I’m honored to be the newest contributor to PBB, and especially honored to step into Linda Ashman’s shoes. I’ve been a fan of Linda’s books for many years. To celebrate my first post, today will be a double giveaway, meaning we’ll have two winners! One will receive my newest, ONE-OSAURUS, TWO-OSAURUS (more about that below) and the other will receive a copy of my friend Lezlie Evan’s new dino-themed picture book, I’M A FEEL-O-SAUR, published in April by Welbeck Children’s Books, illustrated by Kate Chappell. You’ll begin to notice a theme as my PBB post collection grows: envy that I didn’t come up with the idea first. Lezlie’s book is no exception, especially right now, with children dealing with feelings they might not have experienced in a less-strange year.
Here’s what Kirkus had to say: “Speaking directly to its kid audience, the upbeat verse text assures them that feelings change throughout a day and that’s OK, invites them to identify how they are feeling now, and offers practical tips for acting on or coping with positive and negative moods.… guaranteed to entertain.” ~Kirkus Reviews
So Lezlie, tell us how this book came about for you.
When my children were young, if they were acting grumpy, I would often say, “Are you feeling like a crank-o-saurus today?” My kids loved dinosaurs, especially my oldest, AJ – he was a dino-fanatic. For his 8th birthday, I surprised him big time by decorating his room in dinos. When he went off to school, I told him his present would be waiting for him when he got home. As soon as he went out the door, my friend who was an artist, came over and she drew big dinosaurs on his walls. We spent the day painting them, and then, for the finishing touch, I put a new dino-bedspread on his bed. When AJ got home he bounded in the door and shouted, “Where’s my present?” I said, “Go take a look in your room.” He was SO excited! Kids’ fascination with dinosaurs is timeless. My grandkids are now into dinosaurs. One day, when a couple of them were visiting, one of them was pouting and I said, “Are you feeling like a grumpy-saurus today?” He laughed, just like my kids used to and I thought, “Why haven’t I written that book?” And so I did. Right then. My granddaughter even helped write some of the text and my little grumpy-saurus grandson (whose mood had totally turned around) advised me on which emotions I should address.
In my own experience, my illustrators sometimes surprise me. Were little kids in dino costumes in your mind all along?
I pictured actual dinosaurs when I wrote the text. But writing is a collaborative process. My amazing editor on this project, Alli Brydon, came up with the idea to put little kids in dinosaur costumes and I LOVED the idea as soon as she shared it. I think Kate’s illustrations of the diverse group of little kids in a variety of colorful costumes turned out wonderfully. I love how collaboration strengthens a story and makes it even better.
Do you think this is an especially important time for a book like this?
Learning to identify, label, and express our feelings is critical to emotional wellness. Research shows that children who learn to express their emotions will grow up to be more socially well-adjusted and better able to problem solve. While talking about “feelings” is always important, the pandemic has been a time when children have felt an additional amount of stress, as well as a LOT of different feelings. So, yes, I think a book like this – that provides a way for little ones to identify what they are feeling and offers some coping mechanisms – is super important. Kids need to be having “feelings” conversations and building their emotional vocabularies and this book provides a fun way for them to do that.
Were there other feelings you came up with that didn’t make it into the book? If so, how did you decide which to include?
There are so many emotions that could have been included in I’M A FEEL-O-SAUR. We tried to make sure we covered a range of emotions while not being redundant. Since there are only so many pages we could include in the book, Joy-o-saurus, Sleepy-saurus, and Hungry-saurus didn’t make the cut. But I found other ways to include those emotions in the text.
Thank you for dropping by, Lezlie!
Thanks so much for spotlighting my book. You’ve made me a Happy-saurus! (As you can see, I am not a Shy-o-saurus when it comes to donning the dino-costume).
Lezlie Evans is an award-winning author of numerous picture books. You can find her on the web at Lezlieevans.com and on Instagram @Lezlie_evans.
Kim again: As for my new dinosaur counting book, I’m happy that “roar” rhymes so neatly with “four.” I never know where these ideas come from, but at some point, my brain substituted “osaurus” for “potato” in the old “One potato, two potato” rhyme. Kirkus gave it a star, saying, “Norman’s latest outing and first collaboration with Collet-Derby is storytime and read-aloud gold, featuring as it does a tight, patterned rhyme, an artful use of page turns, and a mighty “ROAR!” midstream—not to mention lots of dinosaurs…A dino-delight.” Published in March by Candlewick Press, the book is illustrated by Pierre Collet-Derby whose design sense impresses me as much as his illustrating skills. Plus, he used all my favorite colors! I’m tickled that Junior Library Guild awarded it a Gold Standard medallion.
For a chance to win one of the featured books in today’s post, please leave a comment by June 29 and I’ll pick two winners at random.
These both look like such fun books! I can’t wait to read them and share them with the dino-obsessed kiddos in my life.
Thank you, Becky. Dinos will always be a favorite, right? ?
I will be a happy teacha-saurus when I read this to my students.
That makes me a happy-saurus, Becky!!
A roaring good time – fun post!
Thank you! ?
Thanks so much, Cathy!
Dinosaurs are always fun to read about in books. I love the idea of expressing emotions as different dinosaurs–so clever!
It really is! That’s where my book concept jealousy always kicks in. lol!
Thanks, Danielle! Dinos definitely resonate with kids of all ages, don’t they?
Kim! What a fantastic interview and I love both books already!!! Congratulations to both you and Lezlie!!!
Thank you, Vijaya! Its such an honor to be here.
Hi Vijaya! I was so thrilled when Kim asked me to answer a few questions. It’s always fun to remember why I write for kids. Love the little feel-o-saurs!
Two dyno-mite dinosaur books! Congrats, Lezlie and Kim. Love the idea of having kids dressed like dinosaurs!
Isn ‘t it great what illustrators and book designers can come up with when we allow them the freedom to do what they do best? <3
Thank you, Kim! So kind of you to take time to comment. Cheers!
Thank you for writing about these books. I want to read both of them–one to see how helps to express feelings and one for the verse and rhyme. Both sound like they will add to kids’ enjoyment of life.
I do hope so, Thank you, Colleen!
Hi Colleen, writing in rhyme sure adds to my fun when I create a book! Thanks for the kind words!
So much dino-goodness! Congrats to you both.
Thanks so much! ?
Hey, Buffy, I sure appreciate your dino-sized congrats! Thank you!
Kids and adults are fascinated by dinosaurs…especially this BIG kid! Thanks for the post!
Haha! Me, too, Kathy. I always say I will always have the sense of humor and sensibilities of a 9 year old boy. ?
Awww…. thanks, Kathy! So kind of you to share the love.
What a fun post…thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Katie. It was my pleasure!
Thanks so much, Katie! You are dino-mite!
Fabulous work! You make it look so easy,. I aspire to your level of skill especially with rhyme.
Oh gosh, that’s so kind of you to say, Elizabeth! Thank you! I think all those geeky early years, listening to Broadway lyrics and reading my dad’s Ogden Nash humorous poetry books finally paid off for me. ❤️
Isn’t writing in rhyme fun, Elizabeth? I just love word-play and creating jaunty text, but it is NOT easy. 🙂
Great post, Kim! Hooray for dinosaurs and welcome to PBB!
Thank you, Michelle! I am upROARiously excited to be here. ❤️
I agree that Kim did a fab job with her first post! What a great addition to this wonderful blog!
These books look great! They look like lots of fun with colorful illustrations. Congratulations!
Thank you, Mark. Love those colors in One-osaurus. They match my kitchen! ?
Thanks so much, Mark! You are too kind.
Welcome, Kim! Loved this, and both books look ROARingly wonderful! Can’t wait to read them both!!
It’s such an honor to be a contributor. Thank you for the kind welcome, Debra! ❤️
Ugh. Stupid auto-correct! Sorry about that spelling, Dedra! (I couldn’t figure out how to edit the comment. Such a newbie! lol!
Hi Dedra- thanks so much for the kind words. I am having so much fun sharing Kim’s book with my grandkids!
Both books look wonderful! Perfect for any dino-loving reader! Thanks for sharing, and welcome!
Thank you, Angie. I am ever so tickled to be here!
Thanks for your dino-mite comment, Angie! I do hope so!
Both of these books look really fun. The emotions book is such a clever idea. I can’t wait to read these. Thanks for the post.
These would be amazing to share with my summer school kinders! One told me yesterday that dinosaurs are his favorite animal.
Aw, how nice to have that kind of feedback from a student. I hope your young paleontologist gets a chance to read both books sometime. ❤️
Yes, such a clever concept! Kinda kicking myself that Lezlie beat me to it first! ?
Hi Rosi, I’m so glad you enjoyed the post! I hope your little dino-lovers are enjoying reading these books.
Both books look Dino-rific!
Thank you, Cindy! I’m so happy to add Lezlie’s book to my collection of books written by friends. ❤️
Ha! Cindy, I love dino-rific and may have to steal your clever phrase! Thanks so much for the kind comment.
I look forward to both of these delightful dino books! Congrats, Kim and Lezlie!
Thanks so much, Sarah! ?
Thank you so much, Sarah! I was delighted to be here and LOVE sharing the spotlight with Kim’s clever book.
Happy news, Sarah. You’ve won a copy of Lezlie’s FEEL-OSAUR! I’ll let Lezlie know so she can get the book to you. Congratulations!
What kid doesn’t love dinosaurs !?!
These two books are sure to be enjoyed by many-and the parents reading them.
Thank you! That’s a good point about parents needing to enjoy reading the book, too. Hubby and I had a tag team thing, he read the books HE liked and I read the books *I* liked. Worked out nicely.
Right??!! I love that both my kids and now my grandkids are dino-fanatics! What is it about dinos? Thanks for your vote of confidence, Debbi!
Would love to win I’M A FEEL-O-SAUR because I’m usually a Grumpy-saurus. ROAR!!
Haha! I hope today you’re feeling more like a happy-saurus! ?
Hi Tami- I hope you are feeling like a Happy-saurus today! But I LOVE that you can admit to having a Grumpy-saurus day. 🙂
That’s so very clever to used dinosaurs as the springboard to talk about other concepts! I’m also envious…that I didn’t think of either of these ideas first. 😉
Haha! Glad I’m not the only one who experiences concept envy. That little Publisher’s Weekly kids’ book deals report newsletter is a constant source of concept envy for me. ?
Ha! Thanks, Teresa!
These look so fun. My students would love them. Congrats on the star!
Thank you, Tina! I was a happy-saurus about that, for sure!
Thanks for teaching little feel-o-saurs, Tina! You are doing a wonderful work helping the rising generation! Love it!
I’M A FEEL-O-SAUR is such a cute and clever idea! What a great way into talking about emotional awareness with kids
I agree. And such an inviting way to do the images, making them kids in costumes. Gotta love those clever illustrators!
Thanks so much, Stephanie! Emotional literacy is THAT important and I’m blessed to be able to have this book come out during a time when kids really need ways to build their “feelings” vocabularies!
What kid doesn’t love dinosaurs (young or old)! These two books would be great for any home library.
Thank you, Quinette!
Fingers crossed for you, Quinette! What a fab name you have! Love it!
These look like such great books! My kindergartens love everything dinosaur!
Thanks, Kayla! My nephew was MAD for dinos. I think he knew the name of every dino ever discovered! lol!
Yay for little kinder-feel-o-saurs!! I’d love to stop by your class virtually sometime and read, Kayla! 🙂
I’m roaring with laughter and would love to add more dinosaurs to my corral.
Oh what a large corral you must have, Lynne Marie! ?
Hey, Lynne Marie, I LOVE that you are a laugh-o-saurus! We need more Joy-o-saurus’s in this world.
I always love hearing the story behind the story! Congrats on your new book!
I do, too, Mary! I never get tired of hearing how a book came together. ?
Thanks so much, Mary!
Dinosaurs are amazing! This book look like fun! Congrats!
Many thanks, Linda!
I agree, Linda! Dinos are fascinating for sure.
So happy you’ve joined PBB, Kim! Both of these books look amazing and so fun to read! Yay for rhyming, too!!
Thank you, Judy. I love me some rhyme, too!
Isn’t Kim going to be a great addition? Double yay for rhyming reads!
Both books look brilliant.
You both learned to grab those moments of idea concergence and bring them to life.
Thank you! Now if only another idea would come. Time for me to get on the stick to keep up with these prolific PBB’ers! ?
Shona- thanks so much for your kind words!
I love GIVE ME BACK MY BONES! I can’t wait to see what books you’ll feature in this column. Thanks for telling us about ONE-OSAURUS, TWO-OSAURUS and I’M A FEEL-O-SAUR — I’ve put them on my reading list.
Oh wow, thank you, Janet! Boy, talk about a stuck-in-your-head rhyme scheme… I think GIVE ME BACK MY BONES wore grooves into my brain. ?
I LOVE Kim’s Bones book, too! So clever!
Both of these books look like a roaring good time! I can see using both in my k-2music classroom! I’ll be on the lookout at my library to take a closer look! Thanks for this great post and giveaway opportunity!
Yay for music teachers! LOVE that you are teaching our little Feel-o-saurs, Tonnye!
These both look like fabulous mentor texts. And I love seeing the process for both side by side. Congratulations on ONE-OSAURUS, TWO-OSAURUS and thanks for sharing!
It is my pleasure to be here. Thank you for visiting, Lenora!
Thanks so much, Lenora! I hope you find them useful for your little feel-o-saurs!
Good news, Lenora. You’ve won a copy of ONE-OSAURUS, TWO-OSAURUS. Look for an email about it. Congratulations!
The cover is adorable! My kids are fasfinated with dinosaurs and would love for me to win them this book!
Thank you, Carolsue. Fingers crossed for you!
Hope your dino-mite little ones win!
Kim,
Thanks for sharing these dino-wonderful books, and welcome to PBB!
Hi Kathleen! Thanks for the warm welcome! xo