Tag: picture books

Book Review and Author Interviews, Fun for kids, Instagram Round Ups, Parent and Child Connection, Promoting Literacy, Summer reading

Instagram Book Review Round-Up #2

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I’ve been posting a lot of new content on Instagram–you can find me @mindybakerbooks, but I wanted to have a way to share it on the blog, too!

Here is my second ROUND-UP!

Remember, for a sneak peek inside all of these books…check out the individual posts on my Instagram page @mindybakerbooks. I usually share a few photo spreads from the books I review.

Here are 6 more books that I have reviewed in the past few months! Enjoy!

How to Build an Orchestra –Want to pass on your love of music to your children? This is a book you should try! Written by Mary Auld and illustrated by Elisa Paganeli, each page spread is full of fascinating details and treasures to discover. It comes wth a QR code to unlock so that your child can listen to the sounds of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Rare and Blue–Finding Nature’s Treasures Blue just happens to be one of my FAVORITE colors…so it was really fun to find this uniquely structured “spring” picture book highlighting different hues of blue. Written by Constance VanHoven and illustrated by Alan Marks, each page spread gives facts that highlight a specific creature in nature. Turquoise, cerulean, iridescent…what’s your favorite shade?

A Gift From Abuela–Abuela is saving her pesos to buy Nina a gift, but circumstances make that impossible. Written by author/illustrator Cecilia Ruiz, this is a book that reminds us that time together is the most precious gift of all.

Can I Be Your Dog by Troy Cummings is a picture book treasure. The text is all in letters from a puppy who writes to different people in the neighborhood trying to find his owner “match.” One by one they all reject him until at last the mail carrier adopts him.

C.R. Mudgeon –Every once in a while you find a sweet story that you just LOVE 100%. For me, this picture book by Leslie Muir, illustrated by Julian Hector, is just that. I loved this sweet-and-stuck-in-his-ways hedgehog from the first time I read his name and saw his cuteness on the front cover. The clever details of characterization make this book stand out above the others. The story is how a neighbor named Paprika moves next door and challenges C.R. to “spice” up his life. It is a wonderful friendship story with lots of embedded lessons. One important one is that even when someone is different than us, we should give him/her a chance.

Silent Music–by James Rumford. I think kids will connect with Ali, the main character of this book. He loves soccer, music, and the art of writing calligraphy. He compares writing the Arabic words to a soccer player running down the field. His hero is Yakut, a famous calligrapher from Baghdad, who wrote in ancient times of war. Ali writes calligraphy in modern times and longs for peace. Like Ali, I also long for peace. I loved the culture-filled images in this beautiful picture book featuring the Arabic language and the city of Baghdad.

Which of these books have your read? Which of these books would you like to read?

In case you didn’t know…summer is a great time to read!

***If you haven’t heard, I’ve teamed up with some author friends (Laura Sassi, Tina Cho, and Rebecca Gomez) to create a new website! We are hosting summer reading challenges and you are officially invited to join us! The website is called www.readdiscussdo.com. Stop on by and see the latest news! (So far eating ice cream and playing in dirt have been involved!…Aren’t you glad I didn’t say playing in ice-cream and eating dirt??? Ha ha!)

Book Review and Author Interviews, Instagram Round Ups, Parent and Child Connection

Instagram Book Review Round-Up #1

admin

I’ve been posting a lot of new content on Instagram–you can find me @mindybakerbooks, but I wanted to have a way to share it on the blog, too!

So I created this ROUND-UP!

I plan to create more Round-Ups in the weeks to come.

For a sneak peek inside all of these books…check out the individual posts on my Instagram page @mindybakerbooks. I usually share a few photo spreads from the books I review.

Here are 6 books that I have reviewed in the past few months! Enjoy!

Instagram Book Review Round-Up

El amor es bondadoso by Laura Sassi and illustrated by Lison Chaperon–Little Owl wants to by Grammy some chocolates but ends up discovering what love is really about as in the Scripture 1 Corinthians 13. It really is a charming book! ¡Es un libro tan dulce y precioso…perfecto para niños que hablan español! **I recently went to a Zoom writer’s workshop hosted by Write2Ignite and Laura Sassi was the presenter. I won this book as a prize!! Woo hoo! It is available in Spanish or English (Love is Kind)

Firebird by Misty Copeland–I love the beautiful example of mentoring and being a role model in this gorgeous picture by Misty Copeland and illustrated by Christopher Myers. The illustrations capture the elegance and beauty of dance and the text shows the importance of dedication and hard work! You will be inspired…I know I was! It even made me spin and twirl a few times 🙂 But also it made me think of the children in my life that I want to cheer on to greatness!

Honeybee by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Eric Rohmann–Looking for a great non-fiction summer picture book? Try this title! The stunning illustrations will draw you in and the masterfully written text will keep you reading and learning because it is full of interesting information about– you guessed it– honeybees!

Song of the Old City by Anna Pellicioli and illustrated by Merve Atligan is a delight! Think “circular story” like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie but with an Istanbul flavor that is dripping with fun cultural details that will whisk the reader to a far off land!

Rock by Rock–The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand by Jennifer Bradbury and illustrated by Sam Broughton is a true story of a man from Chandigarh, India who created a hidden art garden from the bits and bangles he collected on the city streets. Although Nek is no longer alive, his beautiful creation exists today and has become one of India’s treasures. I love the illustration style!I think this is a fascinating true story that can spark your child’s imagination. What could they create from the recycle bin? Why not gather some bits and bangles and create a masterpiece together–Nek Chand style!

Learn Arabic Words by MJ York–I love languages. One of my daughter’s just graduated with a minor in Middle Eastern studies and has learned to speak Arabic. Although I am normally drawn to Spanish materials, I thought this would be a fun way to connect with her and expand my horizons. When my kids were young, I found that they absorbed new language words so easily! Picture dictionaries like this one are a great way to infuse a little bit of new language into your family’s vocabulary and can spark great cultural conversations!

If you read these titles, let me know what you think of them!! Happy reading!!

Fun for kids, Mouse's Christmas Gift, Parent and Child Connection

Exercise and Play Games with Mouse’s Christmas Gift

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During the pandemic, I noticed my friend and former co-worker Heidi Stan making some wonderful videos with her daughters to help kids stay active and have fun even during quarantine. I liked and shared them on my FB author page.

Fast forward to Christmas season! I was planning a virtual storytime with my friends Glenys Nellist and Kathy Bostrom and we were brainstorming. What could we do to get kids playing games and having fun?

I thought of Heidi and her girls, and asked them if they would be interested in doing a video for me. THEY SAID YES!! See the video above for the wonderful result! Here is a listing of all of the games.

Table of Contents for Mouse's Christmas Gift Games
Mouse’s Christmas Gift Games

I hope you enjoy these fun family activities! Thanks Heidi, Bexley and Jorie!!

During our Virtual Story time event, we also played a Scavenger Hunt Game. Here is a copy of a longer version for your family to enjoy! We set a timer and raced to find each item, but you can make up your own rules!

Scavenger Hunt
Book Review and Author Interviews, Illustrator Interviews

Interview with Illustrator Gail Yerrill about her work on new release GRANDMA SNUGGLES…and a GIVE-AWAY!

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Grandma Snuggles

Hi everyone! This is such a special week here at Mindy Baker Books as we celebrate the launch into the world for Grandma Snuggles, written by best-selling author Glenys Nellist and illustrated by the very talented Gail Yerrill. It is a new release by Zonderkidz. I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s interview with Glenys. You are in for such a treat today to hear the inside scoop from artist and illustrator Gail Yerrill about her lovely work.

Let’s get straight to it. Welcome, Gail. I’m so excited to chat with you. Thanks for being here. I was wondering if you could describe the process you go through in illustrating a book from concept to final art? What were some of the illustrating challenges you faced along the way with this project and how did you overcome them?

I am given a brief with a description of characters and outline ideas and a paged layout of the story. Initially I would normally do character sketches which need approval. I will then do roughs for each page layout and the text is either in place or you have to leave room, and all aspects of the design of the pages are factored in at this stage. Once the rough sketches are approved I will then progress to the full colour art. Normally you would get approval on the first one or two to make sure you are getting the correct look. This project was one of my easier ones as the words gifted themselves immediately to me as images ☺

That is fascinating. I am also curious, Do you always work in the same medium for your illustrations? If not, what is your favorite medium and why? How do you know which medium is “right” for each project?

I mostly use watercolour and more recently I have been combining this with photoshop to create fluffy textures or to give an enhanced look to my illustrations which you can’t get just using traditional methods. Sometimes a publisher will be looking for something that will require a different medium but usually all watercolour based.

You definitely have a a special flair to your work. It is lovely! What was it about this particular project that resonated with you and made you want to work on it? 

The words were so beautifully written and made me want to go and give my Grandma a cuddle. I miss my Grandma as I spent a lot of time with her as a child. I hope there’s a lot of Grandma cuddles for children everywhere!

Grandmas and cuddles are a great combination! I share your hope that this book will draw children to spend time with their grandmothers.

I know this will be difficult to choose, but do you have a favorite illustration from this book? If so, what is it and why?

Ooh that’s a tough one! I think the cover is my favourite as it really has that cute snuggly feeling in it that reminds me of my Grandma and how I feel about my own children!

I think that is my favorite, too. We will be highlighting that in a post later in the week! On your website, I noticed that you have a vast array of artistic accomplishments: 

  • Accomplished children’s book illustrator  
  • Author-illustrator of your own titles 
  • You have your own adorable licensed characters (Twinkle the Penguin was my favorite)
  • Etsy shop 
  • You do artwork for greeting cards and stationery

The list seems endless! Is there an artistic accomplishment that you are the most proud of? What artistic role/task do you enjoy the most? Is there anything left to accomplish on your “artist” bucket list? What sparks your creativity as you contemplate new projects?

That’s very kind thank you! I just love creating and experimenting with all materials and it’s my passion. I love illustrating words and bringing them to life. It would fabulous to be as successful as Glenys! I am also creating ceramics and intend to make illustrated pieces to hopefully compliment my book work. I love challenges!

Well you have certainly accomplished many challenges already. Do you have a “life” bucket list of adventures you would still like to accomplish? What are a few items on that list?

My life wishes are really quite simple ones, to be happy and healthy and to appreciate everyone around me and give my children the best I can. I would also love to travel the world and absorb all the fantastic variety of culture.

I think many of us can relate to those wishes. I see you have just completed a workshop in your home called the Wood End Studio. What are your hopes and dreams for this space?

We have just finished renovating the old double garage to use as my new studio space, I am aiming to do more ceramics and to teach.

Ooh, I wish I lived closer so that I could take a ceramics class. Sounds really special! I guess my last question is if you have any “news” that you would like to share with us about upcoming projects?

I am working on another fantastic book project at the moment but unfortunately its under wraps at the moment, but I was able to give a sneak peek at one of the sketches- it really is a cutie! Hope you like it!

Gail Yerrill Artwork

I love sneak peeks! I feel so honored to be able to showcase this! It is adorable. Thank you very much for taking the time to visit me today and answer my questions. I wish you all the best on your future endeavors.

Remember that I am hosting a Giveaway this week. Here are the guidelines:

Here are the guidelines for the give-away!

  1. Follow @GlenysNellist, @Gail99art, and @mindybakerbooks) on Instagram. (Must follow all three) Links available at the end of this post..scroll down.
  2. Leave a comment on this blog post (or any post this week). Or leave a comment on any Instagram post this week.
  3. **NOTE: This giveaway is sponsored by Zonderkidz (Thank you, Zonderkidz!) and only open to residents of the USA who have a physical street address (no PO boxes.)

For an extra entry, become a follower of this blog.

For even more entries, tag a friend on any Mindy Baker Books INSTAGRAM post this week through Thursday! (Tag as many friends as you like for multiple entries)

I hope that all of you enter to win! Good luck!

Reminder of all that is happening next on Mindy Baker Books this week!

Wednesday: Videoclip of Glenys and Gail’s workspaces…a peek at where the magic happens!

Thursday: A special post showing Glenys and Gail’s favorite illustrations from the book.

Friday: I will post the WINNER OF THE GIVE-AWAY.

Link to buy book

Gail Yerrill website

Glenys Nellist website

Gail Yerrill on Instagram

Glenys Nellis on Instagram

Mindy Baker on Instagram