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.

Happy Book Birthday: DIY CIRCUS LAB FOR KIDS Plus Giveaway

Posted on February 13, 2018 by viviankirkfield

Hello dear friends!

I know all about birthdays – I’ve had 71 of them! But there is nothing like the first one. And that’s why I’m so thrilled to wish a big Happy Book Birthday to:

And big congratulations to author and circus-guru, Jackie Leigh Davis.

Are you a camp director or counselor, looking for a great program to offer the kids?

Are you a teacher or after-school center youth leader needing a new activity?

Are you a parent looking to do something fun-filled and family-friendly with your children?

This book is a hands-on, step-by-step guide with easy instructions and clear photos that demonstrate each juggling, balancing, clowning, and show-making activity.

Jackie is one of my local SCBWI buddies and I’m totally excited to attend her book signing event at the Toadstool Bookstore in Milford, NH on Saturday, February 17th from 2-4pm. Yes, that’s right! It’s in only a couple of days. So if you are local to the Milford area, why not stop in and say hello! Toadstool is our wonderful Indie bookstore where I get to hang out with my local writer buddies sometimes.

By the way, I plan to buy a copy of DIY CIRCUS LAB FOR KIDS while I’m at Jackie’s book signing and I’ll be giving it away to one lucky winner! So, if you’d like to win that signed copy, please leave a comment below…and for an extra entry, come back on Saturday when Jackie stops by to chat on Will Write for Cookies.

And please make sure you are here on Friday. I’ll be posting a special Perfect Picture Book Friday with a peek inside this year’s guidelines for the #50PreciousWords Writing Challenge. There will be some awesome prizes, including a critique with my wonderful agent, Essie White of Storm Literary Agency.

A bit of news from me on the book front: I just got to see the tentative cover for the counting book that Pomegranate Books bought. My fellow Storm teammate, Mirka Hokannen is illustrating and oh my gosh…she is amazing! And the story that used to be called Visitors to Deep Pool is now entitled…hmmm…maybe we’ll have to have a TITLE REVEAL sometime down the road. The book hasn’t been announced yet, hopefully any day. But I have to tell you, it is heaven when author, illustrator, and editor are able to collaborate together…that is a recipe for a beautiful book!

I know many of you are participating in Susanna’s Valentiny Contest…there is still time to enter…or you can just hop over to read some of the wonderful stories.

Perfect Picture Book Friday: MOTH AND WASP, SOIL AND OCEAN

Posted on February 2, 2018 by viviankirkfield

Hello dear friends! I hope you haven’t given up on me. With a March 1st deadline, I’ve been writing and revising for the past three weeks. I’m happy to say that four of the manuscripts for the compilation book are already on the editor’s desk. I have one more ready to go, another almost there, a third that needs a bit more research, and a fourth…well…let’s just say that one is still a rough draft.

January was also Tara Lazar’s STORYSTORM challenge and I now have a notebook with 30+ new story ideas. If you didn’t get a chance to hop over to read my post, you can click here. I shared how I got ideas for all of the books that are now under contract – and a few that are out on submission. If you are writing with the view to getting traditionally published, I urge you to read Jane Yolen’s post – I am always inspired by her words.

Speaking of being inspired…our Perfect Picture Book Friday selection does exactly that! The text by award-winning author Sigrid Schmalzer is glorious and the illustrations by debut picture book illustrator Melanie Linden Chan are incredible!

MOTH AND WASP, SOIL AND OCEAN: Remembering Chinese Scientist Pu Zhelong’s Work for Sustainable Farming

Written by Sigrid Schmalzer

Illustrated by Melanie Linden Chan

Published by Tilbury House Publishers (2018)

Ages: 6-9

Themes: Sustainable farming, Chinese culture, conservation

Why I like this book:

A true gem of history that will inspire adults and kids
A beautiful diverse story that will help children get a better picture of life in other places and times
Incredible illustrations from debut picture book illustrator Melanie Linden Chan…just incredible!
I love the message of sustainable farming!

RELATED ACTIVITIES

Plant Seeds

Photo courtesy: https://www.prekinders.com/category/themes/plants-seeds/

One of the favorite activities of my kinders was planting seeds. They loved getting their hands in the soil, pressing the small beans, peas, or other seeds with their fingers. Best of all, the loved watching the little green sprouts push up and flourish. For detailed instructions, go here: https://www.prekinders.com/category/themes/plants-seeds/

For more wonderful picture book reviews, please go to Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog. And for today’s Perfect Picture Book Friday link up, go here.

And while you are there, why not check out her Valentiny Contest that starts soon!

And last, but definitely not least, if you’d like to get a peek at the 2018 Debut Picture Books, please visit the Epic Eighteens website.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend. Stay warm or stay cool, whichever you prefer.

Perfect Picture Book Friday: LET THE CHILDREN MARCH

Posted on January 19, 2018 by viviankirkfield

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends. I missed last week, so we have some giveaways to award before we get to the special book featured today.

From author Nancy Churnin – a copy of CHARLIE TAKES HIS SHOT. And the winner is…

Julie LaCombe

From author/illustrator Jeanette Bradley – a copy of LOVE, MAMA. And the winner is…

Suzy Leopold

From author Kerri Kokias – a PICTURE BOOK MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUE. And the winner is…

Kaye Baillie

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

I’m so excited about the coming year…so many fabulous picture books are debuting…and I hope to share many of them with you.

LET THE CHILDREN MARCH

Written by Monica Clark-Robinson

Illustrated by Frank Robinson

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for Young Readers (2018)

Ages: 6-9

Themes: Civil Rights, segregation

Synopsis:

From Amazon:

I couldn’t play on the same playground as the white kids.
I couldn’t go to their schools.
I couldn’t drink from their water fountains.
There were so many things I couldn’t do.

In 1963 Birmingham, Alabama, thousands of African American children volunteered to march for their civil rights after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak. They protested the laws that kept black people separate from white people. Facing fear, hate, and danger, these children used their voices to change the world. Frank Morrison’s emotive oil-on-canvas paintings bring this historical event to life,

while Monica Clark-Robinson’s moving and poetic words document this remarkable time.

Why I like this book:

I love stories that inspire children to become doers as well as dreamers.
I love books that bring history alive for young readers.
I love illustrations that capture our attention…and our hearts.
I love when the partnership of author and illustrator works as it does so beautifully in this book.
No doubt about it…this is a 5-STAR picture book…don’t miss it!

RELATED ACTIVITIES

Photo courtesy: http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/kidscraftsactivitiesblog

Martin Luther King Day may have passed, but it’s never to late to celebrate diversity. Kids will love tracing their hand prints. For a classroom, why not have kids trace as many hand prints as there are kids and decorate them. Then kids can trade, so each child has a wreath made from hand prints of the entire class.

For detailed instructions: http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/kidscraftsactivitiesblog/2012/01/how-to-make-a-colored-hands-wreath-for-martin-luther-king-day/

Thank you all for stopping by…I appreciate your time and your company! I’ve been less active on social media because I’ve been writing and revising…but I’ve been keeping up with STORYSTORM. Each day, another author shares how they get ideas for stories. My notebook is filling up and I’m so excited about that. I’m also excited because on January 25th, it will be my turn to share my thoughts with everyone. I hope you’ll all stop by Tara’s blog to say hello!

And for more perfect picture book reviews, please visit Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog where all lovers of picture books join her Perfect Picture Book Friday link up.