Cover Reveal: ROCK ‘N’ROLL, BABY!

Posted on July 7, 2025 by viviankirkfield

It’s that wonderful time again…time to reveal the cover of an upcoming board book, written by David McMullin and illustrated by Allison Black and published by Penguin Random House…ROCK’N’ROLL, BABY!

Oh my goodness…just look at that stunning cover art! Joyful! Engaging! Vibrant! And Simple! Everything we want in a board book for our youngest story lovers! And we are so very lucky because author David has stopped by to chat about the story behind the story.

ME: Welcome, David! Thank you so much for stopping by. We all love to discover how books came to be…please share.

DAVID: Thank you for having me, Vivian. I’m a huge fan of your blog…and your #50PreciousWords Contest. I’d love to share how the book came to be:

ROCK ’N’ ROLL BABY is a rhyming board book featuring different types of rock music while following a diverse group of babies through their daily routines.

I wrote the first draft way back in 2016 when fractured fairy tales were having their moment. I looked for a well known children’s story that hadn’t been explored yet and was surprised to discover that no one had given the lullaby, Rock-a-bye Baby, a good rock ’n’ roll makeover. The word play seemed obvious, so I gave it a go.

It’s route to becoming a board book was not straight forward. I wrote a four verse version that I hoped could be a picture book. In 2020 my agent submitted widely, but regardless of some close calls, it didn’t sell. In 2023, my agent suggested we revisit the manuscript, but also advised that it felt like a board book and if I wanted to sell it as a picture book, I should do some rewrites. This is when I expanded the text and gave it a new arc. Who would have guess that within an hour of my agent submitting we would get an email from an editor stating that they may make an offer if I was willing to sell it as a board book? I was willing!

Now available for pre-order at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/771704/rock-n-roll-baby-by-david-mcmullin-illustrated-by-allison-black/

David McMullin is a picture book author, illustrator, and children’s poet. His books include FREE TO BE FABULOUS (HarperCollins), ROCK ’N’ ROLL BABY (Penguin/Random House) and a soon-to-be-announced early reader series. Honors include an SCBWI Ann Whitford Paul Award, an Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest award, a Madness Poetry championship and he was a Picture Book Rising Stars mentor. David and his husband are currently full time world travelers, bird nerds, and YouTubers. In past careers he was a Broadway actor, an educator, and a children’s librarian.
Website: http://www.davidmcmullinbooks.com/welcome/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmcmullinpb/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tendegreeswarmer

The Illustrator – New York-born illustrator Allison Black started her own stationery company, Hip Hip!, in 2015 and is experienced in creating artwork for fashion, homeware, stationery, and books. https://www.allisonblackillustration.com/ to see all of her amazing books and products.

Thank you so much for sharing all of this with us, David.
And, dear blog friends, please do what you can to help this book become a success.
You can:
Buy the Book
Review the Book
Tell friends about the book (please share this post on your social media)
Ask your local library to purchase copies of the book for their shelves

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

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 Double Book Birthday: COUNTING ON SHABBAT & VALENTINES FOR ALL Plus Giveaway

Posted on November 7, 2023 by viviankirkfield

Hip, hip hooray! Two more book babies are born! One is for our littlest story-lovers because…it’s a BOARD BOOK! I’m so excited to share COUNTING ON SHABBAT, written by my dear friend and long-time CP Nancy Churnin (who has six books that launched this year to add to her already huge pile of award-winning titles) and illustrated by Petronela Dostalova and published by Kar-Ben.

Here’s a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page:

Shabbat brings 1 table, 2 candles, and 3 braids in the challah, kittens waiting to be fed, friends knocking at the door, smiles all around, and more. Count from 1 to 10 as you get ready for Shabbat.

And the other book is a nonfiction picture book biography: VALENTINES FOR ALL: Esther Howland Captures America’s Heart, illustrated by Monika Roza Wisniewska and published by Albert Whitman.

Here’s a little bit about VALENTINES FOR ALL:

How an enterprising woman helped establish a tradition that Americans still observe today.

When Esther Howland first saw the fancy valentine her father brought home from England, most Americans thought Valentine’s Day was a waste of time. But through the card, Esther felt how much her father loved her. Could she help others express themselves in the same way?

She won the 2021 National Jewish Book Award and 2022 Sydney Taylor Honor for Dear Mr. Dickens, a true story that is the subject of an educational program offered by The Charles Dickens Museum in London, and two Sydney Taylor Notables, for her 2021 A Queen to the Rescue, the Story of Henrietta Szold Founder of Hadassah and 2018 Irving Berlin, the Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing. Born and raised in New York City, Nancy lives in the Dallas area. Among her other book honors: National Federation of Press Women First Place Award; Texas Federation of Press Women First Place Award; the South Asia Book Award; Sakura Medal finalist; Books for a Global Society Notable; two Junior Library Guild selections; multiple Social Studies Notable Trade books for Young People; multiple Kids Choice Awards finalists; multiple Silver Eureka Award-winners; multiple Bank Street College Best Children’s Book List books; multiple A Mighty Girl books; 10 books featured on socialjusticebooks and starred reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly.
All her books come with free teacher guides, resources and projects on her website, nancychurnin.com

And here’s a little bit about illustrator Petronela Dostalova:
Petronela was born in the former Czechoslovakia. She grew up in a little village called Borša, surrounded by woods and vineyards. From the age of 14 she studied at a boarding school in Košice.

When she was 18, Petronela decided to live and study in Suffolk, UK where she received her arts degree. Soon after graduation she decided to enroll in the MA Children’s Book Illustration course at the Cambridge School of Art.
She currently lives in scenic Tattingstone with her partner Dan and dog Haribo.
Petronela loves exploring the coasts and estuaries of Suffolk.
Her client list now include Child’s Play International, Scholastic, CBeebies, Yeehoo Press, Lerner Publishing, Reycraft.
Petronela is represented by Robbin Brosterman at The Bright Agency.
You can find out more about her here: https://www.petroneladostalova.co.uk/

And here’s a little bit about illustrator Monika Roza Wisniewska from her website:
I’m a freelance illustrator and character designer from Poland, based in Porto area in Portugal.
I specialize in character-driven illustrations for young adult, romance, and fantasy. I have experience working in illustration with publishers from around the world. I’m also passionate about character design for animation and have experience working with cut-out animation. When I’m not drawing, I like to read books, watch TV shows, and admire the palm trees that don’t grow in my home country.
If you want to work with me, you can reach me at monika.r.wisniewska@gmail.com
Clients include:
Scholastic, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Callisto Media, Magnard, Albert Whitman, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Polish Humanitarian Action, BluBlu Studios, Letko
Links:
Linkedin Artstation Instagram Facebook

Magic happens when there is a great combination of author and illustrator…and that’s what happened with both of these books. COUNTING ON SHABBAT is such a sweet book…and so is VALENTINES FOR ALL…and you might WIN a copy – just leave a comment on this blog post, tell me which book you would prefer to receive, and do at least ONE of these other things – which are all things that help new books become successful.
1. Buy the books
2. Review the books
3. Put the books on your Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf
4. Tell friends about the books by sharing this post on Social Media
5. Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection

By the way, Nancy and I will be at NCTE next week, on a panel with Kathy Halsey, Ellen Leventhal, and Pamela Courtney. Plus we both have book signings, so, if you are planning to be at NCTE, please stop by to say hello.

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