Pipsie, Nature Detective Blog Tour & Giveaway

Pipsie, Nature Detective: The Lunchnapper
by Rick DeDonato; Illustrated by Tracy Bishop
Two Lions (April 12, 2016)
Audience: Ages 4 to 7
Fiction * Nature & Natural World
Activity Kit | Website
Amazon | Worldcat

About the book: 
Pipsie and her turtle friend, Alfred, are on the best school tripever—a nature scavenger hunt! The team who finds “Seven Wonders of Nature” first wins. But that isn’t all Pipsie and Alfred have to find. Someone has stolen their PB&Js!

The search is on for the lunch that left, and soon Pipsie and Alfred are following animal tracks and discovering deer, birds, and even some beavers. Can Pipsie make this mystery histor yand finish the scavenger hunt? And hopefully before lunchtime, because Alfred is one hungry turtle!

My thoughts on the book:
Pipsie is back and this time she and her turtle, Alfred, are on a school trip and nature scavenger hunt. While on their nature hunt, Pipsie and Alfred discover that their lunch has disappeared. The two set out to find each of the items including the missing lunch. 

Children who enjoy a mystery and discovering things will enjoy this new adventure. As I was reading the book, I wanted to go on my own scavenger hunt. At the end of the book, a few fun facts are included for readers to learn more. Additionally, there is a chart of woodland tracks.

Look for a copy of Pipsie at a local bookstore and plan your own scavenger hunt to celebrate earthday.

About the author: 
Rick DeDonato started writing and drawing storybooks for his two kids, Alexis and Matt, when they were little. They’re grown now, but Rick is still creating stories. He is the author of Pipsie, Nature Detective: The Disappearing Caterpillar, illustrated by Tracy Bishop. When he’s not dreaming up new adventures for Pipsie, he’s an award-winning creative director in advertising. Born in New Jersey, he now lives in Wilmington, Delaware, with Nancy McAleer; their two dogs, Tugger and Nacho; and their turtle, Alfred E. Turtle.

About the illustrator:
Tracy Bishop won an art contest in kindergarten, and she’s been creating art ever since. A graduate of San Jose State University, she is also the illustrator of Not the Quitting Kind by Sarra J. Roth and Pipsie, Nature Detective: The Disappearing Caterpillar by Rick DeDonato. She lives in San Jose, California, where she is inspired on a daily basis by her son, husband, and a hairy dog named Harry.

Follow the Tour: 

Mon, Apr 11      Geo Librarian
Tues, Apr 12     The Children's Book Review
Wed, Apr 13      Kid Lit Frenzy
Thurs, Apr 14    Sincerely Stacie
Fri, Apr 15         Where Imagination Grows
Mon, Apr 18      A Rup Life
Tues, Apr 19     Inspired by Savannah
Wed, Apr 20    Picture Book Palooza
Thurs, Apr 21    The Late Bloomer's Book Blog
Fri, Apr 22        Mile High Books

Giveaway!
One lucky winner will receive a copy of PIPSIE, NATURE DETECTIVE: THE LUNCHNAPPER (U.S. addresses).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Book Birthday to Raymie Nightingale

Raymie Nightingale
by Kate DiCamillo
Candlewick Press (April 12, 2016)
Fiction * Social Themes * Friendship
Audience: Ages 10 and up
Activity Kit | Teachers' Guide | Discussion Guide
Indiebound | Worldcat

About the book:
Raymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who’s determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship — and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways.

_____________________________________________________
Happy Book Birthday to Kate DiCamillo's newest book, Raymie Nightingale. There is something about a Kate DiCamillo book that just draws in readers. Sure the chapters are short, and the characters quirky. However, those quirky characters will resonate in very deep ways with readers. The writing is both efficient and very real. Raymie, Louisiana, and Beverly learn more during the summer of 1975 than just friendship. They learn about life and growing up. 

If you haven't put Raymie Nightingale on your list of books to read, pick up a copy today at your local indie bookstore. 

Check out the book trailer:

Kate DiCamillo on writing Raymie Nightingale:

Check out BuzzFeed's interview with Kate DiCamillo, click here. 

About the author: Kate DiCamillo is one of America’s most beloved storytellers. She was the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and is a two-time Newbery Medalist. Born in Philadelphia, she grew up in Florida and now lives in Minneapolis, where she faithfully writes two pages a day, five days a week.You can find out more about Kate DiCamillo on her website: www.katedicamillo.com

Book Review & Giveaway: Where My Feet Go by Birgitta Sif

Where My Feet Go
by Birgitta Sif
Knopf Books for Young Readers (February 16, 2016)
Audience: Ages 2 to 5 years
Fiction * Bedtimes & Dreams
ndiebound | Worldcat

About the book: 
Meet Little Panda. He's awake and ready for adventure. Where will his feet take him? Do they walk a normal walk down a normal street? Or will they find a new way to carry him through the day?

Maybe a tree branch can be a shaky bridge. A sandbox a desert. A bath an underwater adventure. Maybe little feet can go anywhere. . . . There's a whole world to explore!

Young children will see themselves in Little Panda and find inspiration in Little Panda's big steps.

My thoughts on the book: 
I fell in love with Birgitta Sif's work when I read her book, Oliver. There was something wonderful and quirky about it and I really liked her artistic style. 

Sif's recent book is Where My Feet Go about a young panda and the adventures he goes on throughout the day. Though the main character is a young panda bear, young children will relate to each of the places panda goes with his feet. 

There is an element of imagination that winds throughout the pages of the book. Tall mountains, an ocean, a creaking bridge, a trip to the moon have their roots in very common every day activities as portrayed in the illustrations.

Young children will enjoy this read aloud at any time of day, and will look forward to multiple read throughs. 

Pick up a copy of WHERE MY FEET GO at your local indie bookstore or check out a copy at your community library. 

About the author: 
Birgitta Sif was brought up in the U.S. and Scandinavia and now lives in Sweden. She is the author-illustrator of the Kate Greenaway–nominated picture book Oliver and the illustrator of Knopf's Miss Hazeltine’s Home for Shy and Fearful Cats.  You can find out more about Birgitta Sif on her website: www.birgittasif.com

Giveaway: Three lucky winners will each receive a copy of WHERE MY FEET GO. Winners must be 13 years old or older and have a US mailing address. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Once Was a Time Blog Tour - Guest Post by Leila Sales

Thank you Leila Sales for stopping by Kid Lit Frenzy to talk to us about your research process when writing. 

I do research for all my books, and sometimes my research gets pretty weird, like when I’m googling whether the air conditioner in your car uses up gas, or whether anyone still “grinds” at school dances. For THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE I read an entire book about how to DJ, and while writing PAST PERFECT I was reading a bunch of theory on the nature of memory and time. But ONCE WAS A TIME probably involved more research than any of my other books so far, because the protagonist, Lottie, is from Bristol, England, in the year 1940. So I had to find out what her whole life and environment would have been like.

Here are some of the ways I did research:

I was on vacation in London, and I went to the Imperial War Museum and the Churchill War Rooms. I took copious notes, but also just being in that space gave me a sense for what it felt like to live in a country under attack. I already had Lottie’s time travel story in mind, and when I saw this placard at the museum, I knew that I was on the right track. Here’s what it said:

Professor Frederick Lindemann, scientific adviser
“I have always looked upon Mr Churchill as a scientist who missed his vocation”
Churchill always believe in exploring new and different ways of fighting, no matter how strange they sounded.
Churchill loved new inventions and supported the scientists and engineers working on highly experimental technologies. One research establishment because known as “Winston Churchill’s toyshop.”
Some inventions were spectacular failures. Many others turned out to be crucial to winning the war.”

I read that and I thought, “I know I’m making up this whole story, but also that really does sound like a man who would have funded time travel research if he thought it might help win the war.”

I also read this terrific nonfiction book by Juliet Gardiner, called The Children’s War: The Second World War Through the Eyes of the Children of Britain. My author friend Sharon Biggs Waller, who’s an amazing historical researcher, recommended it to me, and I’m so glad she did because tons of the details in Lottie’s everyday life came from that book, about rationing, the blackout, etc.

ONCE WAS A TIME doesn’t really go into the children who were evacuated from the cities, but the chapter about the evacuees in The Children’s War made me cry. It described the experience of a boy from a poor family, who was being sent out of London with his sisters, and their mother couldn’t go with them of course, so she just kept polishing their shoes. “It’s very important that we get these shoes polished,” she kept saying. “Wherever you go, they need to know that you’re from a good family with a mother who cares enough to polish your shoes.” They were so poor that they had only one tube of toothpaste, and the mother kept worrying about how her children would all be able to brush their teeth if they were split up. It was so heartbreaking. She couldn’t protect her children, and she might never see them again, so she was focusing on these small things that she could control, like their shoes and toothpaste.

Another part of my research was that I brought in an expert on historical British language. She read Part One of my draft and gave me feedback on how Lottie spoke, if she was using words that someone in that time and place would have known. I also had one of my British friends read for general accuracy. I’d once lived in Bristol (Lottie’s hometown) for a year, so I was familiar with some Britishisms and sentence constructions. But some I’d never realized—like that they don’t say “faucet” in England, or what the distinctions are between referring to something as “British” versus “English.”

Also to help get the language right, I re-read kids’ books that were actually written in England during that time period, like Noel Streatfield’s Ballet Shoes and Enid Blyton’s The Twins at St. Clare’s. Those were some of my primary sources!

Research is an important part of telling any story, and even more so if the story is based in a far-off time and place. Sometimes it’s frustrating when you can’t find the precise information you’re looking for. But it’s worth it because, along the way, you turn up all sorts of gems you didn’t even know you needed.

Once Was a Time
by Leila Sales
Chronicle Books (April 5, 2016)
Fiction * Fantasy & Magic
Audience: Ages 10 and up
Indiebound | WorldCat
ommon Core Teaching Guide

About the book:
In the war-ravaged England of 1940, Charlotte Bromley is sure of only one thing: Kitty McLaughlin is her best friend in the whole world. But when Charlotte’s scientist father makes an astonishing discovery that the Germans will covet for themselves, Charlotte is faced with an impossible choice between danger and safety. Should she remain with her friend or journey to another time and place?

Her split-second decision has huge consequences, and when she finds herself alone in the world, unsure of Kitty’s fate, she knows that somehow, some way, she must find her way back to her friend. Written in the spirit of classic time-travel tales, this book is an imaginative and heartfelt tribute to the unbreakable ties of friendship.

About the author: Leila Sales is the author of many critically acclaimed young adult novels, including Tonight the Streets Are Ours and This Song Will Save Your Life. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit her at leilasales.com

Follow the tour: 
Tuesday     4/5/2016     Cracking the Cover

Wednesday  4/6/2016   Book Nerd Canada

Thursday    4/7/2016     Mother Daughter Book Club

Friday     4/8/2016        Laurisa White Reyes

Saturday  4/9/2016      The Book Cellar

Sunday    4/10/2016     Good Books & Good Wine

Monday   4/11/2016      Novel Novice

Tuesday   4/12/2016     Kid Lit Frenzy

Giveaway:
Winner receives a copy of Once Was a Time! Participants must have a US or Canadian mailing address and be 13 years or older to enter. Please complete the rafflecopter below.
  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: New Releases Part II

As part of the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge, one of my favorite things is to round-up as many new quality nonfiction books for children and share them with readers of this blog.  Some months, I miss the release of books and add them to the next month's post.  Since I have not seen every book listed, I cannot always confirm if they are truly a nonfiction book or more of an informational fiction text or a bit of historical fiction.  

Links to an earlier post: January | February

Yesterday as part of my normal Wednesday nonfiction picture book posts, I did a new release post.  There were so many books I decided to divide it into two posts.

Check out all of these fantastic titles that are coming out this month.

April 5, 2016

A Beetle is Shy by Dianna Hutts Aston; Illustrated by Sylvia Long (Chronicle)

Mercy: The Incredible Story of Henry Bergh, Founder of the ASPCA and Friend to Animals by Nancy Furstinger, Illustrated by Vincent Desjardins (HMH Books for Young People)

April 12, 2016

Anything But Ordinary Addie: The True Story of Adelaide Herrmann, Queen of Magic by Mara Rockliff; Illustrated by Iacopo Bruno (Candlewick Press)

Crossing Niagara: The Death-Defying Tightrope Adventures of the Great Blondin by Matt Tavares Candlewick Press)

Haydn's Farewell Symphony by Anna Harwell Celenza; Illustrated by Joann Kitchel (Charlesbridge)

Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition by Anna Harwell Celenza; Illustrated by Joann Kitchel (Charlesbridge)

April 19, 2016

Gabe: A Story of Me, My Dog, and the 1970's by Shelley Gill; Illustrated by Marc Scheff (Charlesbridge)

And a  few March releases that I overlook...

March 1, 2016

Fearless Flyer: Ruth Law and Her Flying Machine by Heather Lang; Illustrated by Raúl Colón (Calkins Creek)

March 29, 2016

Turkeys Strike Out and Other Fun Facts by Hannah Eliot; Illustrated by Aaron Spurgeon (Little Simon)

So many wonderful nonfiction books to check out and explore.