Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends! I’m really excited about today’s featured book, PATTERNS EVERYWHERE. Do you want to know why?
1. I’ve met the author in person!
2. This is a book that parents and teachers will love reading with kids…actually, they will love reading it even without their kids…it’s glorious and inspiring and so informative!
3. Lisa participated in the 2020 #PBChat Mentorship Program – I got to read this manuscript and I loved it so much, she received an Honorable Mention and a critique from me. This is a little bit of the feedback I sent her:

Actually, all I can say is that this definitely needs to be a book! In my opinion, it is darn near perfect! I love everything about it…the topic, the rhythm and rhyme (spot on!), the sidebars (teachers will LOVE this), and you’ve found a way to create an arc of sorts…using the seasons as your structure.
Lisa…I love how your refrain always ends with ‘patterns, patterns’…it’s soothing and satisfying!
And I love how you invite the reader both in the beginning ‘let’s find designs’…and at the end ‘what might you discover there’.

That was in 2020…and now PATTERNS EVERYWHERE is launching as a real book on April 4th, 2023.

PATTERNS EVERYWHERE

Written by Lisa Vachol Perron

Publisher: Milbrook Press

Ages: 5-9

Themes: Patterns, STEM, Nature

Synopsis: From Amazon:

Step outside. Let’s find designs― / branching, cracking, spirals, lines. / Search the earth, the seas, the air. / Patterns, patterns everywhere.

Look around and discover patterns in the natural world! You might see them in leaf veins, in coral reefs, in sand dunes, and in many other places. Rhyming verse is accompanied by stunning photographs and brief sidebars that explain how these different patterns form.

“Intriguing encouragement to consider the intersection of mathematics and nature.”―Kirkus Reviews

ME: Lisa was kind enough to chat about the path to publication for this book. I’ve already hinted a bit about that in the beginning of this post. Welcome to Picture Books Help Kids Soar, my friend. I’m so glad you stopped by.

LISA:

Thanks for having me, Vivian! The idea for PATTERNS EVERYWHERE sparked during a family hike, when my husband was pointing out patterns in the landscape to our daughters. (He is a geomorphologist, which means he studies the surface of Earth and other planets/moons.) The phrase, “Patterns, patterns everywhere,” popped into my head, and I thought about how poetry is full of patterns, just like nature. Once I sat down to write, I was immediately drawn to repeated phrasing and metered rhyme. I really wanted the text to be uncluttered and poetic, like nature itself, but I also wanted to share more information about each pattern, which is why I decided to add a sidebar (in prose) on each spread.

One of the biggest challenges in writing nonfiction is deciding the scope of the project. I came across other picture books about specific patterns in nature (such as spirals or branching), but none that emphasized the breadth of patterns in our natural world. For me, that variety is awe-inspiring! So I knew I wanted PATTERNS EVERYWHERE to include a wide range of patterns, but where would I stop? Would I include tiger stripes? Human-designed mosaics? Spiral galaxies? I decided that I would limit myself to patterns on our planet that are part of the naturally occurring landscape. When the acquiring editor asked if I would be open to photo illustrations, I was thrilled. I think photographs highlight the beauty of these patterns in our natural world and will hopefully encourage young readers to go outside and explore!

ME: Yes, I remember when you told me that Carol Hinz was one of the editors for the regional SCBWI Agent and Editor Day – I think I mentioned that she had been looking for manuscripts that would work well with photographs instead of illustrations and I knew this manuscript would be perfect for that type of art.

Here’s a little bit about Lisa and how to connect with her and find out more about her books:

Lisa’s poetry has been featured in numerous anthologies, journals, and magazines. Her debut picture book, PATTERNS EVERYWHERE, will be followed by a rhyming board book, MY LOVE FOR YOU, illustrated by Sheryl Murray, and two nonfiction board books, TELL ME ABOUT SPACE and TELL ME ABOUT OCEANS, illustrated by Jennifer Falkner. Lisa has additional picture books releasing in 2024 and 2025. She lives with her family outside of Boston, Massachusetts. 
Website: https://lisaperronbooks.com/
Twitter: @LisaVPerron
Instagram: @LisaVPerron

To be entered in the double giveaway, please make sure you leave a comment (maybe you can tell us what your favorite pattern in nature is) for a chance to win a copy of PATTERNS EVERYWHERE (it launches April 4th, so you will have to wait a bit to get it) & a 20-minute author Zoom chat with Lisa.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Maybe you can get out and observe the patterns of nature in your neighborhood! Whatever you do, be safe and find joy and come back tomorrow for a special Will Write and Illustrate for Cookies with my dear friend, Hanh Bui, whose debut picture book, The Yellow Áo Dài launches April 25. And she’ll be joined by her wonderful illustrator, Minnie Phan. Did someone say cookies?