(This post contains affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission at no extra charge to you if you click on a link and make a purchase. Thank you!)
This journal would make a cute memory keepsake gift for an expecting parent or new parent.
Record short daily passages for baby’s first three years in this 6”x9” softcover journal. Each page is divided into three journal entries, one for each year that occurs on that page’s indicated date.
Write a couple of sentences documenting milestones, places visited, family activities, current events, or whatever else is on your mind. If you miss a day, just continue on whatever date it is. Great for the sleep-deprived new parent!
The back of the journal includes two pages to record special dates and an additional two pages to record any extra notes. More pictures of the Baby’s First Years: A Three-Year Journal can be found here.
I have already ordered one for an expecting mom. You can order your own Baby’s First Years: A Three-Year Journal here if you are interested.
Aah! Blown Away, Crash! An Alphabet Misadventure is in the process of being published. Last week, my daughter and I received the first proof.
It was exciting to see my 12-year-old daughter’s illustrations in print, but we decided to make a couple of minor updates. We made the changes and ordered a new proof.
We are still waiting for the updated proof to arrive, but we have gotten even more exciting news. Aah! Blown Away, Crash! has received a Readers’ Favorite Five Stars Review.
Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers’ Favorite said the following about Aah! Blown Away, Crash! An Alphabet Misadventure:
Brigitte Brulz’s picture book story, Aah! Blown Away, Crash! An Alphabet Misadventure is an alphabet book with a difference. Using more than just nouns, words that suggest action and expression, the author has created a short flash fiction story about a little red bird and its adventures, or misadventures as the title suggests. Each page highlights a new letter of the alphabet, capitalized and the first word that appears on the page. The language is simple, each page holding no more than three words, but most pages only having one word. Colorful illustrations accompany each page and help develop the plot, sometimes in a humorous way. A young reader will learn a lot of new words, non-noun words, in this delightful little romp through the English alphabet.
She further states:
Very cleverly done and beautifully illustrated. Lots of fun in this gem of an alphabet book.
I really hope other readers agree with this review and enjoy Aah! Blown Away, Crash! My daughter was happy about what the review said about the illustrations, and she went to work right away to update the cover.
We are getting closer and closer to the release of Aah! Blown Away, Crash! An Alphabet Misadventure.
You are welcome to sign up below if you haven’t already to receive a monthly e-newsletter, so you don’t miss out on the release of Aah! Blown Away, Crash! (It will be taking flight soon!)
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I attended an SCBWI webinar in February entitled “Finding Your Agent Match” with author Carrie Pearson, which was very informative. Carrie discussed what agents do and don’t do, tips to getting a literary agent, ways to improve as an author both offline and online, website tips, social media tips, her literary agent history, how to create a list of “wants” and “not wants” of a literary agent, how to decide if a literary agent would make a good fit, query tips, and author resources.
I have researched literary agents in the past, but the webinar provided new insight into some aspects of choosing a literary agent. Needless to say, as with any of the other SCBWI events I have attended, I took lots of notes!
So what do literary agents have to do with books about raccoons (which is the title of this post after all)? Well, I have been doing some research on literary agents and found a literary agent who is interested in representing a picture book about raccoons.
How adorable! That made me wonder what picture books about raccoons have already been published. I discovered my library has quite a few to choose from. (As a side note, I read through all of these raccoon books in February when I was preparing for my March meeting before the library closed due to COVID-19. It will be nice when the libraries can open again. In the meantime, I have a list of books I want to check out from the library hanging on the refrigerator.)
Raccoon Appreciation Day isn’t until October 1st, but these picture books (and a couple of board books) with raccoons can be enjoyed all year long. Some of these books aren’t focused solely on a raccoon but include a raccoon as an important character.
This Ready-to-Read Level Two book tells the story of Rebecca the raccoon who became one of the many pets at the White House while President Calvin Coolidge was in office. Thanks to her mischevious ways, Rebecca ends up finding a new home at the National Zoo with some new raccoon friends.
Herman the bear and Henry the raccoon are best friends. Unfortunately, Henry has to move away. They promise to write letters back and forth. Henry keeps his end of the promise by writing letters to Herman, but Herman is kind of jealous of all the fun Henry seems to be having in his new home and keeps putting off writing a letter. When Herman is finally ready to send a letter to his best friend, the post office is closed for the winter. What will Herman do now? He walks, strolls, tiptoes, leaps, climbs, and even sleeps his way to Henry’s house. The letters are included throughout the book in a fun lift-the-flap style.
Herman the bear and Henry the raccoon are going on a camping trip! The postcards they each send to family seem to tell a completely different experience. Herman is having a wonderful time while Henry is absolutely miserable. Herman, being such a good friend, notices that Henry isn’t having a good time. So, he comes up with a plan and works hard to turn their camping trip into a great vacation. Lift-the-tab postcards are included throughout the book.
Lucy and her family scavenge the best garbage bins for some food. She’s so preoccupied with a jar of peanut butter she doesn’t realize her family has left, and she is all alone in the city. What will she do now? She thinks of what she had passed with her family and asks an owl to direct her to specific locations. She must follow his directions north, east, south, and west for the number of blocks he indicates to find her way home. A compass is shown on the bottom of each page spread along with a bird’s eye view of Lucy’s path. There are additional pages at the end of the book for parents, caregivers, and professionals that discuss spatial thinking and activities.
May I Come In? by Marsha Diane Arnold and Jennie Poh (Sleeping Bear Press, 2018)
Raccoon is scared of being alone during a thunderstorm, so he heads out in the storm to find a friend he can stay with for the night. Unfortunately, Possum, Quail, and Woodchuck do not have enough space. Finally, he reaches Rabbit who has a house full of rabbits. Will she have enough space? Yes! There is even enough space for Possum, Quail, and Woodchuck who have decided they also don’t want to be home alone.
Raccoon on the Moon by Russell Punter and David Semple (Usborne Publishing, 2015)
Rhyming text throughout tells the story of Raccoon who takes a trip to the moon. His adventure doesn’t go as planned, but some aliens on the moon give him a hand. Will he be able to safely make his way back? Of course he will, along with his new friend Zack!
Super Manny Stands Up! by Kelly DiPucchio and Stephanie Graegin (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017)
Manny wears visible capes every day after school. He proves how fearless, brave, strong, powerful, and invincible he is as he saves the world from creatures such as zombie bears and evil cloud monsters. But while at school, he wears his invisible cape, which gives him the courage to stand up to a bully teasing another student.
Mama and Papa raccoon need a new place to live before their twins arrive. Will their real estate agent find them the perfect place?
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn and Ruth E. Harper & Nancy M. Leak (Tanglewood Press, 1993)
Chester Raccoon doesn’t want to go to school but his mother shares an old secret with him. She kisses his hand and tells him he now has a kissing hand to remind him Mommy loves him. Chester makes sure his mother also has a kissing hand before he goes to school.
Mrs. Raccoon sends Chester off to his first sleepover with a kissing hand. He has a lot of fun with his friends but ends up going home early to be back with his mom.
It’s time for Chester to go to sleep, but he keeps imagining creepy creatures and is too scared to sleep. His mother appears and kisses his hand, giving him enough comfort to fall asleep.
Chester the Brave by Audrey Penn and Barbara L. Gibson (Tanglewood Publishing, 2012)
Chester’s mother tells him a story about a little bird who was hesitant to leave his nest. The bird finds courage after getting a feather on his wing from his mother. Chester decides from the story (and the kiss on his hand from his mother) that he can be brave enough to speak in front of the rest of his classmates.
Ralph is terribly unusual…he is too well behaved! His parents know just how to correct the problem. Ralph is sent to Bandit School to learn from Mrs. Mischief. Unfortunately, Ralph doesn’t do too well in school because he is too polite. Ralph is given an assignment that may seem impossible for him. He successfully completes the assignment in an unexpected way, causing Bandit School to become a School for Good Manners.
Waddles by David McPhail (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2011)
In the spring, Waddles the Raccoon offers to sit on the nest of eggs of his friend Emily the duck. He takes his new job very seriously as he protects the eggs from a fox. He is still sitting on the nest when the five ducklings hatch. In summer, Waddles enjoys spending a lot of time with the ducklings. By autumn, the ducks have grown bigger and are ready to migrate. Winter is a lonely time for Waddles without Emily and the ducklings. Once winter is finally over, the ducklings return.
Mo is discouraged. It seems like he can’t successfully complete any job he tries. Will he ever find the perfect job? Yes, he does! Find the penguin and hidden robber throughout the pages.
Surprise! by Caroline Hadilaksono (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2018)
Raccoon, Squirrel, and Bear try to plan the perfect surprise welcome party, but it doesn’t go entirely as they planned.
Raccoon Tune by Nancy Shaw and Howard Fine (Henry Holt and Company, 2003)
The raccoons creep out at night to scavenge for a meal, and they end up with a delicious feast.
Mama Raccoon is sick, but her family tells her they will take care of everything while she rests. Rhyming text throughout describes their busy day. How will the house look when Mama Raccoon wakes up and is feeling better?
This is not your usual bedtime story. Sally insists she must go to bed, but Mom and Dad beg her to continue doing more activities instead of going to sleep.
Juniper feels her house is too big and she is too small. She invents crazy ideas to reach higher, which leads to some entertaining results. A sleepover at an even smaller friend’s house helps to change her perspective. Sure, there are still some things she doesn’t enjoy about being little but there are some advantages.
Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2013)
Shhh! It’s a secret. I’m not telling you how the raccoon gets the pizza.
Have you read any of these raccoon books? If so, which one is your favorite?
Check out these posts for more books about animals:
Look what arrived this past Friday. Not one, but two proofs!
Just in case you don’t know, a proof is a version of a book (or journal) that can be previewed before publication. The proofs I received state “Not for Resale” on the covers, but the interiors are all the exact same as what the published versions will be as long as they are approved.
My 12-year-old daughter did all of the illustrations for Aah! Blown Away, Crash!, and I enjoyed seeing her reaction as she looked through the proof and saw all of her own illustrations in print.
We scrutinized each of the pages to determine if any changes needed to be made. In the end, we decided to update a total of eleven of the pages.
The colors we see on the computer screen appear a little different in print. For example, the blue my daughter chose for the water appears as a vibrant blue on our computer screen. In print, though, it appears much darker.
We were concerned the blue would be too dark to read the text on the page. So, we decided to adjust the color, which meant my daughter had to adjust the color of the water on multiple pages.
She also had to update the back of the cover with the new color.
We found a few other details that also needed to be fixed. For example, on one of the pages, part of the text was “stuck behind a cloud”.
It amazed me how fast my daughter was able to fix each of the pages on her computer program. Once all of the changes had been made, I reuploaded all of the files and ordered a new proof.
The updated proof should arrive within the next couple of weeks. We had chosen to create a softcover version first, but we will also be creating a hardcover version of Aah! Blown Away, Crash! once we ensure the interior files for the softcover version are accurate.
Our goal is to have the hardcover and softcover version of Aah! Blown Away, Crash!: An Alphabet Misadventure published in the beginning of June. Stay tuned for more details!
The other proof that arrived is a journal called Baby’s First Years: A Three Year Journal.I love the way the front cover turned out, which was designed by my daughter using an image by Mylene2401 from Pixabay.
It is a journal for new parents to record short daily passages for their baby’s first three years. Each page is divided into three journal entries, one for each year that occurs on that page’s indicated date.
Instead of copying and pasting the exact same pages throughout the entire journal, I decided to include different pictures for each of the months.
I tried to keep the pictures relevant to the time of the year and age of the child.
The back of the journal includes two pages to record special days and an additional two pages to record any extra notes.
I’m hoping this journal will help parents to not stress over filling an entire baby book with nitty-gritty details. Instead, parents can spend just a few minutes each day of the year to write a couple of sentences (or notes) documenting milestones, places visited, family activities, current events, or whatever else may be on their mind. If they miss a day, it’s okay to continue on whatever date it is, which I think is great for the sleep-deprived new parent.
I noticed there is hyphen missing on the spine, but it will be updated soon.
The journal is a total of 375 pages long and will be available as a 6” x 9” softcover version in the very near future!
I intend to give this journal as a gift to two expecting moms I know. (Hopefully it will be available before their new bundles of joy are here…I’m cutting it really close on time with one!)
Did you see the sneak peek of Aah! Blown Away, Crash!, my upcoming picture book? In case you missed it, Aah! Blown Away, Crash! is an alphabet misadventure about a Bird who Crashes on a Deserted island and the comical drama that ensues with only one to three words per page.
In the sneak peek, I shared one of the illustrations from the book. Crash!
Original Crash! Page from Aah! Blown Away, Crash!
Well, I’m excited to announce the cover illustration for Aah! Blown Away, Crash! has now been completed. Yay!
My daughter has completed all of the main illustrations, which is really exciting. We still have a few things to do before Aah! Blown Away, Crash! can be published. I hope to create a teacher’s guide and some activity pages to go along with Aah! Blown Away, Crash! in the near future.
Stay tuned for more information about Aah! Blown Away, Crash!, an alphabet misadventure that should be available this year.
(You are welcome to sign up for my email list to receive a monthly enewsletter, so you won’t miss out on any Aah! Blown Away, Crash! updates.)
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Brigitte Brulz 