Book Giveaway: OCEANS of LOVE by Janet L. LawLer

Janet Lawler’s latest picture book, OCEANS OF LOVE, is illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown and published and released today by Viking Books for Young Readers. Janet has agreed to give a copy of the book to one lucky winner in the US.

All you have to do to get in the running is 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 other things you do to share the good news, so I can put the right amount of tickets in my basket for you. Sharing on Facebook, Twitter or reblogging really helps spread the word for a new book. So, thanks for helping Janet and Holly.

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

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

OCEANS OF LOVE is a tender and humorous poem that imagines how ocean creature mothers show love to their little ones. Stunning watercolor illustrations by Holly Clifton-Brown take readers down below the waves, where colorful corals and filtered light create a world of enchantment and love to complement the text.

A beautiful watercolor celebration of the love between ocean mamas and their babies, big and small.

From whales and dolphins, to hermit crabs and jellyfish, the ocean is filled with many different creatures. Join them on this imaginary undersea journey as ocean mamas care for their babies, each in their own special way! Because one thing is universal: there’s no other love like that between mamas and their little ones.

With bright and beautiful watercolor illustrations comes this tender and heartwarming celebration of all the different mamas and babies you can find, especially those that live under the sea.

OCEANS OF LOVE has received a terrific review from School Library Journal:

PreS-Gr 2–Ideal for a read-aloud, this story’s clever, gentle rhymes and beautiful oceanic theme will delight caregivers and their children alike. Sea creature mothers care for their offspring in this tender story…. Filled with creature names and pleasant, descriptive words, Lawler’s rhymes roll fluidly off the tongue.… A seamless combination of hand-painted and digital techniques make for eye-catching collages in crisp textures and vibrant colors. VERDICT Recommended as a well-crafted, visually engaging bedtime read-aloud.

Below is the book trailer for OCEANS OF LOVE, if you want to take an added peek at Holly’s fabulous illustrations:

BOOK JOURNEY:

If “love poem” is a children’s book genre, I suppose it is my favorite! My latest, OCEANS OF LOVE, imagines how ocean critter mamas might show love to their little ones. I first fiddled with this text many years ago.  I had already written about how parents show love for babies and toddlers, in such books such as If Kisses Were Colors, A Father’s Song, and A Mother’s Song. I wanted to keep going, but I was running out of humans to write about! So I started imagining how others in the animal kingdom might show maternal love.

I have always been fascinated by the natural world, especially the ocean. I dove right in on an fantasy undersea journey. Writing in verse added to the fun. For each spread, I tied the text to an actual characteristic or habit of the featured sea creature. For example:

Mother clam may tell her tots,

“Now, hurry, open wide!”

Dinner gets delivered when

there’s plankton on the tide.

My editor at Viking recognized both the heart and humor in my manuscript. Only minor edits were required before the text was finalized and an artist selected. Illustrator Holly Clifton-Brown created a stunning watercolor back story that takes readers under the waves. Light filters down on crabs, sharks, minnows, dolphins, and more, as deep-sea mamas share love in unique ways.

I’m hoping readers will share OCEANS OF LOVE with special little ones on Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or any day.

MY WRITERS’ TIP

I urge writers to not get discouraged by the thought that there are too many books on a particular topic.  When my first picture book, If Kisses Were Colors, was published, it seemed like a miracle to me, since there were a lot of books out there about “kisses.” But I realized then, and still believe, that each of us looks in a unique way at the world around us. Our life experience and individuality are always going to be expressed in our manuscripts in a way that differs from others —even if we are writing about a universal topic or truth, such as motherly love.

You can sign up for my other musings on writing and nature at Janet’s Jottings: https://janetlawler.com/blog/

Oceans of thanks to Kathy for hosting a giveaway of OCEANS OF LOVE on its book birthday!

JANET’S BIO:

Award-winning author Janet Lawler writes fiction and nonfiction picture books and early readers for children. Her work has been featured in Scholastic Book Clubs and the Children’s Book of the Month Club and has been translated into several languages, including Spanish, Japanese, and Hebrew.

Her more-than-thirty published titles include FRIGHT SCHOOL, WINTER CATS, MIRABEL’S MISSING VALENTINES, IF KISSES WERE COLORS, and KINDERGARTEN HAT. Her nonfiction work includes WALRUS SONG and National Geographic’s RAIN FOREST COLORS, OCEAN COUNTING, and OCEANS OF LOVE (Viking). Upcoming titles include Celebrate! A Happy Book of Firsts (Feiwel & Friends), and THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOPE (Farrar Straus Giroux).

Janet is fascinated by the natural world and enjoys finding humor and hope in everyday life. She loves how words make music, and she marvels at the way illustrators add depth and detail to her stories. Learn more about Janet and her books at Home – Janet Lawler

And please stop by my blog, Janet’s Jottings, and sign up for my periodic musings on writing and nature. https://janetlawler.com/blog/

Janet enjoys visiting schools and libraries. Visit her website at http://www.JanetLawler.com

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HOLLY’S BIO:

Holly’s work combines traditional painting techniques and mixed media married with digital collage techniques to create a playful and tactile visual language.  All of her illustrations are individually hand-painted using gouache, colouring pencils, crayons and felt tip pens using only the wizardry of photoshop for compiling her images together.

She specializes in the children’s picture book arena. Holly does not to limit herself to any one type of project, she takes on a variety of work and welcomes individual requests for bespoke, hand-painted artwork.

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Here are some of her Clients:

Magination Press, Hodder Publishing, Chronicle Books, Mallow & Marsh, Oxford University Press, Positiviteas, OCR Publishing, Magic Town, Kar-Ben Publishing, Storybookden, Carlton Publishing, Paragon Books, Orion Books, Templar, Lerner Publishing, Andersen Press, Learning A-Z Publishing, MPS North America LLC

Holly was featured on Illustrator Saturday in 2017. Click here to view her older illustrations and read her interview. Visit her website at www.hollycliftonbrown.com

Janet, thank you for sharing your book and journey with us. What a great way to show a mother’s love. I love how the rhythm of the text mimics the ebb and flow of the sea and Holly’s beautiful illustrations add to that movement. The pictures and the text make for a great combination to being the story to life.  Good luck with the book.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy