Perfect Picture Book Friday: SONIA AND THE SUPER DUPER DISASTER Plus Giveaway

Posted on July 19, 2024 by viviankirkfield

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends! Today’s featured book is very special – it launches in just a few days, on July 24th…and I think kids are going to love it! And author Rachel Funez is also very special – and generous…she’s offering a giveaway of a copy of SONIA AND THE SUPER DUPER DISASTER, so make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win.

SONIA AND THE SUPER SUPER DISASTER

Written by Rachel Funez

Illustrated by Kelly Kennedy

Published by Free Spirit Press

Ages: 4-9

Themes: Learning Disorders, Anxiety, Superheroes

Synopsis: From Amazon:
Sonia’s adventure-filled story with worry-fighting gadgets helps kids learn how to cope when it feels like everything is going wrong.

When Sonia forgets Mom’s birthday, she’s determined to whip up a super surprise and become Mom’s hero. But her ADHD foils her best-laid plans, and her anxiety multiplies as the chaos grows. Sonia has to use all her coping skills to find a new recipe for success and become her own superhero.

Celebrating the individual strengths and special qualities of neurodivergent children, Sonia helps children with ADHD and anxiety recognize how their bodies feel when they become anxious and gives them tools to calm down with her worry-fighting gadgets. Activate Breath Blasters! Stellar Self-Talk! Senses Scanner!

A section at the back of the book includes more information on Sonia’s worry-fighting gadgets for kids and tips and reminders for caring adults.

Why I Love This Book:
1. I love books where kids can connect with the characters and relate to what they are experiencing.
2. I love books that provide hands-on actionable methods for coping with anxiety and big emotions.
3. I love books where the art is such an integral part of the story.

RELATED ACTIVITIES

Photo courtesy: https://modpodgerocksblog.com/superhero-crafts/

Check out these 40 superhero crafts: https://modpodgerocksblog.com/superhero-crafts/

It’s always fun to get to know a little bit about the creators of the books we love:

Rachel Funez was born in the United States, spent most of her childhood living in Latin America, and is now an attorney raising multicultural children in Peru with her Honduran American husband. Rachel knows exactly what it’s like to have ADHD and anxiety. She still uses her Breath Blasters, Stellar Self-Talk, Senses Scanner, and other tools to get through lots of tough and scary moments. She wishes she could hug every kid who is struggling with overwhelming feelings, but she will settle for creating stories that celebrate children with special brains and help them cope with their big emotions in productive ways. When Rachel isn’t writing or working, she enjoys walking her bearded collie, playing board games with her family, dancing like nobody’s watching, and cuddling up on rainy afternoons with a hot beverage and a good book. You can learn more about Rachel by checking out her website at rachelfunez.com.

Kelly Kennedy is an artist and a children’s book writer and illustrator. He is best known for illustrating the Dr. Seuss book Maybe You Should Fly a Jet! Maybe You Should Be a Vet! and as a longtime contributor to Highlights magazines. He has also worked for various animation studios, such as Nickelodeon, where he directed and created the award-winning short film The Baseball Card Shop. When he’s not drawing, Kelly is usually in the garage working on his vintage cars or fixing up his old house. Kelly lives and works in the sleepy little town of Los Angeles. He often lies about his height. He is 6’5″.

And, dear friends, we can be superheroes too! We can help new books like SONIA AND THE SUPER DUPER DISASTER succeed by doing one or more of these things:
Buying them
Reviewing them
Placing them on our Goodreads Want to Read Shelf
Telling friends about them
Asking our local library to purchase copies for their collection

Please make sure you leave a comment and share the post on your social media for more chances in the giveaway hat.

Cover Reveal: BREATH BY BREATH

Posted on September 26, 2023 by viviankirkfield

Ready for a peek at a brand new book that launches next year? It’s BREATH BY BREATH, written by Stephanie Wildman and illustrated by Estefania Razo and published by Lawley Enterprises. Although it’s a stand-alone picture book, we meet the same characters as those in Stephanie’s previous book, TREASURE HUNT which we featured last November.

.WOW! What a cover! I love how the illustrator used the words as art!

Here’s a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page:
In this bedtime story, twins Flor and Roberto wonder how they can possibly go on an adventure at the same as they go to sleep. Big brother Luis, guides them in an exercise through their bodies, from the top of their heads to the tips of their toes. Following the gentle inhale and exhale of their breath, Flor and Roberto find love and calm inside and all around them as they drift off to sleep. Bonus content provides direction for mapping your own body scan.

What a great idea for a book! Parents are always looking for ways to help kids fall asleep…and we all want to help kids master coping mechanisms for anxiety.

Here’s a little bit from author Stephanie about how this book came to be:

STEPHANIE: I have a daily yoga practice that includes meditation. In this era of stress and anxiety, I am aware of the benefits a breath practice brings to the body, so I’ve wanted to figure out a child-friendly way to introduce this idea for a while. My wonderful publishers at Lawley encouraged me to capture my ideas as a story. Through my work with Estefanía, who also illustrated Treasure Hunt, I realized the twins and older brother from that book were perfect characters to bring a body scan story to life, and Estefania’s art is amazing. The cover portrays twins Flor and Roberto, breathing of course! While the book can serve as a bedtime story, I hope teachers and librarians will consider using breath work as part of their classroom time as an aid to promote concentration.

And good news…just like TREASURE HUNT, BREATH BY BREATH will also be available in a Spanish-language edition.

Please support the books you love:
Buy them
Review them
Put them on your Goodreads WANT TO READ SHELF
Ask you local library to purchase copies for their collection

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Cover Reveal: SHARKBOT SHALOM Plus Giveaway

Posted on March 15, 2021 by viviankirkfield

One of my favorite things to do is to shout out about brand-new books that are coming out soon – and it’s always an honor to be asked to reveal the cover! I’m dancing for joy about this book – written by the lovely Jenna Waldman and illustrated by the talented Sharon Davey and published by Apples and Honey Press.

TA-DA!!!!