sky above reflects,
but what lies hidden beneath?
i imagine teeth
dark depths creep closer
exude malice, beware ye!
keep hands in the boat
sunshine beauty lures,
lurks; still, something is down there
looking up at me
beauty lures
by Angie Quantrell
Cypress Gardens, South Carolina
lurking or lounging?
hungry alligator bag
waiting for dinner
alligator bag
by Angie Quantrell
Cypress Gardens, Charleston, S.C.
P.S. No, I do not ever want a real alligator bag! Nor do I want to get any closer or spend time in the water.
alone on green fields
beauty twins glow, satellites
making a statement
satellites by Angie Quantrell
Fort Moultrie, Charleston, South Carolina
Cue the balloons and confetti! Hooray!
Happy book birthday to this adorable lift-the-flap board book by Janet Lawler and James Weston Lewis! My youngest grand is sure to enjoy turning the pages and lifting the flaps to discover hidden sea creatures. She’s a girl after Nana’s heart-she LOVES books. Congratulations Janet, James, and Phaidon Press!
Here’s more from Amazon:
Guess who’s hiding under the sea in this lushly illustrated, rhyming read-aloud guessing game, then lift the sturdy cardboard flaps to meet the ocean ’s most amazing creatures – both familiar and wonderfully weird!
There are six sea creatures hiding in the book: can you guess who’s hiding under the surface?
This playful lift-the-flap book takes toddlers on an underwater adventure, introducing them to the wonderfully weird creatures of the ocean – and shows how their unique features are what make them amazing. On each spread, a hidden sea creature is described with a lively read-aloud rhyme, while peek-through details give extra clues to the animal’s identity. Little hands can lift a satisfying, sturdy flap to reveal who’s hiding under the sea.
Congratulations!
Janet Lawler
welcome, you
tempestuous swirls of a
dress called Spring
swirls by Angie Quantrell
Happy 1st day of spring!
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.
Happy Easter, Risen King! is available wherever books are sold. Learn more about Laura and all her books at http://www.laurasassitales.wordpress.com/
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!
Be Kind, Make Friends
Written by Angie Quantrell
Illustrated by Gayle West
Available at wmu.com/be-kind-make-friends/
Woman’s Missionary Union, 2024
you didn’t plan for
winter’s ice fog descending
yet look – lace decor
lace decor by Angie Quantrell
Winter 2026, Yakima Valley
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!
Love, Laughter, and Life 