Book Giveaway – MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe by Vivian Kirkfield

Vivian Kirkfield has written a picture book titled, MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe, and illustrated by Alleanna Harris. Vivian has agreed to share a copy with one lucky winner. All you have to do to get in the running is to leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or talk about it on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Just let me know the other things you do to share the good news, so I can put in the right amount of tickets in my basket for you.

Sharing on Facebook, Twitter, reblogging really helps spread the word for a new book. Thanks for helping Vivian and Allenna!

If you have signed up to follow my blog and it is delivered to you everyday, please let me know when you leave a comment and I will give you an extra ticket. Thanks!

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

“This warm story emphasizes Ella’s role in her success, thus avoiding the trap of the white-savior narrative. Many white artists have benefited from imitating black ones; this is the rare narrative to acknowledge that… saturated with color, they capture the iconic looks of the two stars. A good volume to include in a larger conversation about friendship, allyship, and social justice.”-Kirkus Reviews

Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe. On the outside, you couldn’t find two girls who looked more different. But on the inside, they were alike–full of hopes and dreams and plans of what might be.

Ella Fitzgerald’s velvety tones and shube-doobie-doos captivated audiences. Jazz greats like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington couldn’t wait to share the stage with her, but still, Ella could not book a performance at one of the biggest clubs in town–one she knew would give her career its biggest break yet.

Marilyn Monroe dazzled on the silver screen with her baby blue eyes and breathy boo-boo-be-doos. But when she asked for better scripts, a choice in who she worked with, and a higher salary, studio bosses refused.

Two women whose voices weren’t being heard. Two women chasing after their dreams and each helping the other to achieve them. This is the inspiring, true story of two incredibly talented women who came together to help each other shine like the stars that they are.

WRITING JOURNEY:

On January 14, 2020, Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe (Little Bee Books, illustrated by Alleanna Harris) takes a bow…which seems to be a fitting way to describe the launch of a book about the fabulously talented jazz singer, Ella Fitzgerald and the iconic movie star, Marilyn Monroe…both took many bows in their time.

Back in 2014, I was just taking baby steps in writing nonfiction picture books. I happened to see an online picture of these ladies, sitting together in a nightclub—on the outside, they appeared so different—but it was obvious from the photo that there was a connection between them. My curiosity was sparked…I had to know more!

None of the books I got from the library were able to shed any light on this friendship. I had to put on my detective hat. I googled the author of several of the Marilyn Monroe books and found out she (the author) had been a professor at a California university. I checked out the university website and discovered her email. I contacted her and although she didn’t know the information, she directed me to the president of the oldest Marilyn Monroe fan club. I went to his website – sure enough, his email was there. And, when I emailed him, he gave me the phone number of the woman who had been Ella Fitzgerald’s promoter (publicity person for her concerts) for thirty-seven years! I called her and she was lovely. She spoke to me for hours and assured me that Ella and Marilyn were friends. Ella had seen every one of Marilyn’s movies. Marilyn had listened to every one of Ella’s recordings. They respected and cared about each other. When Marilyn needed to improve her singing, she studied Ella’s voice. And when Ella needed help getting the booking at the Mocambo…well, that’s what the book is all about!

PUBLICATION JOURNEY:

Remember when you were a kid and your parents told you to try, try again? The path to publication with this manuscript was an example of that. I wrote the manuscript at the end of 2014…showed it to an editor at a conference in 2015. She loved it and asked for revision as. We sent it to her but she wasn’t able to get her team to acquire it. The same thing happened in 2016 with a different editor/publisher. And at the end of 2017, we sent it to yet another editor, Courtney Fahy from Little Bee Books…again I was asked for revisions. But this time, her publisher acquired it! YAY! They signed on a fabulous illustrator, Alleanna Harris, and the rest of the publication process was like a dream…I was shown sketches early on…and my opinion mattered! The publicity team printed lots of ARCS and sent me a bunch. And I was able to meet the whole team when I visited New York City. It’s been a wonderful relationship of collaboration. I’ll be reading the story to parents and children during Author’s Night at the Lycee Francais Chicago and I look forward to sharing it with many other schools during the upcoming months. There’s nothing better than using picture books to engage with kids, pique their curiosity, empower them to tell their own story, and inspire them to follow their dreams. What I tell kids during school visits is that Nothing Is Impossible If You Can Imagine It!

VIVIAN’S BIO:

Writer for children—reader forever…that’s Vivian Kirkfield in five words. Her bucket list contains many more than five words – but she’s already checked off skydiving, parasailing, banana-boat riding, and visiting kidlit friends around the world. When she isn’t looking for ways to fall from the sky or sink under the water, she can be found writing picture books in the quaint village of Amherst, NH where the old stone library is her favorite hangout and her young grandson is her favorite board game partner. A retired kindergarten teacher with a masters in Early Childhood Education, Vivian inspires budding writers during classroom visits and shares insights with aspiring authors at conferences and on her blog, Picture Books Help Kids Soar where she hosts the #50PreciousWords International Contest in March and the #50PreciousWordsforKids Challenge in May. She is the author of Pippa’s Passover Plate (Holiday House); Four Otters Toboggan: An Animal Counting Book (Pomegranate); Sweet Dreams, Sarah (Creston Books); Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe (Little Bee Books); and From Here to There: Inventions That Changed the Way the World Moves (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). You can connect with her on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Linkedin, or just about any place people with picture books are found.

ILLUSTRATOR ALLEANNA HARRIS’ BIO:

Alleanna Harris is a US illustrator who has been drawing for as long as she can remember. As a little kid, she would draw on every page of her mom’s legal pads, doodle on her notebooks at school and on the programs at church.

She graduated from the University of Arts with a BFA in Animation with Honors, and it was during this time she realized her love for illustration. Alleanna finds inspiration in the beauty in everyday things. Everything inspires her. In her work, she seeks to create images that are immersive, rich in color and have a sense of warmth. She lives in NJ.

Alleanna was featured on Illustrator Saturday.

Vivian, thank you for sharing your book and its’ journey with us. I am sure everyone will love reading the inspiring story of these two great women and how their lives connected. Good luck with the book!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy