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.

#PPBF – The Purple Kangaroo – Encouraging Imagination

Posted on May 23, 2014 by viviankirkfield

Today is Friday – I have a children’s book review to add to the Perfect Picture Book resource list that author Susanna Leonard Hill is building on her blog. For more wonderful reviews from authors, educators and others who contributed today, please go here.

I’m immersed in writing and revising picture books these days…and one of the best ways to learn to do it right is to READ LOTS OF PICTURE BOOKS that have already been published! So I came home from the library yesterday with a HUGE stack…it reminded me of when I was a little girl and couldn’t wait to go to the library to take out as many books as I could carry. I’m sure you can visualize that tiny little child, barely able to walk because of the tall piles of books in her arms.

It was hard to choose…but I did! It is one of the new variety of picture books which engages the reader by actually talking directly to him or her…a unique technique that I will have to keep in mind as I formulate my next stories.

The Purple Kangaroo Continue reading →

Dianne de las Casas – Will Write for Cookies

Posted on May 16, 2014 by viviankirkfield

WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES

INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION FOR WRITERS

TODAY’S GUEST

DIANNE DE LAS CASAS

I connected with today’s Will Write for Cookies guest of honor because she shares my love for picture books. I had heard about Picture Book Month as I followed the blogs of writers, illustrators, educators and parents. A month devoted to picture books? What brilliant person had thought of that?

Dianne de Las Casas is an award-winning author, storyteller, and founder of Picture Book Month. Her performances, dubbed “revved-up storytelling” are full of energetic audience participation. The author of 24 books, Dianne is the International Reading Association LEADER 2014 Poet Laureate, and the 2014 recipient of the Ann Martin Book Mark award. Her children’s titles include The Cajun Cornbread Boy, There’s a Dragon in the Library, The Little “Read” Hen, The House That Santa Built, and Cinderellaphant.

When Dianne agreed to participate and share her thoughts with us, I was thrilled. There are lots of golden nuggets of inspiration and information that you will take away from this interview…and wait till you see her cookie recipe! So, without further ado…here’s Dianne! Continue reading →