Love, Laughter, and Life

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Category Archives: The Writing LIfe


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Book Share: A Gift for Nai Nai by Kim-Hoa Ung

A Gift for Nai Nai

Written and illustrated by Kim-Hoa Ung

Feiwel and Friends, 2023

This adorable (and on a scale of adorable, it’s a 12) picture book is a delight to read. With much thanks to Jena Benton and Kim-Hoa Ung, I was gifted a copy of A Gift for Nai Nai. Thank you!

The beautiful illustrations pulled me in, and the special relationship between the little girl and her Nai Nai – which, thanks to the short glossary, I now know means paternal grandmother – added heart and love.

This picture book reminded me of my own mother who loved to crochet. She spent hours, days, and weeks creating gifts and clothing not just for her own family, but so many others in her circle of family and friends. I read this book with a large dose of nostalgia.

I enjoyed not only the crochet connection, but also seeing through the illustrations that Nai Nai uses a wheelchair to get around. My mother-in-law was limited to a wheelchair after breaking her hip. Despite losing some of her mobility, Nai Nai continues to create a beautifully crocheted hat she gives to Lyn Lyn each year. Framed photos on the wall showcase a few of the fun hats.

Nai Nai has a birthday coming up, so Lyn Lyn decides she wants to learn to crochet. The struggle is very real (my own mother tried to teach me to crochet). With an AWW-some ending, A Gift for Nai Nai is a satisfying and warm-hearted read.

I had to share the “undie” from A Gift for Nai Nai. An undie is the cover beneath the paper book jacket. Sometimes illustrators create new scenes on the undies, just like Kim-Hoa Ung did for this picture book. Love it!

Plus! Kim-Hoa Ung included directions for making a simple crocheted hat similar to the one Lyn Lyn made for Nai Nai. This picture book is colorful, engaging, and filled with all the coziness of a warm fire on a snowy day.

This pink Easter egg ducky is a gift my mother crocheted for me many years ago. The egg is resting on blanket squares I crocheted (cough cough) several years ago. They wait for me to connect them. This is about the limit of my crocheting abilities.


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Haiku Moment: sentry

pause, observe, alert!

feline surveys her queendom

sentry on duty

sentry by Angie Quantrell

Monet in the Yakima Valley


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Book Share: Look by Gabi Snyder

Look

Words by Gabi Snyder

Pictures by Samantha Cotterill

A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024

Oh, this is the one to read today! This picture book is filled with hope and love, beauty and patterns. Beautiful!

Thanks to Kathy Temean and her blog, Writing and Illustrating, I won a copy of Gabi’s gorgeous book. Thank you both!

Each time I’ve read Look, I’ve been filled with the JOY of discovery and delight. There is so much to be found on each page, and the colors and words make the journey effortless and thoroughly engaging. With the detailed cut-paper illustrations, patterns pop from the page.

My Goodreads review:

This book is absolutely gorgeous! Filled with hope and love and a search for patterns, the poetic words by Gabi and the cut-paper illustrations by Samantha combine to make a beautiful journey for a young reader. A day in the life of a young child who goes out and about with his mother. LOOK helps the reader see the wonder of it all and allows them to take a peek at the grander picture of the whole world, but also at the tiniest of details. Ten thumbs up.

Happy reading!


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Haiku Moment: splendor

creep and cling, burst forth

glorious beauty tumbles

splendor for the eye

splendor by Angie Quantrell

Siena, Italy


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Book Share: Be My Yummy ABC by Joyce Wan

Be My Yummy ABC

Written and illustrated by Joyce Wan

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).


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Haiku Moment: eye candy

miniscule planets

avian winter treats drape,

walker’s eye candy

eye candy by Angie Quantrell

Yakima Valley


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Book Share: Spying on Spies, How Elizebeth Smith Friedman Broke the Nazis’ Secret Codes by Marissa Moss

Spying on Spies, How Elizebeth Smith Friedman Broke the Nazis’ Secret Codes

Written and illustrated by Marissa Moss

Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2024

I usually feature picture books on my blog, but after receiving and reading a copy of this book from Darlene Beck Jacobson, I thought there might be others who would be fascinated by the tenacity and brilliance of code breakers!

Secret codes are a thing! Decoder rings, special clues, ciphers, and so on are intriguing. I love watching movies where puzzles and special codes are solved on the journey to success (whatever that goal might be). But being clever enough to solve intentionally secretive and difficult secret codes-eek!

Spying on Spies was an amazing chapter book to read. The strategies, machines, and secrecy kept me captivated. I loved that this book focused on a woman code breaker. Go girls! Each chapter begins with a short cartoon/graphic novel type illustration, and then jumps into the chapter. The back matter is glorious! There is not just a glossary, but also photos, additional information and explanations about ciphers and codes, notes, timeline, and bibliography, all of which provide more opportunities to dive deep into the world of code breaking.

You can read more about this book in Darlene’s post here.

Two thumbs up for this fascinating historical book! Perfect for the code breakers in your life!


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Haiku Moment: anything

lines, zags, speckles, dots, holes

heart, tower, treasure, or picture

rocks can be anything

anything by Angie Quantrell

rocks from her enormous rock collection

Sunday Peace

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Sunday Peace

Welcome to 2025! Over the years, I’ve changed the name of this type of post. Sunday Moments and Sunday Joy are just a few of the titles I’ve used. This feels like a good year to focus on Sunday Peace.

Whether rain, snow, ice, or sun, be brave and stand strong like this little pansy in one of my uncovered plant pots. Peace to you.