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: Hoot and Holler – A Story About Friendship

Posted on January 31, 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 spent the most delightful morning at my grandson’s Kindercare kindergarten class. We had made a book together – he drew the pictures and told me what to write. Then he told his teacher that he wanted his grandma to come in to read the book to his friends. The teacher was thrilled (another pair of hands is always appreciated in a classroom filled with active kids)…and today was the day. Jeremy could hardly wait to get to school…in the car, he told me that he was a gazillion and trillion excited.

Of course I had a ball – and read a whole bunch of picture books with them in addition to the book Jeremy had made. It’s always fascinating to observe the interactions amongst the kids – friends one moment and arch-enemies the next.

So I decided to bring a book to you that addresses the topic of friendship…and with Valentine’s Day just two weeks away, it seems very appropriate.

Hoot and Holler

Written by Alan Brown

Illustrated by Rimantas Rolia

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (2001)

Ages: 3 and up

Themes:

Friendship, expressing emotions, overcoming fears

Synopsis:

Holler, a big owl, and Hoot, a little owl, played together every night in the woods. They were both shy, and Continue reading →

Have You Seen That Groundhog? Punxsutawney Phyllis’ Fashion Show

Posted on January 29, 2014 by viviankirkfield

February 2nd is Groundhog Day.

You know the drill, right?

Luckily, I am good friends with a very special groundhog…author Susanna Leonard Hill’s famous Punxsutawney Phyllis.

So, I thought I’d call her to get the low-down on up-coming weather trends.

Phyllis was very close-mouthed about it – and refused to spill the beans before the official date – but she did share something with me.

She’s planning a vacation at an undisclosed nude beach in the Caribbean – to attend the 1st Annual Groundhog Fun-in-the-Sun-Spectacular (or Spectacle…it was a bad connection and I wasn’t sure what she said).

Here’s a picture she emailed me…that’s Phyllis, on her beach blanket, covered by her towel…this is a G-rated blog, after all.

I know we all hope Phyllis has an awesome time – for more adventures of Phyllis, go here.

If you want to submit an entry or see the other posts, Susanna has a linky up on her blog…lots of others are joining Phyllis’ Fun Fashion Show.

#PPBF – The Story About Ping

Posted on January 24, 2014 by viviankirkfield

My grandson at his first karate class – wish I could focus so intently (and lift my leg that high).

The month has flown by with lots of picture book writing activity. I finished Meg Miller’s ReviMo (all about revising) and I’m currently participating in Shannon Abercrombie’s Start the Year off Write. There are several contest deadlines looming – Highlights Fiction Contest entries (Holiday theme) must be postmarked by January 31…and the contest being hosted by Rate Your Story ends on February 3^rd. Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 is gearing up with a fully functioning Forum where you can post the 1^st 250 words of a manuscript, as well as queries and pitches for critique. Emma Walton Hamilton has again graciously agreed to critique queries this month for Golden Book level members…if she isn’t able to get to all of them, Julie will complete the task. And, the lovely Mira Reisberg, talented teacher of Picture Book Academy and head of Hummingbird Literary, will be critiquing pitches in a free live webinar tonight at 6pm Pacific time. I’ve already completed my January 12×12 picture book draft and I’m furiously working to get all of those contest entries in on time. Thanks to my two wonderful critique groups, I’ve gotten great feedback and suggestions for revision and polishing. PLUS, I’m jumping up and down with excitement since February will be here before we know it and Susanna’s Making Picture Book Magic class will begin.

So now that you know how January is going for me, are you ready for a picture book review?

I’m a fan of classic picture books, although recently I’ve been reviewing mostly the newer ones as I also read them to help me in my picture book writing. Today, I’m reverting back to a tried and true classic that does not seem to be on the Perfect Picture Book list. It’s also a Perfect Picture Book for the upcoming Chinese New Year – although the China it depicts has changed drastically – the book was written OVER EIGHTY YEARS AGO!