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: I Am Jazz – A True Story About A Transgender Child

Posted on February 6, 2015 by viviankirkfield

Roses are red, violets are blue.

We’ve got so much snow, I don’t know what to do!

Yes, you’ve guessed it. We got more snow during the week and they are predicting another HUGE blizzard within forty-eight hours. As you can imagine, I am now on a first name basis with our lovely snow plow guy. See what his plow looks like after pushing all that snow?

Fortunately, there is so much for a writer to do when stuck in the house. I’m still participating in Kristen Fulton’s 52 Weeks of Charting Non-Fiction Picture Books.

So today’s Perfect Picture Book Friday selection is one of the special stories from that challenge.

But before I get to the review, I wanted to mention another challenge that is near and dear to my heart. Whether you are a writer or a reader, a teacher or a parent, you know that reviews are very important for the success of a book…especially those that are posted to Amazon and other review sites. I’ve been tagged by a dear friend, Carrie Finison, to participate in BOOK LOVE – a Blog Hop

. Anyone can jump on board. And I hope that all of you will. There is only one requirement. Review a picture book (especially one that doesn’t have many reviews) and post it to Amazon. I did that last week for All Different Now – Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson (only had 4 reviews), Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas by Lynne Cox (only had 15 reviews), Skit-Scat Ragetty Cat, by Roxanne Orgill (only had 9 reviews). I’ll be posting my review for today’s selection also, as well as doing a bonus book review (which you will find at the end of this post).

Writers and illustrators work so hard to put quality books on the shelves for our children. I’ve spoken to published authors who tell me Continue reading →

Groundhog Day – Happy 10th Anniversary, Punxsutawney Phyllis!

Posted on February 2, 2015 by viviankirkfield

Today is a very special day! Yes, I know, it is Groundhog Day. And unfortunately, I believe we are in for another six weeks of winter. Right now, we are being hit with yet another BLIZZARD here in New Hampshire.

But it is also the 10^th Anniversary of the publication of Punxsutawney Phyllis, Susanna Leonard Hill’s lovely picture book about a feisty girl groundhog.

Susanna has created a link up party on her blog.

– stop over and visit. Here is my entry for the celebration.

HAPPY 10^TH ANNIVERSARY, PHYLLIS!

ODE TO PHYLLIS – ON HER TENTH ANNIVERSARY (With many apologies to the master of poetry, Edgar Allen Poe)

Once upon a morning cloudy, while I waited, kind of rowdy,

Wanting nothing more than just to dance and sing and trill —

While I hip-hopped, in the shower, water running for an hour,

Getting ready for my party given by my uncle Phil,

Cross the window pane – a shadow – straight from Boulder, Colorado

I grabbed my robe and screamed a scream that screamers said was shrill.

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,

In stepped Phil who said, “You will put on your lacy frill.”

“Let’s get going, my sweet maiden; ‘cause my arms are heavy laden

with some nuts and acorns – please be careful, they might spill.

We’ve a shadow to uncover and surprises to discover

Happy Birthday, Phyllis! It’s been 10 years – what a thrill!”

I hope you enjoyed my little ditty.

Last year, a bunch of us participated in a fashion contest for Phyllis.

My entry featured Phyllis, relaxing on her beach blanket in sunny Mexico!

I also blogged about Groundhog Day and Phyllis in 2013: https://viviankirkfield.com/2013/02/02/groundhog-day-facts-and-fiction/

Stay safe and stay warm, wherever you are!

#PPBF: Tiny Creatures – The World of Microbes

Posted on January 30, 2015 by viviankirkfield

The snow is falling…again! Here in Amherst, New Hampshire, we were clobbered by a huge blizzard just a few days ago and, as I look out my window, it seems Mother Nature is giving us an encore.

So it’s nice to be inside, cozy and warm, sharing my Perfect Picture Book Friday review with you.

Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes

Written by Nicola Davies

Illustrated by Emily Sutton

Publisher: Candlewick Press (2014)

Ages: 5 and up

Themes: Science, health, the world around us

Opening Lines:

“You know about big animals, and you know about small animals…but do you know that there are creatures so tiny that millions could fit on this ant’s antenna?”

Synopsis:

From Amazon: “All around the world — in the sea, in the soil, in the air, and in your body — there are living things so tiny that millions could fit on an ant’s antenna. They’re busy doing all sorts of things, from giving you a cold and making yogurt to eroding mountains and helping to make the air we breathe. If you could see them with your eye, you’d find that they all look different, and that they’re really good at changing things into something else and at making many more microbes like themselves!.” Continue reading →