Happy Early Book Birthday: LOVE WILL TURN YOU AROUND Plus Giveaway

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Dear friends…I was SO excited to help celebrate the book birthday for LOVE WILL TURN YOU AROUND that I couldn’t wait another day!

Written by Mary Munson – Illustrated by Kate Talbot

Doesn’t the cover by the talented Kate Talbot make your heart melt?

Here is a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page:
Some days everything seems wrong, and life can make you feel . . . bent out of shape.

In Love Will Turn You Around, readers are reminded of the power of friendship and positivity to turn a frown upside down and make things right again. Kids are encouraged to persevere during difficult times as they witness Heart’s determination to overcome his struggles to fit in with the other shapes. Cheers are sure to follow as Heart remembers what matters most and embraces the strength within to turn things around not only for himself, but others, too.

With bright, engaging illustrations that showcase primary and secondary colors and a text that cleverly introduces basic shape properties, Love Will Turn You Around is the perfect addition to preschool and elementary classrooms and libraries.

And speaking about Amazon, even though I know we want to promote our local independent bookstores, it was fun to see that LOVE WILL TURN YOU AROUND is an Amazon #1 NEW RELEASE.

I chatted with author Mary Munson the other day and she shared a little bit about the path to publication for this book. So many of us are on this same journey – but for each of us, it’s a little bit different.

MARY:
It’s me Mary Munson, thank you so much for helping me with my Book Birthday! It’s my debut picture book, a long time in the making! I’m 53 years old, have been writing since I was 7 and been trying to get a book published for 30 years!  Finally I understand the craft, met a debut publishing house (Gnome Road) and an amazing editor (Sandra) and am on my way. You have always been an inspiration, I love how you took the picture book market by storm!!

ME: It’s always an honor for me to shout out about new books, Mary. And look at you! Never give up is definitely my motto…and obviously, it’s yours, too. I’m so glad you connected with Sandra Sutter over at Gnome Road because now we have this beautiful SEL book for kids!

MARY: So my debut is Love Will Turn You Around. The book on the surface is about shapes and properties of shapes (I’m a teacher). But it has themes including identifying emotions, friendship, love, problem solving, and finding your joy in life. It’s geared for PreK-1st Grade and is also illustrated by a teacher, Kate Talbot, who made the shapes irresistibly delicious!

ME: And that the key, right folks? Hold onto your dreams, take steps to make them come true, and never give up!!!

Here’s a little bit about Mary:
Mary Munson has been an early childhood special education teacher for more than twenty years. She earned her undergraduate degree in English, fueled by a love of reading and creative writing. She then earned graduate degrees in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education, fueled by her desire to play and be in a sandbox. When she is not making mud pies, she enjoys spending time with her family, doing yoga, camping or lounging by a crackling fire with friends. She doesn’t take anything too seriously and always appreciates a good belly laugh. Mary is grateful to be able to put more love out into the world. For more about Mary visit https://mary-munson.org.

And here’s a little bit about the illustrator, Kate Talbot:
Kate Talbot is an Australian-born, New Zealand-based children’s book writer and illustrator. Her first picture book, written at age eight, was a reinterpretation of Little Red Riding Hood, which promptly landed her in detention for its cheeky nature. The reprimand only served to inspire a love for tongue-in-cheek humor, which Kate now strives to infuse in her stories and art. As an illustrator, she works digitally and loves to create rambunctious characters and images flooded with color. To learn more about Kate visit https://www.katetalbotbooks.com.

Thanks so much for spending your precious time with us, dear friends. Please remember to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of this beautiful SEL/STEM book. Maybe you can tell us about a early experience where the power of love impacted your life.
I hope you all have a wonderful week.

26 thoughts on “Happy Early Book Birthday: LOVE WILL TURN YOU AROUND Plus Giveaway”

  1. When I was in grade 4, one of my closest friends had to change schools as her parents were relocating. I felt I had lost a friend forever. Days passed.
    A few days later I received a letter from my teacher and she handed it over to me. It was from my school friend who had left school. I still feel the same warmth and I cannot forget that feeling of receiving a letter from her. After that, we exchanged a lot of post cards and letters. 🙂
    Thank you Vivian for giving us a glimpse of this wonderful book through Mary. Congratulations Mary and Kate and wishing you both a lot of success. 🙂

    Regards,
    Kiran
    @kiranvazir

    Liked by 1 person

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  5. What a perfect way to message kindness and acceptance to young ones. And Kate’s playful, colorful illustrations interprets the story well. A plus is the shape recognition. Can be used in the classroom and the home. Perfect combination. I’d love to win a copy for my young niece. 🙂

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  6. One of the most powerful experiences I remember was when I spent a week with my best friend’s family on vacation. I wrote a thank you note to my “mom” for the week and told her I appreciated being treated like part of the family. Mom started crying and smooshed me into the biggest hug ever.

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  17. Oh how I love hearing of an author who did not let go of a lifelong dream. Those childhood dreams are special. And your book is special too. Loved reading it with my granddaughter. So happy to see my fellow Gnome creatives releasing your books into the hands of children everywhere. Congrats!

    Liked by 2 people

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