It's a Firefly Night by Dianne Ochiltree

Do you like fireflies?  You need to read this book!

Blue Apple Books and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this children's picture book (thank you).  It has been published, so check for a copy at your local bookstore.

This is a delightful picture book with illustrations by Betsy Snyder.  A little girl goes out on a night with fireflies and captures some in jar.  Before the end of the evening, she lets them go and waves goodbye.  The pictures and story are both charming.  If you have fireflies in your area, you might start this as a new family tradition at your home.

The last two pages in the book have facts about fireflies.  I learned a couple of things reading the little balloons of information.  Maybe you will, too.

If you're not fortunate enough to have fireflies in your life (like where I live), read this book, view the illustrations, and imagine...

Happy reading.

I Haiku You by Betsy Snyder

Here's an uplifting little picture book that is full of the haiku form of poetry.  It will make young and old smile.

Random House sent me a copy of this book for review (thank you).  It has been published, so check for a copy at your local bookstore now.

I don't know much about haiku poetry.  I know it's different from simple rhymes or repetitive syllables in poetry.  So I looked it up:  Haiku is an unrhymed, syllabic form adapted from the Japanese: three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables. Because it is so brief, a haiku is necessarily imagistic, concrete and pithy, juxtaposing two images in a very few words to create a single crystalline idea. The juxtaposed elements are linked in Japanese by a kireji, or “cutting word”—poets writing haiku in English or other Western languages often use a dash or an ellipsis to indicate the break or cut between the linked images.  (From http://poetry.about.com/od/poeticforms/g/haiku.htm) 

While I wouldn't want to tackle it, this author has done a very good job of using haiku to spread a message of love and to reaffirm a child's self-confidence.  

This book would be a great book for a grandparent to share with a child.  It's an easy way to let them know they are loved and both old and young will enjoy the book.

Happy reading.  

Sweet Dreams Lullaby by Betsy Snyder

This is a lovely board book that will work great for bedtime or any time a little one would like to dream...

Random House sent me a copy of this board book for review (thank you).  It will be published on January 26th, so check with your local bookstore for a copy.

The rhyming text is sweet and descriptive and will help little ones envision dreams of other places, other wonders, animals, flowers, stars, and more.  Each page is mellow and charming and the colors are bright and eye-catching.  

I can easily see this becoming your child's favorite bedtime read.  It's also a pleasure for an adult to read, so I doubt that will be hardship. 

Why not pick up a copy of this beautiful book and share it with the little one in your life?  It would make an excellent gift, too.

Happy reading.