Writer for children - Reader forever -
Mom of 3, educator, author of FOUR OTTERS TOBOGGAN: AN ANIMAL COUNTING BOOK (PomegranateKids, PIPPA'S PASSOVER PLATE (Holiday House), SWEET DREAMS, SARAH (Creston Books); MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: THE INSPIRING FRIENDSHIP OF ELLA FITZGERALD AND MARILYN MONROE (Little Bee Books); FROM HERE TO THERE: INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WAY THE WORLD MOVES (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Jan 19, 2021); PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: Annie Londonderry, First Woman to Bike Around the World (Calkins Creek/Astra, Feb 20, 2024) picture book junkie, lover of travel, hiking, fly-fishing, cooking, and playing Monopoly with my grandson.
Happy Mother’s Day to every person who fills that role – moms, grandmothers, teachers, babysitters, daycare providers, neighbors…and yes…sometimes dads!
And Happy #50PreciousWordsforKids!
Life gets very busy for teachers and for families – perhaps that’s why this year, we only had a few submissions. But I urge parents and teachers to continue to encourage their children to express themselves through words and pictures – there is really no deadline for our goal to inspire young people to tell their stories – and I’m happy to add any stories that come in throughout the course of the year.
But meanwhile, I’m thrilled to share the stories we received – CONGRATULATIONS to all!!! As a writer, I know that it takes courage to sit down, tell your story, and then share it with the world.
SUPER ESTHER AND THE VOLCANOS by William – Age 6 – Kindergarten – Portland, OR
Once upon a time, Super Esther woke up just to see that all the volcanoes in the world were erupting at once. But she didn’t panic. Grabbing her cape, Super Esther flew out and said the magic word one letter at a time—qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm— and the day was saved!
THE NINJA by Michael – Age 7 – 1st grade – Trenton, Michigan
Once there was a ninja named Speed. Do you know why his name was Speed? Because he was SO FAST.
One time, a robber was robbing a bank! The ninja wanted to make a trap for the robber and got to work.
Illustration by Michael
He caught the robber and saved the bank!
LILY AND ABBY (Based on a True Story) by Charlotte – Age 8 – 2nd grade – Trenton, Michigan
There was a cat named Lily and a girl named Abby.
One day before school, Lily tried to climb up the stairs when Abby’s mom was shaking a jar of shells.
CRASH!
The jar fell and Lily jumped right into the glass.
“Nooo!”
Abby checked her paws. She was okay!
THE WORM THAT FREAKED THE WORLD by Ember – Age 7 – Grade 2 – Queensland, Australia
The worm squirmed.
“Love me!”
It squirmed, wiggled and dived.
Goodha picked it up And chanted “I’ve got worms”!
The teacher told the nurse.
The nurse told the principal.
The principal told mum.
Mum said “yes he does”.
Everyone freaked out.
Goodha showed everyone his worms.
They all said “few!”
Hurray! Those were awesome stories! I love how each is unique! Each had drama and action! Well done, young writers!
Each child received a Certificate of Participation that can be printed out and personalized!
Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends. Get ready for a FABULOUS post, thanks to the talented author/illustrator Miri Leshem-Pelly who stopped by to share some of the behind-the-pages process of her newest book, A FEATHER, A PEBBLE, A SHELL.
ME: Welcome, Miri! Thanks for visiting. And we are listening!
When reality mimics imagination
Look at this photo vs drawing, both of a girl on a tree. I bet you’re thinking I used this photo as a reference while drawing this sketch, right? Wrong!
What if I tell you that I drew this tree out of my imagination? And that I took this picture AFTER I drew this sketch?
Well – let me tell you the story behind the picture.
It all happened after I’ve finished working on the pencil sketches for my book. The sketches were approved by the publisher, and I was about to start the final color illustrations.
One of the scenes in the book happens in a place called Sataf, in the Jerusalem mountains. When I drew the pencil sketch of the girl sitting on an olive tree in Sataf, I looked at many olive tree photos but couldn’t find exactly the tree I needed, so I made one up from my imagination.
Around that time, we were invited to my nephew’s Bar Mitzvah. This boy loves hiking and decided to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah with a family hike to Sataf! I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to take pictures of some ancient olive trees that grow there. But I didn’t expect to find the tree from my sketch! When I saw this tree, I asked my niece to sit and hug it just like the girl from my sketch. My sweet niece is about the same age of the girl character in my book and she even had a similar hat!
And that’s how this funny story happened. I imagined an olive tree in Sataf, drew it, and then discovered that this tree actually exists right there, in Sataf. Sometimes reality mimics imagination, and I have the picture to prove it.
WOW! That’s amazing! Thank you so much, Miri. And friends, take a look at the awesome cover of our Perfect Picture Book Friday feature:
A FEATHER, A PEBBLE, A SHELL
Written and illustrated by Miri Leshem-Pelly
Published by Kar Ben (May 7, 2024)
Ages: 3-8
Themes: Nature/STEM, Girl explorer, Israel
Synopsis: A FEATHER, A PEBBLE, A SHELL follows a girl’s hikes through the diverse nature sites of Israel. Whenever she runs in a field, climbs up a hill or swims in the sea, she looks for something small to hold in her hand. It’s a picture book about curiosity and connection to nature, and about little wonders of nature that children love to discover!
Why I Love This Book: I love picture book stories that take me on a journey. Child readers will be swept away to a calm and peaceful place in their hearts as the main character visits river, beach, and field. The writing is captivating – the language is lyrical and visual – and the illustrations are stunning. The additional STEM sidebars add value for teachers who can use this book in the classroom. Highly recommend!!
To find out more about Miri and her books: Miri Leshem-Pelly is an author-illustrator of 17 picture books, many of them about nature and animals. Miri does more than 100 school visits per year. She is an SCBWI RAE (Regional Advisor Emerita) after serving more than ten years as a regional advisor of SCBWI in Israel. Miri is represented by literary agent Anna Olswanger. Connect with Miri: Website: http://mirileshembooks.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miri_leshem_pelly/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirileshem
Dear friends…great books need our help. Books like A FEATHER, A PEBBLE, A SHELL need to be in library and school and home bookshelves all around the world. So, how can we help? We can: Buy the book: Lerner website: https://lernerbooks.com/shop/show/23133 Amazon Review the book: Amazon Add it to your Goodreads Want to Read Shelf Tell friends about the book (Please share this post on your social media – that really helps) Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection
A Feather, A Pebble, A Shell
979-8-7656-0774-9 (LB)
979-8-7656-1339-9 (EB epub)
Whenever the author-illustrator runs in a field, climbs a hill, or swims in the sea in Israel, she looks for something small to hold in her hand. She finds a basalt pebble from the ice-cold Dan River, formed from lava over 100,000 years ago. Israel’s national bird, the hoopoe, leaves a feather in the grass at HaYarkon Park. Dead hood coral grows in the Red Sea, where fish play hide-and-seek. She holds small things in her hand and then leaves them in their habitats. . . for the reader to find.
Please leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of this glorious book and tell us how you will help spread the word. Maybe you can also tell us what object YOU would have kept if you had been on those hikes.
And please come back here on Sunday for our special Mother’s Day post containing the #50PreciousWordsforKids stories!
Thank you, dear friends, for stopping by today. How about a slice of yummy cake? Today’s featured book is a bit different from my usual picture book fare. We’re celebrating the launch of LION OF THE SKY, a middle grade in verse written by Ritu Hemnani and published by Balzer & Bray – so, let’s blow out the candles and sing!
Here’s a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page: An evocative historical novel in verse about a boy and his family who are forced to flee their home and become refugees after the British Partition of India. Perfect for fans of Other Words for Home.
Twelve-year-old Raj is happiest flying kites with his best friend, Iqbal. As their kites soar, Raj feels free, like his beloved India soon will be, and he can’t wait to celebrate their independence.
But when a British lawyer draws a line across a map, splitting India in two, Raj is thrust into a fractured world. With Partition declared, Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim families are torn apart—and Raj’s Hindu and Iqbal’s Muslim families are among them.
Forced to flee and become refugees, Raj’s family is left to start over in a new country. After suffering devastating losses, Raj must summon the courage to survive the brutal upheaval of both his country and his heart.
Inspired by the author’s true family history, Lion of the Sky is a deeply moving coming-of-age tale about identity, belonging, and the power of hope.
WOW! I love middle grade novels – and LION OF THE SKY is such a compelling story. I hope you check it out.
And here’s a little bit about author Ritu from her wonderful website Ritu is passionate about promoting diversity and nurturing inclusivity and empathy through writing stories that center marginalized communities and encompass universal truths; spotlighting human interest articles with heart, and collaborating with local literary and charity organizations to promote literacy. She shares the seeds of her writing journey and the inspiration behind her deep dive into her own family history in her 2019 TEDx Talk, An Inheritance Worth Sharing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-GelCkt-t4
When not writing or teaching, Ritu delights in family game nights, strumming the strings of her guitar, and paddling through Hong Kong waters on her carrot-colored kayak. You can find Ritu on Twitter @rituhemwrites or at her website: www.rituhemnani.com
Please leave a comment if you’d like a chance to WIN a copy thanks to Ritu and her publisher. Maybe you can share the title of a favorite middle grade novel from your childhood.
BTW, we are also celebrating Children’s Book Week…and I’m looking forward to receiving lots of wonderful stories for #50PreciousWordsforKids. If you are a parent or teacher, please encourage your kids to participate…just email their entries to me at viviankirkfield@gmail.com and I’ll be publishing them in my special Mother’s Day post on Sunday. Let’s encourage our children to get in touch with the storyteller that lives inside each one of us!
I’m also celebrating Children’s Book Week at one of my local indie bookstores, BALIN BOOKS, Somerset Plaza, 375 Amherst St #101A, Nashua, NH on Saturday, May 11 at 1pm – 2pm. We’ll have coloring pages for the kids, 25% off discount for teachers (because it’s also Teacher Appreciation Week) and bookmarks and cookies for EVERYONE!! If you are local, please stop in…I’ll be reading PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER, and several of my local SCBWI author friends will be reading from their favorite books.
I hope you all have a wonderful week! Thank you for spending your precious time with us…speaking of precious…I’m up to distributing I#50PreciousWords prize #56.
VIVIAN KIRKFIELD - Writer for Children 