Perfect Picture Book Friday: SOLDIER FOR EQUALITY

Posted on September 13, 2019 by viviankirkfield

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends. Today’s selection is from one of my very favorite author/illustrators, Duncan Tonatiuh. And today is also the day that Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book link up is back in business – so please make sure to hop over to her blog later to discover more wonderful picture book reviews.

But first, we have a book to give away. A couple of weeks ago, we turned the spotlight on Barry Wittenstein and his newest picture book: A PLACE TO LAND: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation. And the winner is:

LAURA ROETTIGER

Congratulations, Laura…I will connect you and Barry so he can get a copy of this amazing book out to you.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program. Perfect Picture Book Friday is a celebration of the picture book genre. About eight years ago, there was a NYTimes article that claimed that picture books were dying out…that most parents of young children wanted to Continue reading →

Sneak Preview of a Fabulous Book!

Posted on July 11, 2019 by viviankirkfield

Hey dear friends…I just had to share Cathy Ogren’s review of the upcoming Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe book that she posted on her blog. I hope you’ll hop over to her website to say hello and leave a comment.

Humor Me

ella and marilyn I had the opportunity to read Vivian Kirkfield’s upcoming nonfiction book, Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe. With a lyrical quality to her writing, Vivian Kirkfield has written a beautiful story of friendship between two iconic personalities, Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe. They were different in many ways, but they both had the same hopes and dreams. The author piques curiosity by giving readers a bit of background information about each woman. Ella Fitzgerald wanted to share her music with the world, and Marilyn Monroe hoped to become a great actress. How did these two women forge a life-long friendship? When Marilyn was offered a role in a musical, the first thing she did was to buy her idol’s records to listen to and study. Those records were Ella Fitzgerald’s. Marilyn’s performance in the movie was hailed by critics. This gave Marilyn a…

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Cover Reveal: Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe

Posted on June 26, 2019 by viviankirkfield

OH MY GOSH! A couple of days ago, I found out that my Ella Fitzgerald/Marilyn Monroe book had a definite launch date: January 14, 2020. So, I started thinking about who I should ask to do a cover reveal…I thought perhaps I should ask the editor if the cover image I had was the final one. And then, this morning, guess what I discovered?

MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: THE INSPIRING FRIENDSHIP OF ELLA FITZGERALD AND MARILYN MONROE is available for preorder on Amazon. With the most glorious cover image I’ve ever seen!!!

cover 2

This was a manuscript that was very close to my heart. I’m a long-time admirer of the velvety tones of Ella Fitzgerald…and I always believed Marilyn Monroe was so much more than she was given credit for. But it wasn’t until I came across a picture of them at a nightclub that the idea for this story came to me back in 2014.

ella and marilyn in nightclub

And the more I researched, the more I came to admire both of these women…trailblazers in the fight for equality! Did you know that Marilyn Monroe was the first movie star to own her own production company? Or that in 1956, Ella Fitzgerald won a lawsuit against Pan Am for racial discrimination?

A few years ago, Bonnie Greer wrote a play about the nightclub incident and it was performed in London.

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I’m so grateful to Essie White, my incredible agent, who had faith in me and in this story. And to Little Bee editor, the fabulous Courtney Fahy, who fell in love with the manuscript and believed it should be a book. And to the talented Alleanna Harris whose illustrations have brought the story to life!

I am over the moon excited and just had to share with all of you, my dear friends! And to all my critique buddies whose feedback on dozens and dozens of revisions resulted in this stellar story – I thank you!!!