Joy for the New Year!

By Amy Hevron

Jan 13, 2024

Happy New Year! I hope the first few weeks of 2024 are treating you well. I’m starting the new year by setting an intention for the year ahead. In these challenging times we’re all living in, my intention is to focus on joy, to find joy in my everyday life.

I’m finding joy in my morning cup of Oolong tea, in my new favorite socks, and in the current state of my desk. It’s covered in art supplies, illustrations, and hopes and dreams for a picture book I’m working on about a pile of bison poo. Yes, I’m finding joy in bison poo! Hurray!

This book, Poo Pile on the Prairie, is part of a series of lighthearted, nonfiction books about different tiny habitats that I’m writing and illustrating. Back in November, I had the pleasure of reading the first book in the Tiny Habitat series, Log Life, to my nephew’s 3^rd grade class. Log Life is a story about an old fir tree that falls to the ground and becomes a home to lots of little forest critters as it decomposes over thousands of years.

Sharing this story with kids for the first time was such a joy! They asked all sorts of fun questions, including one that’s often asked of book creators. “Where do you get the ideas for your books?”

Which brings me back to joy. I find inspiration in things that bring me joy, like nature. I love both wandering through nature and researching about it. And I find great joy in figuring out how to turn complicated natural wonders into picture books that hopefully bring joy to those who read them.

Here's to all of us finding joy in both expected and unexpected places in 2024!

Featured Author

Vivian Kirkfield

Vivian Kirkfield constantly takes leaps of faith—she jumped from a perfectly good plane with her son, hiked to the summit of Pikes Peak with her husband, and parasailed over the Pacific Ocean with only seagulls for company. Passionate about helping kids become lovers of books, Vivian is the author of board books, picture books, and a middle grade compilation of illustrated biographies that brings history alive for young readers. Her latest book launches February 20, 2024: PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World, illustrated by Alison Jay (Calkins Creek/Astra). Vivian’s #50PreciousWords contest for adult writers every March garners over 700 entries, and her Literacy initiative has provided over 700 brand-new books for local schools in need over the past two years. In addition, since 2018, the #50PreciousWordsforKids International Writing Challenge, which takes place during Children’s Book Week in May, invites students from around the world to share their 50-word stories and illustrations.
To connect with Vivian and find out more about her books and contests:

Website: www.viviankirkfield.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/viviankirkfield
Twitter X: www.twitter.com/viviankirkfield
Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/viviankirkfield.bsky.social
Instagram: www.instagram.com/viviankirkfield
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/viviankirkfield

Bookish News

Upcoming launches, book announcements, books available for preorder, etc

WRAD - WORLD READ ALOUD DAY is Feb. 7! For information and a list of authors, visit Kate Messner’s site HERE.

Beth Anderson joins Carolee Dean and Jolene Gutiérrez for a panel presentation on "Using Narratives as a Bridge to Informational Text" at the CCIRA Conference, in Westminster, CO, Feb. 8, 2024.

Pre-order links!

PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: Annie Londonderry, First Woman to Bike Around the World by Vivian Kirkfield, illustrated by Alison Jay, published by Calkins Creek/Astra, releases Feb. 20, 2024

GOD’S LITTLE ASTRONOMER, by Tina Cho, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns, published by Waterbrook, Penguin Random House's Christian Imprint, releases Feb. 20, 2024

YUMBO GUMBO, a Charlesbridge Storytelling Math book, by Keila Dawson, illustrated by Katie Crumpton, releases Feb. 20, 2024

LOG LIFE: A TINY HABITATS BOOK: by Amy Hevron, published by Beach Lane Books, releases Feb. 20, 2024

Mini Lesson:

It’s Carnival time! For all those who celebrate, head over to Keila Dawson’s website to download, 12 Delicious Days of Carnival. Try one of her kid-friendly Easy Peasy King Cake recipes. Singing and cooking are great ways to practice sequencing, following directions and more. Link to video on our YouTube page. Happy Mardi Gras!

BE A VALENTINE, Teacher guide. Enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of VALENTINES FOR ALL, ESTHER HOWLAND CAPTURES AMERICA’S HEART by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Monika Roza Wizniewska, the true story of Esther Howland, who started the first valentine card company in America in the 1800s.