About viviankirkfield

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.

Perfect Picture Book Friday: AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET Plus Giveaway

Posted on September 28, 2018 by viviankirkfield

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, my friends. Here is another book I’ve been anxious to spotlight…ever since I read an early draft of it during a manuscript exchange with one of my critique buddies. It’s actually just hot off the press as you’ll see by the publication date below. I am so darn excited for the talented Beth Anderson…and you’ll get to meet her tomorrow when she stops by to chat on Will Write for Cookies. Plus she’s graciously agreed to do a giveaway…so make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of her debut picture book, AN INCOVENIENT ALPHABET: Ben Franklin & Noah Webster’s Spelling Revolution.

AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET: BEN FRANKLIN & NOAH WEBSTER’S SPELLING REVOLUTION

Written by Beth Anderson

Illustrated by Elizabeth Buddeley

Published by Simon and Schuster (September 25, 2018)

Ages: 4-8

Themes: American history, spelling, humor

Synopsis: From Amazon:

“Delightful, relatable, and eye-catchingly illustrated.” —School Library Journal
“Deelytful and iloominaating for noo and seesuned reeders alyk.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Thought-provoking and entertaining.” —School Library Connection
“Engaging…A comprehensible, lively read.” —Publishers Weekly

Do you ever wish English was eez-ee-yer to spell? Ben Franklin and Noah Webster did! Debut author Beth Anderson and the New York Times bestselling illustrator of I Dissent, Elizabeth Baddeley, tell the story of two patriots and their attempt to revolutionize the English alphabet.

Once upon a revolutionary time, two great American patriots tried to make life easier. They knew how hard it was to spell words in English. They knew that sounds didn’t match letters. They knew that the problem was an inconvenient English alphabet.

In 1786, Ben Franklin, at age eighty, and Noah Webster, twenty-eight, teamed up. Their goal? Make English easier to read and write. But even for great thinkers, what seems easy can turn out to be hard.

Children today will be delighted to learn that when they “sound out” words, they are doing eg-zakt-lee what Ben and Noah wanted.

Why I like this book:

I love books that bring history alive – especially little known stories like this one. Why didn’t they have books like this when I was a kid?
The text is fabulous…punny and funny and shows a great depth of research on the part of Beth Anderson, the author.
Illustrator Elizabeth Baddeley’s work is absolutely breathtaking! Bold! Hilarious! And totally Spot On! Kids are going to LOVE this book and so will teachers, librarians, and parents!
Wonderfully informative author’s note at the end of the book.
PLUS…there is also a super cool CURRICULUM GUIDE for teachers and school librarians who want to extend the learning experience after reading AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET.

RELATED ACTIVITIES

Photo courtesy: https://www.123homeschool4me.com/2017/01/26-alphabet-crafts_20.html

There are crafts here from A to Z. For detailed instructions: https://www.123homeschool4me.com/2017/01/26-alphabet-crafts_20.html

For more wonderful picture book reviews and activities for kids, please hop over to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book Friday post where lots of lovers of picture books congregrate.

I hope you all have a super weekend. The fall foliage is in full swing in New England and I hope, wherever you are, you are getting out to enjoy your days. Please don’t forget to leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of the book…when you read the book, don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads…and please do come back tomorrow to chat with Beth on Will Write for Cookies.

A TON OF GIVEAWAY PRIZE NOTIFICATIONS

Posted on September 21, 2018 by viviankirkfield

I must apologize, dear readers. We’ve had many giveaways in the past two months…but my life got crazy busy with travel planning for next year (more about that later) and I neglected to award the prizes. Plus, for some reason, Facebook is not letting me use my share button to post on my own page. I can share someone else’s posts. And I can post on anyone else’s page. And I can comment everywhere. But on my home page, the share button is disabled. If any of you more tech savvy people out there have any idea of what is going on, your input would be much appreciated!

I believe the last giveaway we awarded was a copy of Anna Redding’s GOOGLE IT! to Rosie Pova. I know Rosie received it already because she posted about it on Facebook. Rosie, I know you will love the book.

So, the first giveaway today is from author/illustrator Emilie Boon…a copy of ELLA AND MONKEY AT SEA. And the winner is…CARMELA SIMMONS

After that we have a copy of H IS FOR HAIKU written by Sydell Rosenberg and brought to the world by her daughter, Amy Losak. And the winner is…TRACY HORA.

Next is a critique by the talented Christy Mihaly, author of HEY, HEY, HAY. And the winner is…TINA CHO.

Then we have a copy of MAXIMILLIAN VILLAINOUS by Margaret Greanias. And the winner is…LISETTE CRUZ

And last, but certainly not least, is Robin Newman’s hilarious NO PEACOCKS!

And the winner is…Carol Gordon Ekster.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE WINNERS! And a big thank you to all of the authors for writing these wonderful books and to the illustrators for bringing the stories to life with their pictures.

I’ll be connecting with all of you to make sure that you receive your books!

I truly appreciate you all coming to visit and read and comment. I’ll be skipping this week’s PPBF and WWFC, but I’ll be back with SIX STRAIGHT WEEKS OF AWESOME Debut Picture Books and Q&A’s with their authors. Heads up, everyone, because we’ve got:

AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET by Beth Anderson

THE DIAMOND AND THE BOY by Hannah Holt

SCARLET’S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH by Melissa Stoller

SOPHIE AND LITTLE STAR by Amber Hendricks

TEACH YOUR GIRAFFE HOW TO SKI by Vivianne Elbee

ROCK AND ROLL WOODS by Sherry Hyberger Howard

You won’t want to miss any of these books!

Speaking of books…I’m blessed to have sold five manuscripts in the last couple of years. And those manuscripts are being made into books. And those books are soon to be published. I hope to have some cover reveal posts in next month or two. But I thought to myself, what could I do to celebrate this realization of a dream. And how could I best promote those books and spread the word far and wide.

Spread the word far and wide? Why not take a trip around the world?

So, this is the plan:

I leave for Sydney on Februry 19th. (24+ hours of actual flight time) I’ll be presenting at the Australia/NZ conference and meeting up with several kidlit friends…plus my agent, Essie White, is the keynote speaker.
I fly to Auckland and will stay with one of my dearest critique buddies. And while I’m there, I will do a program for the regional NZ SCBWI.
On March 19, I’ll hop another LOOONG flight (again over 24 hours of actual flight time) to Geneva where another wonderful critique buddy will pick me up and I’ll stay with her for a couple of weeks until…
We train to Italy for the Bologna Book Fair where I hope to meet up with some of the wonderful editors who are publishing my books and another incredible critique partner.
And after the conference, we’ll take day trips by train to Florence, Milan, and..
Back to Boston on April 8.

Phew! And just to let you know…the #50PreciousWords Writing Challenge will still take place…I’ll be reading all of your wonderful stories while I’m in New Zealand. I’m already on the look-out for prizes for next year so, if you’d like to donate a critique or a seat in an online writing class, please FB PM me or email me at viviankirkfield@gmail.com.

But for this weekend…if you are in a state where the leaf colors change like here in New Hampshire, I hope you get to see them. And if you drive, please be safe. We’ll be heading up to Lake Winnipesaukee to cheer for my son and son-in-law as they compete in the Tough Mudder. And then on Sunday, we’ll head to Connecticut to spread some of Stuart’s ashes on the river where he loved to fish. A bittersweet weekend, for sure.

Perfect Picture Book Friday: OPERATION RESCUE DOG Plus GIVEAWAY

Posted on September 14, 2018 by viviankirkfield

Friday is one of my favorite days and I’m sure you all know why. It’s the day I get to review a brand new picture book! Hurray!

And today’s selection is from one of my favorite kidlit authors, Maria Gianferrari, who is so generous and kind. She is offering a copy of OPERATION RESCUE DOG as a giveaway. Please make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win!

OPERATION RESCUE DOG

Written by Maria Gianferrari

Illustrated by Luisa Uribe

Published by Little Bee Books (September 2018)

Ages: 4-8

Themes:

Synopsis: From Amazon:

This sweet story about a girl named Alma and a stray dog named Lulu shows how a girl and a dog can rescue each other.

Lulu’s ears flap in the wind

as the rescue truck rolls into the lot.

Lulu’s tail thumps—

Everything smells . . . new.

Lulu sleeps under the moon, drinking from mud puddles and is covered in ticks until she is rescued. She waits for the Operation Rescue Dog truck, scared and uncertain.

Alma misses her Mami, who is far away in Iraq. Alma wears Mami’s scarf around her like a hug. She wonders: Can a dog feel like a hug?

Why I like this book:

You’ve got a dog who needs a home and a little girl who needs a friend…that’s a formula for a book filled with heart…and I love books filled with heart.
Wonderful illustrations will keep the kids wanting to turn the page to see the next one.
Maria has such a wonderful understanding of dogs…and the relationship they have with people.

RELATED ACTIVITIES:

Photo courtesy: https://www.easypeasyandfun.com/dog-crafts-for-kids/

WOW…what a fabulous collection of dog crafts for young kids. If you’d like detailed instructions, please go here: https://www.easypeasyandfun.com/dog-crafts-for-kids/

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Autumn is definitely here…our leaves are already changing color and the temperature in the morning is decidedly crisp. I am fortunate to live in New England because the fall foliage is something many people travel here to see.

School is underway in just about every town and city…but this is a perfect season to do day or short weekend trips with the kiddos. Do you have any travel plans in the near future? My son is flying in from Chicago next week to participate in the Tough Mudder in Gilford, NH. What is a Tough Mudder you ask? Here a short video clip: https://toughmudder.com/events/2018-northeast

It’s a 10 mile race with 20 obstacles…like a slog through ice cold water (filled with ice cubes), a run between wires that have electricity going through them…and you…OUCH! As well as climbing up walls, swinging from rings and more! My daughter and I will definitely not be participating…only cheering him and her hubby on. And then the next day, we’ll be making a bittersweet drive to Connecticut to hold a tribute to my husband at the river where he fished for decades.

And my writer friends…how is your writing life going? We are in the last quarter of the year…are you working on anything new? Revising manuscripts? I just finished a new story and just need to polish the author’s note (it’s another nonfiction pb) befoe I send it to my agent. And then…a new story! YAY! I just came back from visiting a dear friend in New Jersey. We stayed up late…talking for hours and hours. In fact, her husband was sure we would lose our voices. But we didn’t! And I came home with TWO fabulous story ideas that I can’t wait to start researching and writing.

Please don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered into the giveaway for a copy of Maria Gianferrari’s brand new book: OPERATION RESCUE DOG…it’s available for preorder and launches in just a few days!!!!