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: A Morning with Grandpa

Posted on October 14, 2016 by viviankirkfield

Hold onto your hats! Today’s post is chock full of good stuff!

It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday…so you know we are going to have a super picture book to review. And, because this is the third Friday of the month, we will be featuring the debut picture book of tomorrow’s Will Write for Cookies guest, Sylvia Liu! Woo-hoo!

But we need to make a few announcements first.

The lovely Susanna Hill has announced her long-awaited Halloweensie Contest…I’ve participated in this writing challenge for many years…it’s a ton of fun…and ONLY 100 WORDS. Check out the rules and prizes (oh, but definitely, with Susanna, there are always prizes) right here.
Last month we ran a giveaway for a copy of Joan Leotta’s Summer in a Bowl. Thank you to everyone who commented…I enjoyed hearing what your favorite salad ingredients are. And the winner is:

BARBARA ANN PASTER

Barbara, I’ll be contacting you ASAP so I can get the book out to you.

Tomorrow we’ll be giving away a copy of A Morning with Grandpa…so please stop by.

And now, thank you for your patience…it’s time for our #PPBF review.

A MORNING WITH GRANDPA

Written by Sylvia Liu

Illustrated by Christina Forshay

Publisher: Lee and Low Books (2016)

Ages: Preschool – Grade 3

Themes:

Family life, health and fitness, yoga

Synopsis:

From Amazon:

Mei Mei s grandpa is practicing tai chi in the garden, and Mei Mei is eager to join in. As Gong Gong tries to teach her the slow, graceful movements, Mei Mei enthusiastically does them with her own flair. Then Mei Mei takes a turn, trying to teach Gong Gong the yoga she learned in school. Will Gong Gong be able to master the stretchy, bendy poses? Winner of the LEE & LOW New Voices Award, this title celebrates, with lively spirit and humor, the special bond between grandparent and grandchild and the joy of learning new things together. Readers of all ages will want to try out some tai chi and yoga too!

Opening Lines:

“Mei Mei watched Grandpa dance slowly among the flowers in the garden.”

Why I like this book:

I love books with multigenerational characters…and here we have a beautiful give and take relationship…each learning from the other.
Text is filled with wonderful language as the author explains how to do various tai chi and yoga moves…as a reader, I loved how the story sounded…as a writer, I appreciated how carefully the author chose each and every word.
The illustrations are absolutely perfect! We feel the character of Mei Mei…we see Mei Mei and her grandpa moving through the garden.

RELATED ACTIVITIES

In the back matter, the author provides explanations of various tai chi moves and yoga poses.
Book trailer on Mr. Schu’s blog: http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/2016/04/book-trailer-premiere-morning-with_17.html

This post is part of a series for parents and teachers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays hosted by Susannah Leonard Hill. Click on her link and find lots of other picture book suggestions with summaries and activities.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s special post!

WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES

SYLVIA LIU will be in the house!

Perfect Picture Book Friday: I DISSENT: Ruth Bader Ginsberg Makes Her Mark

Posted on October 7, 2016 by viviankirkfield

OCTOBER is National Bully Prevention Month. Next week is International Day of the Girl Child. And today is Bald and Free Day. (For a detailed list of EVERY wacky and not-so-wacky special day in October, click here.

Bald and Free Day might not apply to all of us, but the first two definitely need to be uppermost in our minds, as parents, educators, and writers. And today’s Perfect Picture Book Friday selection is a Mighty Girl book that addresses both. For more wonderful picture book reviews and activities, please visit Susanna Hill’s website.

I DISSENT: RUTH BADER GINSBURG MAKES HER MARK

Written by Debbie Levy

Illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley

Publisher: Simon and Schuster (2016)

Ages: 4-8

Themes:

Gender discrimination, women’s rights, self-worth

Synopsis:

From Amazon:

Get to know celebrated Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—in the first picture book about her life—as she proves that disagreeing does not make you disagreeable!

Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has spent a lifetime disagreeing: disagreeing with inequality, arguing against unfair treatment, and standing up for what’s right for people everywhere. This biographical picture book about the Notorious RBG, tells the justice’s story through the lens of her many famous dissents, or disagreements.

Opening Lines:

“You could say that Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s life was one disagreement after another.”

Why I like this book:

A mighty girl book about a woman who refused to accept the role that society handed her – and she used her dissent and disagreement in a constructive way.
I love that the story begins when she is a child…and we see how supportive her mother was and how growing up surrounded by books was such a positive influence on her life.
Fabulous text…language is so powerful…and lots of action.
Incredible illustrations…and I love how the words of ‘dissention’ are set apart and bolded.

RELATED ACTIVITIES

Most kids love to listen to a story. But we can extend the learning by discussing and asking questions or participating in follow up activities. You and your child can:

Draw a picture of a favorite character or scene from the story. Mount it on cardboard and cut into pieces to make a puzzle.
Make a list of special words from the book. Older children can construct a word find puzzle.
Think of a different ending.

Here are some other ideas: http://www.kumon.com/resources/20-things-to-do-before-and-after-you-read-to-your-children/

Monday is Columbus Day…and my grandson’s 8^th birthday…I bought him a pile of…you guessed it…chapter books…went to our local indie bookstore and lost myself there for a couple of hours. I was going to take a photo of all of the books, but I had to leave them there until Monday…they are having a 25% off sale for educators and retired educators. I love our local bookstore…I walked in and the manager said,”Oh, do you have another book coming out?” Indie bookstores support the community and local authors…let’s keep them strong and vibrant.

For Jeremy’s birthday, are going to an indoor skydiving facility…this grandma is just going to watch…I did the actual skydive a few years ago…it was so much fun…but once was definitely enough: Click here if you’d like to see this daredevil jump out of a perfectly good airplane. (if you do go to the link, there should be a space for my email: viviankirkfield@gmail.com and my zip code: 03031…at least that’s what it asks me. http://www.lifepursuitvideo.com/asppublic/Video60520.aspx?VF=46836#.V_gdOOArKCz

Thank you so much for stopping by…I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

PPBF: Separate Is Never Equal

Posted on September 30, 2016 by viviankirkfield

Can you believe this is the LAST DAY OF SEPTEMBER?

A couple of weeks ago, I promised that at the end of the month, I would give away a copy of my parent-teacher book in celebration of National Library Card Sign Up Month. Thank you to all who commented on that post. And the winner is

JEN BAGAN

Congratulations, Jen…I will be in touch to get your mailing address.

For me, September always meant the start of a new school year…as a kid, I always loved the first day. My sister and I each got a new outfit and a shiny new pair of shoes. And I looked forward to seeing my friends after the long summer.

But even though the main character of today’s Perfect Picture Book Friday pick has a shiny new pair of shoes, her first day of school is not going well.

SEPARATE IS NEVER EQUAL: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation

Written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers (2014)

Ages: 6-9

Themes:

Discrimination, desegregation, bullying

Synopsis:

From Amazon:

Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a “Whites only” school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.

Opening Lines:

“Sylvia had on her black shoes. They were shiny new.”

Why I like this book:

One of my favorite nonfiction picture books of 2014, this story is written and illustrated by the amazing Duncan Tonatiuh who is going to be our December Will Write for Cookies guest!!! And I’ll be reviewing his NEWEST book that month, The Princess and the Warrior. PLUS…there will be a giveaway of one of Duncan’s books!
Powerful text combines perfectly with bold distinctive illustrations.
Wonderful springboard for discussions on discrimination, segregation, and equality…and also bullying.

RELATED ACTIVITIES

Interview and read aloud with Duncan Tonituah: https://youtu.be/n7-kzJVcOUw
A teacher’s guide – grades 1-5: https://laii.unm.edu/outreach/common/educators-guides/2015-Americas-Award.pdf
Book trailer: https://youtu.be/KlyGKQdPePQ

This post is part of a series for parents and teachers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays hosted by Susannah Leonard Hill. Click on here name and find an archived page of over 1000 picture book posts with activities. Click here for this week’s new reviews.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.