Perfect Picture Book Friday: MONSTER TRUCKS Plus Giveaway

Posted on October 27, 2017 by viviankirkfield

Is it just me, or does Friday come around really quickly every week? I guess it’s a good thing that I LOVE Friday because we always have a super picture book review and activity.

And today’s choice is especially perfect with Halloween just around the corner.

MONSTER TRUCKS

Written by Joy Keller

Illustrated by Misa Saburi

Published by Godwin Books – Henry Holt and Company (2017)

Ages: 4-8

Themes: Vehicles, monsters, humor, rhyme

Synopsis:

From Amazon:

All monsters love the autumn air,
just right to sneak and spook and scare.
But other seasons of the year,
they shift into a different gear.

Monsters get to work―paving roads, plowing snow, hauling muck―with their monster trucks in this fun, rhyming picture book. With a gentle bedtime ending, this not-too-scary story is perfect for young monster and truck lovers.

Why I like this book:

Fabulous rhyme filled with heart and humor
Super cool bold and colorful illustrations
Great addition to Halloween, monster, and/or vehicle shelves

RELATED ACTIVITY

Popsicle Stick Monster Trucks

Photo courtesy: http://www.gluedtomycraftsblog.com

Do you have a monster truck lover at your house? Give this craft activity a try…the kids will have a ball!

You will need: Popsicle sticks, glue, markers, construction paper or poster board, scissors.

For detailed instructions: http://www.gluedtomycraftsblog.com/2016/04/popsicle-stick-monster-trucks-kid-craft.html

Take a walk in the neighborhood and see how many different types of trucks you can identify.

Play a rhyming game with your kids. Read the story and leave off the last word of the rhyming verse…see what words they come up with.

Debut picture book author Joy Keller is offering a copy of MONSTER TRUCKS, so please remember to leave a comment. Also, she is stopping by tomorrow to chat on Will Write for Cookies, and another comment there will give you another entry. PLUS, on Sunday, I’ll be posting my entry into Susanna Hill’s 7th ANNUAL HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST. Have you heard about it? Have you ever entered? It is one of the most fun filled writing challenges around..I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Here in New England, we’ve had a ton of rain and the fall foliage has to fight hard to hold on. If you are planning on going out Trick or Treating with the kids, stay safe. I know many neighborhoods organize Halloween parties so kids can come to one location to have fun. We used to do it at our church and the parishoners would dress up and take up residence in the many classrooms and offices and then the kids would parade through the halls, knocking on each door. There were games and prizes for costumes and lots of good food and safe fun.

Annette Bay Pimentel: Will Write for Cookies PLUS Giveaway

Posted on October 21, 2017 by viviankirkfield

WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES

INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION

FOR WRITERS

TODAY’S GUEST

ANNETTE BAY PIMEMTEL

One of my favorite things to do is to check out the blogs of authors, illustrators, and educators…I always find amazing resources and amazing people! Last year, when I hopped over to our guest’s website, I fell in love with her books and with her mission to bring history alive for young children.

Last year, Mountain Chef (Charlesbridge, 2016) which next month will be awarded the National Council of Social Studies’ Carter G. Woodson Award. Here’s the link. Next year, Girl Running (Nancy Paulsen: 2018), and the year after that, Ann Brooks Goes West (with her piano) (Nancy Paulsen: 2019)…I hope Annette never stops!

Welcome, Annette! Thanks so much for stopping by to chat. I know my readers are excited to hear more about your writing journey.

ME: Who were your favorite authors/illustrators when you were a child?

ANNETTE: My first grade teacher read us the new Richard Scarry Busytown mysteries (oh how I age myself!) and I was totally entranced by his vision of a town filled with all sorts of different creatures with different backstories and different motivations that could be uncovered. Obviously his story was fiction, but in some ways it seemed more true to the multi-cultural city I lived in than the Sally, Dick, and Jane books that were our usual fare.

ME: What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started writing?

ANNETTE: I wish I’d known that—at least so far!—I would never discover the secret that would make it easy. Every project has its own challenges and problems—but also its own pleasures and delights.

ME: Where do you like to write – inside, outside, special room, laptop, pen and paper?

ANNETTE: I write at my treadmill desk. My handwriting is horrible, so I draft on the computer, though I do at least one revision by hand, sometimes with literal scissors and tape.

ME: When do you write – early morning, late in the day, middle of the night, on schedule, as the muse strikes?

ANNETTE: I write during the day while my children are at school.

ME: Why do you write for children?

ANNETTE: I love the magic that happens when artist and writer collaborate, so picture books feel like the most wonderful spot in the publishing world.

ME: Thank you so very much, Annette. And I agree…it is definitely magic when artist and writer meet and create a wonderland for kids! Kind of like a batch of the Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies you gave of the recipe for!

ANNETTE: Here’s a recipe for Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies, based on a recipe by Mollie Katzen in her wonderful cookbook, Still Life with Menu. My family desperately wishes I had a photo of them to send you, as they would like to eat them, but no time to bake them up now.

Cream together:

3/4 c. butter

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

Mix in:

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. peppermit extract

Add:

1 1/2 c. white flour

1/4 c. cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. chocolate chips

Bake about 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

To find out more about Annette: annettepimentel@gmail.com

Dear friends…thank you for stopping by and spending your precious time with Annette and me. Annette is generously offering a copy of Mountain Chef…so don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered into the giveaway. And also don’t forget to leave reviews for your favorite authors on Amazon and Goodreads.

And an update on our visit to Mass General in Boston…Stuart’s cardiac catherization went well…and we should be bringing him home later today!!! Thanks to all who kept us close to their hearts and sent loving thoughts and healing prayers.

Perfect Picture Book Friday: Mountain Chef PLUS Giveaway

Posted on October 20, 2017 by viviankirkfield

Life is pretty hectic around here…my husband has been having heart issues and they are doing a cardiac catherization at Mass General in Boston today…which is where I am right now!

But I didn’t want to miss Perfect Picture Book Friday…especially since the author of this book is going to be our guest on Will Write for Cookies tomorrow. I’m reprising the review of her amazing nonfiction picture book that I featured last year because it’s a fabulous mentor text for all of my pb writer friends, because it’s a great read for young kids, and because next month it will be awarded the National Council of Social Studies’ Carter G. Woodson Award. Here’s the link.

MOUNTAIN CHEF: How One Man Lost His Groceries, Changed His Plans, and Helped Cook Up the National Park Service

Written by Annette Bay Pimentel

Illustrated by Rich Lo

Publisher: Charlesbridge (2016)

Ages: 5-9

Themes:

Discrimination, conservation, National Parks, cooking, ingenuity

Synopsis:

From Amazon:

The true story of a Chinese American mountain man who fed thirty people for ten days in the wilderness–and helped inspire the creation of the National Park Service.

Tie Sing was born in the mountains. The mountains were in his blood. But because he was of Chinese descent at a time in America when to be Chinese meant working in restaurants or laundries, Tie Sing’s prospects were limited. But he had bigger plans. He began cooking for mapmakers and soon built a reputation as the best trail cook in California.

When millionaire Stephen Mather began his quest to create a national park service in 1915, he invited a group of influential men—writers, tycoons, members of Congress, and even a movie star—to go camping in the Sierras. Tie Sing was hired to cook.

Tie Sing planned diligently. He understood the importance of this trip. But when disaster struck—twice—and Tie Sing’s supplies were lost, it was his creative spirit and quick mind that saved the day. His sumptuous menus had to be struck and Tie Sing had to start over in order to feed the thirty people in the group for ten whole days. His skills were tested and Tie Sing rose to the challenge.

On the last night, he fed not just the campers’ bodies, but also their minds, reminding them to remember and protect the mountains.

2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, created by Congress on August 25, 1916.

Today, you can hike to Sing Peak, named for Tie Sing, in Yosemite National Park.

Opening Lines:

Tie Sing was a frontier baby, born high in the mountains in Virginia City, Nevada. Growing up, he breathed crisp Sierra air and scuffed through sagebrush. He learned to write in both English and Chinese.

Why I like this book:

I love unknown gems of history uncovered by writers who weave great picture book stories for kids.
This story has so many different levels…National Parks, racial discrimination, conservation, cooking, ingenuity, courage…parents and teachers can use it as a springboard for many different discussions.
Wonderful illustrations that help you feel you are camping right alongside Tie Sing.

RELATED ACTIVITIES

Last summer was the 100^th anniversary of the National Park System: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/centennial/index.htm

If you have a National Park in your area, why not plan a day trip. When we lived in Colorado, we often drove 2+ hours to get to Rocky Mountain National Park…in the summer, we’d fish…in the fall, we’d stroll around Estes Park, the town right at one of the park’s entrances, where elk would walk up and down the streets…and in winter, we’d go up for a weekend and stay at one of the local lodges in the park…to snowshoe and cross country ski during the day and soak in the outdoor hot tub in the evening.

Fortune Cookies

Photo courtesy: Taste of Home

Have you ever made fortune cookies? The kids will have fun thinking up their own fortunes to put in the cookies.

You can find the recipe here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/homemade-fortune-cookies

Please leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway of a copy of this wonderful book…and don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the Q&A with author Annette Bay Pimentel.

To find more picture book reviews, hop over to Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book Friday page.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!