We have 3 winners!

My kids helped pick the lucky winners..

Tracy Bishop

Michelle Henninger

and Annie Patterson,

please email me so we can send out your Peachtree books!

Thanks everyone for visiting and

a special thanks to Peachtree Publishers for sharing their beautiful books with us.

A Tree For Emmy

A Tree For Emmy
published by Peachtree Publishers
written by Mary Ann Rodman
illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss

A Tree For Emmy is about a young girl who loves trees in general and soon grows very attached to her Gramma's Mimosa tree. The story shares Emmy's quest for her own Mimosa tree, and all of the bumps along the way to getting her own tree.

The story seems simple enough, but under the surface I found it was surprisingly more internal than I would have expected. The story focuses on Emmy's personality and her reactions to certain situations she finds herself in, both positive and negative. We see how she deals with communicating with other people (the shopkeepers she talks with while shopping for her Mimosa tree). We see how she handles disappointment... or doesn't (when no stores carry the type of tree that she wants and how she reacts), and we see how she ultimately rebounds and grows a little bit more mature through the process.

Emmy spends a lot of time playing by herself outside, with her cute scruffy dog as her mascot. It quickly grows clear that Emmy is an only child. Her parents as well as her "Gramma" are supporting players in the story. All are very supportive and sympathetic about Emmy's quest for her own Mimosa tree. We do witness a couple of Emmy meltdowns in the book, which at times lend the story a bit of an unexpectedly more serious tone. This supplies story tension in the midst of the lush visuals: whimsical, light-hearted, home-spun, mixed-media illustrations with bright watercolor-like splashes of color. 

The art is very feminine in palette and also in style. It has a fairy-like, ethereal quality which draws the viewer in to Emmy's world. It also does a good job of manifesting Emmy's aloneness as well—the art has a palpable sense of solitude. I also enjoyed the use of collage in the artwork, which adds additional interest and a touch of texture without disturbing the overall mood of the art.

I found A Tree For Emmy to be a quietly reflective book about a young girl who is faced with some situations in which she is able to eventually develop and practice some positive communication skills, learn a little responsibility, and, despite not always getting what you want, finding positivity within herself and actively manifesting that positivity outward.

A Tree For Emmy would be a good choice for any young girl but might resonate even more strongly with a young girl who is an only child. Emmy has no siblings and a lot of the issues she faces in the book revolve around the way she reacts to certain experiences with no others around who are also children. At the end of the book, Emmy's reaction to something pivotal shows that yes, she is growing up a little bit. It's a nice finish to this sweetly understated story.

Don't forget to leave a comment and be entered to win a Peachtree book! check back on Monday to see the winners! Good luck!

The Opposite

How could I resist reading and reviewing this charming and quirky book - look at those characters! I had first noticed Elena Odriozola's illustration in Story Blanket. I love the mature and sensitive nature of her drawings. Paired with Tom MacRae's unusual story and playful book design, The Opposite was fun and captivating to read.
Nate wakes up to a strange visitor - "The Opposite" and after making a few messes, and taking the blame, Nate comes up with a good plan for ridding himself of his grinning menace. The text sets the stage nicely for Elena's complex illustrations. Mostly transparent, "The Opposite" is fun to find on each page. Oh, and I do love the art room scene and the climax when "The Opposite" surrenders to Nate's wit.

Even the endpapers are beautiful and worth exploring with an observant reader. Visit Peachtree's website for more information on this award-winning book, or their blog for children's publishing insight. Be sure to leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway!!!

Back to Bed, Ed!

Back to Bed, Ed!

by Sebastien Braun

I have to admit that I was nervous about reviewing a book since this is a first for me. But when I received Back to bed, Ed! I just smiled from ear to ear and all my worries went away. :o)

If you know me, you know I love cute, funny and simple. And this book has got all three!

The illustrator is Sebastien Braun who happens to be one of my favorite illustrators. I have always admired his work. His illustrations are full of sentiment and warmth. The style in which he approached this book however is a style I’ve never seen before. It’s as adorable as his usual work only very graphic and with a bolder line work that I think works perfectly with this book and with the younger audience.

Now Braun is not only the illustrator but the author as well. The story is about a cute little mouse named Ed who loves going to bed but hates staying in bed.

This is a very popular subject among many parents out there. We’ve all gone through this at one time or another with our kids. The way Sebastien approaches this topic is very sweet and funny and more importantly entertaining for kids. Children will relate not only to the storyline of being afraid to stay in their rooms alone at night, but also to all the small details in the illustrations. They will love the different sound-describing-words repeated throughout the book too. Reading this book out loud is fun!

You can see an example of the humor I was referring to in this illustration:

How does Ed solve his problem and manages to happily sleep in bed at night all by himself? Well, you are going to have to read the book. I can’t say that or I’ll spoil all the fun.

Back to Bed, Ed! is a simple, funny and sweet book. The perfect book to read to your kid before bed specially if your kid is the type that knocks on your door... a lot. :o)

Remember to leave a comment, as many times as you like, during this week in order to participate in the giveaway.

You can visit Peachtree blog for more information www.peachtreepub.blogspot.com

Arbor Day Square

(Visit Peachtree blog www.peachtreepub.blogspot.com )

Written by Kathryn O. Galbraith

Illustrated by Cyd Moore

There are no trees on the prairie.

No trees for climbing.

Or for shade.

No trees for fruit or warm winter fires.

No trees for birds. Or for beauty.

I think writing an educational book that will teach as well as entertain has to be one of the greatest writing challenges out there. So I was curious to see how Kathyrn O. Galbaith handled this. Well let me tell you, Kathyrn managed it with ease. Not only is it educational but also full of charm and nostalgia.

Arbor Day Square is a historical fiction where we learn of the annual celebration known as "Arbor Day" through the experiences of a young girl named Katie and her "Papa". They are amongst a group of settlers building their life in the Prairies. As the town builds and the community grows, they discover they are missing one important element...trees.

The story continues with the townspeople pooling their money together and having saplings sent to them from "back East". Katie and Papa help plant trees along with a flowering dogwood in loving memory of her mama. This added another layer to the story which helped me connect to the characters even more.

Arbor Day Square comes full circle as we see Katie as an adult enjoying the fruits of their labor with her own family (along with Papa) as the community continues the annual tree planting ritual.

Trees for climbing.

And for shade.

Trees for fruit and warm winter fires.

Trees for birds.

And for beauty.

And every year Papa laughs and tells Katie,

"Don't worry, honey. They'll grow."

And every year they do.

Kathryn also provides historical facts about Arbor Day which is handy. I only wish there was mention of why "Arbor" was chosen as the name for this special tree planting holiday.

Cyd Moore's soft watercolor and pencil style complement this story so well. Cyd creates such warm settings with dynamic scenes in which children will look at time and time again finding something new to enjoy.

I would definitely recommend this book especially if you are looking for ways to introduce environment friendly activities to children.

To learn more about Arbor Day, visit : www.arborday.org.

Peachtree Week! Book Reviews & Book Giveaways!

Welcome to Peachtree Week on the Picture Book Junkies blog!

For the first time ever, the PBJ's are doing a week of reviews with a single publisher's books. Each day this week, one of the PBJ's will review a book from Peachtree Press. We encourage you to comment each day because at the end of the week, we will have a drawing to giveaway some Peachtree books! We are so delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate children's books in this way, and we hope you enjoy the week (and maybe even win a book)!

Today it's my turn, and I am reviewing A Place For Birds" written by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Higgins Bond.

I was very excited for Peachtree Week here on our PBJ blog, but I must tell you that I was a little bit nervous about getting my book. Typically, I choose exactly what I wish to review here on the blog, and thus far, I have only reviewed books I chose because I knew I already loved them. So, reviewing a book I was not familiar with from the get-go, a book chosen from a select group of books which I had never read, was, honestly, a little daunting. I wanted to make sure that no matter how I felt about the book, my review was fair and objective. (What good is a review if it is not objective?)

It turns out that I did not need to worry. A Place For Birds is a wonderful book -- from the tone of the writing to the lavish, colorful spreads. 

A Place For Birds shares information about specific breeds of birds. First explaining details of the specific birds' natural habitat, the text then shares a point of great tension regarding how something has interfered in the birds' habitat, whether it be humans disrupting the land for the sake of commerce or technology, or something else. It's tough to learn how the birds lives and livelihoods have been upset, but it is solid, well researched information that is important for everyone to be aware of. The good news is that text for each bird spread wraps up by explaining what strides are being taken by man to rectify the situations for the birds. The writing is somewhat conversational and very easy to digest especially given the subject matter. Which makes it not only an important book but also just a good book, period.

The art work is just gorgeous - lush and detailed. The art is very realistic and accurate to each breed of bird and even to each landscape (all of the greenery and landscapes are, I am sure, correct to each specific birds' habitat).The accuracy of the rendering does not stand in the way of overall creativity and illustrative style. Beautiful illustrations of birds and scenic backdrops take the viewer right into the birds' world view.

A Place For Birds is a great mix of the educational and the inspirational. Check it out!