Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

I have such an uplifting book to share today! I hope you’ll all really enjoy it!

It’s a new release, not actually out until Tuesday, and you can help lift IT up by pre-ordering a copy (links below.) Rebecca is a true supporter of what we do over here in my little corner of the blogosphere. She has provided contest prizes MANY times, and I imagine at least some of you may have benefited from her generosity and her helpful insights on writing and navigating the publishing world. You can share the love for her book (as with all the books that are featured on Tuesday Debut and Perfect Picture Book Friday) by requesting it from your library, leaving a review, sharing it with friends who might be interested, or purchasing a copy!

Ready to see this delightful book? 😊

Title: I WILL ALWAYS BE…

Written By: Rebecca Gardyn Levington

Illustrated By: Rahele Jomepour Bell

Publisher: HarperCollins, April 15, 2025

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: Doing what you love and loving what you do! Enjoying your passions without pressure; Exploring new interests; An introduction to various possible future occupations; Rhyme; Fiction; Inspirational; Concept Book.

Opening:
“I shimmy as I board the bus

and boogie ‘cross the floor.

I pirouette in parking lots;

sashay through every store.

I pop and lock. I cha-cha-sha

and square dance: do-si-do!

I twirl. I whirl, with jazz hands up –

everywhere I go.

I don’t perform on Broadway…yet.

(Perhaps, one day. We’ll see!)

But still, I know, no matter what,

I will always be…

a dancer!”

Brief Synopsis: I WILL ALWAYS BE… is an inspirational rhyming picture book that encourages kids to celebrate their passions — whether or not they ever make it to Broadway or the big leagues. For fans of I Am Enough by Grace Byers/Keturah Bobo and Remarkably You by Pat Zietlow Miller/Patrice Barton, I WILL ALWAYS BE… reminds young artists and athletes, bakers and ballerinas, inventors and investigators, that doing what you love and loving what you do is what really matters.

Links To Resources: [Provided by author Rebecca Gardyn Levington] Here’s a great article from PBS Kids called “Ways to Nurture Interests That Inspire Kids to Explore Their Passions”

And another from the American Institute for Learning and Human Development by Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D., called “50 Ways to Bring Out Your Child’s Best”

And check out this awesome YouTube series of mini-videos: A Kids Class About Discovering Your Passion with Kevin Carroll. This is for slightly older-than-picture-book-age kids (and also great for adults!) Super inspirational!

Why I Like This Book: This book features an exuberant child sharing all the things that delight her as she explores the world. She loves dancing, science, art, and much more, and though she isn’t quite at the point of being known/expert yet, she confidently entertains the idea that she will be, someday. More importantly, though, she revels in doing all the things she loves to do. The art is bright and engaging and sets the perfect mood for the story. Written in Rebecca’s trade-mark rhyme which makes for such a great read-aloud, this book will inspire kids to follow their dreams and reach for all they can possibly be. (And it will probably lift the hearts of whoever is reading it aloud and fill them with inspiration, too!)

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊

Rebecca Gardyn Levington is a children’s book author, poet, and journalist with a particular penchant for penning both playful and poignant picture books and poems – primarily in rhyme. She is the author of WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW (which has been translated into 9 languages and is the winner of a Crystal Kite Honor and a Northern Lights Book Award), BRAINSTORM!, AFIKOMAN, WHERE’D YOU GO?, LITTLE DREIDEL LEARNS TO SPIN, WRITE HERE WRITE NOW and I WILL ALWAYS BE… with seven additional rhyming picture books forthcoming. Rebecca writes reviews and conducts author interviews monthly for the Picture Book Builders blog. Her award-winning poems and articles have appeared in numerous anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. She lives with her family in Summit, N.J., where she enjoys bouncing on a mini-trampoline, playing Mah Jongg, and eating chocolate-peanut butter ice cream (although not usually at the same time!). Find out more and sign up for Rebecca’s monthly newsletter where she shares advice learned throughout her writing journey at www.RebeccaGardynLevington.com.

Available anywhere books are sold!
Help I WILL ALWAYS BE. . . get off to a good start and Pre-Order Today from:
Bookshop
Amazon
B&N
Walmart

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊