Elizabeth Bluemle

The fabulous Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia announced that WOKKA won its 2010 Kid' Choice Award! What an honor. I was particularly excited to hear that this year's kid judges attend the Overbrook School for the Blind — for a picture book author to learn that her words have really reached kids, well, that's why we do this. Thanks, Please Touch Museum and Overbrook Students!!

School Library Journal, August 1, 2009 — Starred Review!

*BLUEMLE, Elizabeth. How Do You Wokka-Wokka? illus. by Randy Cecil. unpaged. CIP. Candlewick. Aug. 2009. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-3228-1. LC 2008027715.

PreS-Gr 1–In an infectious burst of movement, rhythm, and rhyme, a multiethnic cast of children in an urban neighborhood strut their stuff and celebrate their uniqueness. In answer to the call, “How do you wokka-wokka?,” the youngsters demonstrate their moves–a flamingo, a mariachi, a clock, a fish–all to the sound of giddy nonsense rhymes and exuberant dancing (“I wokka-wokka/​like flamingos/​in a flocka–/​croakie-yocka/​leggy-longy/​pinky-hoppa-hoppa”). The sketchy, full-color oil illustrations in muted colors feature cartoon children cavorting alternately against stark white backgrounds or cityscapes as they join a giant block party. This bouncy book is a joy as a read-aloud whether in a group or one-on-one, and kids and adults won’t be able to resist making their own nonsense rhymes and dances as they “wokka-wokka” through the book.–Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI

Booklist Review, September 2009:

How Do You Wokka-Wokka. Bluemle, Elizabeth (Author) , Cecil, Randy (Illustrator) Aug 2009. 32 p. Candlewick, hardcover, $15.99. (9780763632281).

"Some days you wake up /​ and you just gotta wokka . . . wammy-lammy-wotcha-hoo. /​ Do your funky wokka, /​get your dance on." In this playful, lively read, a young boy asks kids in his city neighborhood, "How do you wokka-wokka?" and he receives creative responses. A basketball-playing youth replies, "I wokka-wokka like a clock go ticka-tocka," and, with a headstand and posed limbs, mimics a clock’s hour-hands placement. A jump-roping girl pauses to lie on her belly, waving feet and hands "like a fish flop on a dock-a." As kids progressively join in, it becomes "a party on the blocka" that brings families together in the street. The peppy prose incorporates wordplay, repetition, and bouncy sounds, and it periodically invites listeners to participate and "wokka in your own way." The colorful, detailed oil paintings show energetic children, in varying skin hues, in their urban neighborhood of brownstones and street vendors. An exuberant read-aloud that will get kids moving.

Publishers Weekly (July 6, 2009)

How Do You Wokka-Wokka? Elizabeth Bluemle, illus. by Randy Cecil. Candlewick, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7636-3228-1

“Some days you wake up/​ and you just gotta wokka” says the upbeat narrator of this infectious rhyme. As the boy dances along, he and a growing entourage ask neighboring children the recurring question, “How do you wokka-wokka?” and the kids demonstrate their distinctive walks: “I wokka-wokka/​ like flamingos/​ in a flocka—/​ croakie-yocka/​ leggy-longy/​ pinky-hoppa-hoppa.” Cecil's cheerful city dwellers ride skateboards, play hopscotch and eat cotton candy, while dogs, cats and pigeons mill about, until the entire neighborhood has joined the boy's “wokka-wokka party.” With unflappable enthusiasm, art and text underscore the message that “Nobody wokkas/​ in the same wokka way.” Cecil's animated oil paintings of city life are full of enough details for second and third readings. After Bluemle kicks things off with a prose intro, her rhymes, which are divided into verse- and chorus-like sections, quickly settle into a strong and catchy beat. Children will respond with glee to Bluemle and Cecil's (My Father the Dog) wacky wokka rhythms and playful language that invite each reader to “wokka in their/​ own crazy way.” Ages 3–5. (Aug.)

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School Library Journal (January 1, 2009)
BLUEMLE, Elizabeth. Dogs on the Bed. illus. by Anne Wilsdorf. unpaged. Candlewick. 2008. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-2608-2. LC number unavailable.

PreS-Gr 3—Even readers who don't share their bed with a half dozen dogs will love this charming story about a family and their unusual sleeping arrangements. As bedtime begins (appropriately after storytime) everyone—Mom, Dad, two kids, and six dogs—falls asleep in the same big bed. Throughout the night, the pets do what they do best: sleep sideways, bark at things no one else can hear, and whine to go out, and then in (and then out, and then in, etc.). In the end, they are rearranged into more manageable groupings, and finally canines and people alike get some much-needed sleep. The exuberant, rhyming text delights the ear as the hilarious illustrations engage the eye in this kid- and dog-friendly tale. Fun for sharing with a group or one-on-one.—Piper Nyman, Brookmeade Elementary School, Nashville, TN

Booklist (Saturday , November 15, 2008):
Preschool-G Dogs on the bed /​ Like logs on the bed /​ Bed hogs on the bed /​ These dogs, these dogs! A family's bedtime preparations are interrupted by their determined dogs, who won't stay off the bed and won't give up easily: they pout and they sigh, prowl and howl, whine to go outside and then want to come back in. Still, they also offer affection and comfort (As portable heat /​ They just cant be beat), and parents, kids, and pooches finally settle down to sleep snugly at last. The rousing rhymes and frequent refrains provide continuous, peppy entertainment, and the occasional altered rhythms will keep readers and listeners on their toes. The colorful, chaotic illustrations are filled with witty elements, especially the comically expressive dogs, crowded around kids and pillows for Mom's bedtime story. A humorous and affectionate ode to the frustrations and joys of having dogs as pets and part of the family. Pair this with John Lithgow's I Got Two Dogs (2008).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

Kirkus Reviews
DOGS ON THE BED Author: Bluemle, Elizabeth
Review Date: SEPTEMBER 01, 2008 Publisher:Candlewick Pages: 32 Price (hardback): $$15.99 Publication Date: 10/​1/​2008 0:00:00 ISBN (hardback): 978-0-7636-2608-2 Category: CHILDREN'S

A cheery family with two young children and six dogs of varying breeds and sizes tries to bed down for the night in this comical story about cuddling up with canine companions. The rollicking, rhyming text uses some dandy rhymes (prowl, growl, howl) and invented words (rhyming "rodeo" and "heave-ho" with "to-and-fro-deo" and "pill-e-ow") as well as exuberant descriptions and details of the dogs' antics. After storytime, the whole family falls asleep in the parents' big bed, and as the night progresses, the dogs take up more and more room until the humans are squeezed out of bed and into the neighboring armchair. Reorganization produces better sleeping conditions for everyone, with four dogs sleeping with the parents, one dog in each child's bed and everyone asleep and happy by the final pages. Dog lovers will chuckle over the antics of the canines, each with a bouncy individual personality conveyed through Wilsdorf's characteristically energetic and amusing watercolor illustrations. Anyone who lets their dogs sleep on the bed will find this tale doggone funny. (Picture book. 3-7)

This isn't about me as an author, but about me as a bookseller. Our bookstore, The Flying Pig, won the 2008 Lucile Micheels Pannell Award for best children's bookstore in the country! It's a huge honor, and we couldn't be more thrilled. We won the children's specialty division; the wonderful Kepler's (in California) won the general bookstore division. Wahoo!!