Perfect Picture Book Friday – Daddy Depot

September 15, 2017September 15, 201710 Comments

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

In my typical yes-sure-I-was-totally-organized-ahead-of-time! fashion 🙂 I am writing this post on an airplane on my way home from California. We are somewhere over Utah experiencing the kind of turbulence that makes people gasp and clutch their arm rests, and I’m busily typing away hoping the internet actually works and this post will post! Who can tell? I guess if you’re reading this it worked!

First things first!

The lucky winner of Penny Klostermann’s fabulous new picture book, A Cooked-Up Fairy Tale, from last week’s giveaway is ANGELA VERGES!!! Congratulations, Angela! I will put you and Penny in touch! And thank you, Penny, for offering the giveaway!

Now then! I have a terrifically fun yet sweet book to share with you today about the special relationship between dads and kids – in this case, specifically, a daughter. I think it’s a book you’ll want to share with your little ones 🙂

Daddy Depot

Title: Daddy Depot

Written By: Chana Stiefel

Illustrated By: Andy Snair

Feiwel and Friends, May 2017, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 2-5 (according to publisher info, but I think 3-7 works)

Themes/Topics: family relationships, appreciation, love

Opening: “Lizzie loved her dad, but he was always watching football.
‘Dad! Check out my new ballet twirls.’
‘You’re a star, Lizzie… TOUCHDOWN!'”

Brief Synopsis: (from the Amazon description) “Lizzie loves her dad, but he tells the same old jokes, falls asleep during story time, and gets distracted by football while Lizzie does her ballet twirls. When she sees an ad for a store called Daddy Depot, she decides to check it out―and finds dads of all kinds!”

Links To Resources: draw a picture of yourself and your dad; cut a piece of paper into the shape of something your dad loves (a football, a motorcycle, YOU 🙂 ) and write a note to him telling him what you love about him; things for dads and kids to do together; invent your own “perfect dad” – draw him on paper, or use felt or cut foam, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, glitter, cotton balls, whatever! – maybe he’s different from your actual dad… or maybe he’s just the same 🙂

Why I Like This Book: I’m guessing pretty much every kid has wished for a different mom or dad at some point along the way! It’s a very grass-is-always-greener kind of feeling 🙂 The idea of a megastore that sells dads is such a fun concept! So many possibilities! Rocker Dad, Astro Dad, Chef Dad… Surely there’s someone out there who will make a better dad for Lizzie then her football-obsessed, boring-joke-teller, often embarrassing dad! But though they all look good at first, in the end none of those dads are for Lizzie. The story is a humorous and sweet reminder that sometimes what we have is just right 🙂 The art is bright and cheerful – I love that Dad makes pancakes while wearing a monkey hat 🙂 – and suits the story nicely.

Text copyright Chana Stiefel 2017, Illustration copyright Andy Snair 2017

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!!! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #260 – Kit, Not Kitty (PB)

September 13, 201729 Comments

Woo hoo!

It’s Wednesday!

And Would You Read It is back!!! 🙂

It so happens, though, that while Would You Read It is back, I was called away to defend the universe…

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…from terrifying threats 🙂

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So I hope you’ll forgive a brief post… I mean… seeing as how I’m a mite busy with saving the world and all 🙂

I’ll try to make it up to you a little with Something Chocolate. How about, hmmm…. Texas Sheet Cake Cookies! (with many thanks so Stacy for the photo and for introducing me to this delightful ~~dessert~~ breakfast!)

Recipe HERE at Cookies & Cups

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Maureen who says, “I am a high school English and ESL teacher with my summers off so when the 3:00am ideas arrive, I can get up and act on them without looking like a zombie for school.
I’m a recent graduate of the writing program of Stony Brook University where I was lucky enough to be mentored by amazingly gifted humans such as Emma Walton Hamilton and Peter H. Reynolds. ”

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Kit, Not Kitty

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

The Pitch: For as long as Kit can remember having feelings, she has felt more like fetching a ball, and less like a feline. But how can she convince her family that it’s nothing to take puuuuurrsonally, it’s just who she is.

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 Maureen 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 October, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and have a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!

Maureen is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to another fun-filled day in sunny CA… where I will be pursuing my destiny of Greased Lightning 🙂

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Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – A Cooked-Up Fairy Tale PLUS A Giveaway!!!

September 8, 2017September 8, 201747 Comments

HELLO EVERYBODY!!!

I hope you have all had wonderful, relaxing, enjoyable, sun-soaked, family-filled, back porch cookout, hammock-lounging, s’more-making, firefly-chasing, star-gazing, memorable, happy summers!

I know the return of Perfect Picture Books means summer is over, but isn’t it wonderful to see each other again?! I have missed you all!

We have so much to look forward to this fall! Would You Read It will be back next week. We have finishing prizes for the blog tours. There will be episodes of Oh Susanna (if anyone sends in questions!) and Short & Sweets. The annual writing contests are just around the corner. Wow!

But Rome wasn’t built in a day! 🙂

So for now, let’s just do Perfect Picture Books!

I know many of you continued PPBF throughout the summer, so anyone who would like to add their summer titles with post-specific links to this week or next week’s PPBF list is MOST welcome to! It would be great to have them ALL on the master list!

But now, without further ado, I am absolutely thrilled to present today’s Perfect Picture Book, brand new from my talented friend, Penny!

Cooked-Up Fairy Tale

Title: A Cooked-Up Fairy Tale

Written By: Penny Parker Klostermann

Illustrated By: Ben Mantle

Random House Books For Young Readers, September 5, 2017, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-7

Themes/Topics: fractured fairy tale, perseverance, humor, cooking

Opening: “Although William lived in the magical land of fairy tales, he preferred pastries to princesses, kitchens to kingdoms, and recipes to the Royal Reporter.”

Brief Synopsis: William struggles to fit into the magical land of fairy tales, more interested in cooking up fabulous dishes than fantastical stories. Will he find his happily ever after?

Links To Resources: invent, cook & serve your own magical fairy tale recipes using fairy tale ingredients (Snow White’s apple, Cinderella’s pumpkin, the Three Bears’ porridge, etc.); set up a fairy tale restaurant (like The Brick House and The Three Bears Bistro in the story) with a colorful sign and beautifully set tables and serve your customers; write articles about fairy tale characters or interview famous fairy tale characters or create recipes for the Royal Reporter; read this book with other fractured fairy tales like Little Red Writing by Joan Holub, Hensel And Gretel Ninja Chicks by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Rebecca Gomez, and The True Story of The Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and discuss the different ways the authors fractured the tales; write your own fractured fairy tale!

Why I Like This Book: This story is creative and entertaining, full of fun language and delightful details. While most fractured fairy tales are a new twist on one familiar tale, this story plays cleverly with a whole bunch, including The Three Bears, Snow White, Cinderella, The Gingerbread Man, Jack and The Beanstalk and others, tying them all together with a boy who loves to cook and create recipes. Young readers will relate to William who means well and whose heart is in the right place, but who still manages to do the wrong thing! Haven’t we all been there?! 🙂 The art is colorful, engaging, full of fun details and a perfect complement to the story. All around a delicious treat of a read…(spoiler alert :)) topped off with a happily ever after!!!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

AND!!! This just in!!! The lovely Penny is offering a giveaway of a copy of A Cooked-Up Fairy Tale! Leave a comment below by Sunday September 10 at 5 PM Eastern and you will be entered in the totally random raffle for the book!!! 🙂

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

(I’m out of practice with this, so here’s hoping I didn’t mess it up!!!)

Have a wonderful wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂 So glad to be able to say, “See you all next week!” 🙂

TRUCKS On Tour – Fun With TRUCKS!

July 19, 2017July 20, 201721 Comments

Hey, Everyone!

Sun’s up! It’s morning!

Let’s get those diesel engines running!

TRUCKS On Tour is off to a mighty start!

truckbanner

If you have little ones in your life, whether kids, grandkids, students, next-door-neighbors, baby-sittees, nieces, nephews… well, you get the idea, you will definitely not want to miss the first two posts that went up.

Julie at Little Red Story Shed posted a road and truck painting craft she did with her preschoolers that looks totally fun!

And Lynn at Polilla Writes posted a popsicle stick truck you can make at home or at school and involve as much paint, glitter, etc as you want to decorate with!

How fun is that?

Today is here (obviously!) and tomorrow the TRUCKS tour will continue with Lynn at Polilla Writes who has an interview with illustrator Erica Sirotich, and Friday with Angie Karcher at Rhyme Revolution with a Q&A with me plus a giveaway, so you won’t want to miss those either!

(Especially if you’re hoping to qualify for the end-of-tour Special Prize that will be raffled off among people who have commented on every post in the TRUCKS tour! 🙂 )

Today, it is my pleasure to give you a little sneak peek at some TRUCK activities that will be available here on my site any minute now.

A coloring page for the bulldozer enthusiast at your house… (it’s okay if it’s you! 🙂 )

…and a Matching Game (memory cards)!!!

Seriously! Between Julie’s craft and Lynn’s craft and the coloring page and the memory game you can have HOURS of fun! And your little one can too 🙂

Look for these pages available to download soon!

Meanwhile, just to keep things as confusing as possible (it’s important to challenge your brain with puzzle-like complexities in order to stay sharp!), the WHEN YOUR BOOKS tour, though winding down, has not finished yet! And there’s a Special Prize up for grabs there too for someone who has commented on every post.

Here is a list of the posts that have gone up so far so you can conveniently cruise through them:

7/1/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Blog Tour Kickoff

7/2/17 – Lauri Fortinos’s Frog On A Blog – Guest Post on Writing A Series PLUS a Giveaway!

7/3/17 – Jena Benton’s Of Tea And Mermaids Blog – Simply 7 Interviews with Susanna & Daniel PLUS a Giveaway!

7/4/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – LION book review and GAME

7/5/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Fun With LION – reveal of LION ACTIVITY KIT and LION BOOK TRAILER

7/6/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – Interview with Susanna PLUS a Giveaway

7/7/17 – Vivian Kirkfield’s Picture Books Help Kids Soar – LION/ELEPHANT Reviews and Crafts PLUS a Giveaway

7/8/17 – Vivian Kirkfield’s Picture Books Help Kids Soar – Will Write For Cookies With Susanna – Picture Book Writing Inspiration

7/9/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Fun With ELEPHANT – reveal of ELEPHANT ACTIVITY KIT

7/10/17 – Julie Abery’s Little Red Story Shed – 3 Posts!
WHEN YOUR ELEPHANT HAS THE SNIFFLES Plus Preschool- Friendly Elephant Ears Recipe!
WHEN YOUR ELEPHANT HAS THE SNIFFLES Plus Preschool Art Activity!
WHEN YOUR LION NEEDS A BATH Plus Preschool-Friendly Lion Pancake Recipe!

7/11/17 – PUBLICATION DAY!!! – 2 Posts
Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – ELEPHANT Review Plus Elephant Tightrope GAME
ReFoReMo Post by Keila Dawson – Mentor Text Author Study Susanna Hill

7/13/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – Interview with illustrator Daniel Wiseman Plus Giveaway!

7/14/17 – KidLit411 – Interview with Susanna, PLUS LION, ELEPHANT and TRUCK Giveaways

7/18/17 – Writer’s Rumpus – Interview with Susanna

Let’s see if I can at least post the blog tour schedules so you can go search on your own if you’re so inclined!

While we’re on the subject of the WHEN YOUR BOOKS tour, if you’d care to check out the ELEPHANT book trailer, ta da! Here it is!!! Leave a comment to tell us how you liked it and give it a thumbs up if it earns your approval!

I hope you’ll enjoy the Coloring Page and Matching Game and the ELEPHANT Trailer!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone! And don’t forget to share LION & ELEPHANT relevant posts on social media with #whenyourbooks and TRUCKS relevant posts with #trucksontour for your chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon or Merritt Bookstore (there will be three of each offered!)

Thank you all for being such enthusiastic supporters of these blog tours and all the amazing bloggers who are participating!!! ❤

Trucks On Tour – Kickoff!

July 17, 2017July 17, 201725 Comments

Just when you thought it was safe to venture back into the blogosphere . . .

duhn duhn duhn . . .!

. . .I’ve got another blog tour starting!

I know! The first one isn’t even finished!

I’m sorry!

They’re right on top of each other and overlapping and I know it’s a lot to keep up with!

*hides under the kitchen table*

(Believe me I know! My house hasn’t seen a vacuum in two weeks and my refrigerator is empty except for a wrinkled lemon no one’s been desperate enough to tangle with!)

But the trucks and I would be ever so grateful if you’d journey along the road with us a little ways. They’re VERY cute! And I don’t want them to feel less loved then LION and ELEPHANT! That would be sad 😦

So let’s break out their shiny new blog tour banner, shall we?

truckbanner

Have you ever seen such friendly little trucks?

Er… I mean BIG trucks! MIGHTY trucks! They’re strong! They’re tough! They’re heavy duty! (And they have really nice teeth, don’t they? 🙂 )

Julie is really kicking off the tour over at Little Red Story Shed today. She has a review of the book and a delightful activity she did with her preschoolers. I hope you’ll hop on over and visit her!

We’ve got a great line-up of fun-filled posts – interviews with me and Erica Sirotich (the talented illustrator), activity and coloring page reveals, book reviews and giveaways, games, recipes, crafts, and a book trailer reveal (a little farther into the tour because I haven’t made it yet! 🙂 ) as well as a couple of special prizes!

As with the WHEN YOUR… blog tour, I’m really hoping that the lovely people who are being kind enough to host, especially on this second, overlapping tour where readers will undoubtedly be feeling a little burned out on Susanna Hill blog tours!, will get some visitors for all their kindness and hard work. (Please also bear in mind that with the exception of a couple days in August – I think August 3, 10, and 15 – you’ll get a nice break from me until the around the second week of September… so there’s hope if you can just soldier through the next couple weeks 🙂 )

To make it even more fun, I will once again offer a Special Prize to be raffled off among people who visit and comment on every stop on the tour!

I’d also love the trucks to get their little moment in the social media limelight, so every time you share on Face Book, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag #trucksontour you will get an entry in a raffle to be conducted at the close of the tour in which 3 $25 gift certificates to Merritt Bookstore and Toystore will be up for grabs! We can support a wonderful independent bookstore, and you can get your choice of any book on your wishlist and a great selection of high quality toys! (And if a book on your wish list should happen to be one of mine, I can sign it for you 🙂 )

Here’s the schedule so you can plan your summer so as not to miss anything important 🙂

Truck Blog Tour Schedule

(With a million, billion, trillion thanks to Katie Hill for fixing all the formatting issues after I totally screwed it up even though she was tired and sunburned from a long day at work! Love you, sweetie ❤ )

So HERRRHERRRHERRR!

RUMBLEGRUMBLETHRUM!

VRRROOOOM!

VRRROOOOOOOM!

Off we go with TRUCKS ON TOUR!

Don’t forget to share today’s post and Julie’s or any other relevant delightful items – photos, books in the wild sightings, truck-related crafts, activities, games or recipes – with the hashtag #trucksontour! (Credit for that clever hashtag to Julie Abery! Thank you again, Julie!)

Tune in tomorrow for an interview with yours truly at Writer’s Rumpus for the WHEN YOUR BOOKS TOUR, and a book review and craft activity at Lynn’s blog, Polilla Writes, for the TRUCK TOUR.

(Yeah… you can see how this is gonna go… give me about 12 seconds and I’ll be hopelessly confused between the two tours! I’m hoping you guys will be able to keep it all straight! 🙂 )

Have a marvelous Monday, everyone!!! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #259 – If Only I Could Be A Cat (PB)

July 12, 2017July 11, 201717 Comments

Happy Wednesday, Folks!

We’re taking a quick breather from the blog tour today for our regularly-scheduled programming 🙂

Given the whirlwind of all that’s going on in this neck of the woods, though, I’m going to be uncharacteristically to the point!

I don’t think anyone will argue that the best way to begin the morning is with Something Chocolate, so let’s! 🙂

No-Bake Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chocolate-Mousse-Cake-Plated-Cravings-5-640x854@2x

Recipe HERE at PlatedCravings

No-Bake Chocolate Mousse Cake is perfect for summer! No baking and the cake stays refrigerated for a nice, cool, chocolatey treat!

YUM!!!!! 🙂

Now then, (and just look how well I’m focusing on the job at hand and not wandering off on tangents! 🙂 ) onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Colleen who says, “I’m a 7th grade Math teacher (with a law degree and once-CPA), proud mother of three daughters – a Veterinarian, a First Lieutenant in the Air Force (CSO/EWO) and a Broadcast Journalist, and lifetime poet still pining to publish. Now that our three daughters are all graduated from college, it is, at last, time to pursue my dream of having my books in the hands of children.”

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: If Only I Could Be A Cat

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 3-8)

The Pitch: “If only I could be a cat like our cat Daisy May!” So the narrator of the story thinks; it would be great to eat, sleep and play all day. Or would it? When she considers what she would be missing – like Mom and Dad’s hugs goodnight, she realizes it may not be so great after all. Follow along with the rhyme and the reasoning in If Only I Could Be a Cat.

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 Colleen 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 July, 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!

Colleen is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to continuing the blog tour! Even though Publication Day was yesterday, rest assured that the fun and games continue! 🙂

For your convenience, here’s a handy list of the blog tour stops to date (with helpful links) 🙂

7/1/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Blog Tour Kickoff

7/2/17 – Lauri Fortinos’s Frog On A Blog – Guest Post on Writing A Series PLUS a Giveaway!

7/3/17 – Jena Benton’s Of Tea And Mermaids Blog – Simply 7 Interviews with Susanna & Daniel PLUS a Giveaway!

7/4/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – LION book review and GAME

7/5/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Fun With LION – reveal of LION ACTIVITY KIT and LION BOOK TRAILER

7/6/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – Interview with Susanna PLUS a Giveaway

7/7/17 – Vivian Kirkfield’s Picture Books Help Kids Soar – LION/ELEPHANT Reviews and Crafts PLUS a Giveaway

7/8/17 – Vivian Kirkfield’s Picture Books Help Kids Soar – Will Write For Cookies With Susanna – Picture Book Writing Inspiration

7/9/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Fun With ELEPHANT – reveal of ELEPHANT ACTIVITY KIT

I’d hate for you to miss any of the fabulous participating blogs so remember that if you comment on every post, you will earn yourself a chance toward the Special Prize Raffle at the end of the tour! (The goody bag and signed books described on the kickoff post.) And if you share this, or any related post, item, photo, etc. on Social Media with the #whenyourbooks, each share will add to your chances to win Special Prize #2 at the end of the tour! (3 $25 Amazon gift cards up for grabs!)

And be sure to tune in tomorrow for Lynn Davidson’s interview with Daniel Wiseman (illustrator of LION and ELEPHANT) Plus a Giveaway!, and on Friday we will be on the World-Famous Kidlit411 with an interview with yours truly in which you can learn something most people don’t know about me! 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

(And after all that blog tour talk, don’t forget to let Colleen know what you think of her pitch! 🙂 )

When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour – Fun With ELEPHANT!

July 9, 2017July 8, 201720 Comments

BlogTourBanner

Hi Everyone!

I know.

It’s Sunday!

You’re supposed to get a day off from the computer and laze in bed with the comics.

Oh, wait. That was so last century. Nowadays you laze in bed but require some form of computer to access the comics 🙂

But today is July 9!

Only 2 DAYS until publication day!!!

The blog tour is going along swimmingly – tons of fun at every port! In case you might have missed any along the way, here’s a handy list to date 🙂

7/1/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Blog Tour Kickoff

7/2/17 – Lauri Fortinos’s Frog On A Blog – Guest Post on Writing A Series PLUS a Giveaway!

7/3/17 – Jena Benton’s Of Tea And Mermaids Blog – Simply 7 Interviews with Susanna & Daniel PLUS a Giveaway!

7/4/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – LION book review and GAME

7/5/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Fun With LION

7/6/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – Interview with Susanna PLUS a Giveaway

7/7/17 – Vivian Kirkfield’s Picture Books Help Kids Soar – LION/ELEPHANT Reviews and Crafts PLUS a Giveaway

7/8/17 – Vivian Kirkfield’s Picture Books Help Kids Soar – Will Write For Cookies With Susanna – Picture Book Writing Inspiration

Now, then! Although I can’t exactly offer comics, I do have something almost like a comic for you today!

Are you ready?

It’s Elephant Fun!

Here’s a sneak peek at the ELEPHANT Activity Kit!

Like the LION Activity Kit, it will be up on my website any day now under For Teachers and Parents in the Coloring Pages & Activities section!

Plus you will no doubt be thrilled to know that the ELEPHANT book trailer is possibly finished and will possibly be revealed in the not-too-distant future!!!

And, if all that weren’t enough, if you’d like yet another shot at winning a signed copy of the book, you can hop on over to GoodReads and enter the giveaway!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

When Your Elephant Has the Sniffles

by Susanna Leonard Hill

Giveaway ends July 14, 2017.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Enjoy your lazy morning in bed visiting the other tour stops (since you have your computer or stand-in for the comics anyway 🙂 ), coloring, and entering the giveaway!

And be sure to continue with us tomorrow at Julie’s Little Red Story Shed where she will teach us to make Elephant Ears and Lion Pancakes… which will come in very useful NEXT Sunday when you’re making breakfast! (Okay. I guess there’s no point in pretending we’re going to wait for Sunday to eat pancakes. Tuesday then… well, okay, tomorrow for dinner 🙂 )

Here’s the upcoming schedule:

Blog Tour Schedule

Don’t forget to share this post (or participating bloggers’ posts, or the LION book trailer, or the giveaway, or the book covers, or reviews, or a photo of your child or class reading one of the books, or anything clever and related you think up) using #whenyourbooks! Every time you post with #whenyourbooks you get an entry in the end-of-tour raffle for 3 lucky people to win a $25 Amazon gift card! (Don’t forget the # – which I keep doing and have to go back and edit my posts! – because without it I may miss your post!)

Have a lovely Sunday, everyone!!! 🙂

When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour – Fun With LION!

July 5, 2017July 4, 201759 Comments

BlogTourBanner

Hi Everyone!

It’s July 5!

Only 6 days til Publication Day!!!

That’s less than a week!

(I’m just a teensy bit excited… can you tell?! 🙂 )

To keep myself from bouncing off the ceiling, I’ve got something fun to share with you today . . .

When your books go on a blog tour, you’re going to need a little entertainment! After all, there’s only so much “Are we there yet?” you want to endure!

To keep boredom from creeping in on the long trip, you can take side tours to the wonderful sites listed below and visit with the locals 🙂 You might even learn something fun while you’re there! If you comment on every post, you will definitely earn yourself a chance toward the Special Prize Raffle at the end of the tour! (The goody bag and signed books described on the kickoff post.) And if you share this, or any related post, item, photo, etc. on Social Media with the #whenyourbooks, each share will add to your chances to win Special Prize #2 at the end of the tour! (3 $25 Amazon gift cards up for grabs!)

7/1/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Blog Tour Kickoff

7/2/17 – Lauri Fortinos’s Frog On A Blog – Guest Post on Writing A Series PLUS a Giveaway!

7/3/17 – Jena Benton’s Of Tea And Mermaids Blog – Simply 7 Interviews with Susanna & Daniel PLUS a Giveaway!

7/4/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – LION book review and GAME

After the visits, you’ll probably need a snack! I always recommend a midmorning break for some sustaining chocolate, so help yourself!

Deep-Dish Double-Chocolate Breakfast Cookies

Recipe HERE at RunningWithSpoons

After that delicious and extremely healthful pick-me-up, you’ll probably want to watch a video!

So check out the World Premiere of the WHEN YOUR LION NEEDS A BATH Book Trailer! (And if you like it, give it a thumbs up! 🙂 )

Once the video is over, you’ll probably want to watch it again.

And again. . .

. . . and again . . . 🙂

But eventually you’ll want to try something new. And boy do I have something fun! A whole pack of LION activities! Coloring! A maze! A matching game! More coloring!

Here’s a sneak peek!

The activity pages will be on my website soon… but I asked my brilliant web manager to wait to put them up until after today’s reveal.

All that fun coloring will make you wish you had a copy of the book! So hop on over to GoodReads and enter the giveaway for a signed copy!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

When Your Lion Needs a Bath

by Susanna Leonard Hill

Giveaway ends July 14, 2017.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Have fun visiting the other tour stops, watching the video, coloring, entering the giveaway, and eating chocolate cookies! And be sure to continue with us tomorrow for an author interview and giveaway at Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes, and on Friday and Saturday at Vivian Kirkfield’s Picture Books Help Kids Soar for reviews, giveaways, and a special Will Write For Cookies episode which you KNOW will include a delicious recipe! 🙂

Here’s the upcoming schedule:

Blog Tour Schedule

Don’t forget to share this post (or participating bloggers’ posts, or the book trailer, or the giveaway, or the book covers, or reviews, or a photo of your child or class reading one of the books, or anything clever and related you think up) using #whenyourbooks! Every time you post with #whenyourbooks you get an entry in the end-of-tour raffle for 3 lucky people to win a $25 Amazon gift card!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!!! 🙂

When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour – Kickoff!

July 1, 2017July 4, 201766 Comments

It’s July!!!

And you know what THAT means…!

It’s National Lasagna Awareness Month!

(It IS actually – I am not making that up! It also happens to be National Blueberries Month and National Doghouse Repairs Month… so many things appropriate to life on Blueberry Hill! But that is not actually why we are here… 🙂 )

At long last the much-anticipated, eagerly-awaited BOOK BIRTHDAY MONTH has arrived!

I am thrilled beyond measure to introduce you all to WHEN YOUR LION NEEDS A BATH and WHEN YOUR ELEPHANT HAS THE SNIFFLES, coming to a bookseller near you on July 11! (to be followed by a third book birthday a couple weeks after…but we’ll get to that later 🙂 )

For now . . .

Woo hoo! Strike up the band! Shower down the confetti! Release the balloons!

It’s time for . . .

BlogTourBanner

Thanks to a group of kind, generous, kidlit-enthusiast bloggers who are absolutely lovely in every way, we have a fun-filled couple of weeks in store for you all, full of interviews with the author (me 🙂 ) and illustrator (the amazing Daniel Wiseman!), book trailer reveals, activity and coloring page reveals, recipes, crafts, and games, articles on different aspects of writing, as well as giveaways and prizes! It’ll be almost like all of you are celebrating your birthdays too! 🙂

Let’s have a look at the line up, shall we?

Blog Tour Schedule

* one small note: Sue of KidLit Reviews may not be able to post.*

I hope you will all join us as we welcome these two brand new books into the world! All the participating bloggers have worked hard to make this fun, and I’d hate for you to miss anything. And I’d love as many people as possible to come visit!

So I am offering two special prizes to be awarded after the close of this blog tour.

One prize will be given to a randomly-selected person who visits and comments on every single post in the blog tour! All 19 listed here! (18 if Sue is unable to post.)

That special prize will be personalized signed copies of WHEN YOUR LION NEEDS A BATH and WHEN YOUR ELEPHANT HAS THE SNIFFLES, a “goody bag” containing items relating to both books – stickers, bookmarks, orange-scented kid-friendly lion soap, an elephant memory game, lion bubbles…plus a couple surprises! (and I’m not saying there will be chocolate, but if you’ve spent any time around this blog at all you should know that’s a distinct possibility…) :), PLUS your choice of any one of my other books personalized and signed.

The other prize will be given for sharing on social media. The hashtag we are using to promote the books is #whenyourbooks. Every time you share a post on Face Book, Twitter or Instagram using #whenyourbooks you will get an entry into a raffle where 3 winners will each get a $25 Amazon gift card.

Did you read a blog post you thought was so great all your friends should read it too? Share it with #whenyourbooks

Do you have a photo of a child reading WHEN YOUR LION NEEDS A BATH or WHEN YOUR ELEPHANT HAS THE SNIFFLES? Share it with #whenyourbooks

Did you try an activity, craft or recipe that was included in one of the posts with your child or class? Or one you thought up related to these books? Share the results and/or a photo with #whenyourbooks

Live video footage of you bathing a lion? 🙂 Definitely share THAT with #whenyourbooks 🙂

Although the tour ends on August 3, I’ll give you a couple days to comment on that last post, and announce the winners on Monday August 7.

So, are you ready to join the high jinx and shenanigans?

Comment below to start your eligibility for prize #1, and share today’s post with #whenyourbooks to start earning points toward prize #2! Then tune in to Frog On A Blog tomorrow, when Lauri Fortino will have a guest article from yours truly on writing a series!

Let’s get this blog tour underway! 🙂

P.S. Since the Blog Tour Schedule is a photoshop-made graphic that can’t have live links (plus when I made it none of the posts were actually posted yet so no one had urls) I will list the links to the ones that have gone up below for your convenience.

7/1/17 – Susanna Leonard Hill – Blog Tour Kickoff – well, you’re already here 🙂

7/2/17 – Lauri Fortinos’s Frog On A Blog – Guest Post on Writing A Series PLUS a Giveaway!

7/3/17 – Jena Benton’s Of Tea And Mermaids Blog – Simply 7 Interviews with Susanna & Daniel PLUS a Giveaway!

7/4/17 – Lynn Davidson’s Polilla Writes Blog – LION book review and GAME

Would You Read It Wednesday #258 – The Snugglebeast And The Spotty Sock (PB) PLUS Straight From The Editor

June 28, 2017June 27, 201712 Comments

Hi Everyone! Happy Wednesday!

I am having so much fun this week! Crazy and busy, but totally fun! My new books are about to launch, and the swag and activity pages and blog tour and book trailers, etc. are all starting to come together and I can’t wait to share everything with you! I am so lucky to have the opportunity to work with such talented illustrators! And so lucky to have the support of so many wonderful, generous kidlit bloggers as well as lovely people who have agreed to read the books and consider reviewing them! I hope you’re going to enjoy it all as much as I do. I think there’s a not-so-subtle reason I’m drawn to writing for the picture book age… I may well still be there myself! 🙂

It’s all going to kick off here on July 1, good lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise! I’m a little afraid of how close that date is when I think of everything I still have to do! But for now, let’s focus on Would You Read It! 🙂

First, we have Straight From The Editor for May! You will recall winner Cortney’s pitch for Olive Hills (PB ages 3-6):

Elle’s mind drifts through an olive grove as she tries to keep memories of her grandma alive. She surprisingly finds herself with a familiar, yet forgetful brontosaurus. The two set out to retrace their footprints in hope to relive fading memories. When they reach the giant tree where Elle’s grandma used to sit and reflect, they discover love ones will always be with you no matter where they are.

Here are Erin’s thoughts:

This sounds like it could be a lovely picture book but I’m getting stuck on the brontosaurus. How is he familiar… and forgetful? Dinosaurs and death are pretty disparate concepts for kids age 3-6 and you need to somehow clarify that link in this pitch.

As always, I find Erin’s comments very illuminating! I hope they’re helpful to you too – and to Cortney as she continues to perfect this manuscript and pitch!

Now then, burning the candle at both ends as I am, I feel in need of Something Chocolate right this minute! What should we have today?

You know I’m nothing if not health-conscious… 🙂 so how about a little Death By Chocolate Zucchini Bread?! (Note the ZUCCHINI in the title…like I said, health food 🙂 )

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD

Recipe HERE at theviewfromgreatisland

Death-by-Chocolate-Zucchini-Bread-Recipe

Recipe HERE at theviewfromgreatisland

Also, I hope you noticed that it is clearly called “bread”, not “cake”, so again with the health benefits and it is perfectly okay to eat it for breakfast! 🙂

YUM!!!!!

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Katy who says, “I’m a Design Director who does branding and packaging design the north of the UK and am very much an early stages writer. Because of my creative job I love to have an outlet for my other ideas and like to sketch, illustrate and create story’s and picture books amusing children’s characters that are usually based on animals.”

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: The Snugglebeast And The Spotty Sock

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 3-7)

The Pitch:

Have you ever stopped to ponder,
where all your lost socks go.
Where on Earth could they possibly wander?

You know the ones I mean,
your best socks, the very favourite kind
Where do they end up?
We seek them out, but we never can find?

Discover the world of a tiny, secretive, sneaky little creature, who adventures out at night in the night in a plot to steal your socks.

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 Katy 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 July, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for for helpful feedback and have a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!

Katy is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to getting everything done so we can all start off on this crazy, wonderful book launch blog tour!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

Susanna Leonard Hill

Children's Author

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Daddy Depot

Would You Read It Wednesday #260 – Kit, Not Kitty (PB)

Perfect Picture Book Friday – A Cooked-Up Fairy Tale PLUS A Giveaway!!!

TRUCKS On Tour – Fun With TRUCKS!

Trucks On Tour – Kickoff!

Would You Read It Wednesday #259 – If Only I Could Be A Cat (PB)

No-Bake Chocolate Mousse Cake

When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour – Fun With ELEPHANT!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

When Your Elephant Has the Sniffles

by Susanna Leonard Hill

When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour – Fun With LION!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

When Your Lion Needs a Bath

by Susanna Leonard Hill

When Your Books Go On A Blog Tour – Kickoff!

illustration copyright (C) Daniel Wiseman 2017

Would You Read It Wednesday #258 – The Snugglebeast And The Spotty Sock (PB) PLUS Straight From The Editor