Tag: Joyce Wan

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Books for Valentine’s Day snuggles

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Getting Ready for Valentine’s Day, by Vera Ahiyya/Illustrated by Debby Rahmalia, (Dec. 2024, Random House Books for Young Readers), $10.99, ISBN: 9780593810002

Ages 3-7

Kai and their family are busily preparing for Valentine’s Day! They make valentines and decorate; Mom makes cookies. The next morning, after a special Valentine’s Day breakfast and photos, Kai heads to school, where their teacher encourages students to contribute things they love to her list. Kai worries about not receiving any valentines, but the teacher has asked everyone to make cards for everyone so no one feels left out. Kai receives cards and best friend Chelsea loves hers. Getting Ready for Valentine’s Day is a cheerful book with family and friends showing love to one another. Author Ahiyya, also known as the “Tutu Teacher”, is a Kindergarten teacher who knows her audience and takes care to model positive, inclusive behavior and gives Kai the role of first-person narrator to give readers a child’s point of view; Ahiyya concentrates on enthusiastic wording to communicate Kai’s feelings: “I can’t wait to celebrate with my friends and family”; “My heart feels extra big, knowing how happy everyone is going to be when they open [the valentines]!” A fun and inclusive look at Valentine’s Day for younger readers.

 

I Lava You!, Illustrated by Liv Wan, (Dec. 2024, Cartwheel Books), $7.99, ISBN: 9781546138402

Ages Birth-3

The plush lava on this cartoony volcano welcomes little hands to this adorable ode unconditional love. Seven spreads filled with rhyming phrases make for a snuggle time every time: “I lava you, I really do! No one warms my heart like you”. From volcanoes to diamonds, sunshine and rain to rainbows, to the planets and stars, each spread is filled with bright colors and cheery faces. Readers will visit this book all year ’round.

Visit Liv Wan’s website to see more of her illustrations.

 

Be My Yummy ABC, by Joyce Wan, (Jan. 2025, Hippo Park), $14.99, ISBN: 9781662640766

Ages 2-5

The cutest ABCedary you’ll have in your hands this month! Joyce Wan is one of my favorite children’s illustrators because her artwork is just SO CUTE. She’s all about the bright colors and the bold outlines and her rhymes are the sweetest. With Be My Yummy ABC, Wan creates “a bite of love on every page”, highlighting tasty treats from all over the world: “The cutest GYOZA of my heart. My sticky HONEY BUTTER TART”. Wan’s wide-eyed, smiling food illustrations will delight every reader. Letters of the alphabet are large and puffy, looking like letter balloons and easy to read. Let this be the yummiest book on your shelf. Back matter includes pronunciation of each food, plus a note on each food’s country of origin; the book jacket unfolds into a poster. Endpapers show a variety of foods with heart shapes and rainbows. A feast for the eyes and a lovely look a foods of different cultures. Do not miss.

Visit Joyce Wan’s webpage for Be My Yummy downloadables (and downloadables from her other works)!

 

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads, Uncategorized

Blog Tour and Giveaway: Pug & Pig and Friends!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The wait is over!! After four years, Sue Lowell Gallion and Joyce Wan have reunited to give us a new installment in the Pug & Pig Chronicles. I give you…

Pug & Pig and Friends, by Sue Lowell Gallion/Illustrated by Joyce Wan,
(Aug. 2021, Beach Lane Books), $17.99, ISBN: 9781534463004
Ages 3-7

Pug and Pig have worked out their differences in the first two books, so Pug & Pig and Friends begins with Pug and Pig playing in their yard with their friends, Squirrel, Robin, and Cat. Squirrel and Robin have loads of fun with the two siblings, but Cat is a different sort of friend… the “frenemy” likes to pounce on Pug when he least expects it, and it’s just not fun. When an unexpected rain shower begins, poor Cat is stuck in a tree and is too afraid to come down! Pug knows what to do to lure her down, though… Fun, friendship, and a bit of pranking are the heart of this adorable book with Joyce Wan’s too-cute artwork. Simple, short sentences describe the action and give us a gleeful group of friends. Cat is mischievous but not mean-spirited; Pug uses her penchant for pranks to help her – and get a fun bit of payback in the process.

I adore this series. It’s sweet, it’s adorable, it’s great for storytime for a broad range of kids. Happy Book Birthday, Pug & Pig and Friends!

As the daughter of a printer, Sue Lowell Gallion has a life-long love of type, paper, and the aroma of ink. She is the author of the Pug & Pig series and the picture book All Except Axle as well as a nonfiction board book, Our World: A First Book of Geography, and three books in the Tip and Tucker early reader series. Sue lives in Leawood, Kansas, with a black lab mix who provides her with daily inspiration. To learn more and download free activities for all of her books, visit suegallion.com.

Twitter:  @SueLGallion

Instagram: @suelowellgallion

 

Joyce Wan is the author and illustrator of several books for children, including Pug Meets Pig, Pug & Pig Trick-or Treat, Sleepyheads,You Are My Cupcake, We Belong Together, and The Whale in My Swimming Pool. Joyce lives with her husband and daughter in New Jersey. Visit her at wanart.com.

Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram: @joycewanbooks

Personalized and signed books are available at Rainy Day Books!

One lucky winner will get their own copy of Pug & Pig and Friends! Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Peep and Egg debate the pros and cons of bathing: I’m NOT Taking a Bath!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Peep and Egg: I’m Not Taking a Bath, by Laura Gehl/Illustrated by Joyce Wan, (Oct. 2017, Farrar Straus Giroux), $16.99, ISBN: 978-0-374-30327-3

Recommended for readers 3-7

I adore Peep and Egg. Yes, they’re illustrated by Joyce Wan; I should have heart-eyed emojis setting off her name every time I talk about one of her books, because I adore her art. In addition to the squeal-worthy art, though, they’re just fun. They’re Elephant and Piggie for the toddler set; one surly little bird and one level-headed friend who manages to steer the other in the right direction.

This time, it’s about bathing. The front endpapers show us a bunch of pigs, happily playing in the mud; the verso shows us a pair of muddy footprints tracking across the page, leading us to the title page, where we see a very dirty Egg, already stating, “I’m Not Taking a Bath”. We know what we’re getting into from the second we open the book, and I don’t know about you, but I’m already giggling. (Maybe it’s because I have three boys and am having deja vu.) Sure enough, there’s Peep, suggesting Egg take a bath. “Too wet!” Egg fires back. Peep suggests different enticing bath ideas: special shampoo, the hose, the dog’s water bowl; all met with reasons why Egg refuses to consider them, ending with the repeated phrase, “I’m NOT taking a bath!” Egg even refuses a bath in the river, to which Peep responds – like most parents I know – with the time-tested, “Okay… well, see ya!” As Egg notices all their friends run by – including the muddy pigs! – ready for a day of playing at the river, Egg changes tune pretty fast and heads to the river!

When Peep offers Egg a towel, Egg politely declines… “because I’m not getting out!” Sound familiar, folks? Peep and Egg works so well because – like Mo Willems’ Pigeon books – we have seen the characters, and they are US. Egg is the fussy toddler and preschooler, starting to make their own decisions; we’re the caregivers, trying to get them to make the decision WE want them to make. We cajole, we entice, we finally say, “Okay, well, I guess I’ll have to play with all of these cool bath toys all by myself“, and our kiddos change their tune. Only to assert themselves again when it’s time to come out of the tub, their fingers wrinkled, lips blue from sitting in the now-cold bathwater. Laura Gehl gets us: children and caregivers alike.

Laura Gehl has loads of great stuff, including curriculum guides and activity sheets, at her website. Joyce Wan has downloads and printables aplenty at her website, too!

Want a chance to win your own copy of Peep and Egg: I’m Not Taking a Bath? Enter this Rafflecopter giveaway!

Posted in Animal Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Pug and Pig love Halloween!!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Pug & Pig: Trick or Treat, by Sue Lowell Gallion/Illustrated by Joyce Wang, (July 2017, Simon & Schuster), $17.99, ISBN: 9781481449779

Recommended for readers 3-7

They’re back! They’re back! One of my favorite teams in picture books is back! Pug and Pig, the adorable pet duo we met in last year’s Pug Meets Pig, are going trick or treating in their newest story, Pug & Pig: Trick or Treat. That is, if they can agree on a costume: see this cover? Pig is loving life in his costume. It fits nice and snug, the mask is cool, it’s all good. Pug? Just look at Pug. Does that look like a happy Pug? A satisfied with Halloween Pug? Nope. It most certainly does not.

Pug & Pig: Trick or Treat is a story of friendship and compromise. Pug isn’t happy with the Halloween costume, and Pig loves it. But they want to celebrate Halloween together, so what’s a friend to do? Pug takes the situation and spins it to a happy conclusion for everyone, and Pig understands that two friends can have different interests and comfort levels. It’s a great story of negotiation and seeing other points of view for kids, who may not understand why their friends may not love the same things all the time.

Do I need to squeal about Joyce Wan’s art again? Yes, I do. How adorable is this artwork?

Look at the pumpkins: they have Pug’s and Pig’s faces on them! It is physically impossible for me to read a Joyce Wan-illustrated book without squealing the first two or three times. When I read this at my Halloween storytime yesterday, the kids and their caregivers squealed along, too, so I feel completely justified. Parents loved the positive storyline, the fact that it concentrated on the two friends working out their differences together, and the short, simple sentences and repetitive words that make them feel comfortable reading with their kids. One parent asked me if there is a a Pug and Pig book for Christmas too… so, hint, hint, nudge, nudge, Sue Gallion and Joyce Wan.

In the meantime, download this insanely cute activity kit (I’ll be using mine on Monday and Tuesday) and coloring sheets. Tell the Great Pumpkin to leave a copy of Pug & Pig Trick or Treat below your Jack-o-Lantern!

Want to win your own copy of Pug & Pig Trick or Treat? Enter this Rafflecopter giveaway! (U.S. addresses only, please!)

Sue Lowell Gallion is the author of Pug Meets Pig and Pug & Pig Trick-or-Treat (Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane Books). She has two grown-up kids, one grandson, and a black lab mix named Tucker, who all provide writing inspiration. As a printer’s daughter, she has a life-long love of type, paper, and the aroma of ink. She lives in Kansas City, KS. Visit Sue at suegallion.com, follow @SueLGallion on Twitter, and check out her kids’ book recommendations at Goodreads.

 

Posted in Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads

Pure Adorableness: Pug Meets Pig

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

pug-meets-pig_1Pug Meets Pig, by Sue Lowell Gallion/Illustrated by Joyce Wan, (Sept. 2016, Simon & Schuster), $17.99, ISBN: 9781481420662

Recommended for ages 3-7

Pug is a happy-go-lucky pup, living the good life. He’s got his own house, his yard work, his food bowl, and his doghouse. When Pig joins the family, though, Pug is not thrilled. His routine is completely thrown off, because Pig is in all of his business; Pig’s eating his food, hanging out with his friends, and sleeping in his doghouse! What’s a Pug to do? Can Pug and Pig work it out so they can live in the same space happily?

This is the sweetest story about change, learning to share, and welcoming a new friend (or family member). Kids will recognize Pug’s feelings, especially kids that may be starting school and meeting new kids (and having to share supplies and toys) for the first time, or even closer to home, welcoming a new sibling or family member to their home. Pug’s reaction to sharing his toys, yard, and bed is spot-on for toddlers and preschoolers learning to share. Ultimately, the good-hearted Pug and eager to please Pig come together to share, and kids will, too.

pug-meets-pig_6

The fun begins with the book’s endpapers, where readers follow along on Pug’s very busy day (and later, Pug’s and Pig’s day). I am in love with Joyce Wan’s adorable art. Her board books, You Are My Cupcake and We Belong Together are in heavy rotation at my storytimes (and in my home). Her Kawaii-inspired art never, EVER ceases to make me squeal, and Pug Meets Pig brings on the cute attack thousandfold. I almost passed out from cute overload. True story.

pug-meets-pig_2

Bonus goodies: Joyce Wan’s website offers a discussion and activity guide, plus an activity kit that will see quite a bit of action at my library. There are also coloring sheets galore! Author Sue Gallion’s webpage also links to the activity kit and coloring sheets, and to Publisher’s Weekly‘s starred review. The book has also been selected for the Society Of Illustrators 2016 Original Art Show, an annual exhibit which showcases the year’s best children’s picture books.

Adorable art plus a fun, sweet story that kids will love? Pug Meets Pig has it all. Add this one to your storytime collections, and put it in cuddle time storytime rotation. My little guy can’t get enough of this book, and neither can I. We’re getting a Pug & Pig Trick or Treat book in 2017, so watch this space for more of my incoherent squealing over this series.