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:

Buy a copy of their book
Ask your local library to purchase a copy for their collection
Tell your friends about the book
Post a review on Amazon or other review sites

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week. And stop by on Friday and Saturday when a dear writer friend of mine, Emilie Boon, will be in the house.

Happy Book Birthday to FINN’S FEATHER

Posted on June 12, 2018 by viviankirkfield

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Finn’s Feather, Happy Birthday to you!

I’ve really been looking forward to the launch of this book! The author, Rachel Nobel, is one of my fellow Storm teammates. When my husband passed away last month, Rachel sent me a copy of her book because she hoped it would comfort me. And it did.

FINN’S FEATHER

Written by Rachel Nobel

Illustrated by Zoey Abbot

Published by Enchanted Lion Books (June 12, 2018)

Ages: 4-8

Themes: Coping with loss

Synopsis: From Amazon:

Finn knows his brother is gone. But he also knows that Hamish sent the beautiful white feather on his doorstep.
Finn runs to show his mother the feather from Hamish, but she only gives him a big hug. In school, Finn’s teacher responds similarly. Why isn’t anyone as excited as he is? Finn sits quietly, cradling the beautiful, amazing feather. “Why did Hamish give it to you?” asks his friend, Lucas. “Maybe he wanted to say hi?” wonders Finn. “Maybe,” Lucas says, “Hamish wanted you to have fun with it.” Finn’s Feather is a story about resilience and memory―about a child, his brother, and a friend who meets him where he is.

Why I like this book:

Fabulous illustrations
Kid-friendly scenes at school, playground, home with Finn and his friends doing and saying exactly what kids do and say…children will be able to identify with Finn
This is a story filled with hope and heart
Powerful example of how we can be the most help to someone who is grieving…often by just being there.

Coping with loss is something we all have to do…and it can be especially difficult for young children who usually don’t have a lot of experience with it. Rachel used her own family’s personal loss to craft a story that would help others…and we are all so grateful to her. It takes a great deal of courage to do something like this. And now we have this perfectly lovely story that is heading out into the world!

I’m also heading out into the world…flying to Chicago tomorrow to visit with family and hopefully hook up with some writer friends in the Chicago area.

Happy Book Birthday: DIY CIRCUS LAB FOR KIDS Plus Giveaway

Posted on February 13, 2018 by viviankirkfield

Hello dear friends!

I know all about birthdays – I’ve had 71 of them! But there is nothing like the first one. And that’s why I’m so thrilled to wish a big Happy Book Birthday to:

And big congratulations to author and circus-guru, Jackie Leigh Davis.

Are you a camp director or counselor, looking for a great program to offer the kids?

Are you a teacher or after-school center youth leader needing a new activity?

Are you a parent looking to do something fun-filled and family-friendly with your children?

This book is a hands-on, step-by-step guide with easy instructions and clear photos that demonstrate each juggling, balancing, clowning, and show-making activity.

Jackie is one of my local SCBWI buddies and I’m totally excited to attend her book signing event at the Toadstool Bookstore in Milford, NH on Saturday, February 17th from 2-4pm. Yes, that’s right! It’s in only a couple of days. So if you are local to the Milford area, why not stop in and say hello! Toadstool is our wonderful Indie bookstore where I get to hang out with my local writer buddies sometimes.

By the way, I plan to buy a copy of DIY CIRCUS LAB FOR KIDS while I’m at Jackie’s book signing and I’ll be giving it away to one lucky winner! So, if you’d like to win that signed copy, please leave a comment below…and for an extra entry, come back on Saturday when Jackie stops by to chat on Will Write for Cookies.

And please make sure you are here on Friday. I’ll be posting a special Perfect Picture Book Friday with a peek inside this year’s guidelines for the #50PreciousWords Writing Challenge. There will be some awesome prizes, including a critique with my wonderful agent, Essie White of Storm Literary Agency.

A bit of news from me on the book front: I just got to see the tentative cover for the counting book that Pomegranate Books bought. My fellow Storm teammate, Mirka Hokannen is illustrating and oh my gosh…she is amazing! And the story that used to be called Visitors to Deep Pool is now entitled…hmmm…maybe we’ll have to have a TITLE REVEAL sometime down the road. The book hasn’t been announced yet, hopefully any day. But I have to tell you, it is heaven when author, illustrator, and editor are able to collaborate together…that is a recipe for a beautiful book!

I know many of you are participating in Susanna’s Valentiny Contest…there is still time to enter…or you can just hop over to read some of the wonderful stories.