I LOVE BLUEBERRIES! + interview with Author Shannon Anderson + a GIVEAWAY!

The title of the book I’m sharing today couldn’t be more true: I LOVE blueberries! I eat them every morning on top of my oatmeal, and who can resist a blueberry muffin or pancake? (Um, not me!)

I LOVE BLUEBERRIES, written by Shannon Anderson and illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett, released earlier this year and is the sequel to the award-winning I LOVE STRAWBERRIES (2022), both by Feeding Minds Press. Here’s my review:

Once again, the spunky and optimistic main character, Jolie, brings her abundant enthusiasm for learning new things. Jolie chronicles everything about how to grow blueberries in her joyful journal, while also working on her growing friendship with a new neighbor. As with the first book, the story is chock full of charming wordplay and is accompanied by fabulously colorful and detailed illustrations. Anderson even somehow sneaks in examples of Jolie writing in different forms of poetry, like haiku and cinquains (!), providing inspiration to both young gardeners AND young poets. This book is an absolute treat!

I’m so happy to have Shannon here to chat about this wonderful book!

RGL: I absolutely LOVE that the main character Jolie writes all her plans, goals, and questions in her adorable journal, just as she did in I LOVE STRAWBERRIES. I personally started writing in a journal when I was around 7 (and still do!). Were you also a journal keeper as a child and/or are you still? 

SA: Yes! I started keeping a diary in 2nd grade and continue to journal as an adult. At my author visits, I show a picture of my childhood diaries. It was in my senior year of high school that I wrote two big goals in my diary for my future: to become a teacher and to write children’s books!

RGL: Wow, talk about manifesting! There are SO many layers in this book! Not only is it a sweet story about new friendship, but it also beautifully weaves in SEL themes of persistence, growth mindset, and teamwork, not to mention tons of STEM (hydroponics!), poetry (haiku and cinquains!), wordplay and puns, and it even models self-advocacy and fundraising for a cause. AND it’s FUNNY! There is a LOT packed into this story, and yet it is still all so delightfully entertaining! How did you do it?! Can you share a little about your writing process for this one? 

SA: First of all, thank you for your kind words! The teacher part of me wants kids to learn all kinds of cool things and the children’s writer part of me wants kids to giggle and enjoy. My first focus of the strawberry book was to show Jolie’s determination and growth mindset. I want kids to see that hard work and perseverance do pay off. Jolie continues this determination in I LOVE BLUEBERRIES. I also want kids to learn about growing their own food. There are so many life lessons in the joys and challenges of gardening. I thought I could ratchet that up by having Jolie and her friend try a modern farming technique with hydroponics. My writing process starts with figuring out my plot and theme. Once I feel good about that, I get to start playing with the words and phrases I choose to deliver the story. I love using figurative language and writing poetry. By embedding some poetry in the story and showing Jolie and Margot’s poem examples, my hope is that kids will want to try some of their own. It’s a great way for teachers and caregivers to introduce some simple poetry to kids too.

RGL: Let’s talk about the GORGEOUS illustrations. I’ve been a huge fan of Jaclyn Sinquett’s art for years. Her colors are so vibrant, her hand-lettering is brilliant, and the art overall really mirrors Jolie’s positive and upbeat attitude toward life. Did you have any say in choosing Jaclyn for this project? What is YOUR favorite thing about the illustrations?

SA: Jaclyn is amazingly talented! My publisher made the brilliant choice to ask her to illustrate the book. I couldn’t be happier with how both books turned out. She creatively found ways to place the text of the story, Jolie’s diary entries, Margot’s sketchbook art, and the rest of the illustrations beautifully throughout. That couldn’t have been an easy task. My favorite thing about how she illustrated these books is that there is SO much for kids to explore and notice on each page. I’ve watched kids read the book and they don’t just read the words. They pause on every page and take in all of the details before turning to the next page. I love that!

RGL: I know you are a former teacher and do a TON of school visits all around the country. How have kids responded to this book? What do they tell you is their favorite part? 

SA: So far, kids have given me very positive feedback for the book. Their excitement fills my heart, especially when they start telling me what kind of food Jolie should try to grow next or that they are going to try to grow something themselves. Different kids take away different things. Some love that Jolie writes in a diary. Some love Margot’s art in her sketchbook. Others like the poems in the book. 

RGL: And while I have the Master of School Visits here, can you share with our readers your top three tips for school visits? 

SA: When I do a school visit, my goal is to get kids excited about reading and writing. I share why I love writing so much and then I share the story behind some of my stories. By explaining why I wrote a book, or what inspired it, I’m able to touch on the themes of the book. My books have different themes such as growth mindset, perseverance, and kindness. If you can share intentionally how the characters or concepts in your book embody these themes, kids can learn valuable character traits. It’s a win-win. Kids learn great life skills and teachers love that you are another person reinforcing what they are teaching in their classrooms.

RGL: Lastly, the question I love asking all my guests: What is one question no one has yet to ask you about the making of this book that you would love to answer? (And what’s the answer?!) 

SA: What a great question! I often share with kids the story about how long it took me to get a “YES” from a publisher for I LOVE STRAWBERRIES. (It took 10 YEARS!) But no one has asked about how long it took to get the “YES” for I LOVE BLUEBERRIES. Some assume that the my publisher just agreed to it when I turned it in. That is not the case. We had to wait to see if the strawberry book did well and even then, the first story I turned in was not accepted. The blueberry book went through multiple versions before it was finally given the green flag for publication. I’m happy with how the final, accepted version turned out and I hope readers will be too!

RGL: Well, I think it’s absolutely amazing. Huge congrats on both books! (Can’t wait to see what Jolie grows next!)

Dear readers, Shannon is happy to send a copy of I LOVE BLUEBERRIES to one lucky reader (US addresses only). To enter the giveaway, just comment on this post! I’ll announce the winner on my next post scheduled on June 24!

And the winner of last month’s giveaway, either a copy of I WILL ALWAYS BE… or a 30-minute Ask Me Anything call with me is….

**DEBORAH FOSTER!**

Congrats Deborah! Please email me at RebeccaWrites4Kids@Gmail.com to claim your prize!

Shannon’s Bio: 

Shannon Anderson is an award-winning children’s book author, professor, TEDx speaker, frequent keynote presenter, and certified brain coach. She taught for 25 years, from first grade through college level and was named one of the 10 teachers who “awed and inspired” the Today Show in 2019. Shannon loves doing author visits, providing professional development for teachers, mentoring aspiring writers, and speaking at events. Her book, I Love Strawberries! was named the top-rated 2022 picture book by Good Housekeeping magazine and the National Book of the Year by the Farm Bureau Foundation.