Book Birthday: UNIQUE LIKE YOU Plus Giveaway

Posted on September 16, 2025 by viviankirkfield

From idea to published book…what a process! It takes passion, practice, preparation, patience, and perseverance! And that’s why our Book Birthday posts are so very special because we are celebrating all of that hard work – and we are thrilled that the story we hoped to share is ready to fly into the hands of young readers. More than anything, our children need books that will lift them up and empower them to believe in themselves…so, when I heard that UNIQUE LIKE YOU, written by Allison and Rafael Rozo and illustrated by Angie Alape, I knew I had to share it with you.

And guess what? Allison stopped by to share the story behind the story…and to offer a wonderful GIVEAWAY…one lucky person will receive a copy of the book AND an adorable stuffy!

ME: Dear friends…that’s a cover to sing about, right? So, let’s welcome Allison who co-wrote this story with her husband…and she’s going to talk about how that process unfolded also. Allison, thanks for stopping by Picture Books Help Kids Soar!

ALLISON: Thank you so much Vivian for helping us celebrate the Book Birthday of UNIQUE LIKE YOU, a story that is near and dear to our hearts! We would be thrilled to do a Giveaway of a signed copy of our book!

SHORT SUMMARY OF UNIQUE LIKE YOU

What makes you unique?

While helping her Mamá collect empty cans, old newspapers, and other recyclable treasure to sell, Lina discovers a wall of graffiti with the words ÚNICO COMO TÚ, UNIQUE LIKE YOU. This discovery sends her on a quest through Bogotá, Colombia, to find treasure where she least expects it, and to discover what makes her unique.

With Spanish vocabulary woven throughout the story, Unique Like You transports readers to the colorful streets of Bogotá and encourages them to look at the world with curious eyes. What unique treasures wait to be discovered around us? What makes each of us unique? A helpful glossary in the back of the book makes it an accessible read for all.

WHY WE WROTE UNIQUE LIKE YOU

UNIQUE LIKE YOU was inspired by a photograph I took in 2009 on a trip with Rafael to Bogotá, Colombia of recicladores (a mother, her young daughter, and their donkey who collect reusable trash to sell or trade) in the middle of the bustling capital city as they stopped in front of a wall of graffiti with the words ÚNICO COMO TÚ, UNIQUE LIKE YOU. The image sent us on a journey of looking at our own world with new eyes, seeing special things that are all around us every moment.

Rafael is from Bogotá, and together we created a story that represents our family and incorporates pieces of his beloved city, including graffiti art. It shows how one small moment on an average day can inspire a journey of discovery about how each one of us is unique, from a far-off country to our own neighborhood. As youths, it would have been invaluable to have a relatable character, like Lina, who speaks a different language, and is impoverished, but sees trash as treasure, opening our eyes to the beauty that is hiding all around us.

It’s our hope that readers of UNIQUE LIKE YOU discover, not only what makes them unique, but the special things in others that make them unique as well. It doesn’t have to be big, or even one thing. Many little things make each of us unique if we take the time to look. Treasure can be found where you least expect it, in the people we talk to everyday to discarded trash collected on the street. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and we wanted this book as a piece of art itself. Angie Alape’s illustrations are stunning and more beautiful than we ever imagined! You truly feel immersed in the city and find new things to see on each page.

THE WIFE & HUSBAND COLLABORATION

It is a dream come true to have this book out in the world, especially since we wrote it together. Rafael and my writing process is that I usually come up with an idea I want to explore, and I write a rough outline of the story arc or plot. Then we discuss what is working and what can be revised. When we write bilingual books, we craft the story in a way to include Spanish words and try to weave them seamlessly into the manuscript. We always add a glossary at the end of our books, but it is our intent for the words to be understood from the context and illustrations. We include moments from both of our childhoods, Rafael growing up in Colombia, and my childhood in the Midwest. We often hit walls on things that don’t translate, so we decide if it’s a language barrier or if it simply doesn’t make sense. It is a fun process, and we love creating stories that connect readers to people, places, and words that perhaps they’ve never seen or heard of before.

SHORT BIO FOR ALLISON & RAFAEL

Allison and Rafael Rozo are authors who write bilingual English and Spanish picture books to weave together their Hispanic and American cultures. They are proud to create books that represent their family—including their two children Vivian and Gianluca. The Rozos began writing when they lived in Chicago, IL, and are currently living in Akron, OH. You can go to rozobooksart.com to learn more about both Allison and Rafael.

SHORT BIO FOR ANGIE ALAPE

Angie Alape grew up drawing on cardboard boxes to build worlds to play win with her siblings. Now she illustrates picture books! When not illustrating, she loves playing with her adopted dogs and trying new restaurants. Angie was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, and still lives there today.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram:
@allisonrozo
@angie.alape

Bluesky:
@allisonrozo.bsky.social

Facebook:
@allison.rozo.books

Twitter:
@allison_rozo
@AngieAlape

Link to Purchase https://www.beamingbooks.com/store/product/9781506492544/Unique-Like-You

UNIQUE LIKE YOU

ME: Thank you so much, Allison, for all of the insights you shared…and for the giveaway!
To grab you chance to win a copy of UNIQUE LIKE YOU and that amazing little stuffy, please leave a comment. And please share this post on social media so that more folks will find out about this beautiful new book.

Look at this amazing stuffy that is part of the giveaway!

Thank you all for spending your precious time with us. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Book Birthday: BEFORE I LIVED HERE Plus Giveaway

Posted on August 26, 2025 by viviankirkfield

How much do I love Book Birthday posts???

SO MUCH!!!
And when the author is one of the first CPs I ever had…way back when I first started writing…that’s even more fun!

And when I got to see an EARLY draft in the first stages of this amazing story…well, as you can imagine, I am EXCEEDINGLY thrilled to sing Happy Birthday to BEFORE I LIVED HERE, written by Stacy S. Jensen, illustrated by Victo Ngai, and published by Neal Porter Books/Holiday House.

Listen friends…this is a truly special book! Just look at that cover! And wait till you see the inside spreads…you know you want your own copy, right? Thanks to the generosity of author Jensen and her publisher, there is a brand new copy that will be given away to one lucky winner…so please make sure you leave a comment and do your part to spread the word by sharing this post on social media.

And we are ALL lucky today because Stacy has stopped by to chat with us and share some of the story…and the story behind the story.
ME: Welcome to Picture Books Help Kids Soar, dear friend! Please tell us a little bit about the story and how it came to be.

STACY: Hello everyone! And Vivian, thank you so much for having me!

BEFORE I LIVED HERE is a book about a little boy who’s living in a new neighborhood. The story goes back in time with each page turn to share a different period of the land. It’s about the history of where you live.

What inspired you to write this book?

I lived in a neighborhood called Banning Lewis Ranch in Colorado Springs. It was an interesting place to live from the day we moved into the neighborhood to the day we left. Before the neighborhood, the land was part of a cattle ranch.

How long to make this book?

I scare people a little when I tell this story. I wrote the first draft in 2013. My son was three years old. When I received my first author copy and he held it, he was 15. While the book has a long journey, I always received nice feedback from professionals and critique partners. Writers, who also worked in classrooms, were always positive and sharing ways the book could be used in a school setting. I kept going and it sold to Neal Porter Books in 2021. Now, it’s a book that teachers and families can enjoy.

When people look at my path to publication, some are surprised. Has it taken a long time? Maybe. Do I love the final product? Yes. The illustrations by Victo Ngai are gorgeous and will entertain young readers. BEFORE I LIVED HERE has received five nice trade reviews — two starred — and is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

I’ve also met so many nice people along the way like you Vivian and so many others who have read my work and helped me grow as a writer. Hopefully, I’ve returned the favor and helped others along the way too.

Also, as a huge picture book fan, working with Neal Porter, Taylor Norman, Victo Ngai, and the team at Holiday House has been a delight.

Thanks Vivian for sharing this special day with me and your readers.

ME: Thank you, dear Stacy! You definitely exhibited all 5P’s – Passion, Practice, Preparation, Patience, and Perseverance – and I am so very thrilled for you!

And now, dear blog readers, here is a little bit about the author and illustrator:

Stacy S. Jensen is a former newspaper journalist always searching for unique stories for children, which has led her to historical sites, state and national parks, and everyday spots like the grocery store. When not writing, she enjoys time with family, reading, and paper quilling. She also volunteers to support literacy, youth, and children’s programs. Previously a Colorado resident, she now lives in Marietta, Georgia at the base of a mountain with her husband, son, and two Vizslas, who walk their humans daily. Stacy can be found online at stacysjensen.com.

Victo Ngai is a Forbes 30 Under honoree and a Society of Illustrators New York Gold Medalist. Her illustrations have been featured in the New York Times and the New Yorker, among others; she also creates storyboards and art for NBC, Dreamworks, and other animation studios. Originally from Hong Kong, she now lives in Los Angeles.

For the interior credit: Interior from *BEFORE I LIVED HERE*. Text copyright © 2025 by STACY S. JENSEN. Illustrations copyright © 2025 by VICTO NGAI. Used with permission from Holiday House Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

For more information about the book, this Holiday House link is great: https://holidayhouse.com/book/before-i-lived-here/

And don’t forget, there is a GIVEAWAY…please leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of BEFORE I LIVED HERE…maybe you can share what you see when you look out your back window.

Thank you for spending your precious time with us. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Perfect Picture Book Friday AND Book Birthday: THE DOG WHO SAVED THE BEES Plus Giveaway

Posted on August 1, 2025 by viviankirkfield

Well, dear friends, this is a very special post!!! It’s a double your pleasure/double your fun because it’s a Happy Book Birthday for this book…PLUS, it’s a Perfect Picture Book Friday also!!!

THE DOG WHO SAVED THE BEES

Written by Stephanie Gibeault

Illustrated by David Hohn

Published by Sleeping Bear Press (August 1, 2025)

Why I Love This Book:
1. I love stories that are inspired by true events!
2. I love stories where the text engages young readers…and encourages them to get in touch with protecting our planet!
3. I love stories that have glorious illustrations!

This Perfect Picture Book Friday/Book Birthday post includes quite a bit from author Stephanie Gibeault…I’m grateful to her for stopping by to chat and share.

ME: Hello Stephanie! Thank you so much for giving us your time…and for the generous giveaway of a copy of THE DOG WHO SAVED THE BEES…and for telling us about this fabulous new book of yours. Can you tell us what the book is about…and how you came to write it…and how we can get a copy of our own?

STEPHANIE:
Thank you so much for having me, Vivian. It’s always a pleasure to stop by your blog.
Summary of book:
Cybil Preston needs a dog. But not just any dog. She needs a dog to help her with her
work. Cybil is a beehive inspector who works to ensure the health of commercial
beehives in Maryland. Hundreds of hives are shipped across the country as farmers
need bees to pollinate their crops. Without the bees, there wouldn’t be foods like apples,
almonds, and strawberries. But the bees must be healthy to be shipped, and there’s a
deadly disease, foulbrood, that is highly contagious. If even one infected hive left the
state, entire bee populations could be wiped out. Dogs, with their ultrasensitive sense of
smell, can sniff out even the tiniest scent of foulbrood in a hive. A well-trained, focused
detection dog can inspect 50 hives in 10 minutes. Work that would take Cybil an entire
day to do. When Cybil meets Mack, an unruly and lonely dog, she wonders if she has
found her canine colleague. Can rambunctious Mack be trained to meet this important
challenge? Readers of all ages will enjoy this warmly illustrated true story of Cybil and
Mack as they work to save the bees.

Inspiration:
Thank you, Vivian, for celebrating The Dog Who Saved the Bees with me! This is a
book of my heart, so I’m overjoyed to see it out in the world. And David Hohn’s
illustrations are incredible. The first time I saw them, I cried.
The path to publication for this story started in 2018 when I first met Cybil Preston, the
apiary inspector in the book. I interviewed her about her sniffer dog Mack for an article I
wrote for the American Kennel Club. After I sent the article in, I couldn’t stop thinking
about Cybil and Mack’s story. Before she rescued him, Mack was living all alone in a
garage. He was untrained and unruly, but Cybil couldn’t bear to leave him in that
situation. So she took him home and began months and months of training. First, she
had to teach this easily distracted dog just to listen and focus. Then Mack needed to
learn to detect the scent of foulbrood, a deadly bee disease. Eventually, Mack became
the only certified foulbrood scent detection dog in the United States! After working for
the Maryland Department of Agriculture for nine years, Mack retired last summer. He’s
now enjoying a life of leisure on Cybil’s farm.
The story of Cybil’s determination and Mack’s transformation pulled at my heart, and I
just knew I needed to share it with young readers. Thankfully, Cybil was on board for
countless interviews. Over the years, I tried many approaches to this biography,
including a middle grade version. Eventually, after loads of revisions (a special thank
you to my critique group The Word Weavers) I received an offer from Sleeping Bear
Press in April of 2023.

ME: Oh, this is wonderful, Stephanie. And dear friends, here’s a little bit about Stephanie and illustrator

Here’s a little bit about Stephanie:
Stephanie Gibeault is an award-winning author of children’s picture books and middle
grade nonfiction including Making Sense of Dog Senses (a Eureka! Honor book),
Calculating Chimpanzees, Brainy Bees, and Other Animals with Mind-Blowing
Mathematical Abilities (a Mathical Honor book and Best STEM Book by the NSTA), and
Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses among others. As a former biologist with
a Master of Science in animal behavior, Stephanie used to spend her time grunting with
gorillas and stinking like marmoset monkeys. Years later, being a certified professional
dog trainer meant being covered in fur and drool. Now she spends her days just outside
of Toronto, Canada, sharing her love of dogs and other animals through her writing.
Find out more at stephaniegibeault.com.
Social Media Links:
Bluesky: @stephaniegibeault.bsky.social
Instagram: @stephanie_gibeault
Purchase Links:
Blue Heron Books (my local indie in Uxbridge, Ontario)
Bookshop.org
Barnes & Noble
Walmart
Amazon Canada
Amazon US

And here’s a little bit about the illustrator:
David Hohn is the illustrator of Just Like Beverly: A Biography of Beverly Cleary, which garnered starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Booklist. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Thank you for spending your precious time with us today, dear friends! And please remember to leave a comment for a chance to WIN a copy of THE DOG WHO SAVED THE BEES…you get one ticket in the giveaway hat for the comment, and if you share on social media, you get another ticket…so please share widely…that’s a wonderful way to help new books get discovered by parents and teachers and the kids who will love this book!