Happy Book Birthday: MAXIMILLIAN VILLAINOUS Plus Giveaway

Posted on August 28, 2018 by viviankirkfield

Sometimes a book cover grabs your attention. Other times it’s the title. With this book, for me, it was BOTH!

A VERY HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO MAXIMILLIAN VILLAINOUS!!!!

MAXIMILLIAN VILLAINOUS

Written by Margaret Chiu Greanias

Illustrated by Lesley Breen Withrow

Published by Running Press Kids (TODAY: August 28, 2019)

Ages: 4-8

Themes: Acceptance, be true to yourself

Synopsis: From Amazon:

“For anyone who loved Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, this is a humorous and important book about learning to follow your heart and proving that kindness can outweigh villainy any day.

Maximillian Villainous is a monster who doesn’t have the heart to be a villain. His famous family pulls pranks on the likes of Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, and Max spends his time undoing them. So when he brings home a bunny to be his sidekick, Max’s disapproving mother hatches a plan. She challenges Max and the bunny to become a devious duo; otherwise . . . the bunny hops. If they want to stay together, Max and the bunny have no choice but to go against their nature. They blunder into villainy with comical effect until Max discovers that embracing his good heart may just be the key to pulling off the most devious deed of all and winning his family’s acceptance.

Delightfully fun and irreverent, Maximillian Villainous is an empowering story about embracing one’s true self and finding acceptance. Up and coming illustrator Lesley Breen Withrow brings the characters to life with bold and colorful illustrations in a style reminiscent of Richard Scarry.”

Dear friends…I know this is a book that kids are going to love. I feel like I already know the author, Margaret Chiu Greanias. From my very first toe-dipping into the water of this kidlit community, I saw her name as an active participant. And when I spoke to her, I found out that she has loved writing for a very long time.

Margaret wrote her first terrifically terrible book in fourth grade. From grade school through college, she suffered through English—she was especially bad at analyzing stories and writing essays. Then, during her very last year of college, she took a creative writing class and discovered she loved writing. Despite this, it wasn’t until her second child was born that she remembered her love of children’s books. She’s been writing ever since. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, three children, and a fluffle of dust bunnies.

To learn more about Margaret and her books, please visit her website: http://margaretgreanias.com/

And guess what? The author has graciously offered a copy as a giveaway! Please leave a comment for a chance to win!

I hope you all have a wonderful week! And whenever you have the time, why not hop over to one of the book review sites like Amazon or Goodreads and leave a review for your favorite picture books!

Happy Book Birthday: Tina Cho’s RICE FROM HEAVEN

Posted on August 14, 2018 by viviankirkfield

Don’t you love birthdays? I do!

Especially when they are book birthdays and I don’t get any older!

And especially when they are book birthday for one of my dearest kidlit friends!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAY TO RICE FROM HEAVEN!

And not only is this a story by a dear critique buddy, the other amazing thing is that this book is based on true events!

I am extremely grateful to Tina for writing this story and informing children and adults of what is happening on the other side of the world. We read a lot about North Korea in the news – but this is something that is going on behind the scenes. It shows such love and compassion on the part of the South Koreans who want the people in North Korea to have food. Learn more about RICE FROM HEAVEN tomorrow on Perfect Picture Book Friday.

And how excited I am to see that RICE FROM HEAVEN is the #1 New Release on Amazon in Children’s Asia Books!

I know you won’t want to miss our Perfect Picture Book Friday post when I review RICE FROM HEAVEN…and then, to top off this special week, Tina Cho will be stopping by to chat with us and share one of her favorite treats.

Thank you for spending your precious time here. Pleases remember that the finest gift you can give the authors of your favorite books is to buy their books, review their books, tell your friends about their books, and ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection.

I hope you have a wonderful week and I hope to see you back here on Friday!

Happy Book Birthday: NO FROGS IN SCHOOL Plus GIVEAWAYS

Posted on August 7, 2018 by viviankirkfield

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear NO FROGS IN SCHOOL Happy Birthday to you!

NO FROGS IN SCHOOL

Written by Alexandria LaFaye

Illustrated by Egalitine Ceulemans

Published by Sterling Children’s Books (August 7, 2018)

Ages: 4-7

Themes: Pets, humor, working together

Synopsis: From Amazon:

“Bartholomew Botts loves pets—but his teacher, Mr. Patanoose, says No Frogs in School! So what will happen when Bartholomew’s beloved creatures meet up with Mr. Patanoose’s rules? Lots of FUN!

Hoppy pets, hairy pets, scaly pets: Bartholomew Botts loves them all. And he doesn’t want to go to school without one. Unfortunately, when Bartholomew brings his brand-new frog to class, his teacher, Mr. Patanoose, declares: No frogs in school! How will Bartholomew keep his animal friends close at hand . . . and follow Mr. Patanoose’s rules, too? Illustrated with energetic and humorous artwork, this back-to-school story will be a favorite with every animal-loving kid!”

As a former kindergarten teacher, I love school stories…and this one is hilarious! The art work is so engaging and the text is filled with humor and will have every teacher and parent nodding their heads and kids will be rolling on the floor as Mr. Patanoose tries to restore order to his classroom.

The author, Alexandria LaFaye, is one of my Storm teammates…so I am doubly excited to help her celebrate her book’s launch. And because it is a book birthday, we need to have presents, right?

Alexandria’s publisher sent me a copy of NO FROGS IN SCHOOL and one lucky person is going to receive that as my book birthday gift. Just leave a comment on this blog post to be entered.

Plus there is chance to win another book birthday gift that is for K-2 teachers. Imagine a teacher starting the school year with THIRTY new books! WOW! Alexandria is hosting this giveaway on her Facebook page. She says:

Please help me spread the word about this book giveaway to help K-2 teachers building-expand their inclusive classroom libraries. Thanks.

It’s time for a great giveaway of 31 books for a K-2 classroom, including a signed copy of NO FROGS IN SCHOOL by A. LaFaye Kirkus says, “each page lends itself to an energetic seek-and-find storytime that promises new discoveries upon multiple reads.” See the rules in the comments below or visit Sylanocity and check out the pinned post athttps://bit.ly/2vs8fuq. I’ll be reviewing books from the giveaway each day in August. The contest runs Aug 1-30th. #kidlit #bookgiveaway #NoFrogs #TeachersRule #Diversity #Equity Sterling Publishing

So dear friends, please share this if you know any teachers or school librarians…and don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered into the giveaway for NO FROGS IN SCHOOL And please remember that the best present you can give to your favorite author is to: