Category Archives: Author Interviews

Perfect Picture Book Friday: IF MY HAIR HAD A VOICE Plus Giveaway

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They say the grass is always greener. When I was growing up, I hated my hair. It was curly and frizzy…especially on humid days…and since I lived in New York City, that was almost every day! What I wanted was long straight hair, that flipped up at the end like Mary Tyler Moore in the Dick Van Dyke show. And I spent many hours with my hair in huge rollers, trying to achieve that. Fortunately, I eventually learned to embrace my hair – because it’s part of who I am. But whenever I hear about a book that focuses on hair, I always want to share it! And this book just launched May 28th!!

IF MY HAIR HAD A VOICE

Written by Dana Marie Miroballi

IIlustrated by Patricia Grannum

Publisher: Beaming Books (May 28, 2024)

Ages: 3-8

Themes: Self Esteem, African History, Hair

Synopsis: From Amazon:

“If your hair had a voice, it would sing of diversity and identity. It would tell you stories of our history.”
An ode to loving your hair and your culture, If My Hair Had a Voice follows a young Black girl as she grows from being disappointed in her natural hair to developing an amazed appreciation for the long history of Black hair. From blossoming floral motifs in celebration of spring to intricate braided codes for spreading revolutionary messages, she discovers that Black hair goes beyond simple adornment–it tells the story of a rich cultural history filled with diversity, resistance, artistry, and, of course, beauty. Backmatter explores the history of each hairstyle featured in the book.

Why I Love This Book:
1. I love books that are so relatable to ALL children – because no matter who you are or where you come from or how you look, you probably had a time in your life that you weren’t happy with something about yourself – and the child agency in this book is inspiring.
2. Well-written text and great pacing keep the child-reader engaged.
3. Glorious illustrations put us right in each setting.

ME: And guess what? It’s always a treat when one of a book’s creators stops by – and author Dana is here to share her inspiration for the story.

DANA: Inspiration: The story started as a poem I wrote in 2020 while reading about Madam C. J. Walker. In the early 1900s, she developed hair products for afro-textured hair and devised a grooming system that included straightening hair with a metal hot comb. I started reflecting on my experience of growing up straightening my hair and then embracing my natural hair in my late 20s.

Here’s a little bit about Dana and how to connect with her and find out more about her books:
 Dana Marie Miroballi is a teacher-turned speech-language pathologist writing books for young readers. She grew up in Germany, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan, and now lives in Chicago with her husband and children. Dana is the author of If My Hair Had a Voice (Beaming Books) and Inventions to Count On (Abrams Appleseed, 2025).

Social Media
FB & Twitter: shesthebear   Instagram: noshesthebear

Purchase link: https://www.beamingbooks.com/store/product/9781506493602/If-My-Hair-Had-a-Voice

RELATED ACTIVITIES
Make a Haircut Buddy

Books like Dana’s can help kids learn to love themselves more! And doing one or more of these things can help books like Dana’s reach the kids who need to love themselves more. What can you do?
Buy the book
Review the book
Place the book on your Goodreads Want to Read Shelf
Tell friends about the book (please share on your social media)
Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win the giveaway!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Perfect Picture Book Friday: THE LAST DAY JULIAN WAS MY BEST FRIEND Plus Giveaway

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Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends. Friendship is so very important – and being a good friend is one of the most important skills we can help children master. And whether we are 8 or 80, having good friends just makes life so much better! Huge thanks to author Jody Jensen Shaffer and illustrator Joanne Lew-Vriethoff for creating THE LAST DAY JULIAN WAS MY FRIEND.

THE LAST DAY JULIAN WAS MY BEST FRIEND

Written by Jody Jensen Shaffer

Illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

Published by Two Lions (June 4, 2024)

Ages: 5-8

Themes: Friendship, Honesty, Forgiveness

Synopsis: From the Amazon Sales Page:
A touching story of true friendship and the power of forgiveness.

Best friends and neighbors Anthony and Julian are having the summer of their lives. Making pancakes, riding bikes to the beach, playing in the sand and surf…They have everything they need for an epic summer vacation. But Anthony is worried. He has a secret―a secret about Julian’s missing marble. And he knows that once Julian finds out about it, he’ll be mad. He may not even want to be Anthony’s best friend anymore. So Anthony is determined to have the best last day as Julian’s best friend…until he can’t hold in his secret any longer. But maybe Julian has a surprise of his own to share with Anthony…

Why I Love This Book:
1. Grab your tissues…you will need them to wipe away the tears – the story captured my heart – a perfect story about the power of forgiveness!
2. The text is so perfect – with the rhythm, sets of three, and sparse language that keeps us engaged from beginning to end!
3. The illustrations are lovely – and we feel the emotions of both characters from the expressions on their faces – masterful!

ME: Author Jody stopped by to share a little bit of the story behind the story. Welcome, Jody! Thanks for spending some time with us.

JODY: Thanks so much for inviting me, Vivian.
When I tell kids at my author visits that some stories take two years or five years or maybe even ten years to go from idea to book, they’re stunned. Wait ’til they hear about the timeline for The Last Day Julian was My Best Friend! I wrote my first draft in 2008, when I was just learning how to write picture books. By my count, that’s 16 years from idea to book! But, boy, was it worth the effort and wait. I just love how it turned out, thanks to my editor, Marilyn Brigham, and the whole team at Two Lions, and to Joanne Lew-Vriethoff and her gorgeous illustrations. I hope readers will love it, too.

We are so glad you never gave up, Jody! The book is amazing!
Friends, here’s a little info about both the author and illustrator and how you can connect with them.

Jody Jensen Shaffer is an award-winning poet and the author of more than 80 books for children, including Creep, Leap, Crunch! A Food Chain Story, named an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book and nominated for Oklahoma’s 2025 Donna Norvell Award, Prudence the Part-Time Cow, finalist for Missouri’s Show Me Award and Missouri’s choice for the National Book Festival, A Chip Off the Old Block, nominee for Iowa’s Goldfinch Award, It’s Your First Day of School, Busy Bus!, Amazon best seller, and more! Jody’s newest books include Sometimes I am Hot Lava and Porcupine Had a Fuzzy Sweater, which release in April and September, respectively.
Website:
Twitter

From Joanne’s website:
I am an illustrator of picture, chapter, middle grade and educational books. I was born in Malaysia, grew up in Los Angeles and New York, currently living between Malaysia and Amsterdam. I studied illustration at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. And for a short stint,  I worked in the television industry as a character and concept illustrator for clients pitching children’s television shows. And then one day I decided to take a big leap and moved to New York where I worked as a graphic designer/Art Director at an AD Agency. Four years later, I found myself moving to Europe where I began my journey as a full time children’s book illustrator.
Website
Twitter

Here’s a lovely review from Kirkus:
“The tale delivers an important message about forgiveness and the importance of taking responsibility for wrongdoings… A touching exploration of the complicated dynamics of friendship.”

And here’s a Preorder link: 
https://rb.gy/s2spa0

And our kind and generous guest is offering a fabulous Giveaway…a winner’s choice of a signed book, an Ask-Me-Anything Zoom chat, or a picture book critique. WOW! Please make sure you leave a comment, letting us know what you’d choose if you are the lucky winner…and please SHARE this post on social media, add the book to your Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf, review the book on Amazon, and ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection.

RELATED ACTIVITIES:

Kids love making and wearing friendship bracelets! Give it a try with your little ones!
More fun friendship activities – details at: https://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/friendship/

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I’m still immersed in distributing prizes…and this coming week, I’m excited to see the 50-word stories for #50PreciousWordsforKids. If you are a parent or teacher, please encourage your children to participate. It’s always a joy to see what these natural storytellers have to say.

Make sure you leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway…and guess what? Two Lions is doing a Goodreads giveaway of 20 physical copies of The Last Day Julian was My Best Friend. It begins on Monday, May 6 and goes until June 3. If you want to enter, here’s the link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/388808-the-last-day-julian-was-my-best-friend

Cover Reveal: DIVYA FAR FROM HOME

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Every summer when I was a kid, my favorite thing to do was go to the library and take out a stack of books and sit in the backyard or on the stoop (what’s a stoop, you ask? If you grew up in NYC, you’d know. It’s the front steps to a house) and read, read, read. One chapter book after another. All of Louisa May Alcott’s stories. And Nancy Drew. And the Hardy Boys. And Walter Farley’s Black Stallion series. I was a lover of chapter books. And I know that if Sita Jit’s upcoming DIVYA FAR FROM HOME had been available, that would have been in my stack, too. That’s why, when Sita told me about her new book, I knew I’d want to share it with all of you.
GET READY! GET SET! COVER REVEAL!!!

Oh yes…I love this cover…and I can really identify with it…girl with notebook and pencil, wearing glasses…that was ME as a kid…and I’m sure lots of young readers will feel the same way.

Here’s a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page:
Nine-year-old Divya’s life is turned upside down when her family moves from Delhi, India, to a new city halfway across the world. Divya goes from living as an only child with her own quiet bedroom to sharing a room with her cousin in a crowded home with extended family. Plus, everything is different at her new school too. Everyone keeps saying change is good–but not if you didn’t want to leave home in the first place!

WOW! And now I’m feeling even more connected to the main character in this book. When I turned 10, my family moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn. But that’s only a distance of a few miles and they are both boroughs of New York City, you might say. True. But WORLDS apart in flavor. Living in the projects and going to school on the Lower East Side was like Baskin Robbins ice cream…remember the 31 flavors tagline (now there are over 1400!). And living in the Midwood section of Brooklyn and attending school there was like…vanilla.

But there is nothing vanilla about Sita’s fabulous book…and here’s a bit about how the book came to be:

ME: Welcome, Sita! Congratulations on your upcoming book We are so excited. Thank you so much for stopping by to share a little about the story behind the story.

SITA: A few years ago, my eldest son became interested in chapter books.  We spent a lot of time at the library and book stores looking for the next series for our bedtime read aloud. I found myself enjoying chapter books as much as he did and it was then that I began plotting out my first book and to my surprise, it came to me fairly quickly.  I was really inspired to write a story about a family like mine.  Similar to Divya, I lived in an Indian first-generation multi-family home that was always busy and full of love. My parents also made sure we were close to our extended family in India who we would visit every few years.  Looking back, I really cherish these memories with my family, extended family and cousins who lived both near and far and thank them for inspiring this story.

ME: I love books that are based on the author’s own experiences!
And here’s a bit about Sita and the illustrator, Abhilasha Khatri , and their contact information so that you can connect with them and find out more about their books.

Sita Jit is a children’s book author and elementary school teacher. Just like Divya, she grew up close with her extended family in Canada and India. In her free time, Sita loves to read, listen to music, and play board games. She lives in Ontario with her husband and three children.

Abhilasha Khatri is a children’s book illustrator based in India. She transitioned into the whimsical world of children’s books after working as an architect for over a decade. She loves to work on multicultural, inclusive, and diverse children’s books. In her free time, Abhilasha loves gardening, traveling, DIY, cooking and baking, and playing with her daughter and her cats.

Social Media Links:
Sita:
Instagram: @sitajit
Website: www.storiesbysita.ca
X: @storiesbysita

Abhilasha:
Website: www.abhilashakhatri.com
Instagram: @abhilashakhatri0603

The book launches from Stone Arch Books on August 1, 2024
Pre-order links:
Barnes & Noble
Amazon

And I love that Sita provides us with a handy pronunciation guide for her name:
Sita Jit   (hear name)

Please help upcoming books like this one become a success. We can:
Preorder it – see links above
Review it – same links as for preorder
Put it on your Goodreads WANT TO READ SHELF
Tell friends about it (please share on your social media)
Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection

Thank you so much, dear friends, for spending your precious time with us.
I hope you all have a wonderful week – and please come back for Perfect Picture Book Friday!