WOO-HOO!!!
Can you believe it?
In spite of the fact that Perfect Picture Books goes on vacation every summer, we are now celebrating the 100th week of Perfect Picture Book Fridays! (Just in time to go on summer vacation again :))
100 weeks of fabulous picture books with resources of all kinds to make them easy for parents and teachers to use at home and in the classroom!
100 weeks of highly recommended books listed alphabetically and by theme to make it easy for gift-givers to find the perfect picture book for that special little someone!
100 weeks of perfect examples that we, as writers, can study and learn from!
To date, we have picture books listed in 226 themes/categories.
And we have – get this! – 2055 Perfect Picture Books on our list!!!
(Or, we would if I ever got caught up updating! Which is on my to-do list for this summer along with about a million other things :))
For those of you who haven’t noticed yet (because I haven’t announced it because I’m not finished with it :)), Perfect Picture Books is now on Pinterest. I’m hoping it will make it easier to search. But it’s a work in progress and far from complete! If you want to check it out, here’s the link: http://www.pinterest.com/susannaleonard/
So really, after all the hard work you guys have put in, all the wonderful picture books and resources that are now available to teachers, parents, writers, and gift-givers everywhere, I think we should celebrate!!!
First, we need cake (obviously!) 🙂
Next, we need streamers. . .
. . . confetti. . .
. . . and balloons!
And last but not least, we need prizes for all the amazing bloggers who have contributed so devotedly week after week to this effort! So let’s do today’s Perfect Picture Book, and hopefully by then I will have thought up a plan. I’ll meet you down below after you’re done reading about this delightful book!
Title: I Am Cow, Hear Me Moo!
Written By: Jill Esbaum
Illustrated By: Gus Gordon
Dial (Penguin Group), May 2014, Fiction
Suitable For Ages: 3-7
Themes/Topics: honesty, courage, animals
Opening: “Nadine was a truly remarkable cow.
There was nothing she feared – so she claimed, anyhow.
“Not lightning?” asked Starla. “Loud noises? A rat?”
“I’m not scared,” Nadine boasted, “of any of that.”
“The woods?” asked Annette. “‘Cause that place scares me stiff.”
“Not me,” bragged Nadine with a proud little sniff.
“As a matter of fact, just to prove it, let’s go!”
(She was certain her meek-hearted friends would say no.)
Brief Synopsis: Nadine boasts that she isn’t afraid of anything! When her friends call her bluff, she learns that sometimes acting brave can make you feel brave… and sometimes it can’t! And when she’s hailed as a hero for saving her friends, she has the choice to ‘fess up and admit she was just as scared as they were or let her friends believe what they want. Which do you think Nadine chooses? 🙂
Links To Resources: this book will give parents and teachers a great opportunity to have discussions about what courage is, and what makes a person brave. Is it not being afraid? Or is it going forward in spite of your fear? It will also give an opportunity to talk about honesty. Is is okay to lie if it ends up being the truth? Is it okay to let people believe something good about you even if it’s not exactly deserved? Talk with kids about things they’re afraid of. What do they think could make them feel braver? Ask kids if they’ve ever lied about something and gotten caught? How did they feel? Classroom Activities: Honesty, Classroom Activities: Courage.
Why I Like This Book: Nadine is so full of herself, so spunky and fun, and so believable because haven’t we all met kids (or adults :)) who can bluster their way through just about anything?! Kids will relate to this confident bovine who pretends not to be scared of the Deep. Dark. Woods. only to discover that she really isn’t afraid… until the sun goes down! Things unravel a bit (I don’t want to spoil it :)) but she ends up saving her friends (completely by accident) and is hailed as a brave hero… an illusion she chooses not to discourage 🙂 The art is lively and entertaining, and the story is fun and full of humor!
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
So. About those prizes! Since we’re celebrating Perfect Picture Books, I’d like to give away a few 🙂 I wish I could give everyone a prize, but I have yet to become one of those authors who makes millions of dollars 🙂 Instead, I’ve chosen a few books that have been widely well-received that I hope you guys might want to win:
Journey by Aaron Becker (Candlewick)
Mr. Wuffles by David Weisner (Clarion)
Warning: Do Not Open This Book! by Adam Lehrhaupt, illus. by Matthew Forsythe (Simon & Schuster)
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli (Disney/Hyperion)
On A Beam Of Light: A Story Of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne, illus. by Vladimir Radunsky (Chronicle)
Mitchell Goes Bowling by Hallie Durand, illus. by Tony Fucile (Candlewick)
The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illus. by Jon Klassen (Little, Brown)
This Is The Rope: A Story Of The Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson, illus. by James Ransome (Nancy Paulsen Books)
Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio, illus. by Christian Robinson (Atheneum)
+1 – If you’d like to win one of these fabulous books, please leave a comment below.
+1 – If you follow the Perfect Picture Books Pinterest Board, you’ll get an additional chance to win (if you already follow, please remind me, if you don’t already follow, there’s no time like the present :)) http://www.pinterest.com/susannaleonard/
+5 – If you’ve posted 50 or more Perfect Picture Books on your blog over the course of the past 100 weeks, tell me that and I’ll give you 5 additional chances to win! (Scout’s Honor – I don’t have time to count! – but I think I know who qualifies :))
(And if there’s a book your particularly hope to win or one that you already own, feel free to let me know.)
Please leave your comments/follow the Pinterest Board/let me know if you’ve posted 50 or more PPBs etc. by Sunday June 15 at 5 PM EDT. Names will be entered the appropriate number of times into random.org and 9 winners will be randomly chosen and matched with the books.
My deepest thanks to all the bloggers who have supported this effort so whole-heartedly, and to all the readers who come by to share our love of picture books every week! Perfect Picture Books would not exist without you!
And maybe we’ll have another celebration/giveaway in September when we start up again because I’d really like to spread the word about PPBF but now is a dumb time since we’re about to go on Summer Vacation! 🙂
PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you one last time before summer!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone, and I look forward to hearing from you all in the comments!!! 🙂
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Thanks, Joanna! You are one of the true original members of PPBF. You may have even posted more books than I have since I've skipped a couple weeks and recycled 4 books 🙂 You never know when you start something how it's going to turn out, but PPBF has certainly been wonderful on so many levels, and I'm so grateful to you and everyone who make it what it is!
Stacy, I would have said you were one of the top contributors! Surely you've posted nearly every week since the beginning! Thank you so much for being such a constant and enthusiastic member of our little community over here, not just for PPBF but for everything! And I'm so glad you find PPBF such a useful resource 🙂
Thank you, Barbara! And thank you for all the wonderful books YOU'VE posted and your fabulous reviews and resources! I hope you get a chance to read this book – it's a fun one! 🙂
This is such a fun book, Sue! I hope you get a chance to read it 🙂 And truthfully, I think you have to be a lot braver for math than for rock climbing 🙂 I'm not sure of your exact number either, but it must be close to 50 if not over – you are a long-standing member of the PPBF community! 🙂 Thank you so much for all you've done for our list, with all your terrific books and reviews!
Thank you, Iza! I'm glad you think so! And this book is really cute – I hope you get a chance to read it 🙂
🙂
Sounds like you need an assistant! But if that's not possible, hopefully extra chocolate helps!
A break sounds WONderful – though I'll certainly miss your posts (and your CHOCOLATE!). Enjoy your family and all that.
Love bug hug back!
This is so awesome! I love reading these posts, and what a good idea to start it! I've heard about plenty of books that I'd never know of otherwise. And I love all the chocolate you have on here too! Here's to 100 more 🙂
Aw! That's very sweet of you, Donna! I know how hard it is to find time for everything. And you'll get a little break from me too this summer – I'm going to be cutting back a lot because of all the busy-ness at home, though never completely 🙂
I need an assistant AND extra chocolate 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Thanks so much, Kathy Ellen! I'm so glad you enjoy it! Thank you for your support of PPBF! 🙂
🙂
You've started a wonderful thing here, Susanna. Here's to the next 100 weeks!
Thank you, Carrie 🙂 But it's really all of you with your fabulous book picks and reviews that make PPBF as wonderful as it is. Thank YOU for being a part of it! (And everything else that goes on over here! :))
I love sharing your joy…and your virtual goodies! 🙂 xo
Hi Susanna, you're a gem and an amazing person. Have loved so much PPBF and will miss it during my cold winter nights… but *sigh* oh well! 😉
You go and HAVE that well deserved summer break you chocolate lover you. And maybe, just maybe, I might lose some weight not having to eye up all those delicious mouthwatering hip loving treats you keep teasing us with… haha…. Have fun in the sun sweet lady. And a big thank you for all you do.
Great title; Nadine does sound like spunky cow. Congrats to you and all the bloggers. I enjoy learning about new pbs!
I think you'd get a kick out of this book if you got a chance to read it, Tina 🙂 I'm so glad you enjoy PPBF, and thanks so much for reading along with us each week 🙂
Aw shucks, Diane! You're too sweet! You are a gem too! And I'm not taking a total break – at least not until August – so I'll still be around a bit in between college visits – it's another one of those summers 🙂 And wouldn't it be great if I lost some weight without all the mouth-watering treats! 🙂 Not likely, though 🙂 Stay warm and cozy through your winter – perfect time to curl up by the fire with a good book 🙂
Smooch! 🙂
I have fun doing it! 😀
I'm glad! 🙂
I am now following all your pinterest boards. Love how you categorized the picture books on Pinterest! I am interested in Mitchell goes Bowling or Watermelon Seed. Haven't read those yet. You can be sure I am adding I AM COW HERE ME MOO! To my list of to-read books!
Congratulations on your centenni-post, Susanna! You chose a great book as your 100th perfect one. Nothing like a spunky cow to make for a good read. I love Jill Esbaum's books. Have a great summer!
This is awesome, congratulations on ONE HUNDRED WEEKS!
Thanks, Alison! 🙂
Hi Susanna: Wow! One Hundred Weeks! Such a wonderful accomplishment. Time to celebrate; with chocolate, of course. I Am Cow; Hear Me Moo, sounds like an excellent book about courage. Don't you just love Pinterest? I am now following your Pinterest boards. Happy Summer.
Hi Susanna! Way past the deadline but wanted to say congrats. CONGRATS! You've helped people find perfect picture books–and each other–for over 100 weeks! That's awesome. And deserving of your own chocolatier.
Thank you, Stacy 🙂 And hmm… my own chocolatier… I believe that's an idea whose time has come! 🙂
Thanks, Suzy 🙂 Glad you like the look of the book, and I do love Pinterest – I could spend WAY too much time there drooling over desserts 🙂 Thanks for following!
Thanks so much, Patricia! 🙂
Thank you so much for following on Pinterest, Romelle! And I hope you like the cow book 🙂
I get automatic updates from this blog, so I'll be following along this summer, as usual, commenting when I can. One of these days I'l submit to would you read it instead of just commenting 😉
I hope you are able to get caught up on all your “stuff” and still have time for your writing.
Happy summer!
101 weeks of Perfect Picture Books? That's definitely something to moo about! I love Jill Esbaum's work and I AM COW looks like tons of fun!