Kate Beasley, Author Of Gertie’s Leap to Greatness | Selfie And A Shelfie

Kate Beasley | The Children’s Book Review | October 4, 2016

Kate Beasley’s Selfie with Gertie’s Leap to Greatness

I’m not very good at selfies, but I’m so proud to show off Gertie’s Leap to Greatness! When I first saw the finished book I was overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude. It’s gorgeous! Jillian Tamaki did the cover illustration and interior illustrations as well, and her work is superb.

I took this picture at a house that I rent and use as a writing studio. This is the porch. Edgar Poe decided he wanted to be in the photo, too. He’s the cat that lives at the writing studio and keeps me company.

Kate Beasley’s Shelfie

These are the C-Z shelves, so they hold books by authors Kristin Cashore through Markus Zusak. Plus anthologies, literary criticism, a few textbooks, and DVDs.

The As and Bs are on shelves opposite these. (With the exception of books by Beasley authors!) You can tell these are family bookshelves because Gertie’s Leap to Greatness and Circus Mirandus, my sister Cassie’s book, are front and center. Also, there’s a picture of baby Cassie at the beach with our dad. And there’s a teeny photo of me with a gingerbread house I decorated (and ate) when I was in third grade. The wicker baskets are full of dog toys and leashes.

So, I think that’s what you’d learn from peeking at my shelves: family, dogs, books, books, and books!

*This photo is actually bothering me A LOT because Sabaa Tahir’s Ember in the Ashes is shelved after Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club, so it’s not in alphabetical order. I’m going to fix it as soon as I finish this interview.

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Gertie’s Leap To Greatness

Written by Kate Beasley

Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

Publisher’s Synopsis: Gertie Reece Foy is 100% Not-From-Concentrate awesome. She has a daddy who works on an oil rig, a great-aunt who always finds the lowest prices at the Piggly Wiggly, and two loyal best friends. So when her absent mother decides to move away from their small town, Gertie sets out on her greatest mission yet: becoming the best fifth grader in the universe to show her mother exactly what she’ll be leaving behind. There’s just one problem: Seat-stealing new girl Mary Sue Spivey wants to be the best fifth grader, too. And there is simply not enough room at the top for the two of them.

From debut author Kate Beasley, and with illustrations by Caldecott Honor artist Jillian Tamaki, comes a classic tale of hope and homecoming that will empty your heart, then fill it back up again–one laugh at a time.

Ages 8-12 | Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux | October 4, 2016 | ISBN-13: 978-0374302610

Available Here:

About Kate Beasley

Kate Beasley lives in Claxton, Georgia, with lots of animals. She earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Gertie’s Leap to Greatness is her first book. You can find her at katebeasleybooks.com or on Twitter @_katebeasley.

Discover more books like “Gertie’s Leap to Greatness,” by Kate Beasley, by checking out our reviews and articles tagged with Growing Up and Kate Beasley; and be sure to follow along with our Selfie and a Shelfie series.

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