Happy Book Birthdays

Two laugh-out-loud
early graphic novels
by debut 
Author / Illustrator

Kirk Reedstrom

(Disney Hyperion)

An Amazon Editors’ Pick:
Best Books ages 6-8

“Odd couple animal bros, firmly set in the grand tradition of Frog and Toad.”

“A worthy proposition that effortlessly achieves liftoff.”
 

As featured in:

Stay tuned for the 3^rd book in the series, DUCK IN THE DARK, soon!

Kid appeal in an irresistable package with full-color interior art, pitch-perfect jokes, and plenty of zany hijinks …

As featured in:

and in Shelf Awareness’s
Image of the Day:

“Blue Willow is where I learned everything I love about children’s literature,” Reedstrom said. “Being able to share these characters with my friends and family at the store where I first mused about making my own books was a dream come true. I cannot thank Cathy, Valerie, Alice, and the rest of the staff enough.”
 
Pictured (l. to r.): Alice Meloy, owner Valerie Koehler, Kirk Reedstrom, Cathy Berner.
 

Kirk Reedstrom has spent most of his adult life surrounded by books. He currently works at a public library and used to be a bookseller at Blue Willow Bookshop, an independent bookstore in Houston, TX. He has led children’s art workshops at the Kimball Art Museum, the R.W. Norton Art Gallery, and interned with William Joyce at Moonbot Studios. Kirk mixes his past experience with traditional and digital mediums to develop fun-filled characters with a lot of heart and a little bit of mayhem. Kirk enjoys creating books that make people laugh. 

Check out Kirk’s Illustrator Highlight

Happy Book Birthday

by Sarah Scheerger 

Illustrated by Leah Giles
(Albert Whitman)

in Children’s Independence
Day Books
(as of 2.24)

A celebration of military families
While military parents are away serving and protecting, their children are at home, taking care of themselves and each other.

Just in time for April 15,
Purple Up! Day

…celebrated during the Month of the Military Child—in support of the 1.9 million military children in the nation, as well as those based overseas…

Images © Leah Giles, throughout

…when Americans around the world recognize and celebrate the children who make sacrifices along with their military parents.

Classmates mix the colors of the different military branches to create banners that say,
“Thank you for your service!”

“…laudably spotlights a group of children who don’t always get their due…”
 
As featured: 

Erin Dealey’s BookBirthday Blog

Excerpt:

Sarah Scheerger: I first participated in Purple Up Day at my children’s school. It was magical to watch a school celebrate other children—magical both for those being honored and for those kids who were honoring their peers. I fell in love with the event and the concept.

Supporting KIDS from military families

I love the idea of celebrating the contribution of kids from military families. Since my community is near a naval base, my children have made friendships with kids from navy families and I’ve made friendships with their moms. I was so grateful to be a part of the Purple Up celebration, and I could see the impact on the children. I firmly believe that every child should be able to see their experiences reflected in the pages of a book.

“The classroom guide/practical tips are full of ideas for both activities and discussions. Since my day job is as a school-based counselor, there are lots of social emotional learning (SEL) concepts interwoven in both.” 
—Sarah Scheerger

Classroom Guide
Practical Tips

More PB’s by Sarah:

Happy Book Birthday

(Spooky America Series)

by 
NYT Bestselling

Stacia Deutsch

(Arcadia Children’s Books)

Stacia’s 7^th book in the series…
and stay tuned for more!