Monet tried to take a break from her cozy nap to announce the winner, but could not keep her eyes open.
The winner of a copy of Laura Sassi’s Happy Easter, Risen King! is
ROBIN CURRIE
Congratulations, Robin! Please contact me with your mailing address so I can get it to Laura and Paraclete Press so they can mail you a copy! I hope you enjoy this beautiful Easter board book!
Thank you, Laura Sassi and Paraclete Press, for offering a copy of Happy Easter, Risen King! to one reader! What a special gift!
Author Laura Sassi is joining us today with some great tips for reading board books to our littles. As a special treat, Paraclete Press is offering a copy of Laura’s newest book Happy Easter, Risen King! to one reader. Please comment on this blog post to get your name in the hat (US only). A winner will be chosen one week from today.
Welcome, Laura!
Every night when my kids were little – starting when they were babies – we wrapped up our day with some cozy reading time, followed by a lullaby and a prayer. It was precious time on many levels as we enjoyed the joy of togetherness, the cozy calm of settling down for the night, the connections we were making through the board books we explored, and the faith seeds that were planted as we sang of God’s love and wrapped it all up in a prayer.
Now, in celebration of the joy of doing all of the above using board books as the hook, here are 8 tips for reading board books with babies and toddlers, using my newest board book Happy Easter, Risen King! as the joyful model.
Tip #1: Make reading time special. Get cozy. Snuggle. Remember, reading the board book at hand is about more than just reading. It’s about bonding, interacting and fostering a love of books and storytelling, and in the case of exploring faith-based books, letting your children know, from the very beginning, how much God loves them.
Tip #2: Pause as you read to ask simple, interactive questions. In Happy Easter, Risen King! for example, you could ask: “Where’s the sun?” “Who is in the garden?” “What’s the angel doing?”
Tip #3: Add simple actions and/or sounds. In Happy Easter, Risen King! for example, you could have your children squeak like the little mice that appear in almost every spread. For actions, they could pretend to carry jars of perfume or to be picking up petals along the path in the story.
Tip #4: Vary the delivery. Sing the story. Use different voices. My children especially loved when I sang the stories we read. Try singing Happy Easter, Risen King! to the tune of “Happy Birthday to You” and see how it goes. Fun, right?
Tip #5: Let toddlers turn the pages. Anticipate together what will happen on the next page. Then see if you were right.
Tip #6: Point and name things as you read. In Happy Easter, Risen King! for example, you can have your toddler point to and name the colors, etc.
Tip #7: Extend the story with an activity. For Happy Easter Risen King! it might be fun to go on a color hunt or paint a rainbow. Another idea would be to build a cave tomb, similar to the one in the story, by putting a blanket over a couple of chairs. Then, with your child, take turns peeking in and rejoicing because Jesus isn’t there! He has risen, just like He said he would!
Tip #8: Read the same stories again and again… if they ask! That’s how they learn and grow. And remember, to wrap it all up in with a hug and a prayer.
Thank you so much, Laura! These are great tips for reading board books with the littles. Everyone, be sure to comment below to get your name in the hat to win a copy of Happy Easter, Risen King! Thank you, Paraclete Press! Laura’s board book is just right for Easter!
What? It’s Make a Friend Day! How awesome it is to have friends as we travel our life’s journey!
After I ripped off the previous day from my days of the year calendar (Read in the Bathtub Day), I was excited to see today is for friends. I started thinking about things I like to do with my friends. Rubber stamp, hike, explore, share meals, find quaint teashops, travel, talk, take photos (oh, so many photos), learn new things, laugh, go on adventures, fellowship at church, study the Bible. My list is pretty long. Mostly anything I like to do, I can enjoy it twice as much when I do it with friends. My friends list also includes the ones closest to me, like my honey, my kids, my grands, and my extended family.
Pondering the joy of having friends, I thought about preschoolers and how they are just beginning to learn and practice the social skills needed to make and maintain friendships. Parents, grandparents, childcare providers, and early childhood educators, you know what I’m talking about. It takes work, grace, apologies, squabbles, conversations, and time spent repeating all those things!
If I were a preschooler making a friend, I would want to do things with my new friend. Stomp in mud puddles, chase butterflies, build giant block houses (knock them down), create masterpieces with messy craft supplies, make believe in our imaginary world, slurp drippy ice cream. And much more.
Make a Friend Day. Do you have anyone in mind? What do you like to do with friends? Let’s do this, friends!
It’s been a minute or two since I’ve posted. So Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Hope the time you spent with family and friends was beautiful and blessed.
December was exceptionally busy, and January is off to the same start. But you’ll be happy to know that so far I’ve gotten the year correct when I’ve needed to write it down. 2026! If this year goes as fast as 2025, I better start practicing writing 2027, because I’ll need it next week.
I’m just back from an enriching trip to Birmingham, Alabama. (This year I made it, unlike last year when an ice storm in Birmingham sent me back home from Denver.) I went for the January Board Meeting at National Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU), but it was anything but boring. It was inspiring and filled with great connections, ideas, discussions, planning, information, and fun. Loads of fun! And good food.
I still haven’t landed on a word of the year. But I did read this verse today on K-love, and I think it might be a great focus verse for 2026.
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” -Ephesians 3:20 NLT
I think that will set up my year quite nicely.
We’ve had an unusually warm and weird winter. One mild snow event, bucket loads of rain, warm weather, foggy sock-ins, and that’s about it. Well, maybe wind and occasional frosty mornings. My daffodils are coming up. Pansies are still blooming, and buds are appearing on a variety of plants. The good news is that the reservoirs are filling with water from all the mountain rain, which will be helpful this summer.
Forward and on! Hoping you have a fantabulous 2026!
Welcome, Joye! I’m so happy to have you here today so we can learn more about your newest picture book, Meet Lottie and Annie! This beautiful picture book is about two historical and inspirational women who led women and families to pray for and support missionaries around the world who tell others about Jesus.
Let’s get started!
Where did the idea of this book come from?
Thank you, Angie! I felt so honored to write this book about these two women who have left such an impact on missions. The idea for the book really came from the preschool leaders who are teaching missions in their churches. The state Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) preschool consultants let national WMU know that leaders were asking for a book they could use with their preschoolers to help them learn who Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong were. There was a preschool picture book in the past about Lottie and Annie, but it has long been out of print. A new book was overdue!
I was at that meeting! It’s wonderful to hear a need or idea from preschool leaders and then supply that needed resource.
In case someone is unfamiliar with Lottie and Annie, can you give us a quick description of both women?
Lottie Moon
Lottie Moon was a missionary to China for 39 years, from 1873 to 1912. Lottie learned the Chinese language fluently, took on the Chinese way of dressing, and lived among the Chinese people. She traveled from village to village to teach people about Jesus from the Bible. In her time in China, she taught and directed several schools for Chinese children, both girls and boys. She even taught reading to adults. Lottie loved the Chinese people, and wanted them to hear about Christ and His love for them. She wrote to Annie Armstrong and the women in Southern Baptist churches in the United States, urging them to collect an annual offering at Christmas time to send more missionaries so the Chinese people would hear about Jesus’ love. The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is named after her, and the offering goes to the work of missionaries with the International Mission Board (IMB).
Annie Armstrong
Annie Armstrong was a woman who could really get things done! As the first corresponding secretary (now known as executive director) of Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) from 1888 to 1906, Annie led the women of her time to support missions through praying and giving. She thought it important to develop missions education materials so all ages could learn about missionaries and missions work. Annie is known for the many projects in which she led WMU to be involved. A few of these projects included raising money for more missionaries to be sent out, providing “frontier boxes” with supplies for missionaries here in the United States, and raising money for a church building in Cuba. Now the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering is named for her, and supports missionaries with the North American Mission Board (NAMB).
This is fascinating history!
What made you want to write this book? What inspired you?
The stories of Annie Armstrong and Lottie Moon have always been an inspiration to me. What amazing women they were! But in teaching preschoolers in the church for many years, I know what a challenge it is to make historical figures of the past relevant to preschoolers today. I wanted to write a book that tells the stories of Lottie and Annie in a way that would capture the attention of preschoolers.
You did an excellent job of writing a compelling book for the preschool audience. Though, I (an adult) enjoy reading and learning from Meet Lottie and Annie, so I guess you could say many age levels will enjoy this book.
How did you research these two historical missions heroes before writing Meet Lottie and Annie?
The two main sources I used are the books, The New Lottie Moon Story, Second Edition, by Catherine B. Allen, and Annie Armstrong: Dreamer in Action, by Bobbie Sorrill. As I read these biographies, I took many notes about the stories and information I thought would be important to include. I went back to those books many times during the writing process.
I also read Lottie Moon and the Silent Bell, by Rosalie Hall Hunt. Rosalie is such a great storyteller! Rosalie was in the process of writing Annie Armstrong’s Amazing Adventures (which is now available), and she even sent me a chapter to preview. Wow! My conversations with Rosalie about both Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong taught me so much. I am so grateful to Rosalie for sharing with me.
It sounds like your research was in depth and very productive. I love knowing about these additional resources for learning more about Lottie and Annie.
While I was writing Meet Lottie and Annie, it so happened that the archivist at national WMU, Cindy Goodwin, was going through some of the journals of Annie Armstrong. What a treasure it was for me when I could head up to the library on the second floor of the WMU building and there was Cindy Goodwin with white gloves on, reading some of the journal entries. Seeing the journals in Annie Armstrong’s own handwriting made her become more personable to me. She sometimes included recipes and even household tips!
That’s so cool! I bet the recipes and household tips were fascinating!
What was your writing process? How long did it take you to write the words for Meet Lottie and Annie?
It took me about 6 months to write the words. I started by reading the biographies and taking many notes. I used the notes to pull out the stories to include for preschoolers. Angie, you were a great editor to work with me. I knew that we wanted half of the book to be about Lottie and half about Annie. That gave me a division of the book, and page count for each of the ladies. Then I had to make decisions about which stories to include.
I knew that Lottie Moon wrote letters to Annie Armstrong, urging the women in WMU to give financially so more missionaries could be sent to China. I felt that would be a good segue between the two parts of the book.
Once the text was written, it was a blessing to work with Angie as editor and Beverly Love Warren as illustrator of the book. What a wonderful job Beverly did with the beautiful illustrations! I am thrilled!
It was an amazing experience to work with both of you on this project. And then I handed it over to Gayle West, the WMU preschool team’s graphic designer. She pulled all the pieces together, and then off to the printer it went! Meet Lottie and Annie was released on June 1, 2025.
What was your favorite part of helping this book come to life?
I wanted to include an interactive element for preschoolers, so it was fun to come up with the word sounds (onomatopoeia) on each page spread.
That is a very fun way to engage preschoolers!
What do you hope preschoolers, families, and preschool leaders take from this book?
I hope the book is a help to families and preschool leaders in helping our young ones learn who Annie Armstrong and Lottie Moon were, and why we give today to the offerings in their names. I hope leaders will engage their preschoolers in giving to the two offerings. I hope preschoolers enjoy the book!
Joye, I know you teach Mission Friends, a missions discipleship group for preschoolers. What is your favorite way to use Meet Lottie and Annie with your preschoolers?
I read the Lottie section of the book to our preschoolers at church, and it was fun to have the preschoolers repeat the word sounds on each page spread. I think it made the preschoolers more attentive!
Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
I hope you have fun learning about the missions legacies of these 2 women, and enjoy sharing about them with your preschoolers!
Thank you so much, Joye, for sharing about your part in creating Meet Lottie and Annie! This picture book is a wonderful resource for parents and leaders alike, and is especially great for preschoolers. Thank you for joining us today on the blog.
Joye Smith stands by a life-sized cutout of Annie Armstrong!
Readers, if you would like your own copy of Meet Lottie and Annie, you can find it here.
If you would like to learn more about the creation of Meet Lottie and Annie, read Beverly Love Warren’s blog interview here. Beverly was the illustrator for this beautiful book.
Thank you for stopping by. What is your favorite historical picture book?
This adorable board book is just perfect for Thanksgiving AND any other day of the year when we want to express thanks to someone we meet. As you can tell by the cover, this is not a Thanksgiving book, yet I can see how fun it would be to share it with little readers to give them ideas of how to tell (and show) others thank you. As far as the rest of the year, The Thank You Book is just right.
Colorful illustrations and simple text come together in a delightful package. The rhymes roll easily off the tongue, making it fun to read aloud. From the back cover:
Thanking is easy. Thanking is fun. Can you find a way to thank someone? This lovely book shows us all the ways we can be thankful!
I love how we read about not only ways to say thank you with words, but ways to say (and show) thanks in other ways.
So to you, my readers, thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate you!!
Love, Laughter, and Life 