Blog: #kidlit Book of the Day

Tilt
by Jone Rush MacCulloch (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Ten-year-old Darrah has a word for when her world shifts: tilt. Her parents are getting a divorce. She feels abandoned, and her best friend, Lily, isn’t sympathetic. Once again, Darrah feels rejected. Tilt. Darrah’s mom reminds her that “forgiveness is like climbing a tree.”

One morning, Darrah sees someone hanging in her oak. Enter Jackson, a new boy to the neighborhood. He introduces himself by jumping out of the tree in front of her. He’s exactly the type of friend Darrah is looking for; bold, reliable, and fun.

Darrah and Jackson encourage each other to carry out pranks. They end up in the same fifth-grade class as Lily. Their antics grow increasingly reckless. When Jackson dies unexpectedly, Darrah’s world tilts in huge proportions.

Snippet:

I was lucky enough to read this novel-in-verse while it was still being written. And now I am happy to celebrate this book’s birthday! Here’s the art from the book’s launch last week . . .

Happy #bookbirthday, Jone!!!

Toddler Two
by Anastasia Suen (Author) and Winnie Cheon (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Two adventurous toddlers take an afternoon’s romp through their backyard, blowing bubbles, digging in the sandbox, playing hide-and-seek, riding on swings, and playing with other toys.

As young readers follow along, they discover what comes in twos as the pictures under the flaps unfold – two hands, two feet, two eyes, two ears, two legs, two arms. Two is the number just for them!

After I wrote the small poem Baby Born about a baby’s first year, I wanted to write a book about turning two. The first book went month by month, but that didn’t feel right for the second book.

I tried all kinds of ideas, but nothing was working so I went for my morning walk. I was two blocks away, thinking about the toddler play group we went to when my children were young, and the words started coming . . .

Four miles later, I had a 50 word counting poem! I wrote it down when I came home and soon it was a book in English . . .

. . . and Spanish

. . . and both languages!