Perfect Picture Book Friday: TEACH YOUR GIRAFFE TO SKI Plus Giveaway

Posted on October 26, 2018 by viviankirkfield

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, my friends. The mailbox has been a flurry of awesome activity this week…lots of new picture books! And since this one is launching in just a couple of days, I wanted to share it with you. PLUS, the author, Viviane Elbee, will be stopping by tomorrow to chat on Will Write for Cookies AND she is offering a copy of her debut picture book for a giveaway!

TEACH YOUR GIRAFFE TO SKI

Written by Viviane Elbee

Illustrated by Danni Gowdy

Publlished by Albert Whitman (November 1, 2018)

Ages: 3-6

Themes: Facing fears, friendship

Opening lines: “Uh-oh. It’s snowing and your giraffe wants you to teach her to ski.”

Synopsis:

What do you do when your giraffe wants to learn how to ski—but she wants to go down the big scary slope and you are NOT a fan of skiing even on the bunny slope? As the boy tries to control his giraffe and lead her to safer spots, he learns something about courage along the way and the reader learns about ski slope etiquette and the rudiments of skiing.

Why I like this book:

The illustrations are absolutely adorable as humans and animals strap on skis and share the slopes.
Kids will love the story…so over the top hilarious, but with important underlying messages of friendship and facing fears.
I enjoyed the larger typeface and I think beginning readers will be encouraged to try to read this themselves.

RELATED ACTIVITIES:

Paper Plate Giraffe

Photo courtesy: https://familymaven.io

Paper plates are one of my favorite classic craft materials. For detailed instructions: https://familymaven.io/kidsactivities/kidsactivities/easy-giraffe-craft-for-kids-NQNcWRx1Z0SwCkAYeJjZ6w/

Please don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway. And come back tomorrow when we chat with Viviane Elbee about her writing journey.

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. I’ll be at a local apple orchard with my grandson. Whatever you are doing, stay safe, and remember that authors need our support. Leaving a review, on Amazon, Goodreads, or other review sites, can really give a boost to the potential success of your favorite book!

PPBF: Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast

Posted on April 15, 2016 by viviankirkfield

Is it Friday already? Oh my goodness…how time flies! Spring has finally sprung in New England…birds are singing, grass is greening, and daffodil shoots are poking out of sweet-smelling earth.

Today’s Perfect Picture Book is pretty sweet also…what else would you expect from breakfast treats like pancakes and French toast that are begging to have maple syrup poured, powdered sugar sprinkled, and jam spread on them. Ooooh…now I’m hungry. And I think you will be, too, after you finish this book.

My choice is special for another reason. Tomorrow, on Will Write for Cookies, you will get to meet the author, the incredibly talented Josh Funk. It’s a powerhouse interview, jam-packed (there’s that jam again) with valuable info for all of you. And, when you finish reading this post, please hop over to Susannah Leonard Hill’s fantastic group of picture book writers, illustrators, librarians and others who contribute a picture book review and related resources for parents, teachers and children.

Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast

Written by Josh Funk

Illustrated by Brendan Kearney

Publisher: Sterling Children’s Books (2015)

Ages: 5 and up

Themes: Friendship, teamwork

Synopsis:

From Amazon:

A thoroughly delicious picture book about the funniest “food fight” ever! Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast have a beautiful friendship—until they discover that there’s ONLY ONE DROP of maple syrup left. Off they go, racing past the Orange Juice Fountain, skiing through Sauerkraut Peak, and reeling down the linguini. But who will enjoy the sweet taste of victory? And could working together be better than tearing each other apart? The action-packed rhyme makes for an adrenaline-filled breakfast . . . even without a drop of coffee! Continue reading →

#PPBF – Oliver’s Hunger Dragon

Posted on September 19, 2014 by viviankirkfield

Today is Perfect Picture Book Friday – I review a picture book, provide a simple fun craft you can do with your kids and then I link up with dozens of other writers, moms, librarians and other lovers of picture books on Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog.

My daughter and grandson came home yesterday with pumpkins and several pots of mums to help decorate the outside of the house for autumn. Jeremy was so excited to show me the four pumpkins…the biggest Grandpa one, the next, with the curly stem (for my curly hair) is the Grandma one, a medium sized one for his mom and the small Jeremy pumpkin. We’ll probably carve at least one of them, maybe paint another and, in the end, use the pumpkin meat for yummy breads, muffins and pies. If any of you have special recipes using pumpkins, I’d love if you would share.

I connected with the author of today’s #PPBF pick in and around the kid lit community. When I heard Sherry Alexander had a new book coming out, I knew I would want to review it here.

From the author: “According to World Hunger, there are 870 million people in the world who go to bed hungry. In America that translates to 15.9 million children–that’s MILLION! When children are hungry, they are often too tired to play or to concentrate, and are too embarrassed to ask for help.

Oliver’s Hunger Dragon was written to give these children a voice while demonstrating the power of friendship and sharing. To help fight child hunger a portion of the proceeds for this book will go to the Clark County Food Bank, Feeding America, and the Portland Police Bureau’s Sunshine Division.

OLIVER’S HUNGER DRAGON

Written by Sherry Alexander

Illustrations by Amy Rottinger

Publisher: Halo Publishing International (2014)

Ages: 5 and up

Themes: Child hunger, friendship, sharing

Opening Lines:

“Oliver has a secret he does not want to share. He has a hungry dragon who follows him everywhere. Oliver has never really seen it, but it is always there. Rumbling and grumbling and making people stare.”

Synopsis:

Oliver cannot enjoy anything because he is always hungry and his hunger makes him tired. He thinks he is alone in feeling this way, until he discovers that several other children also have ‘hunger dragons’. They band together and start sharing their food and then other children join in to share and soon none of the children are going hungry.

Why I like this book:

Kids will love the colorful bold ‘hunger’ dragons
The rhyming text includes several repeat sound words like rumbling and grumbling – children will enjoy saying those as the story is read aloud
The story encourages children to talk to each other (and hopefully to parents and teachers) about what is bothering them and then reach out and help each other
Hunger is a huge problem, even in the United States – but it is a problem that often doesn’t get enough attention
Children often feel they are suffering alone – this story will help kids understand that if something is bothering them, it is probably bothering others as well

How a parent can use this book:

Talk about the importance of eating healthy foods every day – without good food our bodies cannot produce energy for us to work and play
Go shopping with your child for several items to bring to a local food bank or see if your child’s class can do a food bank project
Lovely read aloud

Related Activities:

DRAGON EGG CARTON

Photo courtesy: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/dragons – Visit their website for many more dragon activities.

You will need: 1 egg carton, construction paper in several colors, scissors, glue, paint, markers.

Paint the egg carton and let dry.
Cut out scales/spikes, nostrils, tail and eyes (in the photo, the eyes are made from the bottom cups of an egg carton – but you could use construction paper if that is easier) from construction paper.
Glue in place and use markers to add details.

Oliver’s Hunger Dragon is available on Amazon

If you’d like to connect with author Sherry Alexander or find out more about her other books: http://www.sherryalexanderwrites.com/

And please come back tomorrow (that is, if my computer hangs on a couple more hours – I dropped it last night and it is now barely functioning) for Will Write for Cookies with TARA LAZAR!!!