ARE YOU READY FOR MORE KIDLIT GOODNESS?
2017 IS A BANNER YEAR FOR PICTURE BOOKS!
PLEASE JOIN ME IN WISHING A
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
TO
This book is definitely a celebration! Just look at the main character! She’s really something special! What a great role model for little girls! Independent. Creative. Smart. I love the books that Sky Pony Press puts out. Lucky for us, author/illustrator Patricia Keeler stopped by to give us the inside scoop on Lizzie.
PATRICIA:
Lizzie is created from all the feisty little girls I’ve known. The littlest girls who don’t want to comb their hair. They barely have the patience to climb into a bathing suit, but they can’t wait to go swimming, or to slip on their new flip-flops.
Lizzie is the “Don’t help me, I want to do this myself.” kind of girl. But Lizzie, like the other feisty girls, has a favorite toy animal she loves, loves, loves and drags everywhere. Sooner or later, the animal gets dirty or torn or lost. This is what’s in store for Lizzie and her blow-up beach pal, Lou Seal.
Lizzie may be little, but she’s smart and plucky. When she figures out she has a problem with Lou Seal, (can the reader spot the problem before Lizzie?) she sets out to solve it herself. It’s a sink or swim scenario! What’s Lizzie to do?
WOW…thanks, Patricia, for giving us all the low-down on your main character, Lizzie. I think I can already see a series about this feisty little girl!
To find out more about Patricia and her wonderful books, you can connect with her:
www.patriciakeeler-author-illustrator.com
Facebook – PatriciaKeelerBooks
Instagram – @patriciakeeler
Twitter – @patriciakeelerbooks
And if you’d like to qualify for the copy of LIZZIE AND LOU SEAL that Patricia is giving away, please leave a comment and, if you can, share the post on your social media.
Patricia will be back to celebrate the summer with us when she is my guest on Will Write for Cookies on June 24. There is sure to be lots of splishing and splashing!
And the 2017 picture book goodness keeps rolling along when LITTLE RED ROLLS AWAY, by Linda Whalen, rolls in for Perfect Picture Book Friday this week. See you all then! Thank you so very much for spending time with us.
VIVIAN KIRKFIELD - Writer for Children 
I just love Lizzie’s hair – a real sea urchin!
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That’s so funny! So true in so many ways! I kind of modeled Lizzie’s hair on the singer PINK, haha!
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Lizzie reminds me a bit of my daughter when she was little. Not her appearance but her attitude… always needed to learn/do everything on her own.
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In the beginning I was told to make Lizzie a boy and then it would sell! So glad I hung in there as I love Lizzie’s determined attitude!
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Love it! I feel like I have met this feisty little girl before! Great character!
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I was such a ‘good’ little girl that it’s a joy to develop my fantasies of the determined little girl hiding inside! (Well, now out in the world!)
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Just love this character and the illustrations! Let’s keep these strong girl characters more prevalent in PB’s!
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I know! My next book is SCOOP THE ICE CREAM TRUCK, and since Sky Pony Press didn’t rein me in on LIZZIE AND LOU, I’m having this really tiny girl throw a huge temper tantrum. Maybe it won’t stay in, but I’m hoping!
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Would love to actually see a spunky little girl like this in action.
What a great character!
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So funny you say that! My next book, SCOOP THE ICE CREAM TRUCK, is about a little girl named ‘Spunky’! I always watch the little girls who don’t want to be the princess, they want to be queen! They impress me!
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Hmmm … Lizzie definitely sounds like my daughter! Feisty and strong (but also exhausting! 🙂 Can’t wait to read this!
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I’m loving your daughter! I have to redraw Lizzie so many times to bring enough personality to her! Also I have to keep lowering the ‘point of view’ as Lizzie likes to look directly at me!
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Love her face – mischievous and sweet simultaneously!
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It wasn’t hard to draw a ‘sweet’ girl or a girl that was agitated, but to make one that looked sweet, but at the same time you get the feeling trouble was just around the corner — it was tough! I really appreciate your comment! Thank you!
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It’s exciting to see book after book making its appearance. This looks fun, Patricia!
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Thanks! The first spread I completed was a cutaway of Lizzie’s beach trailer. You can see inside the trailer and outside at the same time! I thought it might be over the top, but now it’s my favorite spread!
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What a fun character! Congratulations, Patricia!
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Thank you so much! It’s so fun to have a Book Birthday for LIZZIE AND LOU SEAL. I actually just finished making myself a chocolate cake and it’s in the oven! Girl’s got to celebrate, haha!
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Makes me excited for summer 🙂
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So true! I’ve been dreaming of surf and flip-flops the entire time I was working on this. Luckily I did this in the winter or I would have left for the beach leaving Lizzie on her own!
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I LOVE this spunky, devil-may-care character!!
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I do to! I keep thinking how would I ever illustrate her in a school situation. She’s such a free spirit!
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Love the word play on the name Lucille. Looking forward to reading this new picture book.
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Yay! You caught that! Cool. Now the question is; Is Lou Seal a boy, or LouSeal a girl? The answer is hidden in the book!
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Gorgeous cover and I just love little Lizzie. She is so spunky! Congrats Patricia.
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Thank you! I’m developing a sequel to LIZZIE AND LOU SEAL called BEACH BOTTLE STOMP. I was thinking it would be fun to have Lizzie use her powers for good by picking up empty plastic bottles on the beach. Of course there would be troubles that only Lizzie could stomp out. But it’s early days. Hard to say if a publishing house would be interested!
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So happy to see Lizzie and Lou Seal finally out there! Such a fun story and art!
Congrats and best of luck with the new sequel and all new endeavors.
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Hey Christine! Hopefully we’ll be having dinner together and chatting about new work soon!
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I love this book of Lizzie and her inflatable buddy Lou. Perfect beach book fun for the youngest crowd!
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Darlene, I’m really learning from you! So glad you are part of my village . . .
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