I’m a “look for silver linings” kind of girl. And one of the positive parts of this whole stay at home thing, is that it has provided *some* people with a lot of extra free time, which for many, translates into reading time. In addition to this extra reading time, I’ve also being thinking about the benefits of having friends who are writers… one of my favorites is access to books! So many books! Sometimes I even get sneak peeks of ADVANCE READER COPIES.

“ARC DEFINED: a pre-publication copy of soon to be released books, given to reviewers to drum up hype about a new book. Very rarely are things changed from this version to the final version, but it’s kind of a like a practice run, a last chance to catch any mistakes or make changes once you see the story in book form, rather than on a screen. ”

Today I want to share a few recent releases from my writer friends. Grab a copy from your local indie store or purchase from the embedded links below. Either way, you won’t be disappointed by these lovely stories.

Blue Daisy by Helen Frost

(released on March 17, 2020)

I love Helen Frost books. This Indiana author uses inventive poetry forms to tell stories of the heart. She uses words to explore tough topics and then to heal her characters and readers. My favorites include When My Sister Started Kissing (which I interviewed Helen and wrote about here) and Hidden.

Blue Daisy is a bit different from her other books because only half of it is written in poetry. Sam’s chapters are written in poetry and Katie’s are written in prose. Told in two character’s perspectives, it is also a great introduction for young readers to multiple points of view. If I were an elementary teacher, I would be bursting at the seams with ideas for using this book in my classroom. Beyond the educational and language components embedded in this story, it could also be for teaching them character lessons on kindness, judgement, and consequences. Reviewer Paul Hankins commented on Blue Daisy in this way,

“Are any of us above committing an act that is seemingly harmless but still less than kind? And how do we reconcile and remedy the moment that we act impulsively. . .thoughtlessly. . .before and/or against another person? Or creature?…BLUE DAISY offers the younger reader a look at how one finds and regains a trust that has been thought to have been lost (and aren’t dog characters perfectly-suited to offer these glimpses?).”

— Paul Hankins

You can purchase this excellent book, here.

Never Fear, Meena’s Here by Karla Manternach

(Released March 24, 2020)

One of my favorite things about this book is the voice author Karla Manternach has given her spunky and fearless character Meena. She is a burst of colorful activity and language. Meena is fun and curious and immediately pulls you into her adventures on the page. Another thing I love about the Meena series (this book is the sequel to Meena Meets her Match (2019) is that it highlights an aspect of diversity not often seen in books, especially books for children. Meena has epilepsy. While Meena’s medical diagnosis shows up in the story, it is not THE story, which is how I imagine most people with adversity or challenges in their life feel. I believe that one of our jobs as authors is to shed light on stories readers might not otherwise encounter. Currently, there is a huge desire to see people of all kinds represented in stories and I love that Karla chose to focus on a unique kind of diversity in her series.

Outside of these big picture ideas, this story is about Meena, who finds a super special rainbow ring, which she believes gives her superpowers. Never Fear, Meena’s Here chronicles Meena’s attempts at superhero-dom and what happens when the hero might need saving.

I loved this book and think you will too. Grab both books in the series, and then share them with the elementary reader in your life.

Poppy Takes Paris written by Allison Pataki and Marya Myers and illustrated by Kristi Valliant

(To be release on May 26)

I first discovered Kristi Valiant as an author/illustrator when I read my sons, Penguin Cha-Cha. Kristi’s whimsical drawings stirred our imaginations and we instantly fell in love.

“I create my art in Photoshop using a Cintiq display and pressure-sensitive pen. I find that working digitally allows me to be creative and edit easily, without the hazard of spilling dirty painting water or drinking it by mistake.”

— Kristi Valiant

Poppy Takes Paris is the second in a series of picture books featuring big cities. In it, Poppy visits many of the major historical landmarks the city is known for, including the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the Tuileries Garden, the Palais Garnier, Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. The book also features food, art and culture of this magnificent city. During a time when we are all staying home, this book feels like a field trip… from your couch.

Poppy Takes Paris will release on May 26, but you can pre-order here. Other books in the Big City Adventures series include Nelly Takes New York (2019). Hopefully more adventures will be coming in the future! Who knows where Kristi will take us next?

You might have noticed that all of these books are for children. I am a member of SCBWI, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and among many incredible benefits, it puts me in touch with incredibly talented writers and illustrators. For example, here are the books our Wisconsin chapter members released this spring!

If you are a writer interested in creating books for children, the first thing you should do is join this fabulous organization. You can click here to learn more and join. All three authors of the authors highlighted in this post mention SCBWI on their websites and recommend it to other writers. If you need further convincing, you can check out this past post I wrote, detailing five reasons worth joining.

If you liked what you read on my blog today (or are in search of weekly word nerd goodness) and would like to have it delivered to your inbox every Wednesday morning, you can sign up HERE. If you are interested in any of my email lists (with free goodies/downloads!) click the audience that best describes you: Writer. Teacher. Reader. As always, feel free to share this post with others you think might be interested via email, Facebook or Pinterest.

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