Unveiling Pippa’s Hanukkah Hunt: A Joyful Journey Awaits!

Posted on February 4, 2026 by viviankirkfield

Today is a VERY SPECIAL DAY for several reasons!

Reason #1: It’s World Read Aloud Day! I’ll be sharing ONE GIRL’S VOICE with all of the 4th graders at P.S. 97 in the Bronx, NY.

Reason #2: Today is the anniversary of my very first published book. PIPPA’S PASSOVER PLATE, illustrated by Jill Weber and published by Holiday House, is 8 years old!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR PIPPA!

And Reason #3: We are revealing the cover of Pippa’s next adventure…PIPPA’S HANUKKAH HUNT…which launches this coming fall on September 29!

Oh my goodness…I LOVE this cover…and I hope you do, too!
Jill Weber, the illustrator, really knows what young kids love! Her art is JOYFUL! I’m so excited for children to turn the pages and discover the MYSTERY of the Missing Potatoes. There are clues for the reader on every page, not in the text, but in the illustrations. Great picture book illustrators somehow find a way to show other layers to the story in the pictures…I’m grateful to Jill!

This wonderful book will be flying onto bookstore shelves on September 29…delighting children with Pippa’s search for the missing potatoes. Because Hanukkah is coming and Pippa wants to make potato latkes for all of her friends – and SOMEONE has been taking all of the potatoes.

Do you love Pippa? Did you enjoy the first book? While we wait for the new book to launch, there are a few things followers of Pippa can do:
1. Pre-order the book: At any local bookstore or on Amazon
2. Review the book on Goodreads
3. Ask your local library to purchase copies of the book
4. Tell your friends (Sharing this post on your social media REALLY helps!)

I also wanted to thank folks who have been reviewing ONE GIRL’S VOICE. In my previous blog post, I mentioned that even though that book is a finalist for a Golden Kite in the nonfiction for younger readers category and has received other awards and accolades, it only had 35 reviews on Amazon as of a week ago. After my post, 9 more reviews appeared…THANK YOU to everyone who left early reviews or recent ones! Remember, it’s never too late to review a book! It’s such a worthy book, I hope there will be more reviews. And I will let you all know what happens on Friday night when the SCBWI Golden Kite winners and honor books are announced.

Please make sure you return on Saturday when the Heads-Up-The-Contest-Is-Coming-Soon post goes live…with the huge list of INCREDIBLE prizes for the 2026 #50PreciousWords International Writing Contest. I and my awesome judges, Maria Marshall, Carmen Castillo Gilbert, Leah Moser, Pamela Courtney, Amber Bouchard, Shirin Shamsi, and Diane Tulloch, are so excited to read all of your precious words!

I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week…and find joy in every day, no matter how challenging it may be.

Book Birthday: ONE SWEET SONG

Posted on January 15, 2024 by viviankirkfield

Strike up the band, dear friends! It’s time to celebrate a new book!!! And how perfect that today, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we are sharing a book about community and coming together through music and song. I think Dr. King would have loved this book!

What a beautiful book! Written by one of my favorite kidlit peeps, Jyoti Rajan Gopal, and lovingly illustrated by Sonia Sanchez, and published by Candlewick.

Here’s a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page:
In an ode to the power of music and community, this vibrantly illustrated picture book steps out on the balcony for a shared moment of spontaneous joy and celebration.

In a quiet neighborhood, a single note trills through the air. Another note joins, and then another. One by one, curious people are drawn to their windows, doorways, and balconies to support the medley. Professional musicians play instruments from around the world, while others bang pots and pans. All are welcome as the notes swirl and dip and crescendo, coming together to make one sweet song. And when the music fades and this diverse neighborhood is once again silent, the reverberations of unity remain. Written by a kindergarten teacher and inspired by the balcony singing in Italy during the pandemic—with a countdown from one to ten and back gently woven in—this rhythmic synergy of text and art is a buoyant, global-minded celebration of how music connects us, even in the darkest of times.

It’s a story about community and helping each other, with a counting layer added in…what could be better for our youngest lovers of stories!

I know that Jyoti is at Books of Wonder in NYC, celebrating the launch of this fabulous book. And I’m sorry we can’t all be there to support her. But we can help this book succeed! We can:
Buy the book
Review the book
Place the title on our Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf
Tell friends about the book (PLEASE share on social media)
Ask our local library to purchase copies for their collection.

I’ve put it on my Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf and I’ll review it on Amazon and I’m sharing it on my social media.
What can you do?

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

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!