Rockstar Tours: Rainbow Days ( Valerie Bolling), Guest Post & Giveaway! ~US ONLY

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE GOLD BOWL by Valerie Bolling & Kai Robinson Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: THE GOLD BOWL (Rainbow Days #2)

Author: Valerie
Bolling & Kai Robinson (Illustrator)

Pub. Date: September 5, 2023

Publisher: Scholastic
Inc.

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 48

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/THE-GOLD-BOWL

 

Zoya makes Coco a golden birthday
present in this full-color book perfect for beginning readers!

Pick a book. Grow a Reader!

This series is part of Scholastic’s
early reader line, Acorn, aimed at children who are learning to read. With
easy-to-read text, a short-story format, plenty of humor, and full-color
artwork on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and fluency.
Acorn books plant a love of reading and help readers grow!

It’s Coco’s birthday and Zoya wants
to give her pup the perfect present. She tries out a few ideas — including a
yarn necklace and colorful frosted treats. But she finally decides to paint
Coco’s bowl gold. With some paint and LOTS of glitter, Zoya creates a gift Coco
is sure to love!

With Kai Robinson’s vibrant,
full-color artwork and Valerie Bolling’s engaging, easy-to-read text
throughout, this sparkly series is perfect for beginning readers!

Guest Post:

Why is it important for kids to create art?

Art is a wonderful vehicle for expressing oneself just as writing is. It provides a way to be seen and heard, valued and validated. Children need to know that they matter, that their stories matter, and that they can be authors and illustrators of their own stories. Having children create their own stories and art guarantees a reflection and celebration of the diverse world in which we live.

 

What is one key takeaway you hope readers take from Zoya and Coco?

The overall takeaway is that I want children to be inspired to create their own art. I also hope they’ll see themselves as artists, knowing that with their imagination and a paintbrush, markers, or whatever they’d like (maybe glitter, too!), they can make magic!

 

What is some advice you would give to parents with kids learning to read?

The first piece of advice I’d offer parents is: Give children access to diverse books. Books are a great way to validate who children are, and they also teach children about the world in which they live. Thus, young readers should have a wide array of books to support their interests and spark new ones.

One way parents (and teachers and librarians) can curate a diverse list of books is to evaluate their home (and classroom) libraries with this Equity Audit Checklist. Students should not only see themselves in books, but they should also see and learn about those different from themselves. You may have heard that Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, professor emerita at Ohio State University coined a phrase to describe this: “windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors.” Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. Bishop says:

These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books.

Most children learning to read are excited about this achievement. If you give them access to wonderful, rich books, they will read. Remember, however, that even as children are learning to read, you can still read to them, and listening to recorded reading of books also counts as reading. Reading is about comprehension and discussion, so be sure to talk to your children about books. This is often where the real learning occurs. If there’s backmatter in a book, read it with your child and explore the topic further.

Finally, let children choose the books they want to read. Even if you think a book may be too easy, let the child read it. In addition to having choice, also make well-informed suggestions, especially regarding books that give insight into a culture different from yours or an experience a child may not have had. Just make sure these books are written by someone from that background/experience.

Enjoy reading with your child. Even with our busy lives, it’s imperative that you make time to read together. And be a role model for reading; let your child see you read your own books, too.

 

What is some advice you would give to parents with kids who love creating art?

Let children create! Give them all sorts of art supplies and space, and let them have at it. Not only do I hope parents (and teachers) encourage students to design creative projects, I also want them to explore the work of artists, including BIPOC artists. All children should see themselves as artists, knowing that with their imagination and a paintbrush, markers, or whatever they’d like, they can make something fabulous!

 

 

About Valerie Bolling:

 

Valerie
Bolling is a graduate of Tufts University and Columbia University, Teachers
College and has been an educator for over 25 years. Her debut picture
book, Let’s Dance! is a 2021 Crystal Kite Award winner.
Rainbow Days, illustrated by Kai Robinson, is her debut early reader series.
Bolling and her husband live in Connecticut.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
| Goodreads

 

 

 

About Kai Robinson:

Kai Robinson is a digital illustrator and designer with a BFA
in Illustration from Montserrat College of Art. Rainbow Days, written by
Valerie Bolling, is their debut early reader series. Kai is based in New
England.

Website | Instagram
| Goodreads

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of THE GOLD BOWL, US Only.

Ends September 19th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway