Would You Read It Wednesday #282 – Sylvia Swan & Cabot (PB)

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Howdy, folks!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful week so far!

Here on Blueberry Hill it has been the kind of week that motivates me to check in with my favorite laugh-out-loud videos for a little pick-me-up.  Really, doesn’t laughing just make everything seem better?! 🙂

In case any of you need a laugh, I’d like to share this week’s favorite:

SNL – Pro-Chiller Leggings

Please please please feel free to share your favorite laugh-out-loud video in the comment section!  We can all use a laugh 🙂

I think that video has set us up perfectly for a Something Chocolate that prepares itself in the freezer whilst we lie on the couch, catch up on missed episodes of The Voice and eat bonbons!  Check out this delicious no-churn Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream!

No-Churn-Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Ice-Cream-6

Recipe (including helpful video!) HERE at iwashyoudry.com

All the deliciousness and none of the energy expenditure of churned ice cream – the best of both worlds!

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Amanda who says, “I am a wife, mom of 4, teacher, writer, aspiring children’s book author, runner, and triplet. Writing is my creative outlet and it makes me happy.”

Find her on the web at:
Blog-https://writingstoriesonewordatatime.blog/
Twitter Handle-@jhkmom4

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Sylvia Swan & Cabot

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-10)

The Pitch: When Sylvia Swan’s family is too busy to help her build a blanket fort…again, she takes matters into her own hands. She channels her frustrations into brainstorming, sketching, measuring, drafting and creating the perfect invention—C.A.Bot:Customized Assisting Robot. Will Cabot be the solution she has been waiting for? Will her favorite pastime become a reality? Sylvia Swan soon finds out that Cabot can help her build more than just a fort.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Amanda improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on Would You Read it in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above.  There are openings in May, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!

Amanda is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to some quality time with my Pro-Chiller Leggings and to any funny videos you guys choose to share! 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

 

Perfect Picture Book Friday – A Leaf Can Be

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Happy Friday, Folks!

Remember on Wednesday when I said I was looking forward to daffodils?

Well, guess what?

Yesterday I took my dad to New York City for cataract surgery and in all the little square “gardens” planted around trees along one of the sidewalks on 64th Street there were…

…wait for it…

DAFFODILS!!! 🙂

daffodil

They’re like a little drops of captured sunshine, aren’t they? 🙂

So I chose the perfect picture book to capture feeling springy 🙂

(and yes, I’ve done it before, but I love it and I was pressed for time due to the aforementioned trip to NYC!)

leaf

Title: A Leaf Can Be

Written By: Laura Purdie Salas

Illustrated By: Violetta Dabija

Millbrook Press, February 2012, Fiction based on fact

Suitable For: ages 3-8

Themes/Topics: nature, seasons, poetry

Opening:  “A leaf is a leaf
It bursts out each spring
when sunny days linger
and orioles sing.

A leaf can be a…
soft cradle
water ladle
Sun taker
Food maker…”

Brief Synopsis: a simple rhyming story that shows all the many things a leaf can be.

Links To Resources: the back of the book has lots of facts about leaves, showing how they can be all the things mentioned in the book.  There is also a small glossary.  Take a walk and see how many different kinds of leaves you can find.  What could your leaves be used for?  Leaf Activities.  What else can you look at in different ways?

Why I Like This Book:  The quietness of this book encourages children to really think about all the different things leaves can be and in turn encourages children to stretch their imaginations about how other everyday objects might be used in different ways.  The poetry is gentle with pretty images.  The information in the back adds a lot to the learning potential of the book.  And the art in this book is absolutely luminous.  It just glows.  It is the perfect art for the text making for an altogether magical reading experience.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

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

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific 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!!! 🙂

(and have some cake on me 🙂 )

 

Would You Read It Wednesday #281 – Curious Cassandra (PB)

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Good morning, my friends!

I am waiting.

Yesterday, it snowed.

I am not making this up.

Huge flakes, so big you could see their crystalline construction.

Lazy, insolent flakes, just daring you to point out they had no business at this time of year making themselves at home on decks and porch railings, tree branches, swing sets and mailboxes, piling up like feathers after a pillow fight on every available surface.

Excuse me.

Did someone forget to mention it’s April?!

So I am waiting.

Waiting for sunshine.

Waiting for the temperature to get above 40 for more than 14 seconds at the warmest part of the day.

Waiting until the dogs and I can walk on Blueberry Hill and see the trees budding and the flowers blossoming, hear the peepers and the red-winged blackbirds in the marshy areas, wear shorts and a t-shirt and not be cold (well, the dogs don’t care about shorts and a t-shirt… 🙂 ), smell the sun warming the earth, trying to be patient…

…waiting for spring.

And I think I speak for all of us when I say nothing is better whilst waiting for spring than Something Chocolate!  Unless maybe it’s Something Chocolate that is also Something Coffee altogether in one mouthful 🙂  In case any of you are also waiting for spring, can I offer you some chocolate espresso layer cake?!

Chocolate Espresso Layer Cake

Chocolate+Espresso+Cake+with+Ganache

Recipe HERE at Pip & Ebby

Mmm-mmm-good!  I feel like I shored up a whole slice of patience!  I may be able to wait until this afternoon for spring to arrive! 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Candace who usually sits in a comfy chair, with a cup of tea and something chocolate, while she reads and writes about things that make her curious.

Find her on the web at:

 

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Curious Cassandra

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-7)

The Pitch:  Cassandra is a curious girl. She opens drawers, looks under beds, and rummages in boxes. The tall fence surrounding her neighbor’s garden makes her the most curious. She can’t see over it, under it, or through it, no matter how she tries.

She overhears her mother talking about the plants Mrs Fulton is growing – turtle’s heads, fox’s gloves, and lamb’s ears.  These are plants she must see for herself. Cassandra sits down, at her desk, and draws up some plans for getting into Mrs Fulton’s garden.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Candace improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on Would You Read it in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above.  There are openings in April, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!

Candace is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to daffodils 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

 

Perfect Picture Book Friday – My Side Of The Car

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Good Friday to you, folks!

In case anyone is wondering, it’s snowing again!  I think there’s a trainee in charge of Spring this year who must have misread the job description!

As luck would have it, since it’s snowing, I have to drive to New York City today… which makes me think of cars… which makes me think of this book!  Perfect for cars and inclement weather 🙂

Ready?  Fasten your seat belts because here we go! 🙂

My Side Of The Car
Written By: Kate Feiffer
Illustrated By: Jules Feiffer
Candlewick, April 2011, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 4-8

Themes/Topics: patience, imagination, father-daughter love, optimism

Opening:  “My dad and I are going to the zoo.  We’ve tried to go to the zoo before.  But we never get there.  Something always happens.”

Brief Synopsis:  Sadie and her dad are going to the zoo.  Their plans have been thwarted three previous times, but this time they’re really going.  Except… on the way… it starts to rain.  They can’t go to the zoo in the rain.  But Sadie’s not about to let the fact that her dad sees rain deter her.  “I look out my window, and the sun is shining on my side of the car. People are putting on their sunglasses and heading to zoos all over the world on my side of the car.” While her dad sees nothing but rain, Sadie sees people mowing their laws and eating ice cream.  Is it raining or not?  Will Sadie and her dad get to the zoo this time or will they have to wait for another day?

Links To Resources:  Fun Zoo-Related Activities, Zoo Lessons And Activities, a page in the back of the book tells the true story of what happened (which is always fun :))

Why I Like This Book:  Anyone who has lived with kids knows that their perception of reality is not necessarily the same as yours… especially when they really want something! 🙂  What’s wonderful about this book is both Sadie’s determined optimism and her father’s patience and his loving understanding of how she needs to cope with her disappointment.  This book is also delightful because it’s written and illustrated by a father-daughter team about an incident that actually happened.  I’m not going to tell you whether they get to the zoo or not, though.  You’ll have to go read the book 🙂

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

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

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific 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!

Now then.  I’m going to be like Sadie and see nothing but sunshine and daffodils on my side of the car!  No snow! 🙂

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

 

Would You Read It Wednesday #280 – The Littlest Astronaut (PB)

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Happy Wednesday, Chickadees!

What a fun week it has been!

First, totally unexpected and out of the blue, an email arrived in my inbox with sketches for ALPHABEDTIME!  What a thrill!  It’s in the early stages yet, but looks fantastic.  Illustrator Betsy Snyder is doing a great job.  There’s even a pogo stick on page 10 (and any of you who know me know my passion for pogoing 🙂 )

Second (as if first weren’t enough!), I got to see the final art for WHEN YOUR MONKEYS WON’T GO TO BED, due out August 28!  (Apparently it’s art week and I didn’t realize it 🙂 )  Daniel Wiseman has done it again, and I can’t wait to be able to share with you!

As you all know, I cannot draw to save myself, so I feel incredibly lucky to have been paired with such amazingly talented artists who seem to know exactly the right way to bring my stories to life.  If it weren’t for them, my books would look like this:

SLH illustration style

illustration copyright SLH 20…hahaha…I can’t even say it 🙂

 

and nobody wins with that! 🙂

I think this calls for a celebratory Something Chocolate, don’t you?  Also, I believe I speak for all of us when I say it’s time for Second Breakfast!  I vote for Chocolate Swirl Pie!

Chocolate Swirl Pie

choc swirl pie

Recipe HERE (including helpful video!) at Twisted

Yum!  Delicious and nutritious! (Surely there must be some way in which that is nutritious… and I’m certain that if I have a second helping it will give me the brain fuel I need to figure out how 🙂 )

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Rachel who ***nervously waves*** and says, “Hello! My name is Rachel. In no particular order I am a psychologist, mother of three (to a little girl who just turned 1 and two very goofy boxer dogs), a wife, a shoe hoarder and – cosmetics/face creams aficionado!!!

How and why did I start writing Picture Books? I was minding my own business when suddenly, without warning, a children’s book popped into my head, in fact a whole series of them did. They needed to be written down, it was a compulsion, I couldn’t stop. A bit like vomit, you feel better when it’s all out (yes I just compared my writing to vomit).”

Find her on the web at:
Twitter handle – @RachLTomlinson
Blog – https://rachtomlinsonwrites.wixsite.com/rachtomlinsonwrites/blog/

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: The Littlest Astronaut

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-10)

The Pitch: Even before she was born Seren was destined to become an Astronaut. After all, her parents had given her a name that meant star. When she shares her dreams with others they laugh, making her feel small, just because she isn’t grown up yet. It is a tall order when a space mission is jeopardised, and no-one else can help because they are too big. Can Seren step up and save the day?

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Rachel improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on Would You Read it in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above.  There are openings in April, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!

Rachel is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to seeing my new books progress and getting to share the process with you!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

 

Perfect Picture Book Friday – The Almost Terrible Playdate

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It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday, practically Easter, and soon-to-be April!

That sounds great all around 🙂

May I offer you some jelly beans or a chocolate bunny? 🙂

I realized that I hadn’t updated the master Perfect Picture Book list on my website in a while (er… that was because I totally forgot a) how to do it and b) that I had to do it – I had somehow convinced myself it was automatic! 🙂 ) so anyone who wants to have a look will have the happy surprise that there are now over 900 books on the list instead of the paltry 400 that were there last week 🙂  And thanks to you guys and your excellent form-filling-out abilities, many of them have themes listed!  So feel free to check it out and share it!  Perfect Picture Books (website page) and The LIST itself on google docs (search instructions for those who need them on the Perfect Picture Book page.)

(And I have to apologize for the fact that the “master list” is really only the books listed since I moved to wordpress.  The original couple thousand books from blogger have yet to be added because I never seem to have enough time!  I must make myself add 5 a day until they’re done or something!)

Any hoo…!

I have a tons-of-fun book to share today that I hope you’ll all love!

Title: The Almost Terrible Playdate

Written & Illustrated By: Richard Torrey

Doubleday Books For Young Readers, February 16, 2016, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-7

Themes/Topics: friendship, compromise, getting along, imagination

Opening: “What do you want to play?”

“What do you want to play?”

“How about I’m the queen of the universe and my doll, Pippy, is my sister queen, and you visit my castle?”

“Or how about I’m the giantest dinosaur ever and you’re a dinosaur too – but not the giantest – and we stomp around smashing stuff?”

Brief Synopsis: A girl and a boy with active imaginations each have very different ideas about what makes a fun game.  Will the afternoon end with two kids playing alone on opposite sides of the room, or will they find something that is fun for both of them?

Links To Resources: Class Compromise Activity for grades 3, 4 & 5 – Planning A Class Party; let your child or student draw a picture of what they think would be a fun game to play; discuss the meaning of compromise and the importance of getting along – what would happen if everyone insisted on getting his/her own way?  Give examples of situations where people might have to compromise and have kids discuss how it could be handled, for example if one child wants to go to the zoo and the other wants to go to the playground, or how to plan a family picnic that will be fun for a variety of interests, etc.

Why I Like This Book: This is a delightful story, told completely through dialogue and illustration (a good mentor text for writers who are working on similar stories.)  The writing is spare and there is no written narrative – it’s all a conversation.  The girl is completely sure that her idea is best, her game the most fun…and not surprisingly it gives her the starring role.  The boy is equally convinced that his totally different idea is best, his game the most fun…and not surprisingly it gives him the starring role 🙂  Anyone who has ever spent time around kids will recognize this dynamic.  The children’s imaginative descriptions grow more and more elaborate as they try to convince each other, but it is not to be.  Before long the girl is playing her game, and the boy is playing his.  But they are side by side… sneaking glances at each other… ultimately unable to resist their curiosity about each other’s games and the allure of having someone to play with, not just next to.  The resolution is just right – very believable – and brings young readers full circle.  But one of the best things about this book is the art!  Childlike crayon drawings depicting the imagined games – SO much fun, and not to be missed!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

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

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific 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!!! 🙂  And Happy Easter and Happy Passover to all who celebrate!

Would You Read It Wednesday #279 – A Little Witchy (PB)

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Greetings, Friends!

I don’t know if any of you have noticed, but things are a bit topsy-turvy in Nature these days.

First (I am not making this up!  I heard it on the radio!) there is a warrant out for Punxsutawney Phil’s arrest because he said 6 more weeks of winter, which expired on March 16, and then we had a blizzard.

Second, we bounce around from 70 degrees to 10 below, sunshine to Nor’easters, like we’re inside a pinball machine.

And the blueberries in the pancakes?

Monday night I had a traumatic experience in which, just past midnight, I heard a frightening sound on my back porch.  My dogs began to growl, low in their throats, and all the fur stood up on their backs.  (And, just let me say, this is highly unusual for them because they need their beauty sleep and generally notice nothing between 9 PM and 5 AM!)

IMG_5096

 

I don’t mind telling you, my overactive imagination (you know, the one that makes me a writer? 🙂 ) went into overdrive and I was thinking up all kinds of terrifying scenarios in which I hoped my brave dogs would rise to my defense and protect me (even though I know they’re more likely to beg for treats from an intruder than pin him to the ground as their fierce ancestors would have done!  Or possibly just sleep through all the high jinx and shenanigans!)

So there I was, creeping around in the dark, the very definition of stealth, trying to catch a glimpse of whoever had made the noise, heart pounding, attempting to convince myself that I had probably only heard snow falling off the roof or something, my fierce protectresses bravely bringing up the rear, when suddenly Scout shot past me barking ferociously at the door!

Out in the shadowy moonlight I saw a dark shape stop moving at the noise!

And then, after a moment, slowly move forward again!

I was just about to think up a Clever Plan For Self Defense when the dark shape picked up speed… a distinctly lumbering type of speed…a familiar lumbering… and I realized . . . it was the bear!

The noise I’d heard was him wrecking and stealing my bird feeder!  Fiend!

IMG_5331

. . . the Scene of the Attack! 🙂 . . .

IMG_5332

But this highlights my point about weirdness in Nature.  I have lived on Blueberry Hill for 25 years and never seen the bears before the third week of April!

So, what, I ask, is going on around here?

Clearly we need Something Chocolate!

And what better in this instance than Bear Paw Cookies???!!!

Bear Paw Cookies

Mmmmmm!  Delish!  And perfect for the occasion 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Jean who says, “I began life with aspirations of being a commercial artist, then changed to journalism before answering my true calling. After getting a scholarship to a Highlights Foundation Workshop Retreat, I’ve come full circle, as a beginning writing children’s lit writer learning the craft, work-shopping, pitching, submitting and trying to break in!”

Find her on the web at https://twitter.com/jrichson2013

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: A Little Witchy

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)

The Pitch:  After her mother says Beatrice can be such a little witch at times, while she calls the baby an angel, Beatrice begins doing witchy things in order to make herself into a real witch. But the bad witches tire of her bumbling exploits and warn her to quit—once and for all! And the good witch tells her it would be better if she leave the witching to those who can, and that instead she try to be the best mortal girl she can be.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Jean improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on Would You Read it in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above.  There are openings in April, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!

Jean is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to getting a new bird feeder…and bringing it indoors at night! 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

 

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!

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Happy Friday, All!

Before we get to today’s Perfect Picture Book, I’d like to thank everyone for their enthusiastic response to last week’s book, Diva Delores And The Opera House Mouse, and all the nice comments for author Laura Sassi!

AND…

I’d like to announce the winner of the hot-off-the-presses copy of Laura’s wonderful book!

Chelsea Owens, come on down!  You are the lucky winner of this fabulous prize!  Please email me (susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com) with your snail mail address so Laura can get your book out to you as soon as possible!  Congratulations! 🙂

Now.

In spite of the fact that every time I turn around it is snowing, it IS in fact officially spring!  And what says spring like bugs?

In an effort to encourage spring to show herself, let’s talk about bugs! 🙂

Title: Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!

Written & Illuatrated By: Bob Barner

Chronicle Books, 1999, Non-Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 2-6

Themes/Topics: Bugs

Opening: “Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!  I want to see bugs!  Butterflies that flutter in the sky.  Spotted ladybugs that go creeping by.”  (This is actually the first three spreads.)

Brief Synopsis: Simple facts about familiar bugs in a rhyme.

bugs 1

illustration copyright Bob Barner 1999

Links To Resources:  One back page of the book includes a display of actual-sized bugs so young readers can see how big they are in real life and how they compare with each other.  Another back page compares facts about all the insects mentioned in the book: can it fly, where does it live, etc.  Here are a few activities, and here are a bunch of coloring pages.

Why I Like This Book: This book is delightfully simple.  Easy enough for youngest readers to enjoy, but with enough information in the back to interest slightly older children.  The pictures are bright, colorful, and engaging and do a great job of making bugs look friendly and non-threatening.  I’m not really much of a bug person, but I find this book very appealing 🙂  This is also an interesting example for writers to study.  The author gets across information in a fun way in only 76 words!

bugs 2

illustration copyright Bob Barner 1999

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

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific 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!!! 🙂

 

Would You Read It Wednesday #278 – Navy SEALs: BUD/S From A-Z (PB)

28 Comments

Holy frozen H2O, Batman!

More snow???!!!

According to my research, the first day of Spring was yesterday, beginning at 12:15 PM to be precise.

Something is rotten in the state of New York!

I think we can all agree that the third Wednesday Nor’easter of the month calls for something delightful, something decadent, Something Chocolate right out of the starting gate.  I know we will all feel our outlook on life improve immeasurably after a slice or two of this delicious Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse Cake!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse Cake

A quick examination of the ingredients (peanut=protein, butter=dairy=calcium, chocolate=vegetable (comes from a bean!), mousse=makes you strong as a moose, also mousse is lighter than air so it has no calories :), and cake=the fifth essential food group) reveals this breakfast to be not only scrumptious, but clearly health food! 🙂

So eat up! 🙂

Ah!

It’s like spinach for Popeye!

Now we’re all rarin’ to go! 🙂

So let’s get right to today’s pitch which comes to us from Gayle.  She says, “I’m a Navy SEAL mom who loves to write. I’m working on several picture books, a YA novel, and my masters. You can find me at www.gayleveitenheimer.com.”

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Navy SEALs: BUD/S From A-Z

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)

The Pitch: Boys learn their letters Navy SEAL-style while they explore the rigors of BUD/S, the first half of SEAL training, where a sugar cookie isn’t a snack and The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Gayle improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on Would You Read it in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above.  There are openings in April, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!

Gayle is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to a baby!  Yes!  It’s true!  On the farm where I work in the morning, one of the mares is expecting.  After ten-and-a-bit long months she is now less than a month away from bringing her new little colt or filly into the world.  Let me tell you, there is great excitement! 🙂  I’ll keep you posted 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

 

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Diva Delores And The Opera House Mouse PLUS 5 Fun Facts From The Author AND A Giveaway!

69 Comments

Hurray!  It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday, and boy do I have a treat for you today!

It’s Diva Delores’s debut!

diva-1.jpeg

Isn’t she gorgeous?! 🙂

You’re going to get to see this beautiful book AND hear from the author AND the publisher is generously doing a giveaway, so one lucky commenter from the US or Canada will be chosen at random to receive a copy of the book!

Let’s jump right in, shall we?

First, a look at the book!

IMG_5301

Title: Diva Delores And The Opera House Mouse

Written By: Laura Sassi

Illustrated By: Rebecca Gerlings

Sterling Children’s Books, March 2018, nonfiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: friendship, manners, opera

Opening: “Fernando loved chocolate
and cheese on dry toast,
and popcorn and gumdrops,
but what he liked most . . .

was feasting on Mozart,
Puccini, and Strauss,
and lending a paw
at the Old Opera House.”

Brief Synopsis: Fernando the mouse loves everything about opera.  He wants to help Delores with her debut, but the diva thinks she deserves bigger and better help!  It takes a few opening night jitters to get Delores to truly appreciate her helpful little friend.

Links To Resources: Teacher Approved: Seven Things Kids Can Learn From Diva Delores; Opera Facts For Kids; discuss what it means to be a “diva” and dress up one of your stuffed animals as a diva!  (AND, you can use the 5 Fun Facts from the author below as bonus material to go along with the book! 🙂 )

Why I Like This Book:  The fun of this book is in the setting – an opera house – and the main characters – who both love opera!  Although the story is really about friendship, manners, and appreciation, the fact that it takes place in an opera house and involves operatic performance makes it educational as well as original and fun.  (Picture books writers – this is how you make a theme like friendship original, fresh and fun by putting your own twist on it!  Add this to your mentor text list 🙂 )  The story is told in fabulously-written rhyme which makes for a fun read-aloud, and artist Rebecca Gerlings does a gorgeous job of capturing both the feel of an opera house and the personalities and expressions of our heroes 🙂

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

As an added bonus, I thought it would be fun to learn a little about the story behind the story and Laura’s writing process/path to publication with this book, so I asked her to share five fun facts about writing this delightful, creative, and original story.

Here’s what she had to say:

FIVE FUN FACTS ABOUT WRITING DIVA DELORES AND THE OPERA HOUSE MOUSE

FACT #1 The journey from spark to publication took seven years.

I got the original idea for my story while participating in Tara Lazar’s wonderful STORYSTORM challenge, or Picture Book Idea Month as it was called back in 2011.  I then worked on the story off and on for five years. I played with plot, rhyme, character development – everything but setting, really – until finally it was ready to sub in 2016. It was acquired by Sterling Children’s Books that spring and took another two years to be published, which is typical for picture books.

FACT #2  Diva Delores wasn’t always a seal.

Originally, I imagined everyone at the opera house, including Diva Delores, as human, except of course, for Fernando the mouse. The team at Sterling , however, felt that mixing humans with a talking mouse might be problematic so early on we decided that all the characters in the opera house world would be animals. Early ideas for Delores included a hippo and an ostrich. Ultimately, illustrator Rebecca Gerlings used her wonderful talent and imagination to create the delightful seal Delores who we now know and LOVE!

FACT #3 I chose an opera house setting, because an opera, IMHO, is a lot like a picture book.

Both tell a full story in very few words with magnificent characters. Because there are so few words each word/note must work charmingly to move the story forward. Finally, both are gorgeously illustrated – one with stunning sets and props and the other with delightful painted spreads.

FACT # 4 I didn’t attend my first opera until I was in college.

I attended university about 90 minutes from Manhattan and my freshman year signed up for a special bus-excursion field trip to the Met to see TURANDOT!  I loved everything about the evening.  It was a magical introduction to opera, which I hope my book is too.

FACT #5 According to my kids, I am hard to be around when I am working on a rhyming manuscript.

This is because I click and tap to the beat as I write. I also, apparently, talk to myself in rhyme as I am writing. Worse yet, I sometimes even do this in public places, like if I’m out walking the dog or if I’m working at a coffee shop. This is mortifying to my children, but it works for me. And isn’t part of a mother’s job to embarrass her children?

Thanks for having me, Susanna!

Thank YOU so much for joining us, Laura, and for sharing all that interesting back story!  I am the first to admit that, although I love music, I know absolutely nothing about opera, so I love the whole concept!  (Also, Delores and Fernando are darling 🙂 )

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BIO:  Laura Sassi has a passion for telling humorous stories in prose and rhyme. She is the author of GOODNIGHT, ARK (Zonderkidz, 2014)and GOODNIGHT, MANGER (Zonderkidz, 2015), DIVA DELORES AND THE OPERA HOUSE MOUSE (Sterling, 2018) and LOVE IS KIND (Zonderkidz, 2018) She lives in New Jersey with her husband, two children, and a black Cockapoo named Sophie.

Links:
blog:http://laurasassitales.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraSassiTales
Twitter: twitter.com/laurasassitales
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurasassitales/

To join Laura on the rest of Delores’s Blog Tour, please stop off and visit these other fabulous blogs:

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

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific 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!

Don’t forget, Sterling has offered to do a giveaway. They will send one book to one lucky winner in the US or Canada. It will not be signed because they are sending but it will be fresh off the press!  Just leave a comment below by Tuesday March 20 at 5 PM Eastern to get yourself in the running for the random drawing!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂