Perfect Picture Book Friday – A Morning With Grandpa PLUS A Giveaway!!!

April 29, 2016October 2, 201652 Comments

I am beyond thrilled to be sharing today’s Perfect Picture Book!

First off, it’s a lovely book that celebrates both the loving relationship between a grandfather and his granddaughter and the importance of mindfulness and the mind/body connection.

Second, it was written by my friend, author and illustrator Sylvia Liu,and is her debut picture book as an author, and it is always wonderful when a Perfect Picture Book has been written by a friend!

Third, it comes with special treats! 🙂

Treat #1 is that Sylvia is joining us today to personally provide the “Resource” section of the post. She is going to explain in detail how you can expand on her picture book at home and in the classroom!

Treat #2 is that she is giving away a copy of her book to one lucky winner!

So let’s begin by meeting her! Hi, Sylvia!

Sylvia Liu, author of Morning With Grandpa, also a talented illustrator, and also the co-creator of the not-to-be-missed website Kidlit411 (Photo Credit – Copyright K. Woodard Photography)

Sylvia Liu is an environmental lawyer turned children’s author and illustrator. A MORNING WITH GRANDPA is her debut picture book as an author. She is inspired by oceans, aliens, cephalopods, and more. She lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with her husband and their two daughters. Visit her online at enjoyingplanetearth.com.

And now, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to her Perfect Picture Book: A Morning With Grandpa!

MorningWithGrandpa_cover

Title: A Morning With Grandpa

Written By: Sylvia Liu

Illustrated By: Christina Forshay

Lee & Low Books, April 2016, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 5-8

Themes/Topics: relationships (grandparent/grandchild), mindfulness, tai chi, yoga

Opening: “Mei Mei watched Grandpa dance slowly among the flowers in the garden. He moved like a giant bird stalking through a marsh. His arms swayed like reeds in the wind.

‘What are you doing, Gong Gong?’ asked Mei Mei.

‘I am practicing tai chi,” said gong Gong. “This form is called White Crane Spreading Its Wings.’”

Brief Synopsis: (from the publisher) Mei Mei learns tai chi from Gong Gong and teaches him yoga. While their styles are different, they enjoy their time together.

Links To Resources: Today’s resources are detailed below in a special note from author Sylvia Liu.

The Benefits of Tai Chi and Yoga for Kids By Sylvia Liu

As stressed out and busy adults, we know the value of taking a moment out of our hectic days to calm our minds, meditate, or just breathe. Mindfulness relaxes, de-stresses, builds immunity, and promotes mental and physical health.

Tai chi and yoga are mind-body practices from Asia (tai chi originated in China and yoga in India) that promote health through body movement, breathing, and mindfulness. Meditation and qi gong are others.

When I wrote A MORNING WITH GRANDPA, my goal was to share a fun grandparent and grandchild story involving tai chi or qi gong to introduce children to these lesser known practices. I have since learned that children benefit from these practices in so many ways:

Learning mental stillness helps counteract the sensory overload that comes from 24/7 entertainment, excessive screen time, and over scheduled lives.

Tai chi and yoga instill discipline, concentration, and body awareness.

Tai chi and yoga provide physical exercise and challenges in a non competitive way. Yoga increases strength, flexibility, and coordination.

Both tai chi and yoga are rooted in natural forms and poses. Practicing these disciplines help children connect with nature.

The calming, concentration, discipline, and self-confidence that develop with these practices can reduce symptoms of ADHD.

Purposeful movement and concentration help put children in a learning state of mind.

Teachers and parents, when you read A MORNING WITH GRANDPA with your students and children, here are a few activities you can try that are fun and provide stress relief (for you and the kids):

Belly Breathing

Have you ever noticed a baby breathing? Their bellies go up and down, naturally breathing in a way that provides the most oxygen to their bodies.

Breathing to your diaphragm or belly is an integral part of these practices. For this exercise, sit comfortably. Breathe through your nose and slowly fill up with air, directing the air to your belly. Your belly should expand slightly. As you breathe out, empty your lungs first and then your belly. Do a slow count while breathing in (maybe to 3 at first, but later you can count to 5 or more) and breathe out to the same count.

Touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth as you do this breathing exercise.

Relaxation Breathing

I learned this from yoga: if you exhale for a longer time than you inhale, your body will automatically relax. This is because it causes your vagus nerve to send a signal to your brain to turn up your parasympathetic nervous system, which controls rest, relaxation, and digestion. (If you take a quick, short breath, you generate the opposite response, signaling your sympathetic system to pumps up your heart rate and get your adrenaline going for a “fight or flight” response).

Inhale to a count of two, hold for a count of one, and then exhale gently counting to four, and hold for a count of one.

Try the Poses

Look up tai chi or yoga poses on YouTube or check out the back matter in the book and give some a try.

Thanks, Susanna, for letting me stop by your site as part of the blog tour for A MORNING WITH GRANDPA!

(Thank YOU so much for joining us, Sylvia, and for offering the giveaway!!! 🙂 )

Further Reading:

The Benefits of Yoga for Kids

Say Yes to Yoga for Kids with Attention Deficit

Studies on Tai Chi Show Many Benefits for Children

A Simple Breathing Exercise to Calm the Mind & Body

Why I Like This Book: In today’s busy world where so much of our time is spent indoors staring at screens, a book that celebrates physical movement, mindfulness, and being outdoors in nature is so welcome! And what a wonderful and inspiring role model for young readers! I think many kids will be up on their feet trying out the tai chi forms and yoga poses demonstrated by Gong Gong and Mei Mei 🙂 I like that both adult and child have something to offer the other, something to teach and something to learn, and that they take each other seriously and are willing to try each other’s activities. I also think it’s wonderful that Gong Gong accepts that Mei Mei is trying, even though her exuberance might not be quite the way tai chi is usually performed, and doesn’t chide or discourage her, and that she in turn treats him with the same respect when his older body has a hard time with poses that she is strong and flexible enough to manage easily. The descriptions of the forms are written in lovely, evocative language. The art is also lovely, making the garden look bright and appealing and making the forms and poses look like fun 🙂 This book won the New Voices Award and it’s no mystery why – it’s a delightful book that I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I do!

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

Now for the GIVEAWAY!!! One lucky person will win a copy of A Morning With Grandpa! Just leave us a comment below by Tuesday May 3 at 5 PM EDT telling us about your favorite exercise (no that was not intended to be an oxymoron 🙂 ) and/or way to relax! Names will be tossed in the Randomizer and a random name will be selected at random and announced randomly on Wednesday or Friday 🙂

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 your delightful picks for this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!

Would You Read It Wednesday #210 -My Name Is Sonny And I Am Special! (PB) PLUS Straight From The Editor!

April 27, 2016April 26, 201611 Comments

Happy Wednesday, dearies!

Do you know what day this is?

It is National Tell A Story Day!

Really!

I am not making that up! It’s like it was invented just for us, isn’t it? I think we should all celebrate by writing or telling a story today 🙂 I’ll start. On a sunny day in April, Little Dickens crawled out of his hollow log and… SPROINK!… got a face full of prickles! … Feel free to continue! 🙂

It also happens to be National Babe Ruth Day. I’m guessing they mean to honor the baseball player, but here on Blueberry Hill one little letter change makes it Baby Ruth Day which means we are honoring chocolate 🙂 Also peanuts and caramel 🙂 Also nougat. Which really, does anyone know what nougat is? I mean, nobody ever said, “I’m going into the kitchen to whip up some nougat…” (although they should because nougat is fun to say!) And if they did say that, what the heck kind of ingredients would they need? But I digress…

What could be better than a day devoted to stories and chocolate? 🙂

Ooh! Wait! I know the answer!

A day devoted to stories, chocolate, Would You Read It and Straight From The Editor! And it just so happens, I’ve got the whole kit and caboodle for you today! 🙂

We are SO on the ball this month! After a slight delay in the February and March Pitch Picks, we got the winners last week, and now we’ve got Straight From The Editor this week! So without further ado, here are editor Erin Molta’s thoughts on the winning pitches from February and March:

You will recall Stacia’s winning pitch from February:

Mia And The Marathon – Picture Book/Early Reader

Mia loves running and so does Mama. While Mama is getting ready for her longest race ever, Mia discovers new, exciting ways she can get ready too. Mia can’t wait to cheer on Mama but oh no! On Race Day, Mia and Daddy can’t find Mama in the big crowd of runners! Don’t worry: Mia is prepared and knows exactly what to do. It’s time for Mia to cheer her favorite, loudest, cheeriest, cheer ever.

Erin said:

Mia and the Marathon sounds inspirational but it seems as if there’s two stories going on: is Mia running or getting ready to cheer her mother on? Perhaps if you started it out with something more like, Mama loves running and Mia loves to cheer Mama on. Then I would mention something specific—Mia liked to jump high and shout or Mia had a megaphone all ready for Mama’s longest race…Something like that to give us the impression that Mia is her mother’s best cheering section. I imagine that at the race, Mia will be sitting on Daddy’s shoulders in order to see Mama, and if that is the case it’s not necessary to hide that from the pitch nor whatever it is she knew exactly what to do. Specific is always better than vague and the more information you can actually pack into a pitch—the better!

Tracy’s winning pitch from March was for TroublE with a Capital” E”! – Picture Book/Early Reader:
Trouble, sometimes it finds you and even follows you home. That’s exactly what happens one extraordinary day when Jack, the perfect pooch, sniffs out the perfect friend. Together the unlikely duo find companionship, love, and yes, trouble! Stirring up trouble isn’t perfect, but it sure is a lot more fun. Sometimes, “T-r-o-u-b-l-E,” can be spelled with a capital E.

Erin said:

Trouble with a Capital E sounds cute! But there’s no need to hide the mystery E character. That is not going to intrigue an editor — they’re just going to be exasperated. 🙂 And it sounds like Jack has found companionship, love, and trouble all in one day. You need to clarify that this friendship has developed in their quest for fun and thus trouble. 🙂

Many thanks to Erin as always for her very helpful insights into the pitches! I hope you find them as useful as I do!

Phew! I don’t know about you, but after all that pitch advice and talk of nougat, I’m in the mood for Something Chocolate! May I offer you some Rich Chocolate Cake With White Chocolate Mousse And Cherry Sauce?

Rich Chocolate Cake With White Chocolate Mousse And Cherry Sauce Recipe HERE at Sweet & Savory

Would you like some nougat on the side? 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Tracy, whom you will remember from March with her pitch for Trouble With A Capital E! (which won the March pitch pick as referenced above!!! 🙂 ) Tracy says, “Hey there! I’m Tracy and I am a Language Arts Interventionist, who loves every minute of it! I recently submitted my first article for Highlights Children’s Magazine and I couldn’t be more excited, Yahooie! Animals, children and writing are my passion, and fortunately for me, I have all three in my life. Thanks so much for taking a look at my pitch :~)

Find her on the web at www.chattytcp.wordpress.com

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: My Name Is Sonny And I Am Special!

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

The Pitch: Sonny is affectionately called, Lovee #5. She is the fifth baby girl born into her family. All grown up now, she talks on the phone to her friends, has play dates, and plays sports too. She’s just like all the other Lovees in her family – right? So why does everyone call her Special and not Sonny?

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 Tracy 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!

Tracy is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to using the word “nougat” in at least one sentence per hour today. (See how subtly I just covered this hour?) Perhaps I shall sing songs like, “Nougat! Yes please!” I sound just like Maroon 5, don’t I? Look out Adam Levine 🙂

Have a wonderful nougat-filled Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Bloom

April 22, 2016October 2, 201615 Comments

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

It’s finally spring – really and truly! I saw tiny fluffy baby goslings on my way home from the barn yesterday! And I don’t know about you, but spring makes me think of mud! (Maybe because the horses at the barn where I work spend all their time rolling in it to rub loose the itchy hair of their winter coats! 🙂 )

In addition, today is Earth Day.

So what better day to celebrate a book about mud?! 🙂

(It is also my dad’s birthday, which has nothing to do with mud, but I’d like to take a quick moment to wish a very happy 87th birthday to the best dad I could ever have hoped to have! Happy Happy Birthday, Dad! 🙂 ❤ )

That’s my dad on the left – I’m the short one in the middle 🙂

So without further ado, today’s Perfect Picture Book!

Title: Bloom

Written By: Doreen Cronin

Illustrated By: David Small

Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, February 2016, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: girl power, appreciation/gratitude, encouragement, believing in yourself

Opening: “Once upon a time, in a beautiful glass kingdom, there lived an unusual fairy named Bloom. Her boots were caked with mud. There was dirt between her teeth. Beetles rested in her wings. Bloom’s magic could spin sand into glass, turn weeds into blossoms, and grow a trickle of rainwater into a racing river. Bloom was a helpful creature, but her footsteps were HEAVY, and she left a trail of tiny cracks and mud wherever she went.”

Brief Synopsis: A glass kingdom is a tough place to be a Mud Fairy. Bloom and her mud fairy magic can turn weeds into flowers and spin sand into glass, but all the people of the kingdom do is complain about the trails of dirt and puddles of mud she leaves behind so, feeling unappreciated, she leaves. When the kingdom falls into disrepair, the King and Queen search out Bloom, but it takes the most “ordinary” girl in the kingdom to restore the magic.

Links To Resources: April is Kids’ Gardening Month (which is a little like playing in mud 🙂 ) so here are some resources to get kids outdoors to celebrate earth and gardens. Plant A Family Butterfly Garden, Big Seeds For Little Hands, Information & Resources For Gardening With Children

Why I Like This Book: This story has the delightful “Once upon a time” opening that creates the delicious anticipation of a fairy tale about to unfold. Bloom is an unusual fairy – dirty, willing to work hard, not traditionally “girly”. Genevieve, the “ordinary” girl whose only job has been to polish the queen’s crystal sugar spoon has never had the opportunity to discover what she’s capable of. Working alongside Bloom, she learns that she is anything but ordinary and that she can save the kingdom. Favorite line: “Tell them there is no such thing as an ordinary girl!” said Bloom.

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

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!

Would You Read It Wednesday #209 – Tails Of Witches And Wolves (MG) PLUS The February and March Pitch Pick Winners!!!

April 20, 2016April 19, 201642 Comments

It’s been a busy week of school visits so far, but Woo Hoo! It’s Wednesday! And you know what that means… 🙂

It’s time for everybody’s favorite pastime: Would You Read It!

But first, I’m pleased to announce the winners of the February and March Pitch Picks!!!

The February Pitch Pick was won by Stacia with her pitch for Mia And The Marathon, a picture book/early reader.

The March Pitch Pick was won by Tracy with her pitch for TroublE With A Capital “E”!, also a picture book/early reader.

It’s cool that both winners were on the fence between picture book and early reader because we hardly ever get early reader pitches!

Congratulations, Stacia and Tracy! Your pitches are on their way to editor Erin Molta for her comments and I’m sure you’ll hear from her at her earliest convenience!

And congratulations to ALL our other pitchers for bravely putting your work out there for commentary so that we can all learn, and for stepping up to revise and improve them for the pitch pick! They were all really great, and you all did excellent work. The choice was very tough and I hope even if you didn’t win the pitch pick you feel like you have a better pitch than you started out with!

Next, I think we should have a quick review of the 5 Food Groups by carefully taste-testing Something Chocolate (because you never know… we could have a pop quiz on Friday!) … Today, I think the 5 food groups shall be Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Caramel, Mousse, and Pie.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Mousse Pie

(note the inclusion of 5 food groups in the name!)

Chocolate-Caramel-Peanut-Butter-Mousse-Pie-02

Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Mousse Pie Recipe HERE at Handle The Heat

I hope you all feel fortified now that you’ve boosted all 5 of what we’re counting as food groups for today (because next time it could be Cake, Pie, Cookies, Ice Cream, and Chocolate… or, Marshmallow, Caramel, Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Whipped Cream… or simply Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, Semi-Sweet Chocolate, and Hot Chocolate… It’s important to be flexible on these matters 🙂 )

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Karah who says, “I’m originally from Kentucky, but now live in beautiful New Zealand where I live with my Kiwi partner and work in marketing for a video game company (another great form of storytelling!). I love storytelling for kids, especially children’s literature and animation, and I adore any story inspired by fairy tales.”

Find her on Twitter at @Karahsel

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Tails Of Witches And Wolves

Age/Genre: MG – Fantasy

The Pitch: Young wolf Nata is placed under a spell that finally opens a door to the human life she’s always dreamed of. But when a wolf attack leads to the hunting of wolves across the tsardom, Nata must choose between the life she’s always wanted and the safety of the wolf family she left behind.

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 Karah 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 for some helpful feedback pretty soon, and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Karah is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to reading Book 6 of the Game of Thrones saga. Ah! (you may say) but George R.R.R.R.R.R.R. Martin hasn’t written it yet! You are right, of course, so while I’m waiting I think I’m going to try out an episode of Game of Thrones, loaned to me by a friend. It is on blue-ray, which I don’t have, but my tech-savvy children feel there’s a strong possibility my computer will play it, so here’s hoping! 🙂 I’m a little trepidatious though… I always like the book better than the movie/TV adaptation (need I remind anyone of the disaster that was Little House On The Prairie???!!! I mean seriously, Albert?!) Plus, I hear that the TV version of GOT is extremely violent… which means I’ll have cover my tight-shut eyes with my hands, daring snatched glimpses between my fingers now and then, and wait for the bad parts to pass! But since poor George R.R.R.R.R.R. Martin is still struggling over Book 6 (and believe me, I feel for him! Can you imagine the pressure? Hard enough to write such a huge saga without the entire civilized world constantly impatiently demanding the next installment! And it can’t just be any old thing either. It has to be good or people will give him a hard time!) But where was I? Oh yeah. Since poor George is still struggling, I’ve got to try alternate options 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

Oops! :)

April 15, 2016April 14, 201612 Comments

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Due to a shocking lack of planning, I have no PPBF post for today! Blame it on the birthday celebrations 🙂 Or possibly the senility of my advancing age 🙂

If I have time this weekend to tackle getting that google form and spreadsheet up for you all I will, but I’m not fast at it yet, and I’m going visiting in the Far North so… I’d say the possibility of that is slim to slimmer.

I apologize for falling asleep at the switch, but anyone who posts this week is welcome to just add this week’s book to next week’s list.

Have a wonderful weekend!!! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #208 – The Grumps (PB) PLUS The February And March Pitch Picks!

April 13, 2016April 19, 201638 Comments

I hope you ate your Wheaties this morning, lovelies! We’ve got a full agenda today!

First, we must consult our horoscopes.

Mine says, “Treat yourself to Something Chocolate!”

(Okay. I admit it didn’t say exactly that… But it did say “You have a wonderful opportunity for refreshment” which is practically the same thing! Given the comments that followed it was clearly referring to refreshment and renewal in your personal life, but that’s a little too serious for me… So since horoscopes are open to interpretation I choose to interpret refreshment as chocolate 🙂 )

And since we’re going to have Something Chocolate in about one minute, I think we can all agree it’s surprisingly accurate! 🙂

Now that we know it’s going to be a delightfully chocolate-filled day, on to the Pitch Picks!

(I hope you are all sufficiently caffeinated to follow the complexities of Pitch Pick division below. If not, you may be excused to get a cup of coffee but please come right back! Loitering in the hall is against school rules and will likely earn you a one-way ticket to the principal’s office 🙂 )

The February and March pitches got a little sideways due to the Valentiny Contest in February followed by a month with 5 Wednesdays, so in the interest of evening things out we shall have the February Pitch Pick with the two February pitches plus the first March pitch, and then the March Pitch Pick which has the other 4 March pitches.

Ready?

The February Pitch Pick:

#1 Lynne Marie – The Dino Store (PB ages 4-8)

Open this book and be transported to – THE DINO-STORE, where dinosaurs are not only NOT extinct, but you can choose from an assortment of plant eaters, meat eaters, big dinosaurs and small dinosaurs – some discovered and some yet to be discovered! You can slide down the back of an Apatosaurus, wow your friends with a Stegosaurus at Show ‘N Tell or scare a bully away with Tyrannosaurus – which dinosaur will you choose?

#2 Tracey – Mary Alice (PB ages 12 and under)

Mary Alice is a little tugboat who wishes she could have passengers on board. One fateful morning, as smoke tumbled out of the two tallest towers, a call came over the radio. Mary Alice turned to to help rescue the people who were stranded on Lower Manhattan.

Mary Alice will bridge the gap with the children born after 9/11. This story will also show readers that no matter how small you are, you can achieve mighty things. After all, everyone has a little hero inside of them.

On 9/11, the largest sea evacuation in world history happened. Hearing the United States Coastguard call, many mariners converged onto Lower Manhattan to rescue almost a half a million people. Mary Alice, a blue-collared tugboat, was one of the vessels used.

***I have permission from the Donjon company to use their boat’s name and they have verified the facts of the story.

#3 Stacia – Mia and the Marathon (PB/ER)

Please cast your vote in the poll below for your favorite February Pitch by Sunday April 17 at 5 PM EDT.

The March Pitch Pick:

#1 Christie – Kitty Clawdette The Broadway Pet (PB ages 4-8)

Kitty Clawdette aches to be a star on Broadway, but she’s an unknown talent with no experience — because she’s a homeless cat. With the help of her lucky star, the theater janitor, she gets her big break and learns there is something more important than fame.

#2 Tracy – TroublE with a Capital” E”! (PB/ER)

Trouble, sometimes it finds you and even follows you home. That’s exactly what happens one extraordinary day when Jack, the perfect pooch, sniffs out the perfect friend. Together the unlikely duo find companionship, love, and yes, trouble! Stirring up trouble isn’t perfect, but it sure is a lot more fun. Sometimes, “T-r-o-u-b-l-E,” can be spelled with a capital E.

#3 Heather – The Hero Of Foggy Basin (PB ages 3-6)

A happy-go-lucky stray dog, who doesn’t want a home, wanders into a town that’s always blanketed by fog—and can’t find the way out. Dog brightens the lives of the gloomy townsfolk and tries to fetch them the sun. Just when it seems this task can’t be done, he meets a trio of children who help him find his way again.

#4 Patricia – Bird And The Baker (PB ages 4-8)

A rainbow-winged, golden-tufted songbird forages each day for grain. When a popular bakery opens nearby, Bird cannot find enough to feed her family. She trades her songs and rainbow wings for more grain, but Bird must use her brain when the baker demands her golden crown, too.

Please cast your vote for your favorite March Pitch in the poll below by Sunday April 17 at 5 PM EDT.

Thank you all for reading and voting! The pitchers and I are all so grateful! Shall we have a little refreshment now- i.e. Something Chocolate? (See? My horoscope was totally right! 🙂 )

Since we have a birthday in our family today, I think we should have cake! 🙂

Super Decadent Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Fudge Frosting!

Recipe HERE at Baker By Nature

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Ingrid who says, “Hi! I’m Ingrid Boydston, as a mom/kindergarten teacher &theater director I realized I am a full time story teller. So I’ve been writing my stories down, learning the benefits of editing and critique partners for the past 3 years. Now I’m excited to present this pitch to you. You find me tweeting as IngridBoydston@ingridboydston and on FaceBook as Ingrid Boydston.”

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: The Grumps

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 3-6)

The Pitch: Sometimes you wake-up feeling so grumpy you just want to stay that way! Good thing a good friend knows the only way to help is to be grumpy too. Kind of…

Spend the day with the Grumps and you just might discover a smile hiding under that frown.

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 Ingrid 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 for some helpful feedback pretty soon, and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Ingrid is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to sharing my “newsletter” with you VERY SOON! I say “newsletter” because it’s not really a newsletter per se… but it will (hopefully) be something fun and useful for you! 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

Monday Morning Special: A Straight From The Editor Extravaganza!

April 11, 2016April 11, 201630 Comments

Good Monday to you, favorite peeps!

I am a fan of Mondays. They are like mornings – new beginnings full of hope and possibility for good things. Just because yesterday or last week may not have been all you hoped doesn’t mean things can’t turn around today!

This could be the day you get a BRILLIANT idea for a picture book! The kind that makes you fish desperately in the glove compartment for an ATM receipt with ketchup on it and contort yourself to reach the partially melted crayon from the backseat of the car and start scribbling madly at a traffic light because ideas like this don’t come along every day and you’ve got to grab it while it’s hot!

This could be the day you finally get the opening sentence of your WIP just exactly right! The content, the mood, the tone, the language – perfect for hooking anyone and everyone who reads it!

It could be the day you compose a query letter so perfect that it gets you a request!

You know that agent you desperately want to sign with? The one you’re crossing your fingers and toes and eyes and everything else crossable for a positive response from? This could be the day she calls and asks to represent you!

It could even be the day you get “the call” – the one where your fantabulous agent or esteemed Editor X says, “I have an offer for you!” 🙂

So embrace Monday 🙂

Here is a sunshiny picture to help get you in the mood (because if you live anywhere near me it is currently raining and you might have forgotten what a sunshiny morning looks like 🙂 )

Oh, and that green stuff is grass, which could start growing at any moment, although there isn’t any yet in my neck of the woods 🙂

To help you love Monday, here is the long-awaited backlog of Straight From The Editors that we have been hoping to catch up with. Editor Erin Molta finally had time to send them, and a mere 3 and a half weeks later Yours Truly is finally putting together the post to deliver all this amazing knowledge and expertise to YOU! What a way to start off your morning and your Monday and your week! 🙂

Enjoy! 🙂

For June: Michelle – The Sunflower Traveler (Chapter Book ages 6-9)

Rhea’s interest in growing sunflowers for Petal Path’s Magazine Contest turned into a quest to help her family when her dad lost his job. Her final requirement for the contest is to describe something new about her sunflowers. But time traveling through a sunflower, talking with birds, and instructing a new gardener from the past may be more than she’s bargained for. Will Rhea solve her sunflower problem and still make it back in time to enter the contest?

Erin’s comments:

Cute premise for a story! As for the pitch, it’s better if you don’t end with a question because of course, especially in children’s books, the conflict will be resolved. So, though you can ask questions, it’s better to make the reader want to know HOW it was resolved rather than asking the obvious question—if.

So, I would rework it something like this: Rhea’s interest in growing sunflowers for Petal Path’s Magazine Contest turned into a quest to help her family when her dad lost his job. Her final requirement for the contest is to describe something new about her sunflowers. But who would believe that she time traveled through her sunflower, talked with birds, and instructed a new gardener from the past? Rhea needs to come up with a way to describe her sunflower situation in a way to not only help the people in the past but her family as well.

For July: Kirsten – Stuck In The Muck (PB ages 4-8)

Sir Whiskerson loves kitty facials and paw-dicures. When he comes whisker to whisker with a mangy mutt named Sunny, Whiskerson is desperate to remain pristine. But with Sunny stuck in the muck and sinking, Whiskerson must decide whether doing the right thing is worth a gloppy, sloppy fur coat.

Erin’s comments:

This seems adorable but it would have more impact if we knew if Sunny was a friend or foe. Were Sunny and Whiskerson rivals before he was stuck in the muck? If you can get that in then I think this would be fab.

(August was blogcation – no pitching or pitch picks :))

For September: Zainab – Dear Cat (PB ages 4-8)

Persistent Bird keeps bugging Cat with his letters to be his friend. Cat snubs Bird…until it’s snack time. Cat is ready for a tasty meal except Bird has his own devious plan in mind for this “clever” cat.

Erin’s comments:

This sounds like it could be interesting but I think you need to be more specific. I’m not quite sure what Bird’s letters have to do with a devious plan to trick Cat. It would work better if you framed it more simply: “Bird wants to be Cat’s friend but Cat snubs Bird. When it’s snack time Bird makes Cat notice him by (whatever it is he does)… and Cat realizes that perhaps birds can be good friends.”

For October: Kirk – My Next Door Neighbor Is A Dragon Princess! (MG)

I didn’t care much for Maddie Buckner. At two, she bit my ear. At four she pushed me off a slide. At 8, she broke my favorite model airplane that took five months to build. At 10, she kissed me – on the lips! – under the Big Toy in the playground and told me she loved me. At 11, she spit in my face and said she hated me. Then she asked Parker Williams to the sock hop. Parker Williams! Oh, how I despised her. But then she had to go and save my life. That’s when I discovered her secret.

Erin’s comments:

I love this. Gets the tension in and the voice and the humor! The only thing I would suggest is making the numbers consistent. In theory, all of them should be written out but if you prefer not to do that, then they should all be numerical. And I just tightened it up a tad.

I didn’t care much for Maddie Buckner. At two, she bit my ear. At four she pushed me off a slide. At eight, she broke my favorite model airplane that took five months to build. At ten, she kissed me – on the lips! – under the Big Toy in the playground and told me she loved me. At eleven, she spit in my face and said she hated me. Then she asked Parker Williams to the sock hop. Parker Williams! Oh, how I despised her. But then she saved my life. That’s when I discovered her secret.

For November: Jessica – Showdown At The Sippy Cup Saloon! (PB ages 4-8)

In the tiny town of Toddle, in the cradle of the West, Sheriff Wyatt Burp is snoozing in his crib when Wild Bill Hiccup arrives to wake up — and shake up — the pint-size population. “Don’t go gettin’ yer onesie in a twist,” Wild Bill warns Wyatt, but tempers flare until the two go bib to bib in a showdown at the Sippy Cup Saloon. Who will emerge the rootin’ tootin’ squirt gun shootin’ hero of the West?

Erin’s comments:

This sounds like it could be adorable! The only thing I would worry about is making it too precious. AND, it’s best not to end with a question. What if you framed it as more of a statement: Wild Bill Hiccup and Sheriff Wyatt Burp face off to decide who will emerge as the rootin’ tootin’ squirt gun shootin’ hero of the West.

So much fantastic advice as always from Erin! We are so lucky to have her, and she is so very generous to share her expertise with us! Thank you, Erin, and thanks to all the writers who step up each month to share their pitches so that all of us can benefit and learn!

I hope you’ll all find Erin’s comments very educational and helpful.

Have a marvelous Monday, everyone!

(And in case, in spite of all the advice and uplifting words about Monday you’re still longing for it to be Saturday, I have two helpful words for you: Mister Softee 🙂 )

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Ellie

April 8, 2016October 2, 201639 Comments

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

I come from a family of elephant-lovers.

My grandmother had all the Babar books in French, printed in spidery script. Between the French and the illegible script, none of us (me, my siblings, my cousins) could read them, which suited her just fine because that meant she got to read them to us 🙂

Does anyone besides me remember Babar? I had the books (in regular print in English!), but I also had a record (Eek! my age is showing! 🙂 ) with 6 of the Babar stories on it. They were accompanied by songs which you’ll be alarmed to know I can remember to this day. I can’t remember my debit card pin number or where I hid the spare keys to the house, but I can sing you the song about Arthur pushing Pom, Flora and Alexander in the pram! (“Twenty steps forward… twenty steps back. Wheeling the carriage… I’ve got the knack…”) Or the song about what all the little elephants hoped Father Christmas would bring them! (“Alexander wants a butterfly net and Flora wants a doll. Arthur says a choo-choo train would please him most of all…”) My head is crammed full of useless knowledge. Sad but true! 🙂

Elephants (pronounced ed-o-wenta at our house because of a long-standing mispronunciation when our kids were little 🙂 ) are just as popular with our kids as they were with my siblings and my grandmother. Maybe it’s because they’re so big and prehistoric-looking yet move with such lumbering grace. Maybe it’s because of their fascinating matriarchal society. Maybe it’s because it’s so intriguing to watch them actively problem-solve as a group. Or maybe it’s just because baby elephants are so cute 🙂

No matter what it is that makes elephants so appealing, I hope you’ll like this book as much as I do 🙂

Ellie

Title: Ellie

Written & Illustrated By: Mike Wu

Disney-Hyperion, May 2015, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-5

Themes/Topics: art, helping others, finding your own talents, animals (elephants)

Opening: “On a bright winter day, when Ellie was just finishing her lunch, the zookeeper came by with an announcement.

“Gather ’round!” Walt called. “I have some news.

“It is a sad day,” he said. “The zoo is closing.””

Brief Synopsis: The animals are heartbroken when they find out their zoo is closing. They wonder if there’s any way they can help prevent it. Perhaps they can spruce the place up? Lucy the giraffe prunes the trees. Gerard the gorilla tidies the path. But Ellie the baby elephant isn’t tall enough to prune trees or strong enough to move rocks. Is there anything she can do to save her beloved home?

Links To Resources: YouTube video of real elephants who paint; fun facts about elephants; elephants work together to problem solve (videos) – help baby cross road, save baby stuck in the mud; preschool elephant activities and crafts

Why I Like This Book: This is a sweet story about friendly animals pitching in to try to save their home. Ellie wants so much to help, but at first she doesn’t think she has any skills that will serve. Quite by accident, she discovers a talent that will not only help, but be the driving force behind saving the zoo, and the story comes to a satisfying ending. The art is gorgeous and so appealing, starting off in soft greens and grays and becoming brighter and bolder as Ellie’s talent develops and her self-confidence grows. And Ellie is such an endearing character she’s hard to resist 🙂 The story is loosely based on a relatively recent headline about elephants who paint, so has some grounding in fact 🙂

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

Oh, one thing before we go! I wanted to thank everyone who joined in the #aprilfoolphyllis contest last Friday to help spread the word of April Fool, Phyllis!‘s Kindle debut! You are all so helpful and wonderful, and I really appreciate your help! Phyllis does too, and she sends you all a virtual strawberry pie 🙂 The winner of the $25 Amazon gift certificate was Chelanne Green, and the 5 winners of a Kindle copy of April Fool, Phyllis! were Vivian Kirkfield, Genevieve Petrillo, Tina Cho, Tracy Potash, and Rebecca Forester. Thank you, thank you to everyone for joining in so whole-heartedly!

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 your delightful picks for this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!

Would You Read It Wednesday #207 – The School Supplies Intensive Care Unit (PB)

April 6, 2016April 6, 201658 Comments

Okay.

I don’t know who’s in charge of the weather around here, but whoever it is may be in danger of attack from a horde of angry villagers.

It is the first week of April, and winter has arrived on Blueberry Hill. It’s 10 degrees and we’ve got 6 inches of snow!

The robins are not amused. They’re talking conspiracy.

And my poor little pink hyacinth was caught by surprise, all her sweet new blossoms snowed on and frozen, and now she’s sulking.

I suspect Simon Barsinister!*

I tell you, we’re sitting on a powder keg of disgruntlement! Things could blow at any moment!

There’s only one solution: Something Chocolate!

I think we’ll go healthy this morning with a fruit-oriented breakfast-y type of yumminess…

How does Triple Chocolate Banana Bread sound?

Recipe HERE on Liv For Cake

Recipe HERE on Liv For Cake

As you can see, it’s all about the fruit 🙂

We are so health-conscious! Let’s pat ourselves on the back and have another slice! After all, bananas are rich in potassium 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Sam. 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. Follow her on her brand new twitter account at @jsamaltmann

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: The School Supplies Intensive Care Unit

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 5-8)

The Pitch: When a marker is left uncapped, or a pencil gets cracked, there is only one place they can turn, The School Supplies Intensive Care Unit. Things typically run smoothly, but after a sudden spike in cases at The SSIC-U, it’s up to Nurse Petunia to track down the culprit, and reform the classroom’s worst offender.

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! Seriously! Send pitches PLEASE! The calendar is sadly empty from here on out and is thus feeling as sulky as my pink hyacinth, so we really need submissions! 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. I am not kidding – next week is currently open! – so you could get your pitch up for some helpful feedback, and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

(On a side note, as you no doubt noticed, being the alert readers that you are, I did not write the Saturday post last weekend… you know, the one that I was going to write to catch up on the back-logged Straight From The Editors that I finally have in hand. Instead I took my parents to tour an organic maple syrup farm. Tough job, but someone had to do it 🙂 If you’re a betting type, I think now is a good time to start wagering… will I manage it this weekend… or not…? Ooh! The wondering is agonizing! 🙂 )

Sam is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch! I am looking forward to SPRING!!!!! I MEAN IT!!!!! Enough with this winter wonderland!!!!! It’s April!!!!! And this weather is forcing me to wear out my exclamation point key!!!!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

*Should you happen not to have been watching Saturday morning cartoons in the early 70s, Simon Barsinister was the arch villain on Underdog 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – April Fool…. Phyllis! :)

April 1, 2016March 31, 201638 Comments

It’s April! It’s April!!!

Hurray! Hurray!!!

I love April!

Even though it’s supposed to be about April showers, it makes me think of new spring grass, baby animals, the rich scent of warming earth, shy leaves unfurling, apple blossoms… and birthday cake 🙂

And what do you know? After the hardcover went out of print in January, APRIL FOOL, PHYLLIS! arrived on Kindle on Wednesday – just in time for April Fools’ Day!

I’m so excited I’m running a teensy contest to get the word out. Every time between now and midnight that you share about APRIL FOOL, PHYLLIS on FaceBook, Twitter or Instagram with hashtag #aprilfoolphyllis (so I can keep track and find them all… and it wouldn’t hurt if you tag me on FB!)) you will get an entry to a raffle. The more shares, the more chances to win! Then this weekend I will select at random 1 person who will win a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate, and 5 people who will each win a Kindle copy of APRIL FOOL, PHYLLIS! to be delivered to the person of their choice (yourself, if you’d like it, or a little person in your life who would enjoy it 🙂 ) So please, help me share the good news! 🙂

Although I would never post my own books on Perfect Picture Book Friday (because that is a level of horn-tooting I’m extremely uncomfortable with!), in honor of it actually being April Fools Day on a Perfect Picture Book Friday when a new version just came out bringing my little book back from the land of Out of Print, the lovely and talented Beth Stilborn, who very sweetly reviewed APRIL FOOL, PHYLLIS for PPBF on March 9, 2012, has most kindly and generously given me permission to post her review here on my blog today. Thank you, Beth, for the lovely review and the permission to reprint from your blog. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you’re the cat’s (or maybe in this case the groundhog’s 🙂 ) pajamas!!!

Any of you who don’t know Beth, please go visit her blog! She writes a wonderful one! And she offers copyediting for all levels of fiction through her Flubs 2 Fixes website (www.flubs2fixes.com)

So without further ado…

apirl-fool-phyllis-cover-b

Title: April Fool, Phyllis!

Author: Susanna Leonard Hill

Illustrator: Jeffrey Ebbeler

Publisher: New York: Holiday House, 2011

Genre: Picture book, fiction

Audience Age: 5-8

Theme: April Fool’s Day, trusting your instincts, respecting other’s advice, changing seasons, treasure hunts, riddles.

Opening Sentences: Phyllis knew everything about the weather.

After all, she was Punxsutawney Phyllis, Weather Prophet Extraordinaire!

So when she woke up on April first, the day of the Spring Treasure Hunt, it took only one whiff of the morning air to tell her something wasn’t right.

Synopsis: Phyllis is certain that there’s a storm brewing, but no-one will believe her, because it’s April Fool’s Day. Everyone is too excited about the Spring Treasure Hunt to pay attention to Phyllis’ continued warnings. The Treasure Hunt provides clues in riddles that children will enjoy guessing along with the young groundhogs in the story. Each riddle leads them closer to the treasure, further from home – and closer to the snowstorm that’s coming. They finally realize that Phyllis was telling the truth about the weather. (Of course she was! She’s Punxsutawney Phyllis, after all!) They do make it home safely – but Phyllis has the last laugh.

Why I liked this book: As in the first of Susanna Leonard Hill’s delightful Phyllis series, Phyllis shows herself to be a spunky and resourceful little groundhog, wise beyond her years, and a lot of fun to be around. The theme of April Fool’s Day jokes is something children can easily relate to, as is the problem of not being taken seriously. The riddles are great fun, as the obvious answer is not the correct answer, so the reader and read-to have to think. The story keeps the reader turning the pages, eager to find out what will happen next, and the illustrations are a delight. Kids will love that Phyllis gets the last laugh on everyone.

Activities/Resources: The author gives a page of information about April Fool’s Day at the back of the book, and has classroom guides and activities on her website .

There’s some history of April Fool’s Day (in kid-friendly text) at Mr. Donn’s resource site.

A to Z Teacher Stuff has lots of April Fool’s activities.

Lesson Planet has lesson plans using riddles as a teaching tool.

Story Arts has a story treasure hunt.

Lesson Planet’s treasure hunt lesson plans include math treasure hunts, map-reading treasure hunts, even a treasure hunt in the school library.

Availability: Readily available in hardcover. (And now for Kindle!)

Every Friday, bloggers join together to share picture book reviews and resources, thanks to author Susanna Leonard Hill’s brainchild, “Perfect Picture Book Fridays.” Susanna then adds the books (and links to the reviews) to a comprehensive listing by subject on her blog. Find the entire listing at her “Perfect Picture Books.”

Reblogged from Beth Stilborn http://www.bethstilborn.com/april-fool-phyllis-perfect-picture-book-friday/

Thank you all for indulging me and Phyllis in our wild and crazy April Fools’ Day celebrating (and horn-tooting) 🙂

PPBF peeps, please add your post-specific link (post-specific PLEASE!!! not general blog link!) to the list below so we can all come see your fabulous picks for the upcoming weekend (which looks to be a cold/rainy/snowy one perfect for curling up with picture books!)

(And here we go again with this google form/spreadsheet which I feel in my bones I’m going to mess up but don’t worry, if I do I’ll fix it once I get help from my in-house computer genius later in the day!)

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂