YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST: WHEN DADDY SHOWS ME THE SKY- Review of a Debut Picture Book and a Giveaway!

 I enjoy sharing my author and illustrator friends' good news. This post is particularly special because Rebecca Wheeler, the author of When Daddy Shows Me The Sky (Belle Isle Books, 2021), was my student in 2008 when Joyce Hostetter and I taught Writing for Children at NCCAT. 

It is my delight to share Rebecca's book that is coming out this month. Details about her launch are below. 

REVIEW

Question: What happens when you combine astronomy, yoga, and a father and daughter who love each other? 

Answer: The STEM picture book, When Daddy Shows Me the Sky.

Here is the lovely beginning that sets the calm tone of the book.

My daddy is amazing. He shows me the day. Not in the daytime's bright sun, when life makes everything noisy, but at night. When it's quiet, and you can concentrate.

In the subsequent pages the narrator explains what she has learned from her daddy about the night sky and demonstrates yoga poses.  

In this way, information about constellations is knit together with each pose. For example, when the reader learns about Mars, the narrator demonstrates the volcano pose; the dragon constellation prompts the narrator to make the dragon pose. Here is another:

Daddy's favorite constellation appears in the winter sky. Orion,  [uh-rahy-uh n] the hunter, is made from seven stars, and a sword hangs from his belt.

I am a warrior like Orion!

A few pages later, the narrator stretches with her father and she thinks they look like hunting dogs. Then they roar together as they practice the Lion's breath.

In the spring, Leo the lion also comes out to play. I can find Leo all by myself. I just look for the backward question mark that makes his mane. I bet Leo plays with the moon like my cat plays with her ball of yarn.

Daddy and I both roar like lions!

 

Throughout the story, the affection between the narrator and her father is clearly heard in the child's voice and seen in Katherine Jordan's bright and bold illustrations. 

Before we day goodbye to the night sky, we stretch out our arms and pretend to hug the moon. The moon smiles, and I smile, because my daddy is amazing. He shows me the sky.

I hope this book will inspire other amazing dads (and moms!) to get outside with their children--day and night! What wonderful bonding times are created when we spend precious hours with our children--whether it's by practicing yoga or otherwise exercising and experiencing the natural world. 

BACKSTORY

Sometimes I interview authors to find the story behind the story. In this case, Rebecca did that work already--on her blog. Here are several informative posts which will help reveal why she wrote this book. 

• If you are curious about the family pictured in this book, please see Rebecca's blog post, Families Don't Have to Match. (By the way, her niece was the model for the narrator). 
• For more information about Rebecca's connection with yoga, see her post, Why a Yoga Picture Book? 
• And here's her road to publication story--which she calls her book's Origin Story.

BACK MATTER, CURRICULUM RESOURCES, and BOOK LAUNCH

Three pages in the back show a young girl (Rebecca's daughter) demonstrating the yoga poses presented in the book. On Rebecca's website, there is information about constellations, planets, mindfulness, yoga benefits for kids, and yoga tips for parents.

Rebecca's launch will be live-streamed on November 20 at 3 PM here. Hope you can join her!

GIVEAWAY

To win a personally autographed copy, leave a comment by November 13 at 6 PM. If you are new to my blog or share this on social media, I will put your name in twice. U.S. postal addresses only. I CANNOT enter you without your name and email address. If you are new--please include this information.