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Well, what do you know!
It's Perfect Picture Book Friday again!
And I'm about to something unprecedented...
I'm reviewing two picture books today!
I know!
Unheard of!
But here's why:
Two of my dear writer friends had books release this week on the SAME DAY from the SAME PRESS! What are the odds? And both books are too wonderful to pass up, and I couldn't possibly choose one over the other in their book birthday week, so there you have it - two for the price of one :)
I hope you enjoy them both! (And in case you're wondering, they are genuine Perfect Picture Books, not just here because they were written by friends! That is just a happy coincidence :))
Title: Sophie's Animal Parade
Written By: Amy Dixon
Illustrated By: Katia Wish
May 2015, Sky Pony Press, Fiction
Suitable For Ages: 3-5
Themes/Topics: imagination, loneliness, friendship, animals
Opening: "
Everything Sophie drew came to life. Mama called it Sophie's imagination. Sophie called it magic.When Sophie felt hungry, she drew something scrumptious to eat.When Sophie felt sleepy, she drew somewhere cozy to rest.And when Sophie felt cold, she drew something snuggly to wear."
Brief Synopsis: Sophie's drawings have the magical ability to come to life. One day, feeling lonely, Sophie draws a friend. And then another... and another... Sophie's room isn't quite the place for any of them, and accommodating their needs makes them impossible to play with (the polar bear can't reach the scones and jam from inside his igloo; the duck can't play hide-n-seek in a wading pool with nowhere to hide etc.) But in the end, Sophie finds a friend - no pencils or paper required :)
Links To Resources: if your drawings could come to life, what would you draw? Someone to be friends with, like Sophie? (animal, human, alien, unicorn, fairy etc.???) Someplace you'd like to visit (a castle, a beach, an enchanted forest, etc.???) Something you'd like to do (perform on Broadway, compete at the Olympics, explore the jungle etc,???) Now draw it!; discuss how you know if something is real or imaginary; why might an imaginary friend be better than a real friend? why might a real friend be better than an imaginary friend?
Sophie Coloring PagesWhy I Like This Book: The concept of drawings coming to life is so engaging and fun - what child wouldn't want to have that ability?! And hasn't every child felt lonely at some point and longed for a friend? This is an endearing story with delightful animal-antic-filled illustrations, and the sweet message that as fun as imagination is, real friends are what matter. The page where Sophie meets Luke and checks to make sure she hasn't drawn him (no pencils!) is perfect, as is the very real friendship between two imaginative animal lovers :)
Title: Dress Me!
Written & Illustrated By: Sarah-Frances Hardy
May 2015, Sky Pony Press, Fiction
Suitable For Ages: 2-5
Themes/Topics: careers, being yourself, exploration, self-expression
Opening: "
Dress me!Tutu me!Dancer me!"
Brief Synopsis: A little girl tries outfit after outfit, exploring the many possibilities of what she can be- dancer, artist, teacher, lawyer etc until she finds just the right one.
Links To Resources: think up 3 careers you'd like to try. Do any of them require special outfits or equipment? If so, what is required? See if you can find or make some items so you can dress up like the people in those careers. Play charades and act out a job/career you'd like to try - fireman, doctor, plumber, lawyer, carpenter, teacher, minister, etc.
Why I Like This Book: With simple text (the word count is 44!) and adorable illustrations, a little girl tries out being a dancer, an artist, a monster, a doctor, a plumber, and many other things. In each case, her little dog is right alongside her, joining in the fun and often sporting his own accessories. This is a wonderful story that makes exploration, self-discovery, the freedom to choose who you are and what you want to be accessible to youngest readers. Sweet and fun.
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit
Perfect Picture Books.
If anyone would care to visit Amy Dixon or Sarah Frances Hardy, they are both very talented and have wonderful sites! Please visit Amy
HERE and Sarah Frances
HERE. Should you be interested, their sites include links to purchase their delightful books! (Actually, I'm not sure Amy's does, but you can find her books in all the usual places :))
PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you! I can't wait to see this week's bounty of books!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone! And Happy Mother's Day to everyone who is a mother, or has a mother, or knows a mother!!! :)
By:
Sue Morris @ KidLitReviews,
on 5/6/2015
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Dress Me!
Written by Sarah Frances Hardy
Illustrated by Sarah Frances Hardy
Sky Pony Press 5/05/2015
978-1-63220-823-3
20 pages Age 3—7
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“This little girl can be a lawyer, doctor, superhero, or plumber. She can be graceful, creative, brave, caring, silly, and even scary. She can wear braids or glasses, a crown or a beret. There are infinite, limitless possibilities, and this little girl gets to choose who and what she wants to be. And there’s always the option for her to be ‘just me.’ From the author/illustrator of Paint Me! comes a delightful, imaginative story about a little girl with some incredible aspirations.” [book jacket]
Review
The nameless young girl, along with her loyal puppy, take readers through part of their day as they move from room-to-room, outfit-to-outfit, and activity-to-activity. They start their day deciding what to wear. Deciding to start with some exercise, the girl pulls down her pink tutu, matching top, a violet sash, and . . . wait, what about her feet? No worries, pup has fetched the girl’s pink ballet slippers, dutifully waiting for his friend to slip them on her feet. With a high twirl and a long leap the pair dance, never out of step. The young girl and her dog take on a gamut of outfits (tutu, smock, scrubs, dresses, and masks), and identities (artist, teacher, lawyer, diva, builder, or plumber), as they dance, paint, fly through the air, and take lunch orders.
Older children have books such as WIGU Publishing’s When I Grow Up I Want to be a . . . series to help them decide what they might like to become. Dress Me does the same for younger children, in terms they y understand. More than that, Dress Me is about being yourself while enjoying who you are, right now. The illustrations tell the majority of the story. I like that Dress Me leaves much of the narration to the reader—or he young listener. While the young girl teaches a couch full of attentive stuffed animals (and one real puppy), the text reads,
“Teacher me.”
I like that kids can decide why the girl is teaching, what she is teaching, and to whom she, dong a great job of blending in to the scene. Pup does the same in this scene. Dress Me will appeal to young girls more than boys, even though Hardy includes male-oriented careers and activities boys enjoy. The illustrations are delightful. Each spread is loaded with detail, adding continuity by carrying items from one spread to the next. For example, the puppy pulls a blue-striped tie from the laundry basket. In the next image he wears the tie while pretending to be in court, on the wrong side of the young girl’s law. She has pushed a pair of glasses atop her head while waitressing and worn correctly as a teacher.
Dress Me is the perfect book for preschoolers beginning to self-explore their world and their place in it. Parents will appreciate the creativity Dress Me can inspire in young girls, who will begin to think out of their prescribed female roles. More importantly, Dress Me encourages young girls to enthusiastically be themselves.
A final note: the illustrations are the best yet from Hardy who improves with each book. Dress Me! is Hardy’s third book. Her others are Paint Me! and Puzzled by Pink (reviewed HERE).
DRESS ME! Text and illustrations copyright © 2015 by Sarah Frances Hardy. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Sky Pony Press, New York, NY.
Purchase Dress Me! at Amazon—Book Depository—Sky Pony Press.
Learn more about Dress Me! HERE.
Meet the author/illustrator, Sarah Frances Hardy:
Website: http://www.sfhardy.com/
Blog: http://sfhardy.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://bit.ly/SarahFrancesHardyFacebook
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sfhardy2
Find more picture books at the Sky Pony Press website: http://www.skyponypress.com/
Sky Pony Press is an imprint of Sky Horse Publishing
Also by Sarah Frances Hardy
Paint Me!
Puzzled by Pink
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Review word count = 455
Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews.
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Filed under:
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Picture Book Tagged:
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Sky Pony Press 
This is a cute PB and finally out!
Red, blue, and yellow are just the tip of the iceberg when you have a good imagination. In this colorfully illustrated story, a young girl makes her way through the day—first painting a portrait of her dog, and then painting anything and everything she can find.
With a simple, affectionate plot that teaches colors and embraces the “creative process” for many kids, Paint Me! offers a message of love and discovery.
Featuring a heartwarming story and simple yet striking illustrations from author and illustrator Sarah Frances Hardy, Paint Me! encourages children to explore their creativity and express themselves while learning their primary and secondary colors. For parents who remember reading Harold and the Purple Crayon when they were young, or for those who love more recent books about art such as Beautiful Oops!, this is one sweet story you won’t want to have missing from your library.
Children's book author/illustrator
coming soon . . .
DRESS ME!
Sky Pony Press
Spring 2015
PAINT ME!
Sky Pony Press
May 2014
Viking Children's Books
Spring 2012
By:
Tara Lazar,
on 4/12/2012
Blog:
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What a busy April over here! So many creative new picture books to celebrate!
Sarah Frances Hardy certainly has reason to party—even tea party. Her debut picture book releases today!
PUZZLED BY PINK is the story of what happens when Wednesday Addams meets Fancy Nancy, with whimsical watercolor illustrations that will delight little girls on both sides of the fence, whether they LOVE pink or just don’t get what the big fuss is all about.
Please welcome Sarah to the blog today! *throws confetti* *serves tea and orange-cranberry scones*
TD: Sarah, on this blog we like to talk about story ideas. Tell us, where did the inspiration for Izzie and her sister Rose come from?
SFH: The inspiration for Izzie came from my oldest daughter. When she was little, it seems like every book geared toward little girls was pink, pink, pink…and she just wasn’t into it. I wanted to write a book for girls who wanted to be girls, but they wanted to do it without having to wear pink-glittered fairy wings.
Rose, Izzie’s little sister, is inspired by my middle daughter who has always loved everything about being a girly-girl—from ballet to pink to tutus.
TD: So is your youngest daughter represented in the book?
SFH: Ha! She’s asked me that too, and I tell her that she is Jinx, the pet cat, who is actually the most fun character in the book. She’s thrilled.
TD: I’d love to be Jinx, too! Izzie a strong character who does her own thing even though it’s not popular. How do you hope young readers will relate to her?
SFH: Well, I think we’ve all had the experience of being excluded because we’re a little different or we’re not wearing the right thing. I hope kids will take away the message that you can be yourself, dress the way you want to, and still go to the party.
It takes courage to say you’re going to do your own thing and stick to your guns! But it’s always best to be true to yourself .
TD: So tell us a little about your journey to publication as an author-illustrator. We authors say it must be “easier” for an author-illustrator to break into the business, while author-illustrators may say it’s easier to wear just one hat. (I tend to think no matter how many hats you wear, it’s never easy! Especially if they’re sombreros and you can’t fit thru the doorway.) What do you think?
SFH: It is a sombrero! And the door feels like it’s tiny!
But I will say that it’s a little easier to get an agent if you are both an author/illustrator because you don’t have to split royalties, and there are more agents out there who are willing to represent you.
The downside is that you are giving editors TWO reasons to reject you, so I always tell people to be sure that their illustrations and text are equally strong.
My journey is fairly typical in that I spent years going to conferences and learning everything I could about the craft of writing and illustrating for children. I wrote some pretty terrible books, submitted them, and amassed a small mountain of rejection letters,
Finally, I came up with this character and concept, and I started getting a little interest. I signed with my amazing agent and worked on revisions for several months with her. In the summer of 2010, I sold my book to Viking Children’s Books.
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10 Comments on Sarah Frances Hardy is PUZZLED BY PINK! (plus a giveaway), last added: 4/12/2012
Thanks to everyone who visited Salina Yoon’s post about her newest and most challenging novelty book, KALEIDOSCOPE. The winner of the signed copy is:
DONNA SHEPHERD!
Congrations, Donna! Be on the lookout for an email from me…
Didn’t win? No worries. There’s more giveaways coming in the next two weeks. Yes, it’s a busy Spring over here! Here’s a sneaky peekie (what my five-year-old calls it):
Ame Dyckman and Dan Yaccarino’s BOY + BOT
Sarah Frances Hardy’s PUZZLED BY PINK
Carolyn Crimi and Stephanie Buscema’s PUGS IN A BUG
Ammi-Joan Paquette & Marie Letourneau’s THE TIPTOE GUIDE TO TRACKING MERMAIDS
Plus, don’t forget, if you’re not already subscribed to my blog via email, join today to be entered into a three-picture-book-prize-pack giveaway on April 1st. I’m not foolin’! Just enter your email address in the left column.
11 Comments on Salina Yoon KALEIDOSCOPE Winner! (Plus a preview of upcoming giveaways!), last added: 3/29/2012
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I get pretty specific and allow for the unexpected to pop in. Don’t we all love a character with some weird little surprising personality quirk?
If I’ve done my job, then my main character and how she relates to the world will lead me to a plot. There will be something in her personality that stands out, and it’s up to me to put something in her way. For example, if she really hates something–like sports. I make her put on a pair of soccer cleats and play. Or, if she’s really embarrassed about something–like her frilly blankie that she sleeps with every night. I make sure someone exposes her at a spend-the-night party.
Sarah Frances Hardy, a Southern girl living in Oxford, Mississippi, took an early retirement from practicing law to paint and write full time. She has exhibited her work in galleries througho
Love hearing success stories that start with a mountain of rejection letters!
Throwing my name in the hat for the giveaway. I love books like this as much as I love books like Fancy Nancy.
Puzzled by Pink sounds like such a fun book! I can’t wait to read it!
Can’t wait to get this book–my daughter will love it!
I love cranberry-orange scones! Puzzled by pink sounds delightful. As a little girl, I didn’t see what all the fuss was about pink – now I love pink (and purple!) In fact, I’m wearing pink today.
This sounds like such a fun book! I’m always hunting down stories with unique, strong female characters for my three daughters. As a writer, I could certainly relate to your journey as well. I was encouraged as I read your road to publication. I’ve been searching for an agent for years.
This is such a good idea – pink pink pink – and I think it must be a great read. I’ll have to watch for it. Thanks for sharing about your brainstorming and the transformation of your Tea Party to Puzzled By Pink.
I have tweeted about this and Googled +’d it.
This book looks – dare I say it? – darling! Love that smirk. Will Facebook, Tweet, and Google.
Fantastic idea, and great looking book! Funny, my daughters are opposite: one loves sparkles/pink/ruffles and the other is all sports/yoga-wear/dark colors.
Thanks for the chance to win a copy!