Why am I smiling?
I’m smiling because even though the world is often a sad and challenging place, writers keep on writing and illustrators keep on illustrating and publishers keep on publishing beautiful books for young children.
And today we are unveiling the wonderful cover of a brand-new book from Gretchen McLellan, illustrated by EG Keller, published by Viking Books for Young Readers.

What an engaging cover!

Here’s a bit about the book from Amazon:
A lyrical, moving story about a family’s experience at home during their dad’s time away at war.

For one young boy and his family at home, the days pass slowly. That’s because when your daddy’s a soldier and he’s away at war, you can’t wait for him to come home so you can be together again. 

This poignant and impactful story, inspired by the author’s lived experiences, captures the essence of the daily heartache, fear, joy, and uncertainty that a child whose parent has gone off to war must live with.  

Here’s a bit from Gretchen:
My love of literature lead me to a B.A. in English that I earned back in America at George Mason University. Later I studied to become an English teacher and reading specialist at the University of Oregon. As a elementary reading specialist I’ve been privileged to help lots of struggling readers find a pathway into books and a love of reading, too.

But I had other dreams as well–to shape the world with my own stories and share them with readers like you. I especially wanted to write stories about kids like me, who were army brats and  global nomads.

While I was raising my own family and teaching, I wrote and wrote and wrote–everywhere–in barns and bookstores, bathtubs and beds, cars and coffee houses.  And I wrote everything from picture books, easy-to-read books, a chapter book series to several middle-grade novels. I attended writing workshops and conferences, participated in weekly critique groups sessions and discovered my tribe–SCBWI, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Even with four published picture books and more to come, I will never stop being a student of writing and literature. And I will never stop reading!
To learn more about this prolific author: http://gretchenmclellan.com/

And here’s a bit about the illustrator:
EG Keller is the illustrator of the New York Times #1 bestseller, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, and the picture book To the Moon and Back for You by Bravo star Emilia Bechrakis Serhant. As Gerald Kelley, he illustrated documentarian Ken Burns’ New York Times bestselling book, Grover Cleveland, Again!, and wrote and illustrated the picture book, Please Please the Bees, which won the 2017 Frances and Wesley Bock Book Award for Children’s Literature and was read aloud for Storyline Online by Rashida Jones.
For more information about this talented creator: http://egkellerdraws.com/about

And here are some pre-order links:
When Your Daddy’s a Soldier: McLellan, Gretchen Brandenburg, Keller, EG: 9780593463901: Amazon.com: Books

When Your Daddy’s a Soldier | IndieBound.org

When Your Daddy’s a Soldier by Gretchen Brandenburg McLellan, EG Keller, Hardcover | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)

This is definitely a much-needed book…I’m grateful to Gretchen for her words that will help so many kids…and to EG for the amazing art that brought the story to life.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.