1. Hello, April! We’re welcoming this brand new month with the colorful, exuberant work of Southern California artist Sharon Nullmeyer (a.k.a., “Nullsie”).

After living in New York for about a decade, Sharon moved back to California, where she enjoys the sunshine, tacos, plentiful flowers and her beautiful coastal town. She paints and draws every day (watercolor, gouache, acrylic, collage) and takes her sketchbook with her everywhere. I was immediately drawn to the fine details, whimsy, and joyful energy in her pieces.

A self-proclaimed “paper scrap hoarder,” Nullsie’s still life paintings reflect her love of flowers, nature, and antiques (she used to sell them in NY). She also loves pattern/surface design: “Sometimes I think I see the world through a secret looking glass that reveals to me fantastic color wheels of wonder & repeating patterns.”

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Sharon is obsessed with her sketchbook; her current #100dayproject features flowers, where days 1-50 will be flowers and their meanings, while days 51-100 will be state flowers. She’s also doing a lettering boot camp. *swoons*

And if that isn’t enough, she’s currently hosting a still life club, where every Friday (sometimes Saturday), she’ll post a still life scene, composed of objects from her antique collection, something she’s observed, or something from her space, to serve as prompts for others to create their own drawings, paintings, collages, etc.

Visit Sharon’s Official Website for more. You can follow her projects, challenges, and still life club via Instagram or Facebook. Prints may be purchased online at Artfully Walls, and jigsaw puzzles are available at Jiggy.

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2. New Poetry Anthology Alert: Today is pub day for Bless the Earth: A Collection of Poetry for Children to Celebrate and Care for Our World, edited by June Cotner and Nancy Tupper Ling, illustrated by Keum Jin Song (Convergent Books, 2024):

A beautifully illustrated collection of poems and prayers to help children develop an appreciation for the natural world

Bless the Earth, our faithful friend,
her mountain range and river bend,
her forest green and canopy,
the hidden world of bended trees. 

Bless the Earth shows the miracle of our planet Earth through beautiful imagery and delightful poetry, calling all people, young and old, to care for our wonderful world. This sweet and welcoming anthology for children ages 3-7 knits together our common humanity and the natural world in an engaging way that is simple for young readers to understand.

Bless the Earth contains approximately sixty selections of original as well as classic poems, divided into five chapters each:

• Dreams for My World
• Earth and Sky
• All Creatures, Big and Small
• Seasons
• Caring for Our World 

Bless the Earth calls us again and again to understand how important it is to care for our world, respect our neighbors—humans, plants, and animals alike—and reimagine a world that is healthy and whole.

Happy to see that June and Nancy have teamed up again for what looks like another beautifully curated anthology, since I thoroughly enjoyed their previous children’s poetry collaboration, For Every Little Thing: Poems and Prayers to Celebrate the Day (which I featured here). Love the gorgeous cover and am looking forward to seeing more of Keum Jin Song’s work and reading all the poems. A perfect choice for National Poetry Month, of course!

Congratulations to June, Nancy, Keum Jin and all the poets!

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3. For the love of beautiful greeting cards: I’ve been a Pamela Zagarenski fan ever since she won a Caldecott Honor in 2010 for Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors (written by Joyce Sidman). Her charming art just checks all the right boxes for me, and I enjoy figuring out the visual narratives in all her pictures.

In addition to publishing award winning picture books, Pamela owns Sacredbee, a greeting card company that features her stunning paintings on all occasion cards, prints, postcards, stickers and totes.

“We believe in choosing words that encourage, promote peace, love and have lasting meaning. We believe in caring about each other, future generations and our incredible diverse planet including all of its creatures feathered, furred, finned, winged, four-legged and two.”

Pamela’s distinctive style is a delightful blend of beauty, wonder, magic, whimsy, and thought-provoking dreaminess. Each image transports the viewer to a place of calm and infinite possibility. And she chooses the best quotes! “Each card is a work of visual storytelling, with intricate designs that capture the imagination.”

Visit Pamela’s Sacredbee Etsy Shop for lots more (including signed books). Say goodbye to ho-hum big box store mass-produced greeting cards and prepare to be amazed. Doesn’t she make you want to send more snail mail to the special people in your life? 🙂

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4. Bilingual Picture Book Alert: Happy to share this new Salvadoran folktale released last Fall: La piedra mágica de la Chinchintora/The Chinchintora Snake and the Magic Stone by Manlio Argueta and Male Cuéllar (Luna’s Press Books, 2023):

The chinchintora is a snake that lives in the backwoods of El Salvador. It has a magic stone in its body that everyone wants to own. But to get it, you have to be an excellent dancer and challenge the snake to dance cha cha cha, salsa, cumbia, merengue, samba or Aztec dance. 

I enjoyed reading a digital copy of this captivating tale and was happy to “meet” esteemed Salvadoran author, poet, and critic Manlio Argueta in the pages of this book. His text is rhythmic and poetic, and I know young readers will enjoy finding out if anyone was able to meet the challenge to obtain chinchintora’s magic stone. Cuéllar’s lively, colorful illustrations dance across the pages, making each page turn a delight.

Folktales are such a fun way to learn about other cultures, making this a great choice especially for school libraries seeking to add bilingual and/or diverse books to their collections.

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5. Guess who’s coming back?! Looks like those of us who have been suffering severe Downton Abbey withdrawal will soon find some relief. Have you heard? They’re making a third DA movie!!

Earlier this year, rumor had it that they were secretly filming Season 7 of the hit period drama to be aired in the UK at the end of this year. It was tippy top top secret and meant to be a big surprise. But.

Now it seems plans are in place to begin filming a third movie this summer to be released in 2025. I doubt they’d do both a TV series AND a movie, so it looks like it’s going to be a movie.

Not complaining. I imagine as long as Julian Fellowes is willing to write another script and they’re able to manage the logistics of getting the key actors back on board, it’s a real possibility. Hello, Crawley family in the late 1920s! I miss Mrs Patmore and Daisy and all those wonderful kitchen scenes. Since Violet died at the end of the second movie, we’ll be missing Dame Maggie Smith. Sigh. Still, this is exciting news!

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6. Loose Leaf Literature: When was the last time you sat down to read a great work of literature? Need an extra incentive? What about sipping an organic tea blend flavored to the theme of a classic novel?

Enter the Noveltea Library — a shelf full of punnily-worded tea tins guaranteed to make you smile. Noveltea tins come in 8″ x 6″ book shaped tea caddies (2 oz/22 cups) or 5″ cylinders (yes, they also sell their loose tea in traditional pouches).

Who can resist literary blends with clever names like “Don Quixo-tea Man of La Manchai” (Organic Black Tea, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Cardamom, Organic Ginger),  “Pippi Oolongstocking” (Oolong Tea, Natural Flavor, Orange Peel), or “Matcha Do About Nothing” (100% matcha powder). All teas come with bookmarks (naturally).

Their tea bundles make perfect gifts. Visit the Novelteas Website for more info. Sip!

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7. Celebs on Sandwiches: Hungry? How about an RBG on a smoked salmon and bagel, Taylor Swift on a fried chicken sandwich, or Danny Devito on a Burrito? 😀

It’s been about 8 years since we first featured Jeff McCarthy’s humorous depictions of celebrities perched atop all manner of mouthwatering sandwiches, and thought it was time to share some of his latest offerings.

It all started back in 2015 when Jeff (eating a sandwich, naturally), was trying to come up with a novel idea for a side project (he directs commercials for his day job). He wanted to find something most people would find funny, and remembered how we love are obsessed with celebrities and food.

He began with a watercolor painting of Amy Schumer on a turkey and avocado sandwich and posted it on Instagram. His small following grew steadily over the years as some celebrities reposted his paintings on their Instagrams. Now with 317,000+ followers, Jeff continues to sell prints on his dedicated website, never having anticipated this kind of success.

He features actors, athletes, chefs, TV personalities, musicians, film characters — anyone who’s hot in pop culture or in the news (Taylor Swift, Drake, Kylie Jenner, Justin Bieber, Jennifer Coolidge). Lots of old favorites too (Golden Girls, Friends and Seinfeld cast, etc.).

Cruise on over to the Celebs on Sandwiches Instagram for the latest nosh, and visit the Website to purchase 8″ x 10″ prints. Meanwhile, enjoy this tasty smorgasbord:

Pass the mustard, please.

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8. New Young Adult Verse Novel Alert: Coming out April 24 is this beauty by prolific award-winning author Margarita Engle: Wild Dreamers (Atheneum BFYR, 2024):

In this stirring young adult romance from award-winning author Margarita Engle, love and conservation intertwine as two teens fight to protect wildlife and heal from their troubled pasts.

Ana and her mother have been living out of their car ever since her militant father became one of the FBI’s most wanted. Leandro has struggled with debilitating anxiety since his family fled Cuba on a perilous raft.

One moonlit night, in a wilderness park in California, Ana and Leandro meet. Their connection is instant—a shared radiance that feels both scientific and magical. Then they discover they are not alone: a huge mountain lion stalks through the trees, one of many wild animals whose habitat has been threatened by humans.

Determined to make a difference, Ana and Leandro start a rewilding club at their school, working with scientists to build wildlife crossings that can help mountain lions find one another. If pumas can find their way to a better tomorrow, surely Ana and Leandro can too.

Love the premise and know Margarita has written yet another beautifully crafted, captivating book. You probably know she is a master of verse novels and never disappoints.

Wild Dreamers has received a **starred review** from The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, who said, “Emotions run deep and true in the concrete poems and free verse, which offer complex relationships that are familial, cultural, romantic, and environmental, appropriately blurring the lines between them for readers already invested in effecting heartfelt change.” 

I like the idea of incorporating concrete poems along with free verse, and can’t wait to read this one.

Congratulations, Margarita!

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9. A leetle dessert: Are you still full after feasting on all those Celeb Sandwiches? Not to worry, you’ll surely have room for a wee peach pie courtesy of Tiny Kitchen. I love watching these miniature cooking videos – no narration and very relaxing. I wonder where these vloggers get those tiny refrigerators and ovens?

Needless to say, Basil and Cornelius are especially enthusiastic about tiny food — just the right size for them. 🙂

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Here’s a lovely April song, one of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel tunes. “April Come She Will” was written by Paul Simon in 1964 and was included on S&G’s second studio album, “Sounds of Silence” (1966).

As Simon tells it, he was inspired to write the song while in Oxford, England. He and some friends had been up all night, and when the dawn came, they decided to walk outside in the woods. When they heard bird song, a girl in the group recited the children’s nursery rhyme, “The Cuckoo.” He liked the words and decided to put them music.

Here’s one of several variations of the old nursery rhyme:

THE CUCKOO

In April,
Come he will.
In May,
He sings all day.
In June,
He changes his tune.
In July,
He prepares to fly.
In August,
Go he must.

I’ve always loved Simon’s lyrical melody and his exquisite guitar picking. The changing nature of the seasons is used as a metaphor for a girl’s changing moods.

You may know that “April Come She Will” was the B-side for the “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” single, and that the song was also included on the soundtrack for the movie, “The Graduate.”

I couldn’t find a good live version of S&G performing the song, but there are many great covers. Here’s my fave by New England based musician, songwriter and teacher George Clements. He’s a big Paul Simon fan and played him in the off-Broadway show, “The Simon and Garfunkel Story.” Nice blue eyes (and he has a twin brother). Highly recommend checking out his YouTube channel for his other cover songs (soooo good). More on both Clements Brothers in a future post. *swoons*

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HAPPY TUESDAY

HAPPY NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

CARRY YOUR UMBRELLA

LISTEN FOR BIRD SONG

DO YOUR TAXES

EAT ANIMAL CRACKERS ON THE 18th

TAKE DEEP BREATHS

TICKLE SOMEONE

THINK BLUE

BE TRUE

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**Copyright © 2024 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.