Kid Konnection: Twenty Yawns & Giveaway

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. This week I'm going to share with you a cute picture book by an award winning author and illustrator!

Summary: From Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley and Caldecott Honor artist Lauren Castillo.

As her mom reads a bedtime story, Lucy drifts off. But later, she awakens in a dark, still room, and everything looks mysterious. How will she ever get back to sleep?

Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley’s first picture book, illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Lauren Castillo, evokes the splashy fun of the beach and the quietude of a moonlit night, with twenty yawns sprinkled in for children to discover and count. -- Two Lions

It will probably come as no surprise that new picture book by TWENTY YAWNS by Pulitzer Prize winning author Jane Smiley and illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Lauren Castillo is garnering a lot of praise. It's received starred reviews from Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal!

TWENTY YAWNS begins with Lucy and her family having fun at the beach. Lucy digs a big hole in the sand that her dad can fit in and she even covers him with the sand. She and her parents also play in the waves, take a long walk on the beach, and even roll down the dunes. Needless to say, Lucy had a fun filled day at the beach, and her mom suggested an early bedtime.

Lucy's mom reads her a bedtime story and she struggles to stay awake. She falls asleep before her mom finishes the book, but she doesn't stay asleep for long. She is soon wide awake and her dark room is a little scary! She ventures out to the living room looking for her bear Molasses. She finds him but her other stuffed animals seem a little lonely so she brings all of them back to her bed. Once she gets settled, she yawns and then "everyone" else yawns; and she finally falls fast asleep.

TWENTY YAWNS is just adorable from the story, to the character of Lucy, to the illustrations. It truly is the perfect bedtime story, and I loved it! It's not wonder that it's receiving such great reviews! The story is sweet and the illustrations are the perfect complement to it! I can see this book becoming a classic bedtime story!

An extra-fun thing about TWENTY YAWNS is that there are actually twenty yawns in the story that little ones can count. It's been a long time since my kids read picture books, but I know they would have loved to discover all of the yawns!

Check out this cute book trailer to get a better idea of how special this book is:



Thanks to Blue Slip Media for providing a review copy of this book.

Giveaway alert: I have a copy of TWENTY YAWNS and an adorable door hanger (one side for quiet time, one side for play) to share with one lucky reader. To enter, just fill out the form below before April 8th at 11:59 p.m. EST. I will randomly select and notify the winner the following day. This contest is open to those of you with U.S. addresses only. Good luck!



If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!