Perfect Picture Book Friday: THE LAST DAY JULIAN WAS MY BEST FRIEND Plus Giveaway

Posted on May 3, 2024 by viviankirkfield

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends. Friendship is so very important – and being a good friend is one of the most important skills we can help children master. And whether we are 8 or 80, having good friends just makes life so much better! Huge thanks to author Jody Jensen Shaffer and illustrator Joanne Lew-Vriethoff for creating THE LAST DAY JULIAN WAS MY FRIEND.

THE LAST DAY JULIAN WAS MY BEST FRIEND

Written by Jody Jensen Shaffer

Illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

Published by Two Lions (June 4, 2024)

Ages: 5-8

Themes: Friendship, Honesty, Forgiveness

Synopsis: From the Amazon Sales Page:
A touching story of true friendship and the power of forgiveness.

Best friends and neighbors Anthony and Julian are having the summer of their lives. Making pancakes, riding bikes to the beach, playing in the sand and surf…They have everything they need for an epic summer vacation. But Anthony is worried. He has a secret―a secret about Julian’s missing marble. And he knows that once Julian finds out about it, he’ll be mad. He may not even want to be Anthony’s best friend anymore. So Anthony is determined to have the best last day as Julian’s best friend…until he can’t hold in his secret any longer. But maybe Julian has a surprise of his own to share with Anthony…

Why I Love This Book:
1. Grab your tissues…you will need them to wipe away the tears – the story captured my heart – a perfect story about the power of forgiveness!
2. The text is so perfect – with the rhythm, sets of three, and sparse language that keeps us engaged from beginning to end!
3. The illustrations are lovely – and we feel the emotions of both characters from the expressions on their faces – masterful!

ME: Author Jody stopped by to share a little bit of the story behind the story. Welcome, Jody! Thanks for spending some time with us.

JODY: Thanks so much for inviting me, Vivian.
When I tell kids at my author visits that some stories take two years or five years or maybe even ten years to go from idea to book, they’re stunned. Wait ’til they hear about the timeline for The Last Day Julian was My Best Friend! I wrote my first draft in 2008, when I was just learning how to write picture books. By my count, that’s 16 years from idea to book! But, boy, was it worth the effort and wait. I just love how it turned out, thanks to my editor, Marilyn Brigham, and the whole team at Two Lions, and to Joanne Lew-Vriethoff and her gorgeous illustrations. I hope readers will love it, too.

We are so glad you never gave up, Jody! The book is amazing!
Friends, here’s a little info about both the author and illustrator and how you can connect with them.

Jody Jensen Shaffer is an award-winning poet and the author of more than 80 books for children, including Creep, Leap, Crunch! A Food Chain Story, named an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book and nominated for Oklahoma’s 2025 Donna Norvell Award, Prudence the Part-Time Cow, finalist for Missouri’s Show Me Award and Missouri’s choice for the National Book Festival, A Chip Off the Old Block, nominee for Iowa’s Goldfinch Award, It’s Your First Day of School, Busy Bus!, Amazon best seller, and more! Jody’s newest books include Sometimes I am Hot Lava and Porcupine Had a Fuzzy Sweater, which release in April and September, respectively.
Website:
Twitter

From Joanne’s website:
I am an illustrator of picture, chapter, middle grade and educational books. I was born in Malaysia, grew up in Los Angeles and New York, currently living between Malaysia and Amsterdam. I studied illustration at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. And for a short stint, I worked in the television industry as a character and concept illustrator for clients pitching children’s television shows. And then one day I decided to take a big leap and moved to New York where I worked as a graphic designer/Art Director at an AD Agency. Four years later, I found myself moving to Europe where I began my journey as a full time children’s book illustrator.
Website
Twitter

Here’s a lovely review from Kirkus:
“The tale delivers an important message about forgiveness and the importance of taking responsibility for wrongdoings… A touching exploration of the complicated dynamics of friendship.”

And here’s a Preorder link:
https://rb.gy/s2spa0

And our kind and generous guest is offering a fabulous Giveaway…a winner’s choice of a signed book, an Ask-Me-Anything Zoom chat, or a picture book critique. WOW! Please make sure you leave a comment, letting us know what you’d choose if you are the lucky winner…and please SHARE this post on social media, add the book to your Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf, review the book on Amazon, and ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection.

RELATED ACTIVITIES:

Kids love making and wearing friendship bracelets! Give it a try with your little ones!
More fun friendship activities – details at: https://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/friendship/

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I’m still immersed in distributing prizes…and this coming week, I’m excited to see the 50-word stories for #50PreciousWordsforKids. If you are a parent or teacher, please encourage your children to participate. It’s always a joy to see what these natural storytellers have to say.

Make sure you leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway…and guess what? Two Lions is doing a Goodreads giveaway of 20 physical copies of The Last Day Julian was My Best Friend. It begins on Monday, May 6 and goes until June 3. If you want to enter, here’s the link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/388808-the-last-day-julian-was-my-best-friend

Quotable Timeless Tuesdays: Honesty

Posted on February 22, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. –Thomas Jefferson (1762-1826) 3^rd President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence.

Yesterday was President’s Day. We honored two of our outstanding presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. One of the most famous stories connected with George Washington is the one about the cherry tree.

Honesty is the best policy. If I lose mine honor, I lose myself. – William Shakespeare, English playwright.

When asked by his father what happened, young George supposedly replied, “Father, I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the cherry tree.” Although researchers are pretty sure that the story of a young George Washington cutting down a cherry tree in his father’s orchard is false, the message behind it remains true, even today.

One of the hardest things in the world is to admit you are wrong. And nothing is more helpful in resolving a situation than its frank admission. – Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) British Prime Minister.

For me, however, it is really important to look at honesty as it relates to young children.

We must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy. – George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright.

As parents, we want our children to be honest. We want them to come to us with their problems and concerns. If we ask them what happened or how they are feeling, we believe they should honestly communicate with us.

Pretty much all the honest truth-telling in the world is done by children. – Oliver Wendell Holmes.

I think children start out being entirely honest…they don’t know about evasiveness and lying. When does it start? How do they learn? Why do they lose that innocent openness they are born with?

We tell lies when we are afraid…afraid of what we don’t know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But every time we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger. – Tad Williams

We need to be good role models for our children when it comes to honesty. Equally important, we must encourage our children to come to us by being non-judgmental.

Does this mean we can allow our children to do as they please? NO, I don’t think we can!

Should we refrain from disciplining our children when they have misbehaved or acted inappropriately? NO, I don’t believe we should!

1. Children need rules…parents, please be consistent.

2. Children need to have consequences for their actions…parents, please be consistent.

3. Children need to learn responsibility…parents, please be consistent.

Please stop by tomorrow for WHAT’S IN YOUR CHILD’S BOOKCASE WORDY WEDNESDAY. I’ll recommend another picture book from SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING. For the price of a couple of hot dogs and sodas at the ball game, you can own a copy of this unique resource that will help you build your child’s self-esteem and make planning fun craft and cooking activities a snap! Stop by my website and grab a copy at half-price!

Make-A-Meal Mondays: President’s Day Special

Posted on February 21, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

Every four years, the citizens of the United States have the opportunity to choose a new president who will hopefully lead the country on an upward path of economic and social reform, while staying within the budget.

Every day, three times each day, moms (and sometimes dads) have the opportunity to choose a new dish to serve to their families that will hopefully provide good nutrition and good taste, while staying within the budget.

Hmmm…have you also seen the similarity between running the country and running a household? 🙂

It is true, though, that the responsibility of putting high quality, highly nutritious¸ good-tasting, affordable meals on the table is a heavy one. I thought that since today is President’s Day, I should offer up a recipe that includes CHERRIES as one of the ingredients.

Why cherries you might ask?

I’m sure most of you know the story of our first president, George Washington, and the incident with the cherry tree. As it was told when I was in school, young George went out into the garden with a new hatchet and chopped down a young cherry tree. When questioned by his father as to whether or not he did it, George replied, “I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the cherry tree.” His father, impressed with his young son’s honesty, did not punish him, but praised him for telling the truth.

Of course, the moral of the little tale is that we should always tell the truth…no matter what we have done or what the consequences of our actions might be. I know this is what we teach our children…and this week I’ll be examining the topic of honesty in many of my posts. And, if you are looking for any information or resources about President’s Day, hop over to Mirth and Motivation. The author of that blog is the consummate researcher…a great writer and funny to boot! And she is having a Mega-Blog Hop…if you join, you will meet a bunch of awesome bloggers!

But for now, I’d like to provide you with a recipe for lovely child-friendly fruit crisp…full of super foods…and with the option of using cherries (sometimes they are available only in season and can be quite expensive) or substituting other fruits.

CHILD-FRIENDLY COLORFUL FRUIT CRISP

You will need: 5 cups mixed fruit, washed and then sliced if necessary (peaches, plums, apricots, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, apples), ¼ cup white sugar, ¼ cup orange juice, 1 tsp lemon juice, 3 Tb flour (for the fruit), ¼ cup flour (for the topping), 2 cups rolled oats, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ cup healthy margarine softened, a greased 9×13 inch pan, and 2 large bowls.

1. In a large bowl, gently toss fruit with white sugar, orange juice and lemon juice.

2. Sprinkle with 3 Tb flour, toss gently again and spread in the greased pan.

3. In another bowl, mix oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and the remaining flour.

4. Add the margarine and mix till crumbly.

5. Sprinkle crumbly mixture over fruit.

6. Bake 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees until fruit is tender and topping is golden brown.

7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

8. Store leftovers in a covered container in the fridge.

9. Serves about 12.

This recipe has so many super foods: oats, orange juice, lemon juice, cinnamon and all of the fruits…even though it is a dessert, you can rest easy giving it to your family because it is so high in nutrition and fiber while being fairly low in added sugar and fat. Plus, it is really simple to prepare…your young children will love to help with the measuring and mixing. It’s only one of the 100 easy-to-make child-friendly healthful recipes you’ll find in my new parenting book, on sale now for a limited time on my website for half price! Check it out…I think you’ll be glad you did…it takes the hassle out of planning activities with preschoolers.