Category: Perfect Picture Book Fridays

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree, Plus Straight From The Editor #4 and a Surprise!

33 Comments

I promised you an action-packed Friday and here it comes!  I hope you’re eating your Wheaties this morning 🙂
We’ll start with the Perfect Picture Book, so as to keep that at the top and easy to find.  But the agenda will include November’s Straight From The Editor and SUCH an awesome surprise that I will only blame you a little if you have to scroll down quickly and take a sneak peek!  Just scroll back up again so you don’t miss anything 🙂

Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree
Written and Illustrated By: Robert Barry
Doubleday Books For Young Readers, October 2000 (originally Random House 1963)
Fiction
Suitable For: ages 4 and up
Theme/Topics: Christmas, sharing, optimism, “waste not, want not”.
Opening and brief synopsis:  “Mr. Wiilowby’s Christmas tree came by special delivery.  Full and fresh and glistening green – the biggest tree he had ever seen.”  But to his dismay the tree is too tall!  He calls upon his butler to chop off the top, and so begins the tale of a Christmas tree that brings joy to homes of all kinds.  Over and over the top of the tree is trimmed, becoming a tree for smaller and smaller homes.  Instead of serving only one family, Mr Willowby’s tree becomes a tree for seven.  Children will be delighted when they see where the last, smallest piece of the tree ends up!


Links To Resources:  Mr. Willowby Activities, Stacking Trees, Preschool Discussion Topics, Gift Tag Activity.


Why I Like This Book:  Catchy rhyme, a charming story and a theme of generosity and making the best of whatever comes along all combine to make this a delightful holiday tale.  From Mr. Willowby right down to the last recipient, each character uses just what he or she needs and the rest goes on to someone else.  Nobody says it isn’t big enough.  Rather, they all feel overly blessed.  The art is warm and engaging, with each little home and family cozier than the last.

If you haven’t read Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree, get thee to a library right quick 🙂

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

Next, it’s time for Straight From The Editor!  You will recall Dee’s pitch:

Working Title:  Hating Ric
Age/Genre: YA Verse
Pitch:  On the day of his brother, Jason’s funeral, 17 year-old Ric’s anger explodes, and he races Jason’s car through the streets, crashing and badly injuring jogger, Kate.  Ric is sent to a juvenile justice centre, where survivor guilt and grief set him on a reckless destruction course. Help comes through his music and from an unexpected source in Kate who is struggling to put her own life back together.

And here are Erin’s comments:

This needs to be short and sweet. Your long sentences are somewhat confusing and an editor would have to read it twice to figure out what you are saying. Basically, Ric is angry after his brother’s death. Did he cause it, was he with him? Is that why you’re implying survivor’s guilt? Be more to the point. You want the reader to be intrigued, not guessing. And don’t be afraid to use cliché’s. Sometimes they can get the point across quickly and in fewer words. Can you say Kate is battling her own demons? Something like that. I think an editor will be intrigued if it’s more direct and to the point.

I find Erin’s comments very interesting and helpful, and I hope you all do, too!

And now… duhn duhn duhn… the moment you’ve all been waiting for… duhn duhn duhn….  THE SURPRISE!!!

This is really for all of you, so I hope you like it!  Think of it as my little holiday gift to you 🙂

Presenting, the Perfect Picture Book Badge!  LOOK!
Badge designed by Loni Edwards

Is it just me, or does everyone totally love it?  I just can’t get over how cute that little guy is, reading a perfect picture book to his little buggy friends! 🙂  Anyone who participates in Perfect Picture Book Fridays may lift this badge for their blog.  It would be super fantastic if you could link the badge back to Perfect Picture Books.  It will soon be appearing in my sidebar, but I didn’t want to spoil the surprise this morning 🙂

So now I must tell you about the extraordinarily talented artist who created this badge.  I know this will come as a shock to you – especially those of you who have had the opportunity to witness my unrivaled drawing skills (tee hee) but I did NOT draw this.  I know.  Nearly impossible to believe 🙂

This gorgeous badge was designed for all of us by the incomparable Loni Edwards.

Loni, please be so kind as to tell us a little about yourself!

Loni:  I am a digital artist, although I have been known to dabble in watercolor, acrylics and pen & ink.  The core of my art is digital though.  It is created by using Photoshop techniques and a Wacom tablet.  I sketch out my idea, then scan it into Photoshop where I ink and color.  Influences are Charles Schulz, Jim Davis, Walt Disney Studios, and many artists that I have come into contact with mostly through social networking.

I attended the Art Institute of Seattle where I had the opportunity to take a class with William E. Cummings, a Pacific Northwest painter.  His use of color and movement influenced me greatly.  I love to use bright, bold colors in my art.  It is rare that you see me do anything else.  I also like to incorporate joy and humor in my art.

Loni’s picture for Project Smile
illustration copyright Loni Edwards

I have participated in a lot of volunteer events, such as Heroes4Haiti, Art4Japan, and the Ripple Project. One that is special to me is the Project “Smile”.  It is based in Poland.  The exhibit collects picture/art smiles and autographs.  It is then toured in children’s hospitals exhibiting around the world.  My piece was included in the exhibit that was seen in Cairo, Egypt.  It is a wonderful exhibit, and I hope someday soon it makes its way to the United States.


I have also participated in a number of artistic challenges, including PiBoIdMo 3 years in a row.

Thanks so much, Loni, both for sharing all that and for creating this beautiful badge that we will all be able to proudly display on our blogs!
For those of you who are as impressed as I am with Loni’s art – who might be looking for someone with artistic talent to help you with any number of projects – Loni is available for book cover design, children’s book illustration, spot illustrations, character design, greeting cards, and private commissions.  I hope you’ll take a few minutes to visit her website and blog and see what she has to offer!  You can also “Like” Loni on Face Book and follow her on twitter @LoniEdwards.  Here are a couple other samples of her art, one in the holiday spirit, and one to show that she does draw people too 🙂

illustrations copyright Loni Edwards
illustrations copyright Loni Edwards

PHEW!  You’re going to be needing another bowl of Wheaties after all that!  Sorry it was so long, but everything just piled up onto today!  I hope you like the badge and enjoyed meeting Loni!

So now, go have a great weekend everyone, and remember, the Holiday Contest opens bright and early Monday morning!  (Please scroll down that link to see the rules.)  I can’t wait to read all of your stories!!!
(And don’t forget, if you posted a Perfect Picture Book, please put your link in the list below!)

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 20th Pitch

20 Comments

HINT For Beth’s Birthday Hunt Clue #11

ths   s    hnt
this is a hint

If you still don’t get it, email me 🙂

Well, folks, I’m sorry to report that there’s still no news from the Editor, and today I can’t dawdle because I won’t be able to post later.  So Straight From The Editor will have to wait for Friday – which looks like it’s going to be totally action-packed because I have SO much to share then.  But we’ll get to that in a second 🙂

Before I forget, for those of you who might not have seen it, the wonderful Abby from Something To Write About had me as a guest on her blog yesterday.  Please pop over if you’d like to read the interview (or just to show Abby some bloggy love)!

And check out this excitement!  Beer Is Zo Moe! (my Dutch book which, for our English-speaking audience (I’m assuming that’s most of us) is Bear Is So Tired!) made an appearance at the Antwerp Book Fair in Belgium!  Look at it, up there with all those other books, so famous 🙂  I’m going to go out on a limb and guess “kinderboeken” means “kids’ books” but you’ve got me on “jeugdboeken” – some other kind of book is as close as I can get!

What?  You can’t see it?  How about if I zoom in a little 🙂

Ah, that’s better.  And look how much more pronounceable of a title it has than some of those others 🙂

Also, Nicole made a coloring page to go along with it.  Want to see?

Isn’t it cute?

Okay.  Enough of that.  Go get your coffee/tea/hot chocolate/steamer/mulled cider or whatever you’re imbibing this morning and your Something Chocolate (it is Wednesday!) – I’ve got a lovely pan of freshly baked brownies on my kitchen counter for my daughter’s study group this evening – they probably won’t notice if one’s missing – and I think a brownie would make an excellent breakfast 🙂 – but I digress. Get your snack and settle in.  It’s time for Would You Read It!

Today’s pitch comes to us from Vicki, a French teacher who can count to 10 in 7 languages and has forgotten how in 3 others 🙂  She writes MG and YA fiction and blogs at All The World’s In Words.  Here is her pitch:

Working Title:  Finding Sophie
Age/Genre:  YA
The Pitch:  When Sophie is forced backward in time to 1895 Paris, she takes the identity of a missing Jewish girl and falls for a young Zionist. As the window home closes, Sophie must decide whether to unlock a mysterious heirloom’s secrets and return to her own life of a potential prima ballerina, or live as someone else in the past and lose herself forever.


So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Vicki 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 the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.  SIDE NOTE:  Would You Read It is booked only through January, so there are lots of openings ahead.  Please send pitches and spread the word to your writerly friends 🙂
Vicki is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

Please join us on Friday for Perfect Picture Books, AND (pretend this is flashing neon!) something SO EXCITING it’s going to knock your socks right off!  I wish I could show you now, but it’s not quite ready, and it has to be perfect, so you’re just going to have to wait until Friday!

I can’t wait to share it!  🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Little Beaver And The Echo

40 Comments

HINT For Beth’s Birthday Hunt Clue #8

A = Alpha
B = Bravo
C = Charlie
D = Delta

etc… 🙂

If you still don’t get it, email me 🙂

Hurray!  It’s Friday!  Not only is the weekend nearly here, but it’s time for Perfect Picture Books 🙂  Today’s story was a birthday gift which became a favorite:

Little Beaver And The Echo
Written By: Amy MacDonald
Illustrated By:  Sarah Fox-Davies
Puffin, September 1998 (Original printing Putnam, 1990)
Fiction
Suitable For: ages 4-8
Themes/Topics: Friendship, Loneliness, Animals, Echoes
Opening And Brief Synopsis:  Little Beaver lived all alone by the edge of a big pond.  He didn’t have any brothers.  He didn’t have any sisters.  Worst of all, he didn’t have any friends.  Little Beaver cries out in his loneliness and hears that someone across the pond is lonely too.  His kind heart doesn’t want anyone to be sad, so he sets out to find this other lonely creature and solve both their problems.

Links To Resources:  Little Beaver Activities  Little Beaver will fit nicely into discussions of friendship, the natural world, animals, understanding echoes.

Why I Like This Book:  Little Beaver And The Echo is a simple, sweet story about friendship.  The story line is quiet.  The illustrations are warm and engaging.  To me, this is everything a picture book should be – pleasant, comforting, entertaining, and beautiful.  It interests me that School Library Journal panned this book when it came out.  They called it didactic, neither realistic nor convincing, confusing, flat, precious, and predictable.  Ouch!  And yet this book has been successfully in print for over 20 years, and is a story my children asked for again and again that I was happy to read.  It just goes to show different people react to books in different ways!

Please click here to see the complete list of books with resources Perfect Picture Books.

I’d be interested, if any of you have read Little Beaver, to know what your take on it is!

Now I’m off to read everyone else’s Perfect Picture Book.  In only 4 weeks I have come to look forward to Fridays to see what books people choose.  I am finding out about so many wonderful books.  I hope you’re all enjoying Perfect Picture Books, too, and finding lots of material to read to your kids, use in your classrooms, study your writing craft, or all of the above!  Don’t forget to add your link to the list below if you’ve posted a Perfect Picture Book!  (And readers, the links to all the books are below the Holiday Contest!)

While you’re enjoying your weekend, don’t forget about the Holiday Contest – only one week away!  Here’s a refresher in case you haven’t seen it:

Write your own version of Clement C. Moore’s traditional poem, ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas!  Entries must be at least 12 lines/3 stanzas, not to exceed 40 lines/10 stanzas (although I realize the original is 56 lines/14 stanzas, but I’ll have to read them all during the week before Christmas :))  Entries may refer to any winter holiday you celebrate (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.) or to any combination of winter holidays, or no holiday – just a good winter-time story if you’re not comfortable with a holiday.  I chose a rhyming challenge because so many people seem keen on it, but if the idea of rhyme strikes fear and loathing into your heart, you may write a prose version not to exceed 350 words 🙂
Entries must be posted on your blogs, or copied and pasted into the comments on my blog between Monday December 19 and Thursday December 22.
3 finalists will be chosen for you to vote on Monday December 26.  The winner will receive their choice of a $15 Amazon gift card (to buy themselves whatever book they really wanted and didn’t get as a holiday gift :)) or the 2012 Children’s Writers and Illustrators Market!
Have a great weekend, everyone! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Mole Music

15 Comments
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Thanksgiving Contest is now officially closed.  We got WAY more entries than for the Halloweensie Contest, and they’re all so imaginative and fun that my assistant judge and I are going to have our work cut out for us selecting three finalists.  But never fear – we will do it even if we have to print them out, throw them on the living room floor and see which three the dogs step on first 🙂  The finalists will be up for you to vote on Monday.  And now for Perfect Picture Books (and I’m obviously behind this morning because I see at least three people have already posted theirs :))

Mole Music
written and illustrated by David McPhail
Henry Holt & Co, March 1999, Fiction
Suitable for:  Preschool – Grade 2 (ages 4-8)
Themes/Topics:  how music makes us feel, power of music to harmonize and heal, practice makes perfect, sometimes we don’t even realize how our actions may effect others.
Opening and brief synopsis:  “Mole lived all alone underground.  He spent his days digging tunnels.  At night he ate his supper in front of the TV and then went to bed.  Mole liked his life, but lately he had begun to feel there was something missing.”  Mole longs to create beautiful music, but little does he know the effect his music will have on others.
Links to resources:  This story is perfect for a discussion of how music makes us feel, the power of music to harmonize and heal, as well as the idea that it takes practice to become good at something.  Activity Guide, Discussion questions, Supplemental Lesson Plan (Film)
Why I Like This Book:  One story is told in words, but there is a whole other story shown in the illustrations.  Mole works hard learning to play the violin.  He does it for himself, with no thought of trying to impress anyone.  He achieves his goal  – and so much more without ever being aware of it.  His simple goodness and desire to make something beautiful bring more beauty to the world than he knows.
For more books with resources please visit Perfect Picture Books!

And now, so that you don’t all go into a depression because Uncle Spike finished ALL the pumpkin pie and little Jimmy made the most awful grape juice stain on your favorite table cloth and how will you ever get it out and it’s Black Friday and you have so much shopping to do and the mall is a horror at this time of year etc, I will lift your spirits by telling you that on Monday – yes, only a couple days away! – I will have a fun little surprise for you.  I hope you’ll like it!  So keep your chin up as you jockey for parking spaces and plow through the crowds – more fun is coming 🙂

Have a happy weekend!

(Please add you Perfect Picture Books to the link list below.)

Perfect Picture Book Fridays Begins! – Llama Llama Misses Mama

39 Comments

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood!  I’m off to a school visit this morning and….!

Welcome to the new feature – Perfect Picture Book Fridays!  I’m so excited about this!  I’m hoping it will become a really great resource for parents, teachers, homeschoolers, writers, and gift-givers 🙂  Here and on all the linked blogs, you will find highly recommended picture books along with fantastic ideas for how you can use them at home and in the classroom, often including links to classroom guides and activity pages, hopefully making life easier for parents and teachers and giving writers great examples of craft to study.  The books will be archived in the Perfect Picture Books tab above, organized alphabetically by age and subject, making it easy to find an age-appropriate book on a given topic for home, classroom, or gift.

(For those of you posting your own Perfect Picture Book, please add your link to the link list at the bottom so people can come over and find your recommendations and the resources you’re offering!  For details on how to post, please click here.)

Without further ado, let’s jump into our very first entry 🙂  There are so many wonderful books out there it was hard to choose, but we’ve got to start somewhere 🙂

Llama Llama Misses Mama
written and illustrated by Anna Dewdney
Viking Juvenile, March 2009, Fiction
Suitable for:  Preschool – Kindergarten (ages 3-6)
Themes/Topics:  first day of school, separation, missing a loved one.
Opening and brief synopsis:  “Llama Llama, warm in bed.  Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead!  Llama school begins today!  Time to learn and time to play!”  Llama Llama is excited for his first day of school, but when it’s time for Mama to leave, Llama Llama doesn’t feel so sure.
Links to resources:  Activity Kit, Llama Llama in the classroom, Same and Different Activity (click on “assets” then pdf)
Why I Like This Book:  Llama Llama’s uncertainty and sadness over Mama leaving him at school are portrayed genuinely, and the story is told with such warmth and reassurance that children experiencing separation anxiety of their own are sure to feel comforted.  School is shown to be happy, engaging place.
For more books with resources please visit Perfect Picture Books!

I’m excited for Monday, the opening day of our Thanksgiving week contest!  I hope you’ve all got your stories ready to go (or will have them ready after the weekend :))  I can’t wait to read them!!!

Before we go, here’s our Farewell Fun Friday Foto.  Our final theme is THANKSGIVING, so here’s mine:

my Thanksgiving 🙂

Now, whether you’re looking for something fun to read with your child, a great book to add into a lesson plan, the perfect gift for your niece, or a shining example of picture book writing craft, click on the links below for some Perfect Picture Books!  I’m off to visit PK-3s!  Have a great weekend 🙂

Perfect Picture Books!

63 Comments

I hope everyone had a nice weekend!

I got to babysit 🙂  Want to see?  (I know.  I promised not to inundate you with pictures of the most adorable granddaughter the world has yet seen.  But I’ve been pretty good… :))

How can you not fall in love with this? 🙂

What’s that?  You need one more?  OK.  You’ve twisted my arm 🙂

Just look at those cheeks!  I think she’s related to Friday’s chipmunk 🙂

All right.  That’s enough.  Stop asking me to show you pictures.  We have all kinds of excitement to get to this morning!

Remember that secret I mentioned on Friday?  The one you’ve no doubt been desperate to find out about all weekend to the point where you could hardly think of anything else but what will Susanna spring on us Monday????  You probably didn’t even sleep last night!

Well get ready, because here it comes!

But first,  let’s talk about how to remove stubborn stains from laundry items…

Tee hee 🙂

Seriously, here’s the news:

I’m starting a new feature!

In the spirit of Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays, the brainchild of Shannon Messenger, and various YA listicle-type things, I am starting Perfect Picture Book Fridays!  I’m announcing it today so you’ll all have time to gear up for the inaugural list this Friday, November 18.  Here’s what we’ll do:

As part of your Friday post, showcase a picture book you love.  This is NOT a review feature in the usual sense.  We’re all going to assume that you recommend the book you’re posting.  What’s going to make this feature really great is the details.

(Please note: to start with, Perfect Picture Books Fridays will only list traditionally published picture books.  In the future, I hope to expand to e-books and possibly self-published books, as well as books for older readers, but for now we’re going to stick with traditionally published picture books.)

(image of book cover optional)
1.  Give us the book title, author/illustrator, publisher, year, fiction or non-fiction, and audience age (preschool, elementary school or both)
2.  Tell us the themes/topics of the book (e.g. sibling rivalry, or, through hard work we achieve mastery, or, ocean life.)
3.  Give us the opening sentence or page and a 1-2 sentence synopsis.
4.  Link to any available resources you know of to expand this book’s use at home or in the classroom (e.g. links to classroom guides, coloring pages or other activity sheets, or fun activities that can be done in conjunction with the book like a leaf collage or an egg carton caterpillar etc.) and/or list your own ideas.
5.  Link back to the Perfect Books page of my blog (which will be useful in a week or two when we start having a list!)

Then add your post link to the list, using the picture book title along with your blog’s name, and every Friday parents, teachers, homeschoolers, and writers will have a great resource at their fingertips, perfect for going to the library to gather some weekend reading, or planning upcoming lessons for the following week, or studying great writing over the weekend, or all of the above!  (And as an added bonus, you’ll hopefully be increasing traffic to your blogs and attracting parents, teachers, and writers!)

In addition, I have added a Perfect Picture Books tab in the header of my blog where all these wonderful books and resources will be archived by age and subject (and permanent links to your blogs) – a go-to resource that parents, teachers, and writers can access at any time.

At the end of each month (starting with November even though we’re only going to be up and running for half the month) I will do a random drawing from among the names of the participants (you’ll get one chance for every book you’ve listed that month) and the winner will receive their choice of a $10 Amazon gift card or whatever picture book I’m giving away that month.

We all want to introduce our children to the joys of books, and encourage them to be life-long readers.  So much of that is dependent on finding the right books to suit their individual needs and interests.  The marketplace can be overwhelming and sadly, not all of us have time to go and chat with our local children’s librarian or spend hours researching books.  Perfect Picture Books will be your new resource – a community of parents, teachers, librarians, and writers whose recommendations you can trust, and a way to make life easier for parents and teachers.

Please pass the word to everyone you know who might be interested.  The more people who are involved, the more comprehensive and helpful this resource will be.

I hope you’ll all find this idea as fun and exciting as I do and join in starting this Friday.

I’ll bring the donuts 🙂