Blog Tour Stop! Everybody ready?
Susanna Leonard Hill’s new ALPHABEDTIME! has frolicked onto bookstore shelves all over, and we’re celebrating here, there, and everywhere. Today I have an extra-special Perfect Picture Book Friday, to celebrate the newest book-baby of our very own PPBF Founder, Susanna!
Title: Alphabedtime!
Author: Susanna Leonard Hill (yes, THE Susanna Leonard Hill)
Illustrator: Betsy Snyder
Publisher: New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, October 25, 2022 (THREE days ago!)
Genre: Picture book
Audience Age: 3 to 6
Themes/Topics: Alphabet, Bedtime, Family fun
Opening Sentences:
Suppertime’s over. Everyone’s fed.
Alpha Mom says, TIME FOR BED!
Synopsis:
This is a delightful bedtime romp through the alphabet, with situations kids will readily identify with: spilled milk on the table, waiting to brush teeth, getting tucked in with a special lovey, lights out, and then… … … PILLOW FIGHT!
Betsy Snyder’s illustrations are marvellous, and perfectly compliment Susanna’s rollicking text. This is not a quiet, lull-you-to-sleep, bedtime book. The characters dance on the pages and frolic through their pre-bedtime activities. Don’t take my word for it – Susanna has kindly allowed me to post a spread from the book for your reading and viewing pleasure.
Imagine feeding 26 children at every meal. Oh my.
If you keep reading, you’ll find an interview I held with the letter D, trying to find out who started the pillow fight. It’s a deep, dark mystery that only Detective D can decipher.
Activities/Resources:
The best activity for ALPHABEDTIME is to go slowly through the book, looking carefully at the illustrations. Have the kids try to name all the loveys and toys that each Alphababy has, and what letters they start with.
Speaking of loveys and toys, ask kids if they can find loveys and toys and pets and people around the house and the family to match with every letter of the alphabet. If they can’t find something for every letter, look through old magazines, and see if there are any pictures of X-rays or Xylophones or Zebras, etc.
Alphabedtime snacks like letter-shaped pancakes or letter-shaped cereal treats would be fun to make and fun to eat.
If your kids don’t already know the Alphabet song, now’s a good time to learn it! (And for extra fun, there’s always my favorite rendition of it, with Kermit the Frog and Joey … or is it Julie?). )
Availability: Readily available in hardcover at independent bookstores such as Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook, NY, and elsewhere.
Every Friday, bloggers join together to share picture book reviews and resources thanks to author Susanna Leonard Hill’s brainchild, “Perfect Picture Book Fridays.” Susanna then adds the books (and links to the reviews) to a comprehensive listing by subject on her website. Find the entire listing there.
Don’t go away! There’s more! Much more!
Stay tuned for a special interview, an interview like no other, an interview that covers the gamut from A to Z! Read on to see Beth Babbler, famous news reporter, interview Detective D who’s determined to discover who dinged the first dome in the pillow fight…
Interview:
This is Beth Babbler reporting to you live from the Alpha House where an investigation is ongoing into the cause of this evening’s high jinks and shenanigans. I’m here with. . . what did you say your name was?
D: D. I’m the Detective digging into the dastardly deeds that occurred here tonight.
BB: Dastardly deeds? (Gasp) What perplexing puzzle are you parsing?
D: I’m determined to discover who plotted the pillow fight!
BB: That’s quite a question. Have you quizzed the suspects?
D: As I said, the investigation is ongoing. I’m not at liberty to divulge details just yet. Where were YOU at the moment in question?
BB: (Gasp) Me? I had nothing to do with this debacle!
D: That’s what they all say. Do you have an alibi?
BB: I don’t even know when it happened! How can I have an alibi?
D: (surreptitiously scribbling on his notepad) I see. . . Seriously suspicious!
BB: Could we get back to the actual interview, please? What went down? (Besides the pillows, which are filled with down. But I digress.)
D: It was bedtime at the Alpha House. You know the drill. Brushing, bathing, bathrobes and bedroom slippers, books, bed. But somewhere along the way, hoopla was hatched! Let’s look at the clues.
It certainly started with C, hanging by her knees from the chandelier, swinging like a chimpanzee.
C: I heard that! And I didn’t cause the chaos. Who dumped the milk on the dinner table? That was the start!
D: Irrelevant! (D dismisses this and continues his discourse, smoothly sidestepping the matter of who dumped the milk that dribbled and dripped during dinner.) H was definitely part of the plot, high-tailing it through the house on his horse.
BB: Aha! A horse! A horse in a house has to wreak havoc.
H: Don’t bring Hee-Haw into this! He was just hankering for his hay!
D: (not missing a drumbeat) Then there’s lively little L, laughing and lassoing everything in sight, leaving a litter of lightning sparks behind her.
L: Leave me out of this! I want a lawyer.
D: (droning on as if she hadn’t spoken) And S, that skateboarding shark, is always speeding and spinning and sliding sideways, a regular situation stirrer!
S: Hey, dude. Don’t diss the board.
D: I’m not “dissing the board”! I’m saying you’re squirrely! And sneaky! And a schemer!
BB: (Baffled and bewildered) How did a squirrelly shark sneak into the scene? It’s scandalous!
S: I’m spectacular, dude. T is trouble. I is an instigator. N is naughty. R is a ringleader. How come you don’t blame them?
D: Because using my powers of deduction, I have discovered who is behind this! The Master of Mischief herself, with her Magic Wand, and her Mysterious tricks.
M: Me?
D: Yes, you!
M: Couldn’t be. If you look on page 26, you’ll see I’m merely managing to miss being pummeled by pillows.
D: Ah! But your bunnies! The bunnies you brought into being with your magic! Those bunnies are everywhere! THEY started the Big Bolster Battle. So, you, as maker of those boisterous, bouncy, bothersome bunnies are responsible for the mayhem!
BB: Mystery solved!
D: NO! Mystery not solved! M is responsible for the bunnies, but who is responsible for M? Look again at the clues: S, the schemer. L, the livewire. H, the high-tailing horse enthusiast. Who plotted the pillow fight?
BB: I thought you deduced that it was M.
D: No! Not M! S. L. H. The writer herself! The plotter of these Shenanigans! The Scribe of these Literary High-jinks!
BB: Your discernment dazzles me! What powers of deduction!
BB: There you have it folks, the mystery has been solved, and the pillow pummelers have settled down to a nice bowl of AlphaBedtime LetterPerfect Cereal. I think I’ll join them. This is Beth Babbler, signing off from Alpha House. Back to you at the studio. … … (Pours cereal) … … Hey! Who took all the milk?
B (not BB. Me.): Thank you SO much to Susanna and her friends the Alphababies who participated so wholeheartedly (and whole-pillowedly) in this interview.
SLH: Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Beth!
Susanna L. Hill is the author of three New York Times bestsellers, including Moon’s First Friends: One Giant Leap for Friendship, and the award-winning author of over twenty-five more books for children, including Punxsutawney Phyllis, Can’t Sleep Without Sheep, and the popular When Your Lion Needs a Bath series. Her books have been translated into French, Dutch, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Thai. She does frequent school and library visits, teaches picture book writing, and has a popular picture book blog. Susanna lives in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley where she practices the alphabet with her children and two rescue dogs.
Website: https://susannahill.com/
Face Book Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/SusannaLeonardHill
Twitter: @SusannaLHill https://twitter.com/SusannaLHill
Instagram: @susannaleonardhill https://www.instagram.com/susannaleonardhill/
Purchase link for ALPHABEDTIME https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/315782/alphabedtime-by-susanna-leonard-hill-illustrated-by-betsy-snyder/
Don’t miss any of the other stops on this ALPHABEDTIME blog tour! Watch for this logo and follow this link to the Linktree for all the posts. (There are giveaways on many of them. You won’t want to miss out!)
Thank you SO much for hosting the Alphababies and me on your blog and sharing our book today, Beth! It was absolutely delightful! We will do our best to stay out of trouble, but there have been murmurings of a developing plot to poach cookies from the cookie jar, so one never knows. . .
GASP! Poached cookies? We must be on alert!
Thank you so much for the opportunity to be part of your tour! YAY for ALPHABEDTIME!
❤️❤️❤️
Amazing! Blog post. Cracked me up! Susanna and Beth, this was the most delightful read. I’m in for another caper. All the best on this book!
Thank you so much, Kathy! We had fun writing it!
Thanks, Kathy! We had a lot of fun putting it together.
This interview is so adorable! Can I make one more art edit to add a detective cap to letter D? LOL.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Betsy And sure, why not? WE can do it with the paper dolls
Haha! In the sequel, Betsy! Glad you enjoyed the interview, and thanks for your incredible illustrations!
I love word play and this interview is hilarious! Congratulations to the author and illustrator–I know kids are going to ask for this book over and over and adults are going to enjoy reading it too. I see so many interactive chances for adults and children in all the details.
Thanks, Danielle! Kids and adults are going to have so much fun with this book.
I’m glad you enjoyed the interview, Danielle! Beth and I are old hands at partnering in crime for high jinx and shenanigans! 🙂
Beth Babbler LOL. The whole interview is a hoot! Congratulations again, Susanna and Betsy.
Thanks, Wendy! We had such fun putting it together.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Wendy! Beth and I entertained ourselves immensely with this endeavor 🙂
Oh, this was so entertaining! Yes, S.L.H. is the culprit!
And that spread! My word, I’m exhausted at the thought of trying to feed, bathe, and tuck in 26 naughty little Alphabits! I am sooo looking forward to reading this book!
Thanks, Jilanne! You’re going to absolutely LOVE this book!
I’m glad you enjoyed our little mystery, Jilanne! And you know what else is exhausting about that spread? Imagine PAINTING it!! All those careful details!!! I’m glad you’re looking forward to reading ii!
You picture book people are just too silly! hahahaha!
I already love the book and Lil’ Z is my fave!
Haha! Yes, we are! Thanks, Ro-Zo! Lil Z is adorable.
Z is my fave too! And his zebra! And his little dog, too!
Beth, what a clever and very creative book launch for Susanna! Loved the interview! With 26 children, Alphabedtime will certainly put smiles on the faces of little ones. First time I heard the term “loveys.” Have some young great grandchildren that will love this entertaining story. Congratulations, Susanna.
Thanks, Pat! Your great-grands will absolutely love ALPHABEDTIME, I am sure. I didn’t realize the term “loveys” wasn’t a familiar one. Oops.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post, Pat! We wanted to have some fun with this one I hope your great grandchildren like the book, and I would be happy to send signed book plates for any of them if you’d like!
This book looks adorable, I love the idea and the illustrations. Good luck, Susanna!
Thank you so much, Darlene! I’m so glad you like the look of the book. And thanks for the good wishes!
Thanks, Darlene! The book is an absolute delight!
I loved this very entertaining post! I also love ALPHABEDTIME!
Congratulations! 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Susan! We had fun with it Just a couple of sillies, me and Beth
Thanks, Susan! As Susanna said, we’re a couple of sillies, and we had such a good time putting this together!
Wonderful post & interview with D. I C a sequel in the Alpha family’s future!
Thanks, Patricia! Great to see you here. Glad you enjoyed the post. I know you’ll enjoy ALPHABEDTIME! LOL to I C a sequel. I C what you did there!
Hahaha, Patricia! Very clever And you know, I hadn’t really thought of a sequel, but it sure could be fun!!!
What a fun book. I look forward to reading it. I really enjoyed the interview.
Thanks, Norah. Glad you enjoyed the interview. Susanna and I had such fun putting it together.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the interview, Norah! D is clearly on e of the great investigative minds of our time