February 7 – National Send a Card to a Friend Day

About the Holiday

Today’s holiday is all about reaching out to a friend or family member with cheerful wishes or a reminder about how much they mean to you. Sure, texting is more immediate, but the sentiments get lost amid long scrolls of typed conversations, shared pictures, and links sent. A card or a letter is more permanent and easy to enjoy again and again without all the dizzying swiping, swiping, swiping to retrieve the message that meant so much to you. Sending cards is such a wonderful way for kids, especially, to keep in touch with friends, cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. Today, encourage your children to share their feelings in a card or letter and get today’s book to read and inspire creative communication whenever your kids are missing a loved one.

Thanks to Tara Knudson for sharing a copy of Paper Wishes with me!

Paper Wishes

Written by Tara Knudson | Illustrated by Kirsti Beautyman

A child wistfully flies a paper airplane through their room, wishing they could fly, sail, take a train or drive to visit their grandparents and “bring a gift by hand.” Spying a piece of red paper on their desk, the child has an idea: Even though you’re far away, there’s one thing I can do. / Fold and crease . . . and fold again. / I made my gift for you!” With a few deft folds and tucks, the child creates an origami heart for their grandmother and grandfather.

Image copyright Kirstie Beautyman, 2024, text copyright Tara Knudson, 2024. Courtesy of Picture Window Books.

The child places the heart in an envelope and places it in the corner mailbox, sending “it on its way.” And then the waiting begins. Each day, they wonder “Is it on a truck? / Is it on a plane? / Is it on a boat? / Is it on a train?” and hope that their gift arrives safely. The child wishes they could see their grandparents’ reactions when they open the gift, and . . . through technology, the child and their grandparents get to share their smiles.

Easy-to-follow, illustrated instructions on how to make an origami heart follow the story.

Image copyright Kirstie Beautyman, 2024, text copyright Tara Knudson, 2024. Courtesy of Picture Window Books.

Tara Knudson’s touching and uplifting story will be treasured by children who miss seeing family members or friends and want to share stories, smiles, and love with them. Knudson’s lively rhymes and easy-flowing rhythms will captivate even the youngest children. Kids will enjoy reading along with the recurring phrasing and evocative vocabulary. Children who are eager gift-makers will love the inspiration in both the story and the included origami craft.

Kirsti Beautyman takes readers over a towering city, across choppy seas, winding past cacti in a sandy desert all the way to colorful townhouses on a shady street in a plane, boat, train, and truck cleverly drawn to mimic origami creations. Readers will immediately empathize with the child, whose expressions show a yearning to see grandparents again, happiness when close to them, pride in the gift they’ve made, and hopeful waiting to hear from family. Young readers are also reassured that family members or friends who are far away are thinking about and missing them too.

A tender, heartfelt, and inspiring read aloud that children will want to hear again and again, Paper Wishes would be an exceptional addition to home, library, and classroom collections.

Ages 4 – 8

Picture Window Books, Capstone Press, 2024 | ISBN 978-1684466184

About the Author

Tara Knudson is the author of multiple picture books, including Christmas Cookie Day, Fun Fall Day, and Valentine’s Day Treats. Tara is a former teacher who has been writing poetry since she was a young girl growing up in Chicago.

About the Illustrator

Kirsti Beautyman is an author and illustrator from the North East of England. After studying at Edinburgh College of Art and graduating in 2016, Kirsti turned her hand to illustrating children’s books and partook in the Picture Hooks Mentorship scheme in 2017. At the end of the scheme, Kirsti exhibited alongside her Mentor in the National Gallery of Scotland and was named “Picture Hooks Illustrator Of The Year”. Since then, she has continued to build on her career as a children’s book illustrator, and works from her studio, nestled away on the outskirts of Newcastle. Kirsti predominantly uses a culmination of digital, dry and wet media to create her illustrations… and is prone to leaving a vibrant jumbled mess in her wake.

National Send a Card to a Friend Day Activity

Paper Wishes Craft

Kids can make their own origami heart to give with the instructions in this Paper Wishes Instruction Sheet.

You can purchase Paper Wishes at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (to support your local independent bookstore)

Picture Book Review

June 19 – Juneteenth

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

This week Juneteenth became America’s eleventh federal holiday when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law on June 17. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery and celebrates the historical date of June 19, 1865, when Union army general Gordon Granger came to Galveston, Texas to read “General Order #3,” which proclaimed the emancipation of all those held as slaves in Texas. On the one-year anniversary of the proclamation, freedmen in Texas organized the first Jubilee Day, which became an annual event. Celebrations later spread across the south and then nationwide. The day includes parades, festivals, music, readings by prominent African-American writers, educational events and barbecues, complete with refreshing strawberry soda. You can learn more about Juneteenth and the symbolism of the flag on Oprah Daily.

Juneteenth for Mazie

By Floyd Cooper

As nighttime falls, Mazie would like to go outside to play, but she’s told it’s too late. Later, she’d like a cookie, but when she asks the answer is “‘Not now, little one. It’s too close to bedtime.’” And when she wants to stay up late, she’s reminded of the bedtime rule. Mazie’s dad notices that she’s feeling a little grumpy and asks why. “‘I can’t go where I want, have what I want, or do what I want,’” Mazie says. To cheer her up, Mazie’s dad tells her that tomorrow she can celebrate.

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Mazie’s dad lifts her into a big hug and tells her that tomorrow they will celebrate the day when her “great-great-great grandpa Mose crossed into liberty.’” He tells Mazie about Grandpa Mose’s life as a slave working in the cotton fields from sunup to sundown, all the while thinking about freedom. Before they slept, they prayed and planned for a better future. And, finally, it came.

On June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas, Grandpa Mose heard President Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation that the Civil War was over and that slavery was abolished. Cheers rang out from the crowd gathered there. Then “‘the cheers became dancing. The dancing became celebrating. It went on and on into the night.’”

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Now when Grandpa Mose worked, he was paid for his labor. He saved and made that better future he had long prayed and prepared for. Life for Black people continued to be hard as they struggled for equality, lobbying for jobs, schools, voting rights, opportunity. “‘But they never gave up.’” Mazie’s Dad tells his daughter, “‘and every year on Juneteenth, they celebrated and remembered.’”

Black people moved forward, with higher education, talent, and perseverance woven with forgiveness. They became heroes and leaders—even the President of the United States. Now, Mazie’s dad says, it’s her time to celebrate where she’s come from and where she’s going.

A short note about the history of Juneteenth follows the story.

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Floyd Cooper’s beautiful and soft-hued paintings accompany his straightforward storytelling with emotional resonance as Mazie snuggles close to her father in a big chair and listens as he tells her about her great-great-great grandpa Mose, who was among the first slaves to be emancipated on June 19^th in 1865. Cooper focuses on the perseverance, faith, and optimism that filled the hearts of Mazie’s ancestors and the generations of Black families who followed. His paintings span the more-than-150 years since Lincoln’s proclamation, with powerful depictions of newly freed men and women standing proudly in their best clothes as if posing for a photograph; the types of jobs Black men were able to get in the mid 1900s; a freedom march of the 1960s; and another grandfather passing down the stories to a younger generation gathered at his feet.

Cooper’s image of a Black woman raising her hand in university classroom of all-white students and his simple mention of those who have become leaders—with an illustration of Barack Obama taking the presidential oath of office, provide opportunities for further discussion and research. Mazie’s father’s exhortation for his daughter to celebrate now is paired with images of today’s kids laughing and smiling while they enjoy a cookout, cheer, dance, and parade, while always holding their past close to their hearts.

A gorgeous book to celebrate not only Juneteenth but the accomplishments and history of Black Americans, Juneteenth for Mazie is highly recommended for all readers and should be included in school and public library collections.

Ages 6 – 9

Picture Window Books, 2016 | ISBN 978-1479558209

To learn more about Floyd Cooper, his books, and his art, visit his website.

Enjoy this Juneteenth for Mazie book trailer!