Picture Books are Not Just for Kids!

Posted by abakersp in Contemporary / 8 Comments

isaac and god made color FB banner

It’s not often that I get to review picture books, or kids books in general. I think sometimes I feel a little goofy because my daughter is 16 now, so it’s not like we can read them together (I would see an eye roll and hear about how uncool I am reading a little kids book). But you know what? WHO CARES! I love reading little kids books. They can speak to your heart just as much as a grownup book can. Plus they make me smile! So I am pleased to present to you two fantastic books for your little ones (or maybe yourself if you’re like me)!

About the Books

Isaac and God Made Color-1

WhiteSpark Publishing is thrilled to bring readers young and old two delightful stories all about color!

Isaac’s Ice Cream Tree: Isaac loves the sugar maple in his yard, and he can’t help but feel bad for it when its branches are winter-bare. He decides to give it a gift…and is surprised when the tree returns the favor in the new morning snow, presenting him with balls of…ice cream!But how long can this magic last with spring on the horizon? A magical exploration through the colors of the rainbow, the days of the week, and some of our favorite fruits that is sure to delight.

Click here to purchase When God Made Color

When God Made Color: The wonders of creation spread out before us in all the glories of the rainbow…the deep purples and blues of night, the bright yellows of day, the pinks and oranges of flowers. And of course, the colors of all the creatures…including us! These sumptuous fine art illustrations will thrill parent and child alike!

Click here to purchase Isaac’s Ice Cream Tree.

My Perspective on Isaac’s Ice Cream Tree

What a fun book to read with a little one! First of all, the pictures are stunning. They are bright, grab your attention, and bring the story to life in a way that will enhance your young reader’s imagination.

The story is exciting and interactive with readers. What a creative story to each about colors and days of the week. I enjoy books that teach, and yet they make it so much fun that the young reader doesn’t feel like it’s a teachable book. It’s purely entertainment for them. This book would be great for classrooms, nurseries, and bookshelves across the country.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My Perspective on When God Made Color

This was such an enjoyable book to show children diversity, and the true power of God’s creation of us all. Just as each color in the world is different, so are people, and that is perfectly okay! The world would be so bland if we were all the same. The author did a great job in keeping the tone light, light enough for a very young reader to grasp the concept of the story, yet have fun while reading.

The illustrations are bright, eye catching, and beautiful. They easily show the contrast in colors, and how wonderfully they compliment each other. The animals are stunning. I’m not sure how the illustrator managed to color them in a way that makes them have a 3Dish feel to them, but there were many times I thought they could jump (or swim) right off the page.

A fun retelling of the creation story will have young readers smiling, laughing, and asking for this story again and again! I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About the Authors

Angela Henderson resides in Dallas, Texas, where she teaches middle school English Language Arts & Reading and is a mother of three. Exploring children’s books for twelve years with her own children during numerous “story times” at the local library and reading hundreds of books to her children, her passion for quality children’s literature led her to write her own work. After creating her blog and Facebook page, Kidsbook Friends, and her Instagram, Instabooks, she’s been able to share her love of literature with over a thousand followers by featuring authors and books. She’s thrilled to introduce her own creative story where magical moments lead to positive perspectives.

Sheri Carmon cap

Sheri Carmon seeks to incorporate the beauty of the Lord’s heart, His ways and His love in her writing for children. As an author, her goal is to shine His light through stories. In the past she has published poetry and inspirational compositions with both Blue Mountain Arts and The GroupPublishing. Sheri has always cared for the individual needs of families and spent fifteen marvelous, fast-paced years in real estate, specializing in family friendly homes. She and her husband have helped facilitate whole church Bible-reading programs in Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota. They make their home in Colorado, on the front range of the Rocky Mountains, where they’re surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation every day.

More from Angela

Why children’s books? After all, I teach young teens. Well, my reasons:

  1. I love art, and reading children’s books is like looking at an artist’s showcase of creativity!
    * Shout out to my amazing illustrator, Rachael Koppendrayer!
  2. I love to dream up the impossible, and you can make anything happen in a children’s book!
  3. I love togetherness and nothing brings a family together like a good book.

As I read picture books with my kiddos, the teacher in me wanted to instruct too. I created a blog (www.kidsbookfriends.com) so teachers, librarians and parents could have little lessons to help them “make friends” with the characters in the stories I featured. Surrounded by such inspiration from these books and my kiddos, I started writing my own manuscripts when my kids were all under age five, mainly sketches of thoughts until I had segments of time where I could construct stories.

After several years of attending SCBWI conferences; connecting with writers; creating manuscripts & editing and revising, editing and revising (you see a pattern?!); and submitting them to publishers, Isaac’s Ice Cream Tree was accepted for publication and was released January 15, 2019, by Whitefire Publishing! (It’s a process!!!)

The message embedded in this colorful, magical story expresses a very real part of my heart as it’s our family motto: “Always remember to look for the rainbow.” My kids and I both literally and figuratively practice this principle, rushing out after every rain to see if the sky is painted with a bow as well as trying to find the good that comes through the storms of life.

Through my journey, I’ve experienced much loss through moving many times, caring for my mother during her dying days, and losing my husband through divorce. Yet in it all, God redeems and uses each pain and joy like brush strokes on a canvass, reminding us of His unfailing promises while creating a masterpiece.

Creativity, imagination, inspiration . . . make magical moments.

Gather together. Dream the impossible. Embrace the colors. . . as I introduce you to a new friend, Isaac! Excited to share this story with you. . . and my next one . . . and the one after that. . . until we have many new kindred spirits . . .together.

Click here for a fee printable coloring page.

Click here to learn the story behind the story.

More from Sheri

A child asks, “Who am I?”
Creation Vs. Evolution – The big battle. Many public schools are presenting Evolution as fact and not theory. They leave no room for the concept of Creation. Our little ones are not creatures descended from animals, they are Children of God, created in His image. This is our identity and our children’s Identity and it makes all the difference in how we see ourselves, how we see others and how we engage in the world. Our identity is made clear in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:26-27 NIV. As Christian parents and grandparents, we are charged with teaching, encouraging and bringing forth our family line for the LORD. The new picture book When God Made Color, with its awe inspiring illustrations, is about our true identity and about the joyful, loving God who created us and the whole universe – a universe that is still expanding – Isn’t He just amazing?

Click here to view a special video

 Blog Stops

A Baker’s Perspective, May 2

By The Book, May 2

Among the Reads, May 3

cultivating us, May 3

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, May 4

Reflections From My Bookshelves, May 4

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 5

Mary Hake, May 5

For Him and My Family, May 6

Stephanie’s Life of Determination, May 6

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, May 7

Blogging With Carol, May 7

Lighthouse Academy, May 8

God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae, May 8

Pause for Tales, May 9

Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, May 9

Inspiration Clothesline, May 10

Reading Themes, May 10

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, May 11

Texas Book-aholic, May 11

Have A Wonderful Day, May 12

janicesbookreviews, May 12

A Reader’s Brain, May 13

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 13

Older & Smarter?, May 14

Creating Romance, May 14

Inklings and notions, May 14

Aryn, the Libraryan, May 15

Little Homeschool on the Prairie, May 15

The Becca Files, May 15

Giveaway

To celebrate their tour, Angela and Sheri is giving away a grand prize of The Great Color Giveaway Package that includes a$25 gift card from Amazon, Rainbow ice-cream cups with colored spoons, a paperback copy of Issacs’s Ice Cream Tree, a $25 gift card from Barnes and Noble, Crayola Washable Kids’ Paint – 12 count original and glitter paint (see attached image), and a paperback copy of When God Made Color!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/e2a9/the-great-color-celebration-tour-giveaway

8 responses to “Picture Books are Not Just for Kids!

  1. Kay Garrett

    Thank you for your reviews on “Isaac’s Ice Cream Tree” by Angela Henderson and “When God Made Color” by Sheri Carmon and for being part of the Celebrate Lit book tour.

    I enjoyed learning about both new to me authors and these two books. The books would be great to share with our little ones and I can’t wait for the chance to do so.

  2. Jessica, thank you for hosting my picture book ‘When God Made Color’ on your wonderful blog! I appreciated it so much, that you responded to the illustrations the way you did. I too, was awed by the vibrancy of life that the artist brought forth in the paintings! She selected Gouache, a difficult to use artistic pigment that dries to a matte finish and transfers vividly into print. She felt that only this ancient opaque paint would bring forth the needed depth of color to communitcate God’s gloriousness as express in Creation. The artist is a ‘fine art pigment color specialist’ and is highly sensitive to how colors work together in powerful ways. I so much appreciate her immersive and radiant expression of the JOY of the Genesis. Thank you again Jessica for hosting me today – It warmed my heart! Sincerely, Sheri Carmon

    • Angela Saver

      These books sound great and I enjoyed learning of the authors!

  3. Vivian Furbay

    What neat books!..If I am blessed to win, these would be good for my niece and her four kids.

  4. James Robert

    My kids when they were real little loved hearing stories and I think this book sounds amazing.