Music | VIVIAN KIRKFIELD – Writer for Children

Hello dear blog friends! It’s Monday…and I wanted to provide you with a positive start to your week. And what could be better than a COVER REVEAL!

The kid-lit community is filled with incredible people…and when long-time friend Tonnye Fletcher reached out to let me know she had a new book, MUSIC PLANTS HOPE, illustrated by Natalia Bruno, launching next May, I knew I’d want to help her celebrate! It’s an honor to welcome her to Picture Books Help Kids Soar.

ME: Thank you so much for stopping by, Tonnye. Our readers love to find out the story behind the story – and we appreciate your time.
Can you tell us a little bit about the book?

TONNYE: It’s a joy to be here, Vivian. I’m so happy to be sharing the cover of my debut picture book on your blog!

MUSIC PLANTS HOPE, illustrated by Natalia Bruno and published by Reycraft, flies into bookstores on May 26, 2026

It is the story of the concert for plants in Barcelona during the Covid 19 Pandemic. The brief prologue and epilogue tell the facts of the story, but the rest tells the story of the impact of the music – a lyrical retelling of the concert from the moment the string quartet steps onto the stage until they exit the stage.

ME: What inspired you to write this story?

TONNYE:
On June 25, 2020, Alice Fugate tweeted this:”I don’t know how exactly just yet but could there be a picture book story in this quirky delightful scene? 🙂 #mswl” (https://x.com/AliceSFugate/status/1276122872352845824) I took her up on her challenge and wrote 3 different versions of the story: an expository nonfiction account of the concert, a story that followed one of the plants from the nursery, through the concert and home with the healthcare worker, and this lyrical account of the concert.

ME: Can you share a humorous incident and/or challenging moment on the path to publication?

TONNYE:
Well, I wrote three versions, inspired by Alice’s tweet, went on to polish all three stories through several critique groups, sent her all three with the hopes that she would like one of them, but no, it was a rejection for all three of them. Not even a R&R – nothing. She said, “I enjoyed learning a little more about this musical event (and listening to Puccini’s piece). I’m afraid however that these various versions seem to lack focus and structure, and I’m not as in love with them as I would want to be in order to move forward and will therefore stand aside.” I queried the story and pitched it many more times before Winsome Bingham of Reycraft picked it up from a pitch party in Feb. 2023.

ME: Oh…a pitch party! Many writers ask me if those are worth doing…and I guess, based on your experience, the answer is YES! Thank you so much for sharing all of this with us!

ME: Dear blog followers…here’s a little info about Tonnye:
Tonnye Fletcher is an M.Ed, National Board-certified veteran teacher with experience in second and third grade classrooms, as well as k-2 music. Tonnye is a strong literacy advocate, leading a local council of the NC Reading Association and volunteering within NCRA in various capacities. She is passionate about reading, music, and the intersection of those two. To that end, she hosts PBJamz, a multimedia blog series highlighting picture books with musical hooks. Tonnye participates in SCBWI and in Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 Picture Book Challenge. She is represented by Joyce Sweeney of the Seymour Agency. At home, Tonnye and her husband, Shane, and a few feline fur-babies, live on a family farm they share with extended family. There are many family dinners around the table in the 1882-built Victorian farmhouse that they will be renovating for years to come.

And here’s a little info about the illustrator:
Natalia Bruno is an illustrator who lives in a small town called Veronica, in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina, with her husband and two cats. She has always loved telling stories and has been drawing since she could hold a pencil. Her journey down the path of visual arts began when she studied photography a couple of years ago. At the same time, she became interested in the world of illustration and picture books, which led her to take several art workshops. Her work tools are traditional: gouache, acrylics, oil pastels, and colored pencils on paper.

We all know that there are ways WE can help new books become a success. We can:
Buy the book
Review the book
Tell friends about the book (please SHARE on your SOCIAL MEDIA)
Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection

Here are some pre-order links
Bookshop.org https://bookshop.org/p/books/music-plants-hope/2e574b409cd3665e?ean=9781478890805&next=t

Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1478890800?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_XCND19CABBW2W5FJ6PC3&bestFormat=true
B&N” https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/music-plants-hope-tonnye-fletcher/1148124460?ean=9781478890805
Reycraft

social media links:
BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/tonnyef.bsky.social
Twitter/X https://x.com/tonnyef
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tonnyefletcher67/
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/tonnyef/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TWFauthor
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tonnyefletcher1523 Website https://www.tonnyefletcher.com/

And now dear friends…you’ve been so patient…
Here is the GORGEOUS cover for MUSIC PLANTS HOPE:

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

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.