Not only does the Free Library house thousands of quality children’s picture books within our walls, but we can now count a quality children’s book writer and illustrator among our fabulous staff! We’re excited to announce that Mônica Carnesi, the Free Library’s children’s material selector, has signed a two-book deal with Nancy Paulsen Books, a new imprint at Penguin Young Readers Group!

Mônica’s first book is a picture book based on the true story of Baltic, a dog found stranded on an ice floe in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Poland this past January. She’ll be both writing and illustrating the book, which will be published in 2012. Baltic’s adventure and rescue made news around the world— Mônica first heard Baltic’s story on NPR as she was preparing dinner. As she says, “I was immediately drawn to Baltic because of my love of animals. It was an inspiring story, with elements for a great picture book for young readers: a true story, a lovable animal character, suspense, and a happy ending. I was also impressed with the crew of the research ship that rescued him—they didn’t give up, and not only did they save Baltic but they eventually adopted him as well. I did a small illustration showing Baltic stranded on the ice and posted it on my blog. When my agent saw it she contacted me, urging me to write a picture book about Baltic. I’m so happy I did!”

Mônica began to seriously think about combining her love of children’s literature and her love of drawing and painting into a second career as a writer/illustrator about five years ago, when she took a continuing education course on children’s book illustration at The University of the Arts. She showcases her artwork on her excellent blog, http://msc4art-books.blogspot.com/.

Congratulations, Mônica!