Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn is a 2021 children's picture book written by Shannon Hale and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. The book is a Cybils Award finalist, [1] as well as a New York Times and 2021 IndieBound [2] bestseller. The book was acquired by Abrams Books in a million dollar deal after an auction with eight interested publishing houses. [3] Subsequent books in the series include Pretty Perfect Kitty-Corn and Party Hearty Kitty-Corn.
Kitty, a pink puffball kitten, is inspired by her unicorn poster to create a paper horn for herself. [4] [5] Feeling "unicorn-y," Kitty looks in a mirror and sees herself as a magnificent unicorn. Her friends Parakeet and Gecko, however, insist that Kitty cannot possibly be a unicorn. Kitty tries to address their concerns and act more like a unicorn, but they continue to insist that she will never be a unicorn.
When a real unicorn visits, Kitty finally sees how different she is in comparison. Her sad feelings do not last long though, as it is revealed that Kitty's admiration goes both ways because the unicorn has a headband with fluffy pink kitty ears. They are both kitty-corns! "I knew that another kitty-corn like you would see," says the unicorn; "Yes," says Kitty, "I see you." [4]
After the publication of Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn, Hale received accusations of being a groomer; Hale's response was that "a message in children’s books to be who you are is a very old concept. I’m not doing anything new here." [6]
Ahead of the 2023–2024 school year, Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn was cited as an example of "sexually explicit" material justifying reduced access to books in one Texas school district. [7] [8] In June 2023, the Katy Independent School District board of trustees froze the purchase of new library books in the district and put incoming books into storage indefinitely until a new book evaluation process could be created. [8] During the school board meeting one of the new board members claimed to have found books in grade schools that "support sexually alternative lifestyles." [8] [9] Later that year when pressed for examples, the board member claimed Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn’s "main character does want to transform into something they are obviously not" and that Kitty is referred to with the pronoun "they." [9] In the book, Kitty is actually referred to using feminine pronouns.
Shannon Hale is an American author primarily of young adult fantasy, including the Newbery Honor book Princess Academy and The Goose Girl. Her first novel for adults, Austenland, was adapted into a film in 2013. She is a graduate of the University of Utah and the University of Montana. She has also co-written with her husband, Dean.
First Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism. It also publishes graphic non-fiction for young readers, including the Science Comics and History Comics collections, and for adults, including the World Citizen Comics, a line of civics graphic books, and biographical works such as The Accidental Czar.
Suzanne Collins is an American author and television writer. She is best known as the author of the young adult dystopian book series The Hunger Games.
Franco Aureliani is an American comic book writer/artist, best known for writing the DC Comics series Tiny Titans, for which he won two Eisner Awards in 2009 and 2011. Tiny Titans also won a Harvey award in 2011. He was also nominated for another Harvey in 2013 for another project from DC Comics, Superman Family Adventures. He and longtime writing partner and friend, Art Baltazar, won their third Eisner in 2014 for the Dark Horse Comics children's series Itty Bitty Hellboy. He also teaches art at Carmel High School.
Amy Sarig King is an American writer of short fiction and young adult fiction. She is the recipient of the 2022 Margaret A. Edwards Award for her "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature."
Courtney Summers is a Canadian writer of young adult fiction. Her most famous known works are Cracked Up to Be,This is Not a Test,All the Rage, and Sadie.
Kwame Alexander is an American writer of poetry and children's fiction.
Cecelia Carolina Bell is an American author, cartoonist, and illustrator. Most well known for her graphic novel El Deafo, Bell's work has appeared in The Atlantic, Vegetarian Times, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, Working Woman, Esquire and many other publications.
Kelly DiPucchio is an American writer of children's books. DiPucchio was born in Warren, Michigan. She attended Michigan State University where she graduated in 1989 in child psychology and development. She currently lives in Detroit, Michigan. Her books have made the New York Times bestseller list.
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Angie Thomas is an American young adult author, best known for writing The Hate U Give (2017). Her second young adult novel, On the Come Up, was released on February 25, 2019.
Big Cat, Little Cat is a 2017 children's picture book written by Elisha Cooper. It was published by Roaring Brook Press, a subsidiary of Macmillan Books. In the story, a large, white cat welcomes a new black cat into a family. The white cat then dies, and the cycle begins anew when the family adopts a new kitten. Cooper was inspired to write the story after his family experienced a similar situation. Critics praised his illustrations, for their ability to help further the story's messages and themes. These monochromatic illustrations were different than the style Cooper normally employed when illustrating a book. The book was well-reviewed, and received a 2018 Caldecott Honor.
Shannon Messenger is an American author. She writes the middle-grade series Keeper of the Lost Cities, which was a New York Times bestseller; Unlocked, book 8.5 in the series, reached number 8 on USA Today's list in 2020. She also wrote the young-adult Sky Fall series. Her books have been published by Simon & Schuster.
LeUyen Pham is a children's book illustrator and author. She has illustrated and written more than 120 books. In 2020, she won a Caldecott Honor for her illustrations in the book Bear Came Along.
Bear Came Along is a 2019 picture book by Richard T. Morris and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. It tells the story of a group of animals on a river adventure. Published on June 1, 2019, Bear Came Along was based on memories Morris had of going to overnight camp for the first time. The watercolors, ink, and gouache illustrations Pham created were special for her. Critics wrote about her ability to juggle several different tones through the pictures. These illustrations were also generally seen as complementing the book's theme of being connected to others. The book was generally well reviewed and it received a 2020 Caldecott honor.
The Princess in Black is a 2014 chapter book co-authored by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham. It is the first in The Princess in Black series.
Sadie is a novel written by Courtney Summers. The book was released on September 4, 2018, and is told from two perspectives: some chapters offering Sadie's point of view and some chapters being styled as transcripts from a podcast called "The Girls" hosted by a man named West McCray. The release of the book was accompanied by the release of a mock true-crime podcast titled The Girls: Find Sadie which is available on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher.
How to Be a Cat is a 2013 children's picture book by Nikki McClure. It is about a kitten learning kitty skills from a cat.
Phil Bildner is an American author of children's books.
Nathan Hale is an American author and illustrator of children's books, most notably the Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series. He is also the illustrator of the graphic novels Rapunzel's Revenge, its sequel, Calamity Jack,Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody, the Dinosaur's Life Before Christmas, and many others. His work has been nominated for four Eisner Awards.