TRUCKER KID: A Picture Book Review, Author Interview, and Giveaway!

TRUCKER KID  (Capstone, June 2023)

 From Amazon:

"Although Athena misses her truck-driving daddy when he's on the road, she thinks he has the most amazing job in the world. She loves showing off her love of all things trucking. But her classmates don't quite get her or why she calls herself Trucker Kid. Can Athena change their minds and show the other students that it's cool to be Trucker Kid?"

Written by Carol Gordon Ekster with lively illustrations by Russ Cox, this book teaches kids about the life of a trucker's family and is full of trucking similes and metaphors that both kids and adults will enjoy. 

REVIEW

Athena's got a problem. Her truck-driving dad is leaving for a week and she'll miss him!

"When she heads inside, she deflates like a flat tire."

She stays busy playing with her trucks, drawing trucks, and reading about trucks.

But at school, no one seems to understand her fascination with trucks. 

Her answer is simple:

After Athena tells her friends how she holds the mic for the CB radio and sleeps in the truck's cab, they decide they want to be trucker kids too.

Athena's dad is happy to bring his truck to the school and let everyone explore it.

The story ends perfectly on the playground with a "traffic jam of drivers" joining Athena.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Carol B.: Can you tell us about your path to publication?

Carol E.: In March 2013 I visited my daughter in Taos, NM and we dined at our favorite restaurant. I couldn't help but overhear a family's conversation at a nearby table. Three-year-old Athena was discussing a trucking trip she took with her daddy. My writing brain ignited, and I immediately had my title, Trucker Girl. I told the family that I was a children's author, and how their discussion inspired a title, and I asked for their contact information.

 I came home and took out library books on trucks and trucking. I knew nothing! About one month later I started e-mailing the dad to ask some questions. A month after that I brought the manuscript to a critique group.

 

There have been so many critique buddies weighing too many revisions to count. It gathered close to one hundred rejections!  But then during COVID, I pulled it out again. I had seen how trucks and their drivers were during this difficult time. I added in back matter to show how we rely on trucks and tightened the manuscript. It ended up being one of three manuscripts that helped me secure my first agent.

That agent sent it out on a small round of submissions. Capstone editor, Chris Harbo, acquired it. He was a dream editor and included me in all aspects of the process. Capstone requested a title change from Trucker Girl to Trucker Kid, and of course, I said yes! Almost ten years after that night at the restaurant, I held the book in my hand. 

I love the mysteriousness of this writing life. What if we had not gone to that restaurant at that time or sat next to that family? Trucker Kid was meant to be! My illustrator, Russ Cox, has a son who happens to be a trucker!

CLASSROOM RESOURCE

Carol has a ton of activities on her website for your K-first grade classroom. Teachers could talk about the figurative language used throughout the story and ask students to create their own. In addition, students could look at trucking routes across the United States.

GIVEAWAY

Capstone is providing two copies for two different blog followers. Make sure if you are a librarian or educator to let me know in the comments; your name goes in twice. Please leave your email address if you are new to my blog. If you choose to follow my blog you'll also get an additional chance. U.S. addresses only. The giveaway ends February 21. 

Congratulations to Kathy O'Neill who won Rosie Woods in the Little Red Writing Hood. 

A Holiday GIft: Haikus from Two Friends Plus Two Announcements

 I'm going to end my blogging for 2023 with some delicious word morsels from two writer friends. They'll take you less than a minute to read, yet I suspect it took Jo Hackl and Michelle Nott hours to craft them. Savor each verb and taste every image. Let the flavor of their figurative language roll around on your tongue.

These word treats pack no calories--just pleasure!

HAIKUS

Leaves fell but still I

cling, waiting wafts of wind, to

glide to waiting soil.  -- Jo Hackl

Image courtesy Jo Hackl

Leaves in shades of wine

Dance with secrets on a breeze

Encore and applause. -- Michelle Nott 

 

 

Image courtesy Jo Hackl

Irresistible

Straw basket beckoned me near

and now it is mine. -- Jo Hackl

 

Image courtesy Michelle Nott. Photo taken in Savoie, France while snow-shoeing.

 

Grains of dust, frost-kissed

Crystallize, waltz, bow, whisper

Warm wishes to all. -- Michelle Nott

ANNOUNCEMENTS

💗 Congratulations to Erin Hecker who won THE MEMORY QUILT which comes out on January 9.

💗 I will be leading writing workshops again in 2024. My first one is Ten Steps on Your Path to Publication at Steele Creek Library in Charlotte, NC on March 19. Join me in this hands-on workshop as I share ten steps toward making your writing dream a reality. We will also touch on the pros and cons of self-publishing.

The workshop is free and all attendees will take home a journal to inspire them on their path to publication. Registration is required and opens on January 1. 

                                                                ❄❄❄❄

Happy Holidays to all of you. I'm taking some time away from blogging and will welcome you back here in 2024 for book reviews from myself and my team of tween and teen bloggers; giveaways, and more!

LULLABY FOR THE KING by Nikki Grimes: A Picture Book Review and ARC Giveaway

The calendar tells me it's October, but before you know it, December will be here and it'll be time for the holidays. I'm getting ahead of the game with today's book review. Many of you are familiar with the multi-talented award-winning children's author Nikki Grimes. I've featured her books in verse for middle-grade students and young adults many times: Ordinary Hazards, Garvey's Choice, and Between the Lines to name three of them.

LULLABY FOR THE KING  (Beaming Books: 2023) is textually and visually very different from the previous books I've read by Nikki. It's certainly not her first picture book though! Click on this link and you'll see the great variety of books that Nikki has published.  

REVIEW

Each stanza of this fanciful depiction of the animals who come to honor the birth of Jesus Christ is accompanied by vibrant illustrations by Michelle Carlos.

The lyrical story opens with a beautiful sunrise celebration:

One magnificent morning in Israel,

when the sun warmed the Great Salt Sea,

word spread to every living creature:

The Holy One has, at last, been born.

A season of celebration can begin!

On the next few pages, we follow a "caravan of creatures" wending their way to Bethlehem--each with their own unique gift for the newborn King.

In an allusion to the wise men bringing gifts, an Antelope has an alabaster flask filled with myrrh, a Hawk has an incense stand of purest gold, and a Jackal carries frankincense along with a linen sash. But the similarity to the Biblical gifts ends there. Fanciful creatures--not people--fill these pages: a camel draped in crimson carting a cedar chest, a Hippo "lumbered heavily" carrying jugs of oil strapped to his girth, and a Stork "carefully cradled a bundle of wildflowers, scenting the air as she flew." Notice all of the wonderful alliterations!

As they turn pages together, both young and old readers will enjoy the variety of animals and the gifts they bring. Imagine in your mind the pictures that these words convey:

Sparrow--as always, silent and shy--

skimmed the wind, a silk sash round her wee throat,

holding grains of mustard and saffron--

all a small bird could hope to tote.

 

Tortoise, awhile, the Royal Prince of Slow,

trudged up from Tiberias

with a tambourine in tow.

At last, after traveling through the wilderness for "hours that spun into days" the colorful caravan arrives in Bethlehem. 

The first gift presented was Nightingale's hum,

which swelled into a glorious, sky-piercing chord

that reverberated through the stable

and startled the sleeping Lord.

As the animals bow before the Babe, the angels join them with a new lullaby:

Rest, sweet child from on high,

apple of your Father's eye.

We humbly honor you, O King.

Please bless each gift we bring you.

The brilliant watercolor illustrations will invite readers to explore every page. But remember: Nikki Grimes' words came first. She carefully constructed each image-filled phrase. 

GIVEAWAY

If you're interested in winning my ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) please leave me a comment by October 11. If you sign up to follow my blog or share this on social media, I'll put your name in twice. Make sure you leave your email address if you are new to my blog or send me an email. U.S. address only. 

Congratulations to Greg Pattridge who won Brook White's book, Cookie Cat and the Tagalongs. Greg plans to share the book with his students.

BRAINSTORM! A Word Play Picture Book + A Giveaway

 Every once in awhile in my "career" as a picture book reviewer, I come across a book and I ask myself, "Why didn't I think of this?" BRAINSTORM! written by Rebecca Gardyn Levington and illustrated by Kate Kronreif is one of those books. From the title, to the puns, poetry, and figurative language on every page--there is A LOT of wordplay going on.  

REVIEW

In the first spread, we find our character feeling stuck.

Like raindrops, words and pictures start dropping into the girl's mind as a storm lets loose.

  An easy breeze... becomes a blast of funny phrases flying past.

Suddenly, there's a word whirlwind!

After stomping around in the mud of ideas and words, (and what writer can't identify with that metaphor!)

 I pounce and play, embrace the storm, as sentences begin to form.

Finally,

It stops. It's over. Done. The clouds float off and out comes...sun.

That's the climax, but there's a wonderful denouement that brings this story full circle.

CURRICULUM RESOURCE

This is a text that kindergarten to second-grade teachers will be able to use in the classroom to encourage young writers. If I were in a classroom, I would first read it out loud and let the class enjoy the rhythm and images. The second time, I would ask students to pick out the figurative language: similes, alliteration, onomatopoeia; as well as great adverbs and adjectives.  It would be fun to discover how many ways the author, illustrator, and the little girl all play with words. 

A fun extension activity would be to ask the students to draw words playing in the same manner in which Kate Kronreif dances them on the page!

LINKS

For a behind-the-scenes look at the book’s backstory, how Rebecca worked with the illustrator and her publishing journey, please see this interview: https://susannahill.com/2022/08/02/tuesday-debut-presenting-rebecca-gardyn-levington/ 

Here’s a podcast for more information: https://susannahill.com/2022/08/02/tuesday-debut-presenting-rebecca-gardyn-levington/

And a joint interview with both Rebecca and Kate: https://susannahill.com/2022/08/02/tuesday-debut-presenting-rebecca-gardyn-levington/

GIVEAWAY

The July issue of Talking Story is on wordplay and I will be giving away this book then. Leave me a comment now and I'll add your name to the giveaway list. Leave a comment through the newsletter (not a subscriber? Click here to subscribe) and I'll enter your name twice. If you’re a teacher or librarian, I’ll enter your name twice. Trust me. This is a book that every writer, caregiver, and teacher should have on her shelf to share with the young readers in her life! U.S. addresses only. I have to approve comments, so be patient if your comment doesn’t appear immediately! 

JELLYFISH WISHES AND POEMS ABOUT FISHES: A Picture Book Review and Autographed Giveaway

 It's always a pleasure to introduce friends' books. Janine Yordy and I met years ago when the SCBWI Charlotte group met at Morrison library in South Park. 

The inspiration for this book came from Janine spending summers at the beach with her boys as well as the beauty she found in nature. As a biologist she picked and researched animals she loved.

It's now my delight to share her second picture book with you, JELLYFISH WISHES AND POEMS ABOUT FISHES with illustrations by Ellen Injerd (Paraklesis Press, 2021)

REVIEW

The book begins with children running down to the sea; here is the first poem:

        BEACH DAY

Sun pops up, and out we run.

Shovels, buckets surfboards, FUN!

And all around us life is brimming--

flying, crawling, floating, swimming.

Sticky sand beneath our feet.

Wonder who we're gonna meet.

The reader is then introduced to  CRABBY:

The poems are full of figurative language and different rhyming techniques which will make the sea creatures memorable. Readers will discover shells with "someone smelly still inside" (alliteration); a lovely osprey who "wishes for a mate to date" (internal rhyme); a heron who goes "SWISH for a fish, and SSLLURP." (internal rhyme and onomatopoeia); and a pelican whose "beaking is super for sneaking and high-dive techniquing" (unique internal rhyme scheme). 

Here's a fun limerick:

Dolphins dance and glide (vivid verbs) and gulls "scuffled over pickled leeks, with yapping, snapping, beachy beaks." (internal rhyme)

Have you ever thought about a stingray flying? Janine did!

Silly poems include a jellyfish waiting to meet her Peanut Butter, an eel that "slithers, swimming with a swish. He's a special, snake-ish fish." (alliteration, fun made-up word). 

A hammerhead shark complains, "No nails, no wood, no way I should be mending someone's fence. My snoot is cute, so I dispute: my name does not make sense."

Here is one of my favorites,

The book ends with the children who are seen through out the book, saying goodnight to the beach under a  darkening sky, and a lovely spread about sea turtles. 

 

Don't you love the "moon-made map"? I do!

GIVEAWAY

Enter to win an autographed copy by leaving a comment by December 19 at 9 AM.  PLEASE LEAVE YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS IF YOU ARE NEW TO MY BLOG. U.S. Postal addresses only. 

Congratulations to Susan Rice who won DINO PAJAMA PARTY.