Category: Perfect Picture Book Fridays

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Indigo Dreaming

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February is always a tricky month!

For starters, it’s February and has only 28 days.

Add to that the Valentiny Contest (which opens the day after tomorrow! get ready for fun!), and it means I don’t get a lot of Perfect Picture Book Fridays during Black History Month. So I wanted to be sure to have a chance to share at least one book in celebration. I’ve chosen one I think is absolutely beautiful, and I hope you’ll love it, too!

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Perfect Picture Book Friday – A Place To Land: Martin Luther King, Jr. And The Speech That Inspired A Nation

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Welcome to Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

It’s been a very busy week, so I’ll get right to today’s book without any chit chat.

(Shocking, I know, but yes, it really is me – I have not been taken over by aliens 😊)

Today is the perfect Friday for this Perfect Picture Book about Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have A Dream Speech since we will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday.

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Perfect Picture Book Friday – Happy Birthday, Christmas Child! – PLUS A Giveaway!

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Wow! We haven’t had a Perfect Picture Book Friday in a while, due to Halloweensie.

(In case you’re wondering, all evidence to the contrary, the Halloweensie judging is well underway and we are close to posting the finalists. With a little luck, I’ll get them up before it’s time to post the guidelines for the Holiday Contest, but the way things have been going in my world lately, it’s anyone’s bet! 😊)

Anyway, anyone who has been posting Perfect Picture Books regularly and has books to add, please feel free to put them on today’s list!

I have a lovely book to share with you today, just in time for you all to run out and purchase one as a holiday (or pre-holiday) gift for any wee folks you know 😊

OR, leave a comment on today’s post between now and Thursday, November 24 (hey! that’s Thanksgiving – easy to remember! 😊) and you could be the lucky winner of a copy of this sweet book! (US residents only)

GIVEAWAY WINNER DRAWN NOVEMBER 25 – PAT TILTON!!!

Title: Happy Birthday, Christmas Child!: A Counting Nativity Book (Board Book)

Written By: Laura Sassi

Illustrated By: Gabi Murphy

Publisher: Paraclete Press, October 2022

Suitable For Ages: 1-4

Themes/Topics: Christmas Story, counting

Opening:
“One stable on a busy hill
with only ox and donkey ’til…
Tap, tap. “Hello?” Two heads appear.
“The inn is full. Can we stay here?”
“Yes, of course!” squeak three small mice.
“It’s rustic, but the view is nice.”

Brief Synopsis: This is the Christmas Story, told simply in lovely rhyme, with plenty of things for youngest readers to count.

Links To Resources: Today we have a wonderful activity straight from the creative author herself!

Play a HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTMAS CHILD Matching Sticker Game

by Laura Sassi

After enjoying the book, little ones might be ready for this book-themed matching game from the free downloadable “Happy Birthday, Christmas Child” activity kit. The sticker templates for the game are found on page six. NOTE: You might also enjoy the other resources there, including cupcake toppers, coloring pages, number sheets and a complete party plan!


Directions: (photos above and below)

Why I Like This Book: You have probably guessed (since this is at least the 3rd or 4th… or maybe 5th? book of Laura’s that I’ve reviewed for PPBF 😊) that I am a devoted Laura Sassi fan. This newest book is no exception! It tells the Christmas Story in a way that is accessible and appealing to youngest readers. The story takes us to the stable where Mary and Joseph are welcomed by the animals and eat a simple meal of bread and figs. The baby kicks and moves, reminding everyone that it will soon be born. The joyous angels proclaim the birth and send the shepherds hurrying to greet the newborn babe. Simply told in lovely rhyme, the whole story is presented in a way that is true to the bible’s telling but written for youngest readers to enjoy, with things to count on every page along the way – from 1 stable to 10 tiny toes. 😊

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊

Author Laura Sassi
Visit her website!

Laura Sassi has a passion for telling stories in prose and rhyme. She is the author of multiple books for young children including the best-selling Goodnight, Ark (Zonderkidz), which was a 2015 Christian Book Award Finalist; Goodnight, Manger (Zonderkidz); Diva Delores and the Opera House Mouse (Union Square Publishing), which was a 2021-2022 Iowa Goldfinch Award Nominee; Love Is Kind (Zonderkidz), which was a 2020 Anna Dewdney Read Together Award Honor Book; Little Ewe: The Story of One Lost Sheep (Beaming Books), Bunny Finds Easter (Zonderkidz), Happy Birthday, Christmas Child (Paraclete Press), her new counting board book, and coming in 2023, from Paraclete Press, My Tender Heart Bible and My Tender Heart Prayer Book.

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

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

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊

Perfect Picture Book Friday – I Want To Be In A Scary Story

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Happy last Perfect Picture Book Friday before Halloween, everyone!

I apologize for the late post – family situation hopefully now under control!

Before I share my Perfect Picture Book for today, I just want to mention (apologies in advance for shouting out my own book) that I am honored that Beth Stillborn has very kindly showcased ALPHABEDTIME for her PPBF today, and there’s a little Mystery Interview to go along with it, which I may or may not have had something to do with 😊 I hope you’ll hop over and visit her because she did this specially!

Now, that that dreadful commercial interruption is over 😊, I have a delightful story to share with you today – deliciously scary for Halloween! 😊🎃🧙‍♀️👻 If you have a sensitive or easily frightened little one, have a look at the illustrations below so you can judge if it’s a good choice for your little pumpkin.

Title: I Want To Be In A Scary Story

Written By: Sean Taylor

Illustrated By: Jean Jullien

Publisher: Candlewick, July 2017, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 2-5

Themes/Topics: humor, scary vs. funny, interactive story (between main character and narrator)

text copyright Sean Taylor 2017, illustration copyright Jean Jullien 2017, Candlewick

Opening: “Hello, Little Monster.
What do you want to do today?
Can I be in a story?”

text copyright Sean Taylor 2017, illustration copyright Jean Jullien 2017, Candlewick

Brief Synopsis: Little Monster wants to be the star of an utterly terrifying scary story. But scary stories . . . well, they can be very scary — especially for their characters! Especially if they involve dark forests and creepy witches and spooky houses . . . Oh boy! Maybe a funny story would be better after all!

text copyright Sean Taylor 2017, illustration copyright Jean Jullien 2017, Candlewick

Links To Resources: how about a “scary” game of hide ‘n’ seek? Hide, and when the seeker gets close, pop out and say, “BOO!”; make up a scary story of your own and tell it to your family or friends in a spooky voice; talk about what makes something scary – different things scare different people – and whether you like to be scared (some people do!) or not (some people don’t!)

text copyright Sean Taylor 2017, illustration copyright Jean Jullien 2017, Candlewick

Why I Like This Book: This book is just the right amount of scary for young readers who like a little scare. Little Monster is adorable (definitely not scary 😊), and like all youngsters, sometimes what he thinks he wants turns out not to be exactly what he wants. He asks the author to put him in a scary story. The author cautions him that perhaps a funny story would be better, but Little Monster is sure! He wants a SCARY story! So the author puts him in a dark and terrifying forest. And, um, that’s a little too scary! As the story continues, the author keeps complying with Little Monster’s wishes and the story gradually becomes less and less scary until it ends up funny, a complete turn-around of what Little Monster originally asked for. But he also turns the tables on the author, which is where much of the humor comes from. The story is a little scary (maybe not for kids who are easily frightened, and maybe not the best choice for bedtime 😊 depending on your child) but it is also a story that explores setting boundaries and feeling safe within them – Little Monster is always in control and can change the rules so he knows he’s never really in danger, and it is a story after all! For writers, this is a fun title to examine. It is written completely in dialogue, and is interactive in that it is a conversation between the author and the main character.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊

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

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

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊