Perfect Picture Book Friday: CALL ME CALVIN Plus Critique Giveaway

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Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends! Today’s feature is the debut picture book of Mary Vander Plas. I met Mary several years ago through #50PreciousWords – and I’m so excited for CALL ME CALVIN!

CALL ME CALVIN

Written by Mary Vander Plas

Illustrated by Andre Ceolin

Published by Albert Whitman and Company (June 22, 2023)

Ages: 4-8

Themes: Father/son relationship, growing up, be yourself

Synopsis: From Amazon:
Calvin’s dad has always called him “Little Man,” but Calvin realizes he isn’t done being a kid.

Ever since Calvin was born, he’s been Dad’s “Little Man.” At first Calvin liked the special nickname the two of them shared. But now that he’s getting older, Calvin doesn’t feel big and strong like Dad. One afternoon playing in the yard, Calvin discovers that maybe that’s okay. He’s Calvin, and that’s exactly who he should be.

Why I Love This Book:
1. I love the text – so appealing to young children – they will definitely connect with Calvin. We all want to be big…we all want to be able to do more grown-up stuff. This story is so relatable for every child!
2. I love the illustrations – just look at the cover! You want to grab this book right off the page and read it!
3. I love that this is a father/son story…we need more of those.

And guess what? Author Mary Vander Plas stopped by to chat with us. I asked her about the path to publication and the inspiration for this book.

MARY: Like most authors, my path to publication was a long and winding one. The idea for Call Me Calvin came after observing kids at my son’s college basketball game. There was a spark of inspiration and the idea grew! Countless revisions later, I had a story that I felt could be relatable and had a unique social emotional learning component. My biggest takeaway is that critique partners are golden. They can help you take a manuscript from drab to fab! And even if it takes years…it’s worth every minute.

ME: Thank you so much, Mary! And friends, don’t forget to leave a comment at the end of the blog – Mary is generously offering the winner a choice: a Picture Book Critique or a copy of CALL ME CALVIN.

Here’s a little bit about Mary:
Mary Vander Plas is a picture book author with degrees in psychology and human development. She began writing for children after working with them in various educational settings. Mary lives in the beautiful Northwoods of Wisconsin where she enjoys fishing, paddleboarding, and reading. She loves to observe everything around her to find inspiration for her next project. 

Speaking about projects, how about a craft activity?

RELATED ACTIVITIES:
Basketball Crafts

Photo courtesy: https://www.sightandsoundreading.com/basketball-crafts-for-preschoolers/

Do you have a basketball fan in your house? Young kids like Calvin often wonder if they will ever be able to sink a basket. But even the littles can have fun with these basketball-inspired craft activities: https://www.sightandsoundreading.com/basketball-crafts-for-preschoolers/

Please remember that the best way to thank an author or illustrator for the books you love is to:
Buy their books
Review their books on Amazon and Goodreads
Tell friends about their books
Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection.
I hope you do at least one of these!
And I hope you all have a beautiful weekend!

Here is the link to Mary’s website…go check it out:

Home

https://bookshop.org/p/books/call-me-calvin-mary-vander-plas/18778813?ean=9780807510445

31 thoughts on “Perfect Picture Book Friday: CALL ME CALVIN Plus Critique Giveaway”

  3. This book feels so joyous to me! My husband calls my son Big Guy and his grandson Little Man. Such a great hook in to a generational theme for me. I look forward to checking this out. My grandson would love this!

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  10. The illustrations are adorable, and that cover has so much emotion. I’m a former basketball player (I had to quit when my high school coach said I had to choose between band and basketball) and can relate to Calvin. Yes to more Dad and child books!

    Liked by 2 people

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  11. When I first started reading this, I thought that maybe this was a non-fiction book about Calvin Murphy who was a basketball star who played for the Houston Rockets. I met him while in Israel, as he was playing in an international game and he was on the short side for a basketball player… But it sounds great, and I can’t wait to read it!

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  14. Congrats, Mary. This sounds like such a sweet relatable story, and I agree with Vivian that we need more father/son stories. Yay for Calvin and his dad 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

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