 100 Best Books For Kids 2018
• Junior Library Guild Selection
• Starred Review Kirkus (December 15, 2017)
• Starred Review School Library Journal (January 2018)
• School Library Journal Review of the Day 5-23-18

In the last 18 months of his life, Richard Wright, the author of Native Son and Black Boy, created over 4000 haiku. These luminous poems are a perfect introduction for children to this important African American writer.

I have illustrated twelve of his haiku with photo collages, highlighting everyday experiences and the beauty of the natural world. Following the poems is a brief biography of Wright, tracing his journey from an impoverished childhood in rural Mississippi to life as celebrated writer exploring creative ideas in a farmhouse in the south of France.

Jack and the Beanstalk

©Nina Crews 2011 Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt and Company ISBN: 9780805087659

Jack receives beans from his neighbor and – lo and behold! – those beans lead him up a beanstalk and into the company of giants. How will he ever get back home? In her innovative photo-collage style, Nina Crews freshens up a beloved children’s tale for today’s young readers.

Kirkus – A contemporary urban version of the ancient tale of beans and boy, with spiky parts rounded off. This Jack gets a jar of brightly colored beans for doing chores for his neighbor, and he plants them beneath his bedroom window right away. Overnight, it grows into a splendid leafy ladder up the side of his apartment building, and after checking it for sturdiness Jack climbs up until he can see the whole city (“WOW!”). Above the clouds, the scent of chocolate-chip cookies lures him to a castle, where he finds a giant admiring himself while his giant wife gives him a pedicure (“I look good. I smell good”). The giants immediately put Jack to work, and after a long day he races down the beanstalk with the golden-egg-laying hen under his arm. When he chops down the stalk, giant and wife tumble down—and lo! They were under a curse, which Jack has broken, and they are just ordinary-sized folk. The images are quite keen, photographs and the occasional line drawing manipulated and layered to shape the story. Mrs. Giant has a fabulous ’50s-print apron with roosters and pots, as well as lots of jewelry, and Mr. struts in boots and vest, with a red bandanna in his pocket.

Crews’ fans will be delighted; others will be drawn in by the nifty mix of folktale and photo-collage. (Picture book/fairy tale. 5-9)

Author Visits

Let me be your next guest author!

I am available for school visits, library programs, Skype talks, workshops, conferences, and bookstore & book fair appearances. I tailor my programs to my audience and have presented to audiences of all ages from infants to adults.

When speaking with young children, I keep my points simple – where ideas come from, how words and pictures can tell stories about our lives, and using a camera and collage. With older children and grownups, I talk more technically about what I do and discuss the many stepsinvolved in taking an project from idea to finished book. Whatever the age of the audience, I devote time towards the end of my presentation to questions. Please contact me with questions or to discuss availability at letters@ninacrews.com.

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Below

© Nina Crews 2006.  Nina Crews Studio Paperback Edition ISBN: 9780692434475

• ALA Notable Book 2007
• Junior Library Guild Selection 2006
• Read On Wisconsin book of the month December 2006

Jack and his action figure Guy have many adventures together, and the tall, narrow staircase in Jack’s house provides the perfect setting. Jack and Guy climb mountains, visit cities, and explore forests. But one day Guy falls down a hole in the stairs, and it’s up to Jack to rescue him. What is going on below the stairs?
Only Guy knows.

Publisher’s Weekly – “This fanciful look at play will likely hit high notes with young readers.” (Ages 3-6)

The Neighborhood Mother Goose

©Nina Crews, Greenwillow Books, HarperCollins Publishers ISBN 9780060515737

• ALA Notable Book 2005
• Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts (NCTE)
• Texas Library Association 2×2 Reading List 2005
• New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2004
• CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Council) Choice 2004
• Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children
• School Library Journal Best Books 2004
• Kirkus Reviews 2004 Editor’s Choice List
• Parenting Magazine Books of the Year 2004
• Cuyahoga County Public Library Children’s Books to Read and Own

Every day, children the world over sing, shout, and celebrate Mother Goose rhymes. And now there’s a new reason to cheer: Nina Crews has added her own remarkable, jazzy style of illustration to a collection of forty-one favorite verses.Whether it’s Jack jumping over a candlestick (atop a cupcake), Georgie Porgie kissing the girls (at the playground), or a fine lady riding a white horse (on the carousel), this exuberant treasury is sure to be read and enjoyed over and over again.

“A fresh and welcome contribution.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Brimming with infectious joy.” — Horn Book (starred review)

Upcoming Events

January 15, 2019, PS 346, Brooklyn, NY.

January 30, 2019, 4pm,  Brooklyn Public Library – Leonard Library, Brooklyn, NY. Green collage workshop. Make art with reused materials. Free and open to all ages.

March 5, 2019, PS 51, New York, NY.

March 7, 2019, Mooresville Public Library, Mooresville, NC. Details TBD

March 13, 2019, Compass Charter School, New York, NY.

One Hot Summer Day

It is summer and it is HOT. Dogs pant. Women carry umbrellas for the shade. But the running, dancing narrator is busy. Drawing. Teasing her shadow. Eating Popsicles.

Here is a perfect book for all seasons: If you are cold, it will warm you, and if you are hot–well, the sky is darkening, and the big drops are ready to fall. Nina Crews makes a stunning debut with a book bursting with emotion, truth, and beauty.

Horn Book July/August 1995 – “Her black hair carefully braided and beaded, an effervescent city child dances through a hot summer day until a thunderstorm brings welcome relief. Executed in collages made from color photographs, the illustrations are an intriguing combination of realistic images imaginatively redefined in unexpected juxtaposition – as in the multilayered interpretation of four simple lines: ‘Dogs pant. / Hydrants are open. / Women carry umbrellas / for the shade.’

In this context, the camera is a much a painter’s tool as palette and brush, manipulating reality to suggest texture, sensations, and emotions. A wonderful concept book, grounded in ordinary events yet touched with magic, that will strike a familiar chord with preschool audiences while enlarging their perceptions. An auspicious debut!”

About Nina

Nina Crews is a critically acclaimed children’s book author and illustrator. She uses photographs and photocollages to create energetic stories about young children. Her career began in 1995 with One Hot Summer Day which Kirkus Reviews hailed as “the debut of a welcome new voice and vision.”

Two of her books, The Neighborhood Mother Goose and Below were ALA Notable selections. Nina’s work has explored a variety of themes. She has updated classic material in The Neighborhood Mother Goose as well as in her recent titles, The Neighborhood Sing-Along and Jack and the Beanstalk. She has written stories of children’s imaginary adventures in Below , Sky-High Guy , You Are Here and I’ll Catch the Moon. She has explored simple experiences of urban childhood in One Hot Summer Day and Snowball. read more…

Sky High Guy

© Nina Crews 2010 Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt and Company

Whether they’re trekking to a magical island to hunt dinosaurs or saving a city from destruction, Jack and his action figure Guy have exciting adventures. Sometimes Jack’s little brother, Gus, joins them. But when Guy gets caught in a branch while skydiving, Jack and Gus must launch operation rescue!

In this companion to Below, Nina Crews uses her trademark photo-collage style to tell a playful story where innovative ideas and teamwork save the day.

School Library Journal – “Jack starts out thinking of himself and Guy as the perfect team, but learns that including Gus in adventures is more fun for everyone. Children will relate to the brothers’ plight and enjoy the story’s positive message.”

I’ll Catch the Moon

©Nina Crews 1996 Greenwillow Books, HarperCollins Publishers

The moon! There it is, outside the window, shiny as a new quarter. The child narrator imagines building a ladder to outer space, going up and up, until she can hold the silver circle in her hands. And what a magical time they have together!

School Library Journal – The book has striking visual images and while there is no strong story line, it does capture and convey a child’s power to imagine and wonder. May 1996

Snowball

©Nina Crews 1997 Greenwillow Books, HarperCollins Publishers

The weather report says “Snow.” Yet there is no sign of it on Monday, or Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday. But oh, when it comes, it is as thick and white and wonderful as the young narrator dreamed. Zip up your jacket and come outside. It’s snowing!

Kirkus – A spirited companion to Crews’ debut, One Hot Summer Day (1995)…Every scene is fresh and unpredictable, and the model’s face perfectly reflects the exclamations of the caption-like text. It’s a short tale entirely from a child’s-eye view—from a child’s heart—and a celebration of snow play and city. October 1, 1997