Would You Read It Wednesday #220 – Thanksgiving Delivery (PB)

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Greetings, Peeps!

I hope you all had festive 4th of July Weekends and that your summers are all off to a lovely start!

I always think I’m going to get tons of things done in the summer.  I’m not really sure why, because it’s never happened yet 🙂  But there’s something about that long stretch of summer days that makes me feel like there’s room to accomplish soooo much…!  And who knows?  I’ve certainly got a list as long as my arm of things I want to do.  This COULD be the summer I get a lot done….(with a little luck and a following wind…) …or not… 🙂

Let’s have a little Something Chocolate to start the day off right, shall we?  I discovered this thing of beauty and thought it would be just perfect!

Strawberry Chocolate Mousse Cake

So perfect and summer-y-strawberry-y and chocolate-y!  YUM!!!

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Susan whom you’ll remember from her May and June pitches for Room For Olives and Bossy Bird.  Susan Schade is a writer from Gilbert, AZ where she lives with her husband, three young sons and their corgy/jack Russell rescue dog, Jedi.  Originally from Madison, WI, she cheers on the Packers and the Badgers, loves movie nights with her family, and enjoys reading as much as writing.

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Thanksgiving Delivery

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

The Pitch: As Thanksgiving approaches, Lennie is determined to save the turkeys from their dinner fate.  After the turkey slim down plan falls short, Lennie discovers that that perseverance and imagination will spark his greatest idea, dinner delivery.  Lennie will race against time to turn the others into great chefs before they become Thanksgiving dinner.

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 Susan 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 have a little time to polish your pitch before putting it up for helpful feedback and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Susan is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to tackling that to-do list… or possibly sitting on the back porch with a glass of iced tea and a good book… 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

 

Would You Read It Wednesday #219 – Dancing Through Space (PB) PLUS The May Pitch Winner PLUS Straight From The Editor for April!!!!

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Greetings Fellow KidLit Peeps!

Golly!  We have so much to do today that I’m not even going to regale you with tales of the Chopped Dessert Special conducted in my parents’ kitchen last night, contestant chefs being our kids and niece and nephews, basket ingredients including fresh lemon, Life cereal, dried fruit (apricot and pear), and Incredible Perfectly Free Non Dairy Frozen Bites.  When I say the judges (me, my sister, and my daughter) were brave, I am not kidding 🙂  The dishes prepared for us ranged from a Deconstructed Torte made of a dried fruit pancake with a chocolate and peanut butter brittle topped with candied lemon, to a Juice-Soaked Bread “Cake”, to a Fruit Dessert Soup…which curdled…! garnished with a chocolate-dipped dried pear.  And you’re lucky you didn’t see the kitchen 🙂

But like I said, no regaling!  Down to business!

First, the Winner of May Pitch Pick was Melissa with her pitch for Walking With Memphis: Inspired By A Real Dog.  Congratulations on a fabulous pitch, Melissa!  It has already been sent to editor Erin Molta for her thoughts, and I’m sure you’ll hear from her shortly!

And congratulations to all our other pitchers who did a stupendous job as well!  Even if you didn’t win the pitch pick, you are winners for writing your amazing pitches, being brave enough to share them in public, accepting constructive criticism in the spirit in which it was offered, and revising your pitches to make them even better!  Let’s have Something Chocolate all around to celebrate! 🙂  (And no, I will not make you eat the chocolate peanut butter brittle or the chocolate-dipped dried pear garnish from last night 🙂 )

No.  We’re going off the deep end today 🙂  I saw this and knew it was imperative that I share it with you…

DOUGHNUT CAKE WITH MOCHA WHIPPED CREAM!!!

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Doughnut Cake Recipe HERE at SugarHero.com

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Doughnut Cake Recipe HERE at SugarHero.com

And I didn’t even make this up!  There is someone else out there in the world who thought this was a good idea!  Probably my twin separated at birth 🙂

Next, we have Straight From The Editor for April.  As you’ll recall, the April Pitch Pick was won by Sam with her pitch for The School Supplies Intensive Care Unit (PB ages 4-8):
When a marker is left uncapped, a pencil gets cracked, or a glue stick dries out, there is only one place they can turn; The School Supplies Intensive Care Unit.  After a sudden spike in cases at The SSIC-U, it’s up to Nurse Patchet to track down the culprit and reform the classroom’s worst offender.

Here are Erin Molta’s comments:

This is cute, but I am a little confused as to whether the school supplies are supposed to be “alive” or personified and the culprit is another school supply. Or if kids are bringing their broken school supplies to Nurse Patchet and there’s a rogue student wreaking havoc…

 If you can somehow clarify that, I think you will have better luck with this pitch to an editor. For instance, using “student” instead of “they” in “there is only one place they can turn” will make it more clear that it’s about kids in a classroom. If you’re thinking the school supplies are personified, then you need to somehow add in something about a Pencil seeing the writing on the wall, or the somesuch…

Thanks as always to Erin for her very helpful and insightful comments!  I hope you learn as much from them as I do!

Now, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Lydia.  Lydia Lukidis is a children’s author with thirty three books and eBooks published, as well as numerous short stories and poems. She writes both fiction and non-fiction, for ages 3-12, all designed to entertain and inspire. In addition to her creative work, she also composes educational activities and curriculum based texts for children.

Visit her on the web at:
www.lydialukidis.com
https://lydialukidis.wordpress.com/

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Dancing Through Space

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 5-7 )

The Pitch: 3-2-1- Blast off! Dr. Mae Jemison launches into space and accomplishes her childhood dream. Despite challenges along the way, she never gave up and went on to become the first African-American woman to orbit the earth.

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 Lydia 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’ve got a little time to tweak your pitch to perfection and then get it up for some helpful feedback and a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Lyda is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to the fact that I will never have to eat Fruit Dessert Soup again and to harvesting more green beans from my Teensy Porch Garden which, against all odds, is still not dead! 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #218 Breakdance Bertie- PLUS The May Pitch Pick

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Happy Wednesday, Folks!  And Happy Summer!  Because now it officially is 🙂

I tell you, it’s a miracle I even got this post written!  Yesterday was every kind of crazy!  First, the junk guy showed up so we could clear out our basement (you know, to make it easier to paddle the canoe when it rains and the basement floods 🙂 ).  This involved removing the protective tarp from the bulkhead doors (vain attempt NOT to have basement floods 🙂 ).  Luckily, there were no snakes in the bulkhead stairway… but you never know until you open it and look in!  So you get the thrill of that I-may-suffer-palpitations-at-any-moment feeling 🙂

However, fussing around with the bulkhead stairway brought us in close proximity to the newly installed propane regulator… which allowed us to smell gas… which we should NOT… so we had to call about having it checked.  They wanted us to call the Fire Department!  LOOOOOONG “discussion” about whether that was really necessary culminating in the gas company guy showing up unannounced at 9 PM… only to say that he’d be back tomorrow to check it out properly!  So we got the additional thrill of that the-house-may-explode-at-any-moment feeling!

But being outside at 9 PM I heard noise and saw lights at our neighbor’s house… which is for sale and supposed to be empty… and it sounded more like a party than a poltergeist… which had to be investigated…and though by the time I got there the party was over, circumstances were such that the sheriff still had to be called… resulting eventually in the thrill of realizing I have become Gladys Kravitz (Bewitched) and Mrs. Rachel Lynde (Anne of Green Gables) and every other nosy-busy-body-crotchety-old-neighborhood-spy-wannabe rolled into one!

So.  Like I said.  Miracle right here! 🙂

Let’s get to it, shall we?

First, the May Pitch Pick.  Please read through the superb revised pitches below and then vote for your favorite.

#1 Susan – Bossy Bird (Picture Book ages 3-8)
Bossy Bird is the largest, loudest and bossiest bird of the bunch.  When the fed up flock sends him away, they lose their lookout and leave themselves open to the hungry neighborhood cat.  With danger crouching around the corner, Bossy Bird will discover that being the boss is not as important as being a friend and the others will learn that getting along is part of being a team.

#2 Sherry – Squirrelly Curly (Picture Book ages 4-8)
Three squirrel brothers need a home for the winter, but while Mo and Larry build nests, Curly pelts them with acorns and snatches nesting materials for his snow sports. When varmints and weather destroy their nests, it’s up to Curly to lead them to the safety of a nest and the scrumptious acorn feast he’s squirreled away for hard times. In this Three Little Pigs re-telling, varmints and an ice storm replace the wolf.

#3 Melissa – Walking With Memphis: Inspired By A Real Dog (Nonfiction Picture Book ages 3-8)
When Memphis becomes paralyzed and loses his wag, he must learn to walk with a wheelchair. He worries his dog days will never be the same, but he digs up the courage to embark on an adventurous discovery of all that he is capable of and what it means to be a lucky dog.

#4 Shae – Avocado Desperado (Picture Book ages 4-8)
Roll with the other avocados? Avocado Desperado? Ha, never! Until he realizes not every problem can be solved alone, especially those that start with guaca and end with mole.

Please vote in the poll below for the pitch you think is best and most deserves a read an comments from editor Erin Molta!  Please cast your vote by Sunday June 26 at 5 PM EDT, and I’ll announce the winner next week!

Now then, for today’s Something Chocolate, how about Strawberry Shortcake?  I know… technically it’s not chocolate 🙂  But the strawberries are SO GOOD in June it seems a shame not to take advantage of them.  And strawberries make for a VERY healthy breakfast.  And you can always put some chocolate sauce on your strawberry shortcake! 🙂

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Strawberry Shortcake recipe HERE at Iowa Girl Eats

Don’t you feel healthful and virtuous after that exceptionally nutritious breakfast-y type snack? 🙂

Alrighty then!  Onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Lindsay who says, “When I’m not cleaning up the unsavory messes of my two little boys, Cavalier King Charles pup and two cats, you can find me writing picture books. I’m a former newspaper and magazine editor, so it makes sense that I love to revise and critique. Here is for the manuscript I developed in Susanna’s excellent course, Making Picture Book Magic. This is my first submission for Would You Read It Wednesday!”

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Breakdance Bertie

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

The Pitch: Bertie the emu can’t help but wiggle to the beat blaring through the barnyard. When her human friend Jeannie tells her about an online breakdancing competition, Bertie decides to go for the grand-prize pool. She tries to practice her hops and drops Monday through Friday, but Jeannie and the boom box aren’t always around, and the other animals lose patience when Bertie’s hops flop. Calamity sends Jeannie running just before deadline and leaves Bertie and the animals to build their own beat.

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 Lindsay 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’ve got a little time to tweak your pitch to perfection and then get it up for some helpful feedback and a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Lindsay is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to seeing who wins the Pitch Pick!  It’s going to be a tough choice! 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #217 – Crab And Gull

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Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

I know it’s technically not summer for another week, but it’s so close now you can taste it!  Strawberries.  Blueberries.  Raspberries.  Peaches.  Chocolate. 🙂  (Okay.  You got me.  Chocolate is a year ’round delight 🙂 )

You probably all remember my “what can you put in a brownie” phase before Christmas, when I made peanut butter brownies, peppermint brownies, toffee brownies etc.

Well.

You’ll be shocked to learn I’ve got a new baking vehicle and it’s not even chocolate!  I have discovered that you can put all kinds of things in banana bread and wow! is it yummy!  Chocolate chips (obviously).  Blueberries (totally amazing! – if you haven’t tried it whip out your loaf pans this instant!)  And I’m seriously considering a version with peanut butter chips, or possibly some type of peanut butter swirl, although I haven’t tried that yet.  I am also open to any other suggestions you folks have.  Because at my house, bananas have to be an exact certain ripeness in order to be considered consumable.  Too green, they have to wait.  Too ripe, no one will touch them.  There’s about a 5 minute window.  Hence, I keep ending up with MANY overripe bananas.  Luckily, I’m willing to do my part for the cause and bake banana bread 🙂

But it’s Wednesday, and we all know that Wednesday is for Something Chocolate!  So Something Chocolate you shall have!

I don’t think we can go wrong with 3 ingredient Easy Oreo Truffles, do you? 🙂

Nom nom nom! 🙂

I thought not 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Sam whom you may remember from her recent winning pitch for The School Supplies Intensive Care Unit.  Sam Altmann is a special education teacher who lives in Baltimore Maryland with her husband and two semi-cuddly chaos loving dogs. She is a sucker for soft serve ice cream, swimming in the ocean, and “quality” reality television.

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Crab And Gull

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

The Pitch: Gull wants Crab’s sandwich. Crab wants Gull to leave him and his sandwich alone. But when Gull goes missing, Crab’s treat just doesn’t taste as sweet. He packs up his food in search of Gull, and finds that sometimes cooking up a friendship a more important than cooking up a seaweed sandwich.

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 Sam 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’ve got a little time to tweak your pitch to perfection and then get it up for some helpful feedback and a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Sam is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to adding to my Week In Wildlife photo collection (it’s been quite a week! – if we all had more time I would have shared it and shown you, among other things, the giant black rat snake I nearly trod upon whilst out marching about in the wilderness!)

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – 1 Big Salad: A Delicious Counting Book

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It’s Friday!  It’s Friday!

And what a week it has been here in Wild Kingdom!

First, there was the teeny frog who accidentally wandered in last Friday (see Wednesday’s post!)

Then on Wednesday a pretty little doe showed up in the front yard toward evening unable to bear any weight on her right front leg.  She seemed happy enough nibbling the tender grass, but she was decidedly lame.  I have seen her twice since, still not putting that foot down, but learned that she has a fondness for cantaloupe rinds!  Did you know white-tailed deer ate those?  I had no idea!  But apparently they’re quite a delicacy.

And just look at my tiny porch garden!  It hasn’t died yet!

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Zucchini on the left, tomato on the right 10 days ago

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Zucchini on the left, tomato on the right today!

My baby veggies are actually growing!  It’s nothing short of miraculous!  Of course, I’m waiting for the deer to figure out they can reach up onto the porch… 🙂

Today is the last Perfect Picture Book before our annual summer hiatus, and my not-yet-dead veggies inspired me to choose a book about salad! Which, who would have even thought there would BE a picture book about salad?!  It just goes to show, picture book writers, that if you can dream it up someone somewhere will be interested in reading it!

1 Big Salad

Title: 1 Big Salad: A Delicious Counting Book

Written & Illustrated By: Juana Medina

Viking Books For Young Readers, June 2016, Nonfiction

Suitable For Ages: 2-4

Themes/Topics: concept (counting), nonfiction, nutrition/food, imagination

Opening: “1 one Avocado Deer.
2 two Radish Mice.”

Brief Synopsis: “Starting with one avocado deer and working up to 10 clementine kittens, the anthropomorphic fruits and veggies in this counting concept book come together to create one big and appealing salad.” (From the School Library Journal review)

Links To Resources: the book itself is an appealing education in salad items, and the last page includes a simple, healthy recipe for salad dressing; talk about different kinds of salad – green salad, fruit salad, pasta salad, potato salad, etc.  What makes a salad?  Brainstorm different items you could put in a salad – different lettuces, veggies, nuts, seeds, raisins/dried cranberries/clementine segments etc.  What kinds of things do YOU like to put in your salad?  Make your own salad!  Eat it! 🙂

Why I Like This Book:    First of all, what a fun concept for a counting book!  Who would have thought salad could be counted? 🙂  Second, the language and illustrations use imagination to dress up vegetables (which some kids might not be so keen on), turning them into animals – cute, entertaining and fun.  A regular avocado might not be so interesting, but when it looks like a deer?  How fun is that?!  The book invites a discussion of what makes a great salad and will encourage kids to try making (and eating!) their own. A great choice for picky eaters, young chefs, or anyone who likes to play with their food 🙂

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Text and illustration copyright Juana Medina 2016

I hope you like 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 even though this was our last Perfect Picture Book Friday until September 9th or 16th (depending when I get back in gear 🙂 ) please keep joining us here for Would You Read It Wednesdays through July – the only complete vacation month around here is August! 🙂

Oh, and by the way, I’m terrible about remembering to tell people about these things, but What’s The Story Cards are now available if you email me.  Check them out!

They come in a nice little box.

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If you open the lid, you can stand the cards up to make it easy to pick randomly with your eyes closed 🙂

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The cards look like this:

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And they come with an instruction card that looks like this:

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Front

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Back

And they’re great for sparking and generating story ideas!  Good for writers who need an idea, families on summer road trips (a whole new spin on car/airplane entertainment), or a fun game while roasting marshmallows around the camp fire 🙂  So feel free to holler if you want some 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #216 – The Bath Of Least Resistance

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Happy Wednesday, Folks!

Up on Blueberry Hill where we are exceptionally close to Nature, things are hopping!  Literally!  Look at this cute little guy:

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There I was, wandering around my house as one does at midnight on Fridays, when what to my wondering eye should appear than this tiny housebreaker!  SPROING! SPROING! SPROING!  He hopped down  my hallway, leaping easily 10 times his height into the air.  He was the size of my thumbnail (i.e. pretty small! I thought he was some kind of bug at first!) and clearly bewildered by the strange surroundings in which he found himself.  I’m pretty sure he stopped in because my Perfect Picture Book for Friday was Frog Song 🙂  but once inside he wasn’t quite sure what to do.  Luckily, being a Resourceful Type, I knew what to do.  I took his picture for you guys (so forethoughtful of me!), then I caught him under a plastic cup, slipped a postcard underneath his tiny toes so he’d have something to stand on, and transported him outside into the spring night where he hopped gratefully away into the cool damp grass.

I think there’s a picture book idea in a Thumbelina-sized frog accidentally hopping inside a house of giants! 🙂

Of course, all this talk of hopping is making me hungry, so how about Something Chocolate? 🙂  For today’s Something Chocolate I chose something specially for our pitcher and his almost-4 year-old: Ice Cream Sundae Cookie Cups!  They’re easy to make and you can put any flavor of ice cream and any kind of topping you like on them!  A supremely kid-friendly perfect summer treat 🙂  I hope you all enjoy them!!!

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Ice Cream Sundae Cookie Cups Recipe HERE at Lovely Little Kitchen

If you wanted to make an extra cookie cup, that tiny frog would fit in beautifully, and then he could eat his way out…  Seriously, someone should write this picture book 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Greg who says, “I was a film major in college who somehow ended up with a career in the IT industry. For exercise I play hockey and chase my soon to be four year old son around. He is also the inspiration for most of my stories. I love to cook and have made several of Susanna’s recipes. (Including the churro pancakes from May 4 which were pronounced awesome and resulted in my son requesting pancakes every weekend since then 🙂 ) I can be followed on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gregoryebray/  or my blog: http://gregoryebrayauthor.blogspot.com/”

Here is his pitch:

Working Title: The Bath Of Least Resistance

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

The Pitch:  Paint is thicker than water, but the bond between a puppy and his human brother is even thicker.
When Bogie discovers the wonderful scent and texture of paint, he inadvertently tracks it all over the house. Chaos and calamity ensue with each attempt to get him into the tub. What will it take to give Bogie a bath, or is he destined to remain a colorful pooch forever.

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 Greg improve his 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 June (YES JUNE – you heard that correctly!!!), so you could get your pitch up for some helpful feedback practically next week, and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Greg is looking forward to your thoughts on his pitch!  I am looking forward to seeing what happens to my mini porch garden.  Right now, it’s zucchini vs. tomato as to who will take over the world and it’s a shockingly close race – very high suspense!  Feel free to place your bets 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Frog Song

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Happy Friday, Everyone!

Just a quick note: this is the second to last week of Perfect Picture Books before the annual summer hiatus!  Next week will be our last Perfect Picture Book until September.  We all need a little break… and maybe this will be the summer I catch up on updating.  You never know… it COULD happen! 🙂

As I’m sure you remember from Wednesday’s S’mores, I’ve got summer on the brain! 🙂

I don’t know about you, but when we were kids, summer was a time for wading in the brook (which was always surprisingly cold even when the weather was scorching!) trying (unsuccessfully!) to catch minnows, darting along the edge of the lawn at twilight trying (slightly less unsuccessfully!) to catch fireflies, and squidging through mud at the edge of ponds trying (mostly unsuccessfully!) to catch frogs!

Today’s Perfect Picture Book is all about frogs, although I confess I don’t think I ever saw any of these beauties near any pond I ever frequented! 🙂

Frog Song

Title: Frog Song

Written By: Brenda Z. Guiberson

Illustrated By: Gennady Spirin

Henry Holt & Co, 2013, Nonfiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: nonfiction, nature, frogs, language fun (onomatopoeia), environmental protection

Opening: “Frogs have a song for trees, bogs, burrows, and logs.  When frogs have enough moisture to keep gooey eggs, squirmy tadpoles, and hoppity adults from drying out, they can sing almost anywhere.  Croak! Ribbit! Bzzzt! Plonk! Brack! Thrum-rum!”

Brief Synopsis: From the jacket: “Since the time of the dinosaurs, frogs have added their ribbits and bellows to the music of the earth.  Frogs are astonishing in their variety and are crucial to ecosystems from Chile to Borneo to Australia.  This onomatopoeic text, accompanied by stunning illustrations, introduces young readers to these fascinating creatures.”

Links To Resources: the back of the book contains a bibliography of useful resources, a discussion of “frogs in trouble” (endangered frogs and the ecosystems they depend on), a list of online sources for frog facts, and a beautiful pictorial and informational two-page spread about frogs of the world.

Why I Like This Book: Usually I choose picture books for the story or the language.  This one I chose first and foremost for the illustrations.  They are absolutely beyond description – unbelievably gorgeous!  But in addition, the text is poetic and beautiful, filled with fun onomatopoetic words that kids will enjoy chiming in with and repeating, and the book is full of interesting information about all kinds of frogs all over the world.   A great choice for the budding herpetologist in your house or for a classroom or library.

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Text copyright Brenda Z. Guiberson 2013, Illustration copyright Gennady Spirin 2013

I hope you like 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 #215 – Bossy Bird (PB)

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Happy Wednesday, Everyone!  And Happy June!

I have to confess, it’s turning out to be one of those weeks… so no dilly-dallying today!  Let’s get right to the good stuff, shall we?

First (of course first!) Something Chocolate!

I don’t know about you, but here in my neck of the woods, even though it is not yet June 21, it is technically summer since Memorial Day has come and gone.  Summer means S’mores… and one of our kids was out making them last night, so obviously I have S’mores on the brain 🙂  Therefore, you can guess what’s coming… 🙂

S’mores Fudge Bars!!!

Smores-Fudge-Bars

S’mores Fudge Bars: Recipe HERE at Handle The Heat

I ask you, does it get any better? YUM! 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Susan whom you may remember from last month with her pitch for Room For Olives.  Susan Schade is a writer from Gilbert, AZ where she lives with her husband, three young sons and their corgy/jack Russell rescue dog, Jedi.  Originally from Madison, WI, she cheers on the Packers and the Badgers, loves movie nights with her family, and enjoys reading as much as writing.

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Bossy Bird

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

The Pitch: Bossy Bird is the largest, loudest and bossiest bird of the bunch.  When the fed up flock sends him away, they lose their lookout and leave themselves open to the hungry neighborhood cat.  With danger crouching around the corner, Bossy Bird will discover that being the boss is not as important as being a friend and the others will learn that getting along is part of being a team.

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 Susan 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 June (YES JUNE – you heard that correctly!!!), so you could get your pitch up for some helpful feedback practically next week, and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Susan is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to Saturday when I will get to go to a writing conference where, in addition to all the amazing and wonderful things about writing conferences, Gail Carson Levine ( you know, Ella Enchanted?!!) will be speaking!  How awesome is that?

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Planting The Wild Garden

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My friend Nancie has the most beautiful garden!  Nine neat beds constructed of railroad ties, filled with a dark, rich mixture of soil and compost.  Tidy rows of sturdy plants, green and healthy-looking against the dark earth.  Lettuces and beans, peas and tomatoes, squash and eggplant, not a weed in sight.  And the whole kit and kaboodle surrounded by a fence to keep the deer out.  It’s a sight to behold and I totally covet it.  It makes me long for a garden!

But.

As you all know, I am the Black Thumb of Poughquag.  Little plants tremble at my approach, and their lives are at risk whenever I’m in charge!  Not intentionally, of course!  It’s just an inborn curse or something.

My daughter is pretty good with plants, but she no longer lives at home and is thus unable to provide the kind of supervision I need to be allowed around plants (i.e. constant! 🙂 )

So we have come up with a solution.  (Hopefully! 🙂 )

Small scale gardening.

Four tiny planters with one plant each on the back deck where the deer (hopefully) can’t reach them and where (hopefully) they will catch my eye often enough that I’ll remember to water them in between her visits.

Have you noticed how many times the word “hopefully” has appeared already?  I’m afraid this does not bode well for my gardening experiment…!

But for better or worse, I have a tomato plant, green beans, mint, and by this weekend I’ll (hopefully – oops, there I go again) have a pea plant.

Think good thoughts and send positive energy to my tiny garden which will undoubtedly need all the help it can get! 🙂

And for today’s Perfect Picture Book, wild gardening that works in spite of black thumbs!

Wild Garden

Title: Planting The Wild Garden

Written By: Kathryn O. Galbraith

Illustrated By: Wendy Anderson Halperin

PeachtreePublishers, 2011, Nonfiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: nonfiction, nature, seeds, how things grow

Opening: “The farmer and her boy plant their garden.  They drop seeds – tiny, fat, round, and oval – into the earth.  From these seeds, pumpkins and peas, carrots and cabbages will grow.  In the wild meadow garden, many seeds are planted too, but not by farmers’ hands.”

Brief Synopsis: From the publisher: “A farmer and her son plant vegetables in their garden, and the wind carries a few seeds away. Birds and animals may carry some along with them on their travels. Sometimes the rain washes them away to a new and unexpected location. And sometimes something more extraordinary occurs, as in when the pods of the Scotch Broom plant open explosively in the summer heat, scattering seed everywhere like popcorn. Year-round, we all play a role in the dispersal of seeds throughout our landscape, planting the wild garden together.”

Links To Resources: the back of the book contains a bibliography of useful resources; make your own garden: plant seeds in a paper cup or a small pot on the windowsill – flowers or herbs grow quickly and well.  If you have space for more, plant some vegetables!  See what you can grow.  Explore outdoors and see what kind of seeds you find.  Dandelions with their delightful cottony fluff that you can make a wish on and blow?  Winged maple seeds that you can peel back and stick on your nose?  Acorns that you can collect in a bucket and build little houses out of?

Why I Like This Book: In simple language with beautiful illustrations, the author and illustrator team up to share verbal and visual information on how seeds in nature are spread about to propagate.  There are plenty of onomatopoetic and action words to make reading the text interesting, lively, and fun.  Detailed illustrations show close-ups of different kinds of seeds, nuts and pods along with many species of birds and animals who help spread them around.  There is something for everyone in this delightful and informative book.  A great choice for the budding gardener in your house or for a classroom or library.

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Text Copyright Kathryn Galbraith 2011, Illustration Copyright Wendy Halperin 2011

I hope you like 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 picture book gems you’ve chosen this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #214 – Avocado Desperado (PB) PLUS The April Pitch Winner!

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Greetings, Friends!

Golly it’s been a busy week so far!

First off, the hotly contested April Pitch Pick was won by Sam with her pitch for The School Supplies Intensive Care Unit!

Congratulations, Sam!  Your pitch has been sent to editor Erin Molta for her comments and I’m sure you’ll hear from her shortly!

And congratulations to all our other brave and talented pitchers.  You all did an awesome job, and I hope that even though you didn’t win the pitch pick you feel that your pitches have benefited from the experience!

Next, there was the gosling parade.

Yes, there was!  Look!

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I’ve been watching these little guys, driving by them on my way to and from the barn every morning since they hatched.  There are five of them.  They used to hang out at the edge of the pond, sunning themselves and keeping to a small safe area.  Now that they’re gawky adolescents, their parents have decided to take them a little further afield – away from the very edge of the pond and up the stream bed to a place where (apparently) there are good things for geese to eat.  I’m not sure I approve of their choice of route (even so carefully shepherded by mom and dad) – I worry about geese vs. motor vehicles – but their family outing sure makes a fine sight! 🙂

As if the pitch pick and gosling parade weren’t excitement enough, we have discovered the location of the Largest Desserts On Earth.  I know!  I couldn’t believe it either!  To think it was so close all this time!  I have pictures to prove the sheer enormity, and they will be your  Something Chocolate for today.  Check them out!

Exhibit A: Brownie Sandwich Sundae

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This is the Brownie Sandwich Sundae – 2 large (warm!) brownies, 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge and whipped cream – and if you can’t tell from this photo, it’s bigger than your head! 🙂

 

Exhibit B: Oreo Cake

 

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This one is Oreo Cake – it’s about 10 inches high – I kid you not!  We realized belatedly we should have put something in the photo for scale!

We were caught unawares by the size of these desserts and found ourselves unable to finish (I know – we are STILL hanging our heads in shame).  But now we have learned.  Next time we go out to this establishment, we won’t order dinner… we’ll skip straight to the good part 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Shaelyn.  By day, Shaelyn Berg writes and edits educational content for a nonprofit organization. By night, she writes picture books while simultaneously snuggling her dog, Dixie (who basically rules her life). Shae enjoys running half marathons, eating Chunky Monkey ice cream, and reading any kidlit she gets her hands on. You can follow her picture book blog at www.shaelynberg.wordpress.com.

 

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Avocado Desperado

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

The Pitch: Avocado Desperado rolls solo, even when a woman scoops him and his hermanos into the kitchen. It’s guacamole time and he flees, desperado style. But when he pushes a sister toward the blade of the sharp cuchillo for nearly spoiling his escape plan, his pit feels heavy. Can Avocado Desperado save her from becoming a fiesta snack?

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 Shaelyn 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 June, so you could get your pitch up for some helpful feedback pretty soon, and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Shaelyn is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to going hiking with a friend today… although it’s supposed to be 86 degrees… out of nowhere…so we may end up as puddles and have to be resurrected with vast quantities of iced tea 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂