Category: Perfect Picture Book Fridays

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Flap Your Wings

40 Comments

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

Since it’s technically Spring, and since Sunday is Easter, I chose a book about an egg 🙂  It is another older book – almost 20 years older than last week’s older book! – but it is one of my All Time Favorites!

Flap Your Wings
Written & Illustrated By: P.D. Eastman
Random House, 1969, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 3-8
Themes/Topics: assumptions, non-traditional family, unconditional love, responsibility
Opening: (this is actually the first three pages.)
“An egg lay in the path.
A boy came down the path.  He saw the egg.  “Someone might step on that egg and break it,” he said.
He looked around.
He saw flamingos and frogs, and turtles and alligators.  “Whose egg is this?” he called.  But no one answered.”

Brief Synopsis:  A little boy finds an egg.  He doesn’t want it to get damaged, so he looks around until he finds the nest and carefully puts it back.  When Mr. and Mrs. Bird come home, they are surprised to find an egg in their nest… it wasn’t there when they left!  But Mr. Bird says that if an egg is in their nest it must be their egg, so they must take care of it.  So they do… with very surprising results!

Links To Resources:  Ideas And Activities For Guided Reading, Incubation & Embryology Activities, use with An Egg Is Quiet (from PPBF link list), talk about what kind of animals, insects and reptiles lay eggs and how the eggs are the same and different.

Why I Like This Book:  This book is fun to read as a picture book, but is also an I Can Read type book that is very accessible to new readers.  The pictures are delightful – Mr. and Mrs. Bird’s expressions are very entertaining.  But I really love the story because it doesn’t go where you would expect.  It’s funny.  And it’s a great example of what agents, editors and reviewers mean when they talk about re-readability.  This book delighted me as a child, and delighted my children in their turn.  I’ve read it so many times that even now, years since I last read it to my kids, I can recite almost the whole book.  It’s fun every time 🙂

If you get a chance to read it, I hope you like it as much as I do!

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

Before we head off to our weekends, I just want to share a little housekeeping note for those of you who are new to Perfect Picture Book Fridays:

Perfect Picture Books are more than just reviews.

The thing that sets Perfect Picture Books apart is the resources.

It is our goal to make it easy for parents, teachers, and homeschoolers to expand on the use of picture books.

Essentially, we’re handing them a great picture book and one or more activities they can use with it ready-made.

The resources you provide may be online links, but they don’t have to be.  Many PPBF bloggers think up GREAT activities and discussion questions and recipes and games etc…

The crucial thing is that the book you post must have at least one good resource to expand on its use at home and/or in the classroom in order to be added to the comprehensive list.  And the resource must be ready to use – by which I mean, saying a book can be used for finger rhymes or a math activity doesn’t help a parent or teacher who doesn’t know any finger rhymes or math activities, so please tell us which finger rhyme and how to do it, or provide a specific math activity, etc.  Thank you so much!

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you and see what terrific books you’ve chosen this week!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone, and Happy Easter and Happy Passover to those who celebrate!

http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=816913b6-6b51-4cd2-a5eb-45b4a2ff65f4

Perfect Picture Book Friday – The Baby Blue Cat Who Said No

33 Comments

My Perfect Picture Book is below – I promise! 🙂 – I just have a little explanation for it first.

As some of you may know, I teach an online picture book writing class.

This week, we got into a discussion about subjectivity.

As a writer, how do you know if your story will appeal to agents, editors, and readers (both the adults who will read your picture book aloud and the children who will listen)?

There are some basic rules of thumb: your story should have a beginning, middle and end (i.e. actually BE a story), it should have an engaging character and/or plot, it should strike an emotional note of some kind, and it’s best not to write about inappropriate subjects, use foul language, glorify violence etc… – pretty much common sense 🙂

But beyond a certain point, there’s really no way to tell for sure who is going to like what.  If it appeals to you, if it touches a chord in your heart, if it highlights a truth in your life, chances are it will do that for other people too.  But there will always be at least one person out there who can find something to criticize.  And I don’t mean that in a bad way. I mean it in a comforting way.  You can’t please everyone, so write the best story you can and likely you’ll please someone.  Probably lots of someones 🙂

My Perfect Picture Book choice for today is a case in point – an older book, beloved by many (me and my children included!) – that received the following review:

“Line drawings that look like doodles of cute kittens in gray, orange, white, and blue cannot save this lame tale of a contrary kitten… This is a story of manipulation at its worst. The language is flat, especially when read aloud. This reviewer says “NO!”” Marianne Pilla, formerly at Allard K. Lowenstein Library of Long Beach, N.Y. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Ouch!

But I don’t find it manipulative.  I find it an endearing and true-to-life example of the way toddlers behave – naughty one moment, full of remorse the next, right back to their own agenda the minute after that, but not mean-spirited or malicious in their intent.

Subjectivity 🙂

I hope you like this book as much as the people in my house do! 🙂

Title: The Baby Blue Cat Who Said No
Written & Illustrated By: Ainslie Pryor
Re-issue March 1988, Viking Juvenile, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-7

Themes/Topics: behavior (contrariness), humor

Opening: “Have you heard the story of the Baby Blue Cat who said No?
Once there was a Mama Cat and her four baby cats.
Baby Orange Cat,
Baby White Cat,
Baby Striped Cat, and
Baby Blue Cat.
Mama Cat loved all of her baby cats very much.“

Brief Synopsis: Baby Orange Cat, Baby White Cat and Baby Striped Cat all behave the way little kittens should, but Baby Blue Cat is feeling ornery.  No matter what his Mama asks, he says, “No!”  But when he pushes his Mama too far, he apologizes and behaves… until his contrariness gets the better of him again 🙂

Links To Resources: Teaching Children A VocabularyFor Emotions; make cards with different emotions pictured and/or written  – e.g. a smiley face and/or HAPPY – and play emotion charades by letting kids pick a card and act out the emotions for the rest of the class or family and see if the observers can guess; talk about behavior – have you ever refused to do something just to be difficult? Do you sometimes do bad things and then feel sorry? Talk about how to say you’re sorry – resource HERE.

Why I Like This Book:  The “flat language” 🙂 is fun to read aloud.  (Years later, we still use the phrase “and here’s your delicious cupcake, YUM YUM” 🙂 )  The “line drawings that look like doodles” 🙂 are cute and engaging (right down to the smile on the fish sandwich :))  But mostly, anyone who has ever spent 3 minutes around a toddler will recognize and appreciate Baby Blue Cat’s desire to have some control, and some opportunity to be independent of his mother and siblings.  As I mentioned above, he’s naughty, but when he goes too far he’s genuinely remorseful.  Mama Cat loves her baby cats very much, and it is clear that Baby Blue Cat loves his Mama Cat too 🙂

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

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you and see your fabulous picks for this week!

Oh, and P.S. The lovely Alayne Christian invited me to be part of her platform building series, so I will have a post on her blog tomorrow if anyone cares to stop by.  She deserves lots of visitors, and there are other (undoubtedly much better :)) posts in the platform building series already published from Julie Hedlund, Miranda Paul, and Tara Lazar, as well as more coming from Katie Davis and I think maybe KidLit411 – so definitely worth checking out the series!

https://alaynekaychristian.wordpress.com

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!

http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=f112bc7e-1ecb-48b2-9060-10ffe66b5fa5

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Lost Cat

59 Comments

Well, I don’t know where the week went, but here we are at Friday again!

Friday is a really excellent day.  It means we’re about to get a weekend, and it means a list of Perfect Picture Books to enjoy over that weekend – an unbeatable combination!  All we need to make it true perfection is a nice chocolatey snack to go along with our picture books and our weekend 🙂

I had another book in mind for today.  Based on the jacket copy I thought I’d love it.  But when I read it my reaction could only be described as meh (not what you want for a Perfect Picture Book!) and then I read this one and loved it start to finish, so there was really no contest.  Preconceived idea out, awesome surprise book in 🙂  I hope you like it too 🙂

Title: Lost Cat
Written & Illustrated By: C. Roger Mader
Houghton Mifflin Books For Children, October 2013, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: journey, pets, love (person/pet)

Opening: “Ever since Slipper was a tiny kitten, she’d lived with a little old lady in a little old house in a little old town.”

Brief Synopsis: Slipper has always lived happily with Mrs. Fluffy Slippers, but when Mrs. Fluffy Slippers moves, Slipper accidentally gets left behind in the commotion.  Slippers searches for a new home, but not just any home will do – it has to be the right one.  Will she find a new family she can adopt?

Links To Resources: Washington Children’s Choice Award Activities (scroll about 1/2 way down the pdf); Fun Facts About Cats; How To Draw A Cat video; learn to draw a cat step-by-step guide.

Why I Like This Book: First and foremost, I love the art!  Soft pastels that render that beautiful kitty so life-like!  Her expressions are perfect, especially her fright at High Tops, her polite pleading with Miss Shiny Shoes, and her bliss on the last two pages.  And the cat’s-eye-view perspective is wonderful.  The story is a sweet one with both humorous and poignant moments.  I love that all the people in the story are named for their footwear – which is what Slippers sees of them first 🙂  And most of all, I love that this lost cat story has a happy ending 🙂

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

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you and see what wonderful books you’ve chosen this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – The Name Jar

55 Comments

Happy Friday, Everyone!

What a crazy week, huh?  All I can say is, no one in my neck of the woods is going to pay any attention to whatever the weather person says next!

But they better listen up to the Weather Hog!

That’s right!  Only 3 more days until GROUNDHOG DAY!  And you know what THAT means, right?

PHYLLICELEBRATION!!!

Some awesome Phyllis-lovers have already put together their poems for Phyllis, ready for Monday’s special post, but if you haven’t heard about it and want to join in, hop over HERE.

And now, for today’s Perfect Picture Book which has nothing whatsoever to do with Groundhog Day, winter, snowpocalypses, etc. but is still an excellent book which I highly recommend! 🙂

Title: The Name Jar
Written & Illustrated By: Yangsook Choi
Dragonfly Books, 2001, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-7

Themes/Topics: acceptance/tolerance, fitting in, feeling different, multicultural diversity (Korean-American), being the new kid, names

Opening: “Through the school bus window, Unhei looked out at the strange buildings and houses on the way to her new school.  It was her first day, and she was both nervous and excited.“

Brief Synopsis: Unhei’s (pronounced Yoon-hye) first encounter with her American schoolmates leaves her feeling uncertain about her name, and different from everyone else.  Her name is difficult to pronounce.  Kids make fun of it.  It sets her apart.  How much easier to be Amanda, Laura, or Suzy!  So when she enters her new classroom, she tells the teacher she hasn’t chosen her name yet – she’ll let him know next week.  All through the week, her classmates fill a name jar with suggestions they think she might like.  But in the end, she is not Amanda, Laura or Suzy.  She is Unhei.  And she comes to realize just how special that is.

Links To Resources: Classroom Activities for The Name Jar; teaching tolerance with The Name Jar; more teaching resources for The Name Jar; make your own Name Jar.

Why I Like This Book:  This book is beautifully written, clearly communicating Unhei’s acute agony over having a name that’s different from everyone else’s which is just the tip of the iceberg of being and feeling different.  She just wants to fit in.  But she also loves her Korean family, the Korean market that feels like a little piece of home in this strange new world, and her Korean heritage.  She knows the history of her name – how her grandmother and mother went to a name master specially to get the perfect name for her – Unhei, which means “grace.”  She doesn’t want to let go of that.  It takes a special friend to help her see that Unhei is who she is and should be.  A great choice for any child who is having trouble fitting in, or to help children have more understanding of a friend or classmate who might feel that way.

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

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!

Have a great weekend, everyone, and GET READY FOR GROUNDHOG DAY!  WOO HOO! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Snoozefest

64 Comments

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, everyone!

I have a delightful book to share with you today which is not about a groundhog.  But speaking of groundhogs (did you see how smoothly I slipped that in there? :)) if you missed yesterday’s Special Edition Post (which you easily might have because I almost never post on Thursdays so why would you think to check?) about Phyllis’s Birthday Bonanza (which you definitely will NOT want to miss!), hop on over and check it out HERE!  Join the fun and spread the word! 🙂

Now then.  Today’s book.  Which is not about a groundhog.  But IS about a sloth 🙂

Title: Snoozefest
Written By: Samantha Berger
Illustrated By: Kristyna Litten
Dial, January 2015, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-5

Themes/Topics: bedtime, sleep, animals (sloths), language fun (rhyme and inventive vocabulary)

Opening: “In the center of Snoozeville, dwells the wee one, the sleepiest sloth, Snuggleford Cuddlebun.  Now, that sloth can sleep, for a month at a go. The few times she rises, she moves in slo-mo.”

Brief Synopsis:  It’s time for the annual Snoozefest at the Nuzzledome, an arena festival that celebrates sleep.  All the best sleepers attend.  Snuggleford Cuddlebun settles into a hammock with her blanket and pillow, her favorite stuffed animal and her best bedtime book, and a snack of milk and honey, ready to enjoy the show.  But will she?

Links To Resources: the author makes up some wonderful words in this story – what kind of words can you make up that sound just right to describe something you like to do (like sleeping, sledding, riding a bicycle, or any other activity)?; have your own snoozefest – make your room super comfy for sleeping, choose bedtimes stories, music, snacks, stuffed animals, pajamas and anything else that makes bedtime cozy for you.  You can even write up and decorate your own snoozefest program.  Have a lullaby sing-along and your own pajama fashion show!

Why I Like This Book:  How can you not love a book about a snoozefest that takes place at the Nuzzledome?  The text is full of delightful made-up words like “snoozillions” and “wumphiest” (as in “wumphiest, comfiest, coziest things” :))  There are designer pajamas by Diane Von Firstinbed and Louis Futon.  The snack vendors sell milk and honey.  The bands, with names like Chamomile Rage and the Nocturnal Nesters, play lullabies!  And everyone brings their nightlight from home 🙂  Adult readers will enjoy the spoof of music festivals.  The whole over-the-top celebration of bedtime is just flat out fun!  But you’ll have to read it to find out what Snuggleford’s experience of the show is 🙂

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

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you and see what kind of amazingly wonderful entertaining books you chose this week.  It’s supposed to snow… a good weekend to stock up on library books and spend the day reading 🙂

Have a great weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Blue On Blue

54 Comments

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

There’s nothing like days on end of temperatures in the single digits to make me think about summer 🙂  So today’s book is about a summer thunderstorm which clears off into a starry night.  I hope you’ll enjoy this pretty, pretty book!

Title: Blue On Blue
Written By: Dianne White
Illustrated By: Beth Krommes
Beach Lane Books, December 2014, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: publisher says 5-8, I think younger would enjoy too.

Themes/Topics: poetry, weather (thunderstorms), nature, colors

Opening: “Cotton clouds.  Morning light.  Blue on blue.  White on white.  Singing, swinging outdoor play.  White on blue on sunny day.”

Brief Synopsis: This lovely book shows both the course of a family’s day on a New England farm from morning through bedtime, and the change of weather from a sunny morning, through darkening clouds, to rain and thunder, and finally clearing skies, sunset, and a “silver night.”

Links To Resources: Color Lesson Plans (Marble Art, Beautiful Butterfly Prints, Awesome Octopus, Trying Out Art); make your own scratchboards; Weather for Kids.  You could also make your own art projects based on the descriptions in the story (e.g. cotton clouds on blue sky).

Why I Like This Book: This is such a lovely book!  The story is simple, but poetic.  It takes you through a child’s day, and includes elements of color, weather, and life on a New England farm (including animals :)). The day starts out sunny, but a storm comes up.  The child hides under the covers during the worst of the storm, but after the rain stops, the child, the puppy, and the little piggies have a wonderful time in the mud 🙂  The story finishes with a bath outside for the puppy, and a bath inside for the child, and sweet dreams under a starry night.  The lyrical, rhyming language is fun to read aloud, and the rhythm of the language mimics the rhythm of rain dripping, then pounding, then lightening, and finally stopping.  The scratchboard and watercolor art, done by Caldecott Medalist Beth Krommes, is absolutely gorgeous.  I encourage you to check this one out!

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

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!  I can’t wait to see what you’ve chosen this week!

Have a great weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Maple & Willow Together

47 Comments

Whoopee!  It’s the first Perfect Picture Book Friday of 2015!

Isn’t it wonderful to look forward to all the books we’re going to share this year?  Think of all the new titles that will come out!  Sadly, mine will not be one of them, as it has been pushed back to Summer 2016, but that just gives me something special to look forward to next year 🙂

I have a lovely book to share today, one that those of you who have just spent a couple weeks with all your kids home for the holidays may find especially appropriate 🙂

Title: Maple & Willow Together
Written & Illustrated By: Lori Nichols
Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin, November 2014, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-8

Themes/Topics: sibling relationships, family, fighting/making up

Opening: “Maple and her little sister, Willow, were always together.  It was hard to remember a time when the girls weren’t together.  In fact, their parents even wondered if the girls had their own language.  And in a way, they did.“


Brief Synopsis: Maple and Willow do everything together, which works out just fine most of the time.  But sometimes big sisters can be bossy, and sometimes little sisters want to do things their own way, and sometimes that leads to trouble.  In the end, though, Maple and Willow would rather be together than apart 🙂

Links To Resources: Story Hour Activity Kit from Lori Nichols, and here’s the trailer: (at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXhe9jvpVds in case it doesn’t embed properly! :))


Why I Like This Book: Although Joanna beat me to reviewing Maple for PPBF, I am a huge fan. This book is the sequel, and it’s equally sweet and touching – a spot-on glimpse of sibling relationships.  The description and depiction of Maple and Willow’s time together is lovely and evocative – very true to childhood.  When they inevitably get into a fight (because really, would you believe a sibling relationship where they never fought? :)) their anger and hurt are clear.  But it doesn’t take much time apart before they’re longing for each other’s company again, the fight over and forgotten.  For any child who has a sibling, this is a nicely done reminder that arguments are normal, that it’s okay to be mad sometimes, and that ultimately it’s wonderful to have a sibling to be with. (P.S. I just realized that Joanna also beat me to reviewing this one, so apologies for duplicating!)

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

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!  I can’t wait to see what’s on your favorites list this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Star Bright: A Christmas Story

35 Comments

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

I’m excited that it’s December and we finally get to share holiday books 🙂  I have such a sweet book for today!  In past years, I have stuck to books like Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree which, though about Christmas, are not at all religious.  The book I’ve chosen today veers a little closer to the traditional story of Christmas but it’s so beautifully done that I think it’s appropriate for everyone, regardless of religion or belief.  I hope you get a chance to read it!

Title: Star Bright: A Christmas Story
Written By: Alison McGhee
Illustrated By: Peter H. Reynolds
Atheneum Books For Young Readers, September 2014, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: Christmas, the nativity, giving/generosity

Opening: “It was the end of December, and a baby was soon to be born.  A baby!  In the heavens, angels turned light with joy.”

Brief Synopsis: An extra special baby is coming and the newest angel wants to give a present.  But what can she give?  Wind is the sky’s gift.  Rain is the clouds’ gift.  Music is the gift of the songbirds. But when the little angel sees three lost travelers, she knows exactly what to give – the best gift of all!

Links To Resources: share the story of the nativity no matter your personal religion or beliefs – it’s good for kids to know about things that are deeply important to others as well as to themselves and you can share the story of Hanukah etc. too; talk about gifts – what makes a good gift? does it have to be big, extravagant, expensive? what makes a gift really matter to someone?  what kinds of gifts do you like to give and receive?  Make these sugar cookies RECIPE HERE in the shapes of Christmas trees, stars, or whatever else you like 🙂 Make paper stars INSTRUCTIONS HERE; make paper snowflakes INSTRUCTIONS HERE

Why I Like This Book: You know me – I love sweet stories 🙂  And this is one of those stories that tugs at your heartstrings just enough to make it memorable without being overdone.  But what I really love about this book is the creative way it spins the story of the nativity, so that you get the basic idea without anything overtly religious – and that’s quite a feat to have pulled off!  On one level, this is simply a story about a child who wants to give a wonderful gift but doesn’t know what she can offer, and how many children have felt like that?  Her creative solution will inspire young readers to think up their own creative solutions – when it comes to gifts, what can they give that only they can give?  And the art is by Peter H. Reynolds.  Enough said 🙂

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

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!

Have a great weekend, everybody!  See you Monday for the Holiday Contest!!!  (For which I have still not written my sample… or even really started thinking about it… details, details :))

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Leaf Man

39 Comments

Wahoo!  It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday!

Is there anything more fun for a picture book writer or illustrator, a parent, a teacher, or a child then the prospect of diving into a pile of great picture books?

I didn’t think so 🙂

Unless maybe it’s the prospect of diving into a pile of great picture books with a cup of hot chocolate near to hand (though not quite near enough to get kicked over during the diving :))

I have a gorgeous book to share with you today.  Get ready to have your breath taken away by this thing of beauty! 🙂

Title: Leaf Man
Written & Illustrated By: Lois Ehlert
Harcourt, September 2005, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: seasons (autumn), nature, imagination

Opening: “Leaf Man used to live near me, in a pile of leaves.  But yesterday the wind blew Leaf Man away.“

Brief Synopsis: From the publisher: “Fall has come, the wind is gusting, and Leaf Man is on the move. Is he drifting east, over the marsh and ducks and geese? Or is he heading west, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and spotted cows? No one’s quite sure, but this much is certain: A Leaf Man’s got to go where the wind blows.”

Links To Resources: Teacher’s Guide (Harcourt); Lesson Plan (Scholastic);  the jacket flaps of the book are covered with “mystery leaves” – pictures of the leaves with a hint about where they come from so children can try to guess/identify them; the endpapers of the book show examples of many types of leaves, pictured and labeled; go on a leaf walk and collect leaves of your own – how many different kinds can you find? how many colors and shapes?; make a leaf collage, or a pencil rubbing of a leaf, or any kind of leaf art.

Why I Like This Book: If you’ve spent any time at all on Perfect Picture Books, you’ll know that 99.99 times out of 100, I choose books because I love the words or the story.  This is one time when I chose a perfect picture book for the art.  It also has a whimsical story :), but it’s the art that sells this book.  It’s simply gorgeous.  The illustrations are made from actual fall leaves.  The pages are cut and layered in the shapes of hills.  Each page pictures its subject made out of leaves, for example, on the page where perhaps Leaf Man flew over the turkey, there is a turkey crafted from fall leaves.   The colors are vibrant, and both the story and the art allow children to fancifully imagine all that a leaf might do as it blows before the wind.  The whole book sings autumn – it’s just lovely!

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

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!  I can’t wait to see your picks for this week!

With Thanksgiving coming along in less than a week, are you hosting or visiting?  Which do you prefer?  I’m hosting this year, but I’m really happy to do either… as long as I don’t have to travel too far 🙂

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – The Very Best Pumpkin

56 Comments

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Guess what?

We got snow last night!

Have you had your first snow yet this year?

I’m afraid I wasn’t ready with a book about snow, but I do have a lovely story of fall and friendship to share today 🙂

Title: The Very Best Pumpkin
Written By: Mark Kimball Moulton
Illustrated By: Karen Hillard Good
Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, August 2010, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: friendship, seasons (autumn), nature/gardening (pumpkins)

Opening: “Down a winding country lane and over a rolling hill you’ll find Pumpkin Hollow Farm, where a young boy named Peter lives with his grandparents, Mimi and Papa.”

Brief Synopsis: While caring for pumpkins on his grandparents’ farm, Peter discovers a little lonely one all off by itself.  He takes special care of it, and it grows into a beautiful perfect pumpkin.  Will he save it for himself?  Or give it to someone special?

Links To Resources: the back of the book has “Peter’s Guide To Growing Your Own Very Best Pumpkin”; easy recipe for pumpkin bread; Jack-O-Lantern and Pumpkin Coloring Pages; go for a walk and look for signs of autumn; talk about how to make a friend

Why I Like This Book: The story is simple, sweet, and very appealing.  Peter tends the pumpkins while Meg, brand new to the neighborhood and given to sitting alone and reading, keeps an interested (but distant) eye on the proceedings.  When Meg comes to the pumpkin farm to pick a pumpkin, she can’t find the right one… until Peter leads her out to his special pumpkin (which he has carefully saved, knowing she has been there watching) and gives it to her – the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  The art is warm, and inviting – full of charm and homey details.  All around, a comforting and cozy read.  And you get to learn a little something about growing pumpkins as an added bonus 🙂

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

Before we all go off to read everyone’s wonderful selections for the week, I want to thank you all for your kind and supportive comments on Wednesday.  Such thoughtfulness and friendship truly make dealing with rejection easier, and your kindness meant so much to me.  And I just want you to know that I didn’t write that post with the intent of getting sympathy – I wanted to share the things that matter to me, the things I love about my writing life, along with the reality of this path we’ve chosen.  I wanted other writers not to feel alone on their hard days because we all have them.  And I wanted people to know that rejection can happen at any stage in your writing career – it’s not just for those who are new to the publishing world!  It just goes with the territory.  And maybe the rejections help us savor the acceptances just that much more, the disappointments making the joy that much sweeter. All that said, I very much appreciated your sympathy and feel lucky to have such friends! 🙂  And I hope any of you who gets an acceptance will come over here and shout it from the rooftops so we can all celebrate with you! 🙂

Oh!  And one more thing!  On Monday (good lord willing and the creek don’t rise!) I will have a special post to share with y’all!  It’s something good… something exciting… something full of potential goodies… so you won’t want to miss it!  Come right over when you wake up on Monday!!!

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂