Hippo Park, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers, 2025
Joyce Wan celebrated the book birthday of Be My Yummy ABC just recently on January 14. Congratulations, Joyce!
Thank you, Hippo Park, for sending me a copy of Be My Yummy ABC. I requested a copy through PW Grab a Galley and was happily surprised when my grand brought me a package. I wasn’t expecting any books, but there it was. All bright and shiny and pink and gorgeous. And TASTY. Sorry, but my phone camera did not catch the true vibrant colors.
I may have mentioned a time or two that I love books centered around food. Ahem. Still true. This alphabet book delivers. But let’s talk about layers. The more layers there are in a picture book, the more hooks there are for different readers. A hook is what grabs a reader and keeps them coming back for more reads.
Be My Yummy ABC has numerous layers and hooks:
~food (pretty much everyone I know is invested in food)
~multicultural foods (plus pronunciations, thank you!). I love this connection to the wide world around us
~alphabet, which is always a hit with me and any other preschool or kinder teacher
~alphabet chart included! Yes. This is so clever. Joyce designed the thick book jacket cover to include a vibrant alphabet chart on the back. One just needs to unfold the book jacket and voila, a yummy food-based alphabet chart.
~valentine connection. Be My Yummy sounds just like a valentine greeting, so this book can also be used during the month of pinks, reds, valentines, and love
~rhyming! Wow. I can only imagine the challenge to create a picture book with foods beginning with each letter of the alphabet, adding fun words, and making it all rhyme! But Joyce did a wonderful job and it’s a fun read aloud book.
~wide age range. The brightly colored illustrations will appeal to babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary students. What a nice span!
~great gift-ability, as I can see parents and grandparents giving this alphabet book as a gift
~back matter giving food name pronunciations and information about each food
~I’m sure there are more layers I’ve missed.
Be My Yummy ABC is a tasty treat for my eyes, my mouth, and my mind!
P.S. In case you think I’m going to eat the book, I will clarify: my eyes (looking at the delightful illustrations), my mouth (the words are tasty to read aloud), and my mind (I can learn more about language, the alphabet, and multicultural foods).
I love that so many people were interested in my pumpkin pucks and the resulting pumpkin scones. I’ve had questions about both, so here are my directions to preserve your own pumpkin pucks and bake up these dreamy pumpkin scones.
PUMPKIN PUCKS
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Ingredients: sugar pie pumpkin, olive oil
Wash your pumpkin. Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy bits, and cover both inside and outside with olive oil. Place the halves face down on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Use a fork to poke holes all over the two halves. Bake until all areas are tender. My first batch I didn’t quite cook the pumpkin long enough, and some areas were a little hard. This will usually take at least an hour, depending on the size of your pumpkin. Check after an hour and keep going until a fork easily pierces all areas.
Cool. Scoop the pumpkin flesh out and a fill 1/2 cup plastic measuring cup with pumpkin. Slam (to release the pumpkin) the pumpkin on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. This will form the “puck” shape. Continue with all the cooked pumpkin. If there is any remaining, divide the rest between all the pucks. Freeze until solid. Place the pucks in freezer bags. Store in the freezer until needed. They unthaw pretty quickly, but if you want to use 1/2 cup of pumpkin, pull it out the day before and let it thaw in the fridge. Ta-dah!
PUMPKIN SCONES
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Ingredients:
2 cups flour (we love whole wheat)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 heaping tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pumpkin spice
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold butter
1/3 cup buttermilk (I never have this on hand, so I add about 1 T. vinegar to the milk and let it curdle)
1/2 cup pumpkin (1 PUMPKIN PUCK, thawed)
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix together flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Use a pastry knife to cut the butter in until it is well crumbled.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, milk, and vanilla. Add to the dry mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together.
Lightly flour a surface and put the dough on it. Gently knead the dough a few times and pat it into a circle about 1 1/2 inches thick. Use a knife to cut the dough in half, then in quarters, and then in eighths (final scone count is 8). Place untouching on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.
Bake about 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove to a cooling rack to cool.
PUMPKIN SPICE GLAZE
Ingredients: powdered sugar, pumpkin spice, water
(I apologize in advance. I do not measure this, but rather go by “it’s done when it will pour over my scones.”)
Place about 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a bowl. Add about 1 tsp. pumpkin spice. Add water by 1 tsp. at a time, using a whisk to mix the glaze. Stop adding water when the glaze stirs easily but is not runny. (I know!! I did apologize in advance!) If you get too much water, add small amounts of powdered sugar to get the consistency you want.
Drizzle the glaze over the scones while they are still on the cooling rack. This is messy since the glaze drips off the bottom, but you can place the cooling rack back on the cookie sheet so it drips onto the cookie sheet instead of your surface.
Today is World Kindness Day and the perfect time to consider how I can extend kindness to others. Not just today, I hope, but as a growing habit as I journey through this life with the people around me.
Random acts of kindness are always nice, and I’m thinking that going the extra mile to make that personal connection would really make someone’s day. The day is just beginning, so I’ll have to keep my eyes open for ways to show kindness.
Whenever I hear the word “kind,” I think of the days I was a kindergarten teacher at Harrah Community Christian School. One of the Bible verses we learned together was Ephesians 4:32a. I often combined motions and movement as we practiced our verses, and for this one, we marched around the room, urging each other to “Be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32a).” I don’t know about the kindergartners, but every time I see that reference or hear “kind,” our rhythmic rendition pops into my head.
So today, how will you be kind and compassionate to others? I’d love to hear.
Go forth and be kind.
Be Kind, Make Friends is available at WMUstore.com.
It was so cute to watch my honey bring in the mail the other day. He was so excited to show me the cover of Be Kind, Make Friends on the slip sheet of the Mission Friends Winter Leader Kit! I mean, it does look awesome to me as well. But his excitement was super adorable.
With a little help from Enkidu (Enk or Enki for short), I’m here to announce the winner of a copy of Goat’s Boat Won’t Float! Enki is one of my neighbor goats. What a cutie! I must admit, the chickens wanted in on the party, and the turkeys refused to come close . . . it was all about Enki.
Drumroll please . . .
Congratulations, Shaunessy Sinnett (shaunessysinnett), you are the winner of a copy of Goat’s Boat Won’t Float from The Little Press! Author Kim A. Larson will be in touch with you soon. I’m sure you will enjoy this adorable story.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to congratulate Kim and read more about this goat and turkey early reader. So. Much. Fun! Thank you, The Little Press, for bringing this book into the world and sharing copies so others can enjoy it too!
Congratulations, Kim! And thanks so much for visiting this blog and sharing about your new book. All the best wishes to you!
Friends, you can read Kim’s book birthday interview here.
You can reach Kim on her website at KimALarson.com and on Facebook,Twitter/X,Instagram, and Bluesky. If you sign up for her quarterly newsletter, you’ll receive a PDF copy of her first published book of short stories and poems: Love, Laughter, and few Happily Ever Afters.
Despite the disappointing beginning of repeated plantings, low number of sprouting seeds, and nibbling of sprouts by bird and pest alike, we had quite a successful pumpkin harvest. And I say bring on fall! I love pumpkins and I love autumn! Decorating with homegrown pumpkins is so rewarding.
Read to the bottom for the final count. The photo above shows the “big” pumpkins from the garden. In the carving world, they really are medium sized to small, but in my garden, they are the big ones. Also notice the random yellow squash. I harvested 2. I replanted zucchini and yellow squash multiple times. The end results were zucchini: 0. Yellow squash: 2.
The table above was one of our distribution points. Pumpkins available for adoption were placed on the lovely garden table made earlier this year by my honey.
Above is yet another adoption table, covered with the big pumpkins. This table was also made by my honey, but a few years back, so it has lovely weathered wood.
Above is the first harvest of the minis. So cute and adorable, and perfect for every nook and cranny. I will definitely plant these again. They are so much fun, and pretty aggressive climbers. We watched them creep up sunflowers, pine trees, and any other item taller than themselves. Note, this is another table made by the honey. This one is fresh and needs weathering.
The hand belongs to my grand, Donavyn. He is the one who arranged the minis by color. I loved that! Donavyn and Autumn were thrilled to help with the pumpkin hunt and retrieval.
This is the final harvest from the new planting box out in the pasture. Whoa! A surprising number of big and small pumpkins. Plus, I had tossed in sprouting potatoes and other compost at the “fill the box with stuff and dirt stage,” not thinking what might happen. Potatoes happened! I pulled out the “weeds,” and potatoes were attached to the bottom! How fun is that! That’s why I like experimenting in the garden.
Drum roll please. The final totals for pumpkins harvested this year are:
Happy book birthday, Kim! Goat’s Boat Won’t Float is finally here! I’m so excited for you! Now Goat and Turkey are out in the world and ready for readers to have a blast!
Friends, Kim is one of my fabulous critique partners. I love reading her manuscripts, and she always has wonderful insights for me when she reads my work. Be sure to read to the end to learn about a special giveaway of Kim’s book by The Little Press.LEAVE a message on this blog post for a chance to win a copy of Goat’s Boat Won’t Float!!!
But enough about me. Kim, welcome to the blog! Thanks for celebrating your book birthday with us!
Tell us about your writing journey.
I wrote as a hobby for many years (but I wrote very poorly). Then in 2010, I was laid off after a 23-year career in mortgage lending. It had always been my dream to write full-time, and with our two sons almost grown, my husband gave me his blessing. I took three creative writing classes at the same college my son attended, then I started a critique group that met in my home for many years. I published twelve short stories and poems in regional anthologies and also wrote a few picture books. However, it wasn’t until I stumbled onto a local SCBWI writing group in 2018 that I switched to writing for children exclusively. Goat’s Boat Won’t Float (The Little Press) is my debut picture book. My second is Doll Trouble (Clavis Publishing) and it will be released in 2025.
I love learning about your journey of becoming a picture book author!
What was your inspiration for Goat’s Boat Won’t Float?
My grandchildren’s fainting goats inspired the main character.
Having grown up on a farm, I’m drawn to stories with anthropomorphic animals. The story itself was inspired after watching an SCBWI webinar by Ann Ingalls in 2020 on how to write early readers. I learned that most early readers use sight words, which are common words kids recognize without sounding them out. On the kindergarten list was the word “goat,” and I knew I had my main character.
That is awesome! Early readers are so important for young readers. What perfect characters! Our neighbor raises goats (but not the fainting variety). They are such unique funny animals. 😊
What special plans do you have to celebrate the October 1 release of Goat’s Boat Won’t Float?
The day will probably be like any other day, Lol. I have my first bookstore signing on October 5, so that will make it feel more real. I’ll be featured on several blogs throughout the month, so I’m sure I’ll be interacting with friends, family, and readers on social media who will help me celebrate the entire month.
A perfect plan!
What are you working on now?
I’m working on my presentation for the schools I will visit this fall. At the same time, I’m also trying to find time to draft a new picture book idea. I highly value receiving feedback on my stories, so I’m determined to share something with my critique group every other week.
Kim also visited the blog in August and shared some of her strategies for promoting Goat’s Boat Won’t Float. You can read more here.
Do you have any tips you would give to a new picture book author or illustrator?
Never stop learning. Never give up. Never lose your joy in writing. These tips are best accomplished by staying connected with other authors—and the KidLit community is the greatest. Everyone shares their knowledge and encourages and supports one another. It’s truly a community that makes a writer’s life more fun.
This is absolutely true!
Surprise us! What else would you like to share?
Here’s a fun fact: goats don’t really faint. Certain breeds of goats have a genetic disorder called myotonia congenita. This makes their muscles seize when startled, causing them to topple over.
Animal facts are amazing!
Congratulations, Kim! I have my own copy to read and reread! Such a fun read!
Kim A. Larson grew up surrounded by every imaginable farm animal—except fainting goats. Her grandchildren introduced her to these skittish creatures, and she knew she had to write about them. Goat’s Boat Won’t Float is her debut picture book, the first in the Goat & Turkey series. Her second book, Doll Trouble, will be released in 2025 (Clavis Publishing). In 2021, Kim won the Ann Whitford Paul Award for most promising picture book manuscript. She was a #PBParty finalist in 2022 and 2023. When she’s not reading or writing, you may find Kim gardening or playing her favorite game Sequence. She and her husband live in Moorhead, Minnesota.
You can reach Kim on her website at KimALarson.com and on Facebook,Twitter/X,Instagram, and Bluesky. If you sign up for her quarterly newsletter, you’ll receive a PDF copy of her first published book of short stories and poems: Love, Laughter, and few Happily Ever Afters.
*GIVEAWAY ALERT
The Little Press is offering a copy of Goat’s Boat Won’t Float (US only) to one winner. All you have to do is leave a copy on this blog post! Ta-da!
