1. April Come She Will: Nothing lifts the spirit and fills the heart with hope like Spring. Flower buds on trees, daffodils abloom, enchanting greening of the land.

Enjoy some of UK artist Lucy Grossmith’s lovely paintings which showcase the delicate beauty of nature in exquisite detail.

Lucy grew up in the Lincolnshire countryside and now lives and works in Suffolk, England. She’s always been surrounded and inspired by nature and enjoys walking outdoors, where she sketches and makes mental notes of flora, fauna, colors, textures, and weather conditions – all ingredients for her work.

She paints with acrylics on canvas or textured paper, focusing on gardens, wildlife, countryside, and coastal landscapes. I like the soft, feminine feel to her pictures and immersing myself in her idyllic scenes which seem to say, relax and stay awhile. 🙂

For more, visit Lucy’s Official Website, “Heart to Art,” where you can purchase original paintings and prints. Greeting cards are also available online via several different sites, including Orchard Cards and House of Cards. Keep current with her Instagram.

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2. New Poetry Anthology Alert: Officially released today is A UNIVERSE OF RAINBOWS: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World, with poems selected by Matt Forrest Esenwine and illustrated by Jamey Christoph (Eerdmans BFYR, 2025):

What do Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring, Peru’s Vinicunca mountain, the star Betelgeuse, and a drop of water have in common? Rainbows! In this iridescent collection, Joyce Sidman, Nikki Grimes, Janet Wong, and seventeen other poets explore bursts of color across nature. Each selection explores a new rainbow—and not just the ones in the sky.  In haiku, free verse, and other forms, the poets capture marvels like crystals, pilot glories, Gouldian finches, and marble caves. Acclaimed illustrator Jamey Christoph brings each rainbow to life in brilliant color and playful detail.

With dazzling language, luminous artwork, and fascinating science sidebars, A Universe of Rainbows is a mind-boggling tour of wonders big and small. From your own windowsill to Colombia’s Caño Cristales to the constellation Orion, rainbows are everywhere—in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Love the theme of this book and how much I learned about different rainbow sizes, shapes and forms from some of my favorite poets. The fun and accessible poems transport us to faraway places like China, South America and South Africa, in addition to states like California and Nevada.

It’s a great choice to celebrate Poetry Month and Earth Month. With just the right blend of poetry, science, and art, it’s a natural for classroom sharing across the curriculum. To find out more about the book, check out Matt’s post, which includes a list of recent reviews, interviews and mentions. And don’t miss my upcoming review this Friday, April 4. 🙂

Congratulations, Matt, Jamey and all the Rainbow poets!

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3. Attention Janeites!: If you’re a Jane Austen fan, you probably know 2025 marks the 250th Anniversary of her birth. To mark this momentous occasion, special events are being held around the world — to include festivals, exhibitions, theatre productions, and special collaborations, etc.

In the UK, The Jane Austen Centre in Bath and Chawton House in Hampshire will be spearheading the celebration. The 24th Annual Jane Austen Festival in Bath will be held September 12-21, 2025, followed by a Yuletide Birthday Ball on December 13 (Jane’s actual birthday is the 16th).

Enjoy this highlight reel of last year’s festival to get a flavor of upcoming events:

Meanwhile, the Jane Austen House in Chawton is celebrating all year with a series of festivals and a new podcast. Upcoming festivals include Spring Fling: Sense and Sensibility Festival (May 1-11), and the Emma Festival (July 12-20). Each festival will feature a program of special events, including themed tours, walks, performances, workshops, pop-up talks, late views and more!

Can’t make it to Chawton? Check out “A Jane Austen Year” — a mindful, soothing and uplifting podcast that transports you to Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. Each month, join the hosts on a seasonal journey through Jane Austen’s novels, the story of her life and the world she lived in. Discover scenes, letters, recipes, and objects from the museum collection, bound together with original music and sounds recorded in the House itself.

Each episode is recorded by the people who work at Jane Austen’s House, caring for this special place and protecting it for future generations.  Episodes will air on the 1st of the month.

There’s also a companion book and a new Chawton Cottage china range. 🙂

Of course, we can all celebrate from the comfort of our own homes by rereading Austen’s novels or viewing any of the many film and TV adaptations. BTW, 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the BBC “Pride and Prejudice” series featuring my secret husband Colin Firth as Mr Darcy. Will definitely have to watch it again. 😀

Finally, for a Worldwide Guide to Jane Austen 250th Events, click here.

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4. New Picture Book Alert: Coming to shelves April 10 is Suka’s Farm by Ginger Park and Frances Park, illustrated by Tiffany Chen (Albert Whitman, 2025):

Based on the authors’ family history, this story set in Japanese-occupied Korea portrays an unlikely friendship between a hungry child and an old farmer.

Life in 1941 Korea is difficult for Kwan and his family. Under Japanese occupation, food is scarce. Though he’s only a child, Kwan is desperate to help his family, so he asks Mr. Suka, a Japanese farmer, for a job. Mr. Suka teaches Kwan how to care for a herd of goats, and soon what began as an act of kindness becomes a genuine friendship that brings them both joy.

This touching, powerful story was inspired by the boyhood days of the Park sisters’ father in Japanese-occupied Korea. I’ve so enjoyed their previous books based on their family history and am always keen to learn more about Korean culture in general. Will be reviewing Suka’s Farm in May for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. For now, enjoy the wonderful book trailer:

Congratulations, Ginger, Frances and Tiffany!

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5. Paddington marches on! Recently, the 70-something resident Paddingtons were excited to hear that one of their favorite shops, The Bee’s Knees British Imports in West Acton, Massachusetts, had gotten in some new merchandise (regular readers of this blog know I’m a big Bee’s Knees fan and have shared some of their items here before).

Needless to say, the Paddingtons love seeing their likeness on everything from mugs, water bottles, and tote bags to backpacks and coin purses. They wanted you to watch this short video with co-owners Trish and Lucinda sharing some of the new items. Enjoy!

We especially liked these things:

More info on all Paddington items currently available here. One can never have too many Paddington goodies, right? 🙂

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6. Easter goodness: Speaking of Bee’s Knees, they also have a nice selection of items to make your bunny-eared holiday eggstra fun and delicious — everything from tin eggs, craft kits, felt ornaments, tea towels, crackers, Bridgewater mugs and plates to British chocolate-y treats.

Here are a few things that caught my eye:

Hippity hop on over to the BK site to check out all the offerings.

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7. New Picture Book Alert: Just released March 18 is Over in the Garden by Janna Matthies and Tisha Lee (Doubleday BFYR, 2025):

Gardening fans will swoon over this bright and gorgeous counting picture book based on the folk song “Over in the Meadow”—packed full of colorful plants, adorable gardeners, and the numbers one to ten.

Over in the garden, in the weeds, in the sun,
bent a brave little gardener with her little shovel ONE.

In this clever and lively remix of the children’s rhyme, little gardeners come together one by one to tend to a community garden. Young readers will enjoy scenes of digging, weeding, planting, composting, and harvesting, illustrated in lush, detailed scenes full of cozy outdoor joy. 

In additional to its gardening theme, it’s also a counting book, and your littlest readers will enjoy counting along from one to ten as all the gardeners come together for a celebration at the finale. There’s so much to love in this exquisite and educational book.

‘Tis the season to celebrate all things green and growing! Love the cover of this one — so cheery and appealing. You may remember when we featured Janna’s My Towering Tree (illustrated by Ashley Wolff) last year, and if you happen to be a longtime Alphabet Soup reader you may even remember that I interviewed Janna and illustrator Kristi Valiant when The Goodbye Cancer Garden came out in 2011.

Short way of saying, Janna’s an avid gardener, nature lover and music teacher who writes lovely lyrical texts, so I’m confident Over in the Garden is pitch perfect. Kirkus gave the book a glowing review, calling it “A garden of utter delights,” so grab a copy and share this lively, rhythmic counting book with your favorite munchkins soon. 🙂

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8. Fun Gifts for Poetry Lovers: Looking for a few more ways to celebrate Poetry Month? Whether a jigsaw puzzle, cool mug, uproarious card game, or Jane Austen Magnetic Poetry Kit (it’s her 250th after all), these items make nice gifts for the favorite poet in your life (or you). Click on each image for more info.

Poet’s Garden, from eeBoo’s Piece and Love puzzle collection, features seven beloved women poets and lyricists spanning centuries and continents. Their wisdom and words continue to influence the world today. This 1000 piece brightly colored puzzle features Sappho, Maya Angelou, Mary Oliver, Miriam Makeba, Kamala Das, Li Qingzhao, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz in a lush, heavenly floral garden. Illustrated by Jennifer Orkin Lewis. The 1,000 piece square jigsaw puzzle is thoughtfully commissioned and beautifully designed to offer a screen-free, relaxing way to practice contemplative mindfulness or share a gentle cooperative activity with friends and family.

Poetry for Neanderthals is a family-friendly party game where players earn points by getting their teammates to guess words and phrases. The catch is that the “Neanderthal Poets” are only allowed to use single-syllable words. If they use any words with more than one syllable, the other team gets to bop them with a 2-foot inflatable club. The team with the most points wins! This hilarious and engaging game is perfect for those looking for top board games for teens and board games for adults and family gatherings.

Cave Man Speak: We have fun game. Help team guess word on card. Catch is, use just one sound. No big words or boom stick hit you. Me smart. Can do. How bout you? 😀

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9. Bask in the Beauty: We’re closing out this Roundup the same way we started it: with lovingly created nature paintings. Whether flora or fauna, such art is healing and life affirming. We’re longtime fans of Chicago-based painter, illustrator, poet and instructor Michelle Kogan, whose name you may have noticed in the comments (she’s also a regular Poetry Friday participant).

Michelle uses a variety of mediums for her work: watercolor, oils, pen and ink, pencil, and digital art. Her focus is on endangered species, preserving the environment, and inspiring more beauty. I like the occasional touch of whimsy and playfulness in some of her paintings, her muted colors and soft edges.

See more of her work at her Official Website and Etsy Shop, where you can purchase prints, cards, bookmarks, journals and sketchbooks.

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**BONUS COOL THING: Stop the presses! Remember when I reviewed Clara’s Kooky Compendium of Thimblethoughts and Wonderfuzz not too long ago? Well, creators Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong of Pomelo Books just published a companion book called My Kooky Compendium of Thimblethoughts and Wonderfuzz!!

MY Kooky Compendium of Thimblethoughts and Wonderfuzz is a guided creativity journal that picks up where the Clara book left off, ready to inspire kids whose imaginations are chock-full of questions and trivia. A regular notebook of big blank pages can be intimidating to young writers, but children will love the lively and colorful pages of this book; the inviting blank spaces, surrounded by quirky questions and doodles, are just right for encouraging kids to ask bold questions, find fun facts, and write original poems.

MY Kooky Compendium is ideal for use alongside the original Clara book (a Children’s Book Council Boredom Buster and Cybils Finalist)—and is a perfect activity book for best friends, book clubs, and homeschoolers to use together!

Talk about a perfect way to celebrate National Poetry Month for kids ages 8-13! Of course one can be any age to enjoy this fun and inviting book. Take me, for example: I’m a tad older than 13 🤣, but I’m in love with Exercise 10: Favorite Foods. Can’t wait to jot down “Foods I Don’t Really Like,” “Food for Holidays or Special Occasions,” “Favorite Pancakes or Waffles.” The layout of this journal makes you want to start writing immediately! Snag a copy and see if you don’t agree!!

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This month we’re featuring our favorite blue-eyed twin musicians from New England, the Clements Brothers, in honor of their 40th birthday tomorrow.

You may remember my post about them back in October, when I shared their cover of Bob Dylan’s “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” and “Out of the Blue,” a track from their debut album, “Dandelion Breeze.”

At the time, we were all so hopeful about the outcome of the Presidential election, and now, some five months later, how things have changed! Who could ever have imagined that it would be this bad, or so hard to fathom. All I can say is, we need good music more than ever to soothe, heal, and help us keep the faith. These two songs, beautifully covered by Charles and George, will help us do just that.

Enjoy Kate Wolf’s “Across the Great Divide” and the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows.” Happy 40th to Charles and George!

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HAPPY TUESDAY

HAPPY WEEK

DANCE IN THE RAIN

READ MORE POETRY

WEAR YOUR BUNNY EARS

BAKE HOT CROSS BUNS

EAT JELLY BEANS

SING A GOOD SONG

HIPPITY HOP HOP

BE KIND

STAY TRUE

BELIEVE IN BLUE

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**Copyright © 2025 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.