*Highlighting up and coming illustrators and authors from independent publishing houses and self-publishers*

Please reach out to MaiStoryBook through Instagram, FB, or by commenting on my blog, and *share or tag* books, authors, or illustrators who would fit into this category of independent/self publishing! I’m excited for the wonders we will find!

 Now without further ado~

Featuring this week’s interactive, educational, color-coordinated reads:

Glitter Bear Learns About Shapes by Brittany Roshelle Davis and Krista Rae

Published by KB Writings LLC: Self-Publishing company started by two sisters. Their mission is to publish books that build confidence in kids to be exactly who they are.

When children’s books naturally lend themselves to being interactive, MaiStoryBook is definitely adding them to *Mai* bookshelf~ and in *Glitter Bear Learns About Shapes*, not only are little ones’ minds actively engaged in exploring, learning, and identifying shapes, they are also physically stimulated with multi-sensory activities throughout the book that promote hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Sit down and join Glitter Bear, a sparkly, lovable bear that is eager and excited to learn shapes with your little one! Your child is bound to learn shape recognition through this stimulating read aloud. Shapes and their names are reinforced through a series of physical interactions with the book~ from tracing the outlines of circles, to tapping triangles~ from  hugging a loved one to learn about hearts, to tickling the diamonds’ tummies. Children will be asking for this engaging read aloud on repeat~ with fingers and minds poised to dive into the story!

Need another reason to check out this entertaining, educational read? Authors Brittany and Krista have created a children’s book void of gender labels. Glitter Bear is an androgynous character~ allowing children to identify who Glitter Bear is to them. Created by these two moms who were frustrated with the boundaries of “girls” and “boys” books, *Glitter Bear Learns About Shapes* is purposefully written without “he” or “she” pronouns, allowing children to enjoy the story and character without gendered bias.

A bit more about the Authors: Brittany Roshelle Davis and Krista Rae

Sister authors and illustrators, Rittany Roshelle Davis and Krista Rae, are pursuing their dreams to publish children’s books together.  Their goal is to create a new generation of children’s books that are interactive, multi-sensory, educational, and gender-neutral.  Brittany has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and two years of research dedicated to social and health psychology. She plans to use her experiences to pursue her passion for childhood education, and to explore the best way to build growing minds. With experience in marketing, writing, and editing as well, she has written over 400 articles for magazines, newspapers, and online publications. She is the proud mother of her son Eli. Krista has a B.S. in Psychology and has over 10 years of experience in animation and graphic design. She is passionate about creating children’s books based on a no-gender-labels campaign. Krista is a the loving mother of her daughter Charlotte. Learn more about these sisters by visiting their site: www.kbwritingsco.com , and following them on Instagram: @nextgenchildrensbooks.

Check here to find this book for your own home library!

*****

Now I Know My Avocados by Stephanie Wykoff

Self-Published by Stephanie Wykoff

In this gorgeously illustrated, wordless alphabet book, prepare to be whisked away to mystical landscapes looming with mysterious objects drifting along  a cool-earth toned color palette. As a teacher-to-be, I am constantly looking for books that will both engage and challenge my young readers ~ books that strike that balance between being stimulating, and just challenging enough that little one’s will diligently persist in engaging with the text while still feeling confident in their abilities to access the content. *Now I Know My Avocados* is just the type of book to welcome into any classroom, or *at-home*,  library. In this interactive alphabet book, children are given the task to seek and find objects on each spread of pages that begin with the highlighted letters in the corner. The uppercase and lowercase letters at the top of each page reinforce letter recognition, while guiding little one’s to examine the illustration through the lens of the specified letter and its sound.

However, *Bonus*, not only does this book encourage letter recognition, it also develops phonics~the ability to associate sounds with written symbols. In order to find the cleverly incorporated objects that begin with each highlighted letter, children must be familiar with the sound the letter makes, and be able to recognize that sound at the beginning of a variety of easy, to more elusive, illustrated objects. An extra challenge is presented for letters that can make different sounds at the beginning of words, such as the letter “G” and its different sound for “guitar” and “giraffe.” The different levels of approach make this book accessible to a range of young children and learners at different levels in their alphabet knowledge~ allowing for differentiated interactions with the text. A master-key of all the hidden objects on each page can be found at the back of the book~ but the fun is in challenging both yourself and your little one to carefully examine each corner of the page to find all the treasure troves of alphabetic illustrations. Overall, each page is an illustrated alliteration~ the images masterfully melded together and colored to be both mind and visually stimulating.

A bit more about the Illustrator: Stephanie Wykoff

Stephanie Wykoff lives in New England, and is a designer, art director, illustrator, mom, and wife. Stephanie’s calming outlet has been creating and illustrating. She loves children’s books, storytelling, nature, and community. Wykoff has been able to combine her many passions to illustrate her first children’s book. She is proud to share her creation with  her young son. Learn more about Stephanie by following her on Instagram: @nowiknowmyavocados 

Check here to find this book for your own home library!

*****

*~Support these independent/self-published authors and illustrators and check out what they’ve been writing and creating.  Please share any books, authors, or illustrators that fit into this category by tagging me on Instagram @MaiStoryBookLibrary,  posting on MaiStoryBook’s FaceBook page, or commenting on the blog below! I’m always looking for new treasures to read, support, and share with all of you!~*

*Plus, checkout out one of my favorite social-justice interactive read alouds  here. *

*~Until Next Time, Happy Reading~*