Tag Archives: Holiday House

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

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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: BEFORE I LIVED HERE Plus Giveaway

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How much do I love Book Birthday posts???

SO MUCH!!!
And when the author is one of the first CPs I ever had…way back when I first started writing…that’s even more fun!

 And when I got to see an EARLY draft in the first stages of this amazing story…well, as you can imagine, I am EXCEEDINGLY thrilled to sing Happy Birthday to BEFORE I LIVED HERE, written by Stacy S. Jensen, illustrated by Victo Ngai, and published by Neal Porter Books/Holiday House.

Listen friends…this is a truly special book! Just look at that cover! And wait till you see the inside spreads…you know you want your own copy, right? Thanks to the generosity of author Jensen and her publisher, there is a brand new copy that will be given away to one lucky winner…so please make sure you leave a comment and do your part to spread the word by sharing this post on social media.

And we are ALL lucky today because Stacy has stopped by to chat with us and share some of the story…and the story behind the story.
ME: Welcome to Picture Books Help Kids Soar, dear friend! Please tell us a little bit about the story and how it came to be.

STACY: Hello everyone! And Vivian, thank you so much for having me!

BEFORE I LIVED HERE is a book about a little boy who’s living in a new neighborhood. The story goes back in time with each page turn to share a different period of the land. It’s about the history of where you live. 

What inspired you to write this book? 

I lived in a neighborhood called Banning Lewis Ranch in Colorado Springs. It was an interesting place to live from the day we moved into the neighborhood to the day we left. Before the neighborhood, the land was part of a cattle ranch. 

How long to make this book? 

I scare people a little when I tell this story. I wrote the first draft in 2013. My son was three years old. When I received my first author copy and he held it, he was 15. While the book has a long journey, I always received nice feedback from professionals and critique partners. Writers, who also worked in classrooms, were always positive and sharing ways the book could be used in a school setting. I kept going and it sold to Neal Porter Books in 2021. Now, it’s a book that teachers and families can enjoy. 

When people look at my path to publication, some are surprised. Has it taken a long time? Maybe. Do I love the final product? Yes. The illustrations by Victo Ngai are gorgeous and will entertain young readers. BEFORE I LIVED HERE has received five nice trade reviews — two starred — and is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. 

I’ve also met so many nice people along the way like you Vivian and so many others who have read my work and helped me grow as a writer. Hopefully, I’ve returned the favor and helped others along the way too. 

Also, as a huge picture book fan, working with Neal Porter, Taylor Norman, Victo Ngai, and the team at Holiday House has been a delight. 

Thanks Vivian for sharing this special day with me and your readers. 

 ME: Thank you, dear Stacy! You definitely exhibited all 5P’s – Passion, Practice, Preparation, Patience, and Perseverance – and I am so very thrilled for you!

And now, dear blog readers, here is a little bit about the author and illustrator:

Stacy S. Jensen is a former newspaper journalist always searching for unique stories for children, which has led her to historical sites, state and national parks, and everyday spots like the grocery store. When not writing, she enjoys time with family, reading, and paper quilling. She also volunteers to support literacy, youth, and children’s programs. Previously a Colorado resident, she now lives in Marietta, Georgia at the base of a mountain with her husband, son, and two Vizslas, who walk their humans daily. Stacy can be found online at stacysjensen.com.


Victo Ngai is a Forbes 30 Under honoree and a Society of Illustrators New York Gold Medalist. Her illustrations have been featured in the New York Times and the New Yorker, among others; she also creates storyboards and art for NBC, Dreamworks, and other animation studios. Originally from Hong Kong, she now lives in Los Angeles.

For the interior credit: Interior from BEFORE I LIVED HERE. Text copyright © 2025 by STACY S. JENSEN. Illustrations copyright © 2025 by VICTO NGAI. Used with permission from Holiday House Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.  

For more information about the book, this Holiday House link is great: https://holidayhouse.com/book/before-i-lived-here/

And don’t forget, there is a GIVEAWAY…please leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of BEFORE I LIVED HERE…maybe you can share what you see when you look out your back window.

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

Happy Book Birthday: PLIGHT OF THE PELICAN: How Science Saved a Species

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YES! YES! YES! It’s time to sing Happy Birthday to another beautiful new book! And this book has a VERY SPECIAL back story…this book was an Honorable Mention in the 2022 #50PreciousWords Contest. If you check yesterday’s blog post where we announced the prize winners and Honorable Mentions, who knows how many books-in-the-making you will find!

Author Jessica Stremer is such a fabulous writer…and her books are incredible. And what a wonderful partnership the editor created when they signed on Gordy Wright to do the illustrations!! The cover invites and intrigues…and the reader can’t wait to open the book to see more!

And we are so lucky…Jessica stopped by to chat…and to share her story behind the story of how her #50PreciousWords entry became a REAL BOOK!!!

ME: WELCOME, Jessica. thank you for stopping by.

JESSICA: Thank you so much for having me, Vivian. I’m excited to share how PLIGHT OF THE PELICAN came to be a book.

Pelicans are one of my favorite birds. I tried writing a story about them years ago, but it just wasn’t working, primarily I think because it was missing the “so what” factor.

In early 2022, my family and I took a trip up the coast of California when I began brainstorming ideas for the 50 Precious Words competition. Pelicans once again popped into my head. My books GREAT CARRIER REEF and LIGHTS OUT both have a hopeful environmental theme and I wondered if I could find a way to incorporate that approach into my entry.  Here’s what I came up with:

Soaring

Skimming

Climbing

Spotting

Diving

Splashing

Scooping

Gulping

Toxins leaching

Silently building . . .

Courting

Nesting

Shells thinning

Eggs crushing

Numbers dwindling

Pelicans needing

            HELP

Researchers observing

Laws changing

Toxin banning

Scientists offering

            HOPE

Eggs hatching

Numbers growing . . .

Chicks chirping

Feathers molting

Fledging

Flapping

Lifting

Flying

Species SURVIVING

Pelicans on Parade

That entry received honorable mention and had a lot of my critique partners excited, so I decided to flush it out into a full picture book manuscript, sticking to the sparse language while working in some layered text for additional context.

My editor loved the concept, but wanted the layered text incorporated into the main body of the manuscript. She also had the brilliant suggestion to add a few spreads about animals that are currently at risk to show that there is more work to be done. Each revision was a lot of work and I’m really proud of how this book turned out.

I was also excited when my editor said that Gordy Wright, who also illustrated my debut picture book GREAT CARRIER REEF, signed on to also illustrate this book. His work elevates the story to a whole new level.

I’m grateful to Vivian for continuing the 50 Precious Words competition. Without her PLIGHT OF THE PELICAN wouldn’t exist.

ME: AND WE ARE GRATEFUL TO YOU, JESSICA, FOR WRITING SUCH BEAUTIFUL BOOKS!!!

Inside spread from Plight of the Pelicans – text by Jessica Stremer & art by Gordy Wright

Dear friends, here’s a little bit about how you can buy this book and how to find out more about Jessica and Gordy.

Here is the link to the publisher’s website.
Signed copies of the book can be purchased through Books and Company. 

Jessica Stremer is a children’s book writer with a background in biology and ecology. Her passion lies in inspiring curiosity, wonder, and respect for our natural world. Jessica’s debut picture book, Great Carrier Reef, also illustrated by Gordy Wright, was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection and received two starred reviews. She lives in Wisconsin with her family.

Gordy Wright is an illustrator and printmaker who paints by hand in gouache and acrylic. Recent projects include Wild In the Streets by Marilyn Singer, and Strange But True by Kathryn Hulic, as well as Great Carrier Reef, by Jessica Stremer, which received two starred reviews. Gordy graduated with a first class degree in illustration from the University of the West of England, and lives in Bristol.

Thank you so much, dear friends, for spending your precious time with us here. And thank you for the books bought at Toadstool Bookshop in Keene for the #50PreciousWords Literacy Initiative that is supporting the Children’s Literacy Foundation’s work in supplying books to underserved schools in Vermont and New Hampshire. And thank you to all who mailed books to me…those will be delivered to Sunset Heights Elementary School in Nashua, NH this month.