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

Posted on May 31, 2024 by viviankirkfield

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!

Happy Book Birthday: JUNE MOON Plus Giveaway

Posted on May 21, 2024 by viviankirkfield

Today’s a very special day for a very special board book because today is the Kindle Book Birthday for JUNE MOON – May 28 will be the print copy birthday! Two birthdays for one little book baby…that’s totally special, right? And we are blowing out the candles and serving up cake and congratulations to author Lynn Becker and illustrator Nate Carvalho.

WOW! What a beautiful cover! And trust me, the inside pages are just as glorious. Plus the lyrical rhyming text will soon be a favorite of our littlest story-lovers.

Here’s a bit about the book from the Amazon Sales page:
Author Lynn Becker and illustrator Nate Carvalho’s board book June Moon is a whimsical bedtime story that sparks imagination and laughter as the moon mirrors a child’s playful actions, becoming a cherished favorite for young readers year-round and a perfect bonding experience for parents and children before sleep.

Rising moon
Shining moon,
Magic as a June moon.

A story of seasides and summertimes, in June Moon, the rising and setting of the moon mirrors a child’s imaginative play and bedtime routine, all bathed in the natural magic of an evening in June.

With gorgeous illustrations and seamless transitions between reality and the fantasy of a child’s view of the night sky, readers of all ages will reach for this lilting bedtime poem again and again.

And here’s a little bit about the author:
Lynn Becker grew up in New York, spent many years in the Southern California desert, and now lives in Colorado. She’s a children’s book reviewer with Shelf Awareness, and also the author of Monsters in the Briny, a picture book illustrated by Scott Brundage.
To connect with Lynn and find out more about her books: https://www.lynnbeckerbooks.com/

And here’s a little bit about the illustrator from his website:
Nate Carvalho is a Background and Visual Development Artist in the animation industry as well as a published Children’s books Illustrator.
My skills include Design, Colour, Illustration and making awesome coffee!
I’m a storyteller and I can’t shut up about it, but in the rare moments that I do, you can find me playing my violin, my ukelele or playing video games.
https://natecarvalho.myportfolio.com/work

And here are a few things we can all do to help beautiful books like this one succeed:
Put it on your Goodreads Want to Read Shelf
Buy it
Review it
Tell friends about it (share this post on your social media)
Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection

Please don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of JUNE MOON!

I hope you all have a wonderful week. This morning I’ll be delivering the #50PreciousWords Literacy Initiative books to Beech Street School in Manchester – I’ll share some photos on Facebook this week. The Bookery manager Cassie already brought several boxes of books to Weston Elemenary and McLaughlin Middle School last week.
216 Juvenile Picture Book donations
25 Young reader
The Bookery donated 50 books (THANK YOU SO MUCH, CASSIE)
plus we added in the books directly mailed to me that brought to the bookstore a few weeks ago…

THE FINAL NUMBER: 350 BOOKS!!!! A Huge Thank You to Our Fab Kid Lit Community!!!

Happy Book Birthday: ANH’S NEW WORD Plus Giveaway

Posted on May 14, 2024 by viviankirkfield

Pull up a chair, dear friends. It’s time to blow out the candles and celebrate the launch of another amazing picture book!!! ANH’S NEW WORD, written by Hanh Bui and illustrated by Bao Luu is based on the refugee experience of the author – it’s a story that serves as a mirror and window and sliding glass door – and it will help many children feel seen, while helping others to learn about cultures and experiences that are new to them. And kind and generous Hanh is offering a giveaway of a signed copy of the book, so please be sure to leave a comment for a chance to WIN.

What a totally inviting and engaging cover! And because the story is based on Hanh’s actual experience, she was able to provide photos to the illustrator so that he would know how to draw the refugee camp at Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania. In fact, we can all watch a documentary that was made by pioneer PBS film producer Anne Stanaway when 8-year-old Hanh was there in 1975.

Here’s a little bit about the book from the Macmillan website

A child living in a Vietnamese refugee camp learns their first word in English with a little help from their teacher and grandmother in this heart-warming picture book based on the author’s childhood.

Many things are different for Ánh now that they’ve left Vietnam with their family. The weather is colder and they live in a communal barracks at a refugee camp while they wait for their new life in America to start. Ánh finds comfort in their warm-hearted teacher, Miss Mary Ellen, but has trouble with the foreign sounds of learning to speak English in class.

All Ánh wants is to be able to say “thank you” out loud to Miss Mary Ellen, but will the words ever stop getting stuck between their head and their voice? With a little inspiration from their grandmother—as well as the chance discovery of an adorable animal—Ánh will try to gather the courage to finally say their first word in a new language.

Exquisitely illustrated by Bao Luu, Ánh’s New Word by Hanh Bui is a hopeful story of finding your voice, inspired by true events from the author’s childhood.

I mentioned that the story is based on Hanh’s real life experience – and what is truly amazing is that over 40 years after she was encouraged to say her 1st English word, Hanh reconnected with that special teacher. And here is Miss Marilou, reading the dedication to her in the book. Inspired by her first teacher in America, Hanh went on to became a teacher. ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! And now Hanh’s books are inspiring a new generation of children.

Miss Marilou reading the dedication in Anh’s New Word

Here’s a little bit about the author and the illustrator of this beautiful book.
Inspired by her first teacher at the refugee camp, Hanh Bui pursued a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and taught second grade before becoming a full-time mother to three children. She also served as a Development Officer for Senhoa Foundation in support of women and children who survived human trafficking in Cambodia, and has served on boards supporting children and parents in building community. Hanh serves as co-chair of the Equity and Inclusion Team for the Mid-Atlantic region of SCBWI, and has been featured in Highlights For Children magazine, Next Avenue and Forbes. She is the author of The Yellow Áo Dài and Ánh’s New Word.

Bao Luu dreamed of becoming an artist as a child, and today his work as an illustrator focuses on bright, playful colors and unique textures. He is the illustrator of Simple Thanks written by Deborah Wiles and Ánh’s New Word written by Hanh Bui. He was born and raised in Vietnam and currently lives near Houston, Texas.

New books need our help, dear friends…we can:
Buy the book
Review the book
Place the book on our Goodreads Want to Read Shelf
Tell friends about the book (Please share on social media)
Ask our local library to purchase copies

And here’s a lovely graphic showing Hanh’s upcoming book events – If you are local, DON’T MISS!!!

Thank you so much for spending your precious time with us. I hope you all have a wonderful week! And don’t forget to leave a comment and share the post for a chance to WIN a copy of this wonderful book, AHN’S NEW WORD!