One of my favorite things to do is to shout out about brand-new books that are coming out soon – and it’s always an honor to be asked to reveal the cover! I’m dancing for joy about this book – written by the lovely Jenna Waldman and illustrated by the talented Sharon Davey and published by Apples and Honey Press.

TA-DA!!!!

I’d met Jenna here and there in kidlitland over the past few years…and I got to know her a bit better during the 2019 #PBChat mentorship program. I was one of the mentors she sent a story to…and although I didn’t choose her as my mentee, I absolutely LOVED her story: Larry’s Latkes. I was thrilled when she did become a mentee of one of the other mentors…and guess what? LARRY’S LATKES is going to be a real book later this year! YES! It was bought by Apples and Honey Press and is launching in September 2021. So, it’s a DOUBLE-DEBUT year for Jenna!

But back to the book at hand: SHARKBOT SHALOM. It’s a wonderful story…told in rhyme…of Shark-bot who is getting ready to celebrate the beginning of Shabbat but he is running out of power. Jenna added another layer – a counting book – and also a fabulous page of back matter that will help kids and their parents to deal with times when they are anxious or nervous. Well done, Jenna! And I always love to discover how other writers get their ideas – kind of the story behind the story. Jenna was kind enough to share a little bit about that with us:

JENNA: The origin of Sharkbot: I love making up silly songs for my two shark and robot- loving boys. One day, I serenaded them with “Sharkbot Shalom, hey!” (a twist on a well known song), and Sharkbot was born! 

Wow! That’s fascinating! And I know we often wonder how the author feels about the way the illustrator has envisioned her story. Jenna had this to say about that:

JENNA: I simply adore the gorgeous world that Sharon Davey’s created for Sharkbot and his friends—I want to dive into the page and celebrate Shabbat with them all! 

Want to find out more about this wonderful author?

JENNA WALDMAN grew up in Rhode Island, where she spent long days at the beach, watching for sharkbots. She now lives in the San Francisco Bay area, where she enjoys the company of her husband, two boys, and their three catbots. Jenna is also the author of the book Larry’s Latkes (Apples & Honey Press 10/1/21).
www.jennawaldman.com
Twitter: @SarafinaDesign

And to learn more about the talented illustrator, Sharon Davey:
www.sharondaveyillustration.com
instagram: thecreativefox

I love that beautiful joyful books like Jenna’s and Sharon’s continue to launch, even with all the health issues and other problems our country has faced the past year or so. It’s all the more important for kids to be engaged in reading and for them to have their curiosity sparked by the books we provide for them.

And before you all head off to take care of other business, don’t forgot the title of this blog post: Cover Reveal: SHARKBOT SHALOM Plus Giveaway. We’ve seen the cover and learned a bit about SHARKBOT SHALOM…but what about the Giveaway? Jenna is graciously and generously offering the winner of the giveaway a choice of either a picture book manuscript critique with her OR a copy of SHARKBOT SHALOM. If you are the winner and you choose the book, you must have a U.S. address that it can be mailed to. So please leave a comment below – and please share this post on your social media to spread the word about the book. Another way to spread the word about books that you love is to tell friends about them, ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection, review the book and put it on your Goodreads ‘want to read’ list…and of course, buy a copy for yourself and read it with the kids you love.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! On Friday we are going to be celebrating a new book from Sue Heavenrich for Perfect Picture Book Friday: 13 WAYS TO EAT A FLY! And although I was planning on announcing the winners of #50PreciousWords on Saturday, March 20, I’m afraid I will have to postpone that because I’ve broken WordPress! Seriously, something happened to the linky list when we reached 10,000 comments and the WordPress tech gurus are doing their best to resolve the problem. The linky list no longer works and it’s making the reading and commenting take a huge amount of time. But I and my assistant judges are working very hard to make sure every story is read and appreciated – I know Susanna Hill has sometimes had to push back on the announcement of her winners…I’m hoping to announce on the last day of the month. Please stay tuned.