Attention parents, grandparents, school teachers and friends, there is a new children's book I want to tell you about. It is called Herbie's Happy Birthday. It was written by Donte Jackson and Athena Phillips and illustrated by Meredith Mills.
Donte Jackson is a painter, poet and writer from California who's specialty is creating characters and developing stories. He created Herbie Vore the dinosaur in his imagination. He collaborated with Athena Phillips, an author, English teacher and children's librarian. She started dreaming of being a children's author while she was at Belmont University in Tennessee. Meredith Mills is a freelance illustrator who helped bring Herbie and the other characters to life with her drawings. She uses her skills in graphic design to create characters.
Now here is a short review of the book.
The cover of the book is very colourful. The balloons, presents, decorations and cute dinosaur and bird make it look attractive and it's good that the title is written in block letters. I think it would spark the interest of children in a bookshop or library.
When you open the book, the first two pages have the publication details and dedications from the authors and illustrator to their loved ones. This makes it different to other picture books. I personally have never seen any others with dedications and I think it's a sweet touch.
I love the layout of the pages. The writing is on one side and it is good that Donte and Athena wrote only 1-3 sentences on each page and Meredith used the rest of the space for her illustrations because most kids just look at the pictures while their parents or someone reads the story to them. The small amount of writing and use of simple words make this book a great choice for little ones learning how to read. They won't be overwhelmed.
Athena's illustrations perfectly match the story. For example, The words on the second page say, "Herbie's mother Alice and his father Ted were waiting when the birthday boy hurried out of bed" and the picture shows Herbie at the entrance of his room looking at his parents waiting for him. All the sentences end with rhyming words. Herbie at all of his pancakes while smiling with joy. "Are my friends coming soon? I can't wait! Oh, boy!"
Children can relate to these characters. Herbie is a child who celebrates his birthday by waking up to wishes from his parents and a party with all his friends, just like they do. In a very simple way, children learn about the love and respect of families and friends and manners, like saying thank you when receiving gifts. The creators use of animals instead of people as the characters in this story make it more fun.
Herbie's Happy Birthday is available for purchase at Barnes and Noble or on Amazon. I highly recommend that you get your hands on a copy for your little ones. They will enjoy it. On the front cover, it says Herbie Vore the Dinosaur Book 1, which I guess means there's going to be a series. I hope so!
Congratulations Donte, Athena and Meredith, the hard work you must have put into this book has paid off and I can see that a lot of people already love it!
*All images are from the book.
V xoxo
Donte Jackson is a painter, poet and writer from California who's specialty is creating characters and developing stories. He created Herbie Vore the dinosaur in his imagination. He collaborated with Athena Phillips, an author, English teacher and children's librarian. She started dreaming of being a children's author while she was at Belmont University in Tennessee. Meredith Mills is a freelance illustrator who helped bring Herbie and the other characters to life with her drawings. She uses her skills in graphic design to create characters.
Athena Phillips. Donte Jackson and Meredith Mills
The creators of Herbie's Happy Birthday
Now here is a short review of the book.
The cover of the book is very colourful. The balloons, presents, decorations and cute dinosaur and bird make it look attractive and it's good that the title is written in block letters. I think it would spark the interest of children in a bookshop or library.
When you open the book, the first two pages have the publication details and dedications from the authors and illustrator to their loved ones. This makes it different to other picture books. I personally have never seen any others with dedications and I think it's a sweet touch.
I love the layout of the pages. The writing is on one side and it is good that Donte and Athena wrote only 1-3 sentences on each page and Meredith used the rest of the space for her illustrations because most kids just look at the pictures while their parents or someone reads the story to them. The small amount of writing and use of simple words make this book a great choice for little ones learning how to read. They won't be overwhelmed.
Athena's illustrations perfectly match the story. For example, The words on the second page say, "Herbie's mother Alice and his father Ted were waiting when the birthday boy hurried out of bed" and the picture shows Herbie at the entrance of his room looking at his parents waiting for him. All the sentences end with rhyming words. Herbie at all of his pancakes while smiling with joy. "Are my friends coming soon? I can't wait! Oh, boy!"
Children can relate to these characters. Herbie is a child who celebrates his birthday by waking up to wishes from his parents and a party with all his friends, just like they do. In a very simple way, children learn about the love and respect of families and friends and manners, like saying thank you when receiving gifts. The creators use of animals instead of people as the characters in this story make it more fun.
Herbie's Happy Birthday is available for purchase at Barnes and Noble or on Amazon. I highly recommend that you get your hands on a copy for your little ones. They will enjoy it. On the front cover, it says Herbie Vore the Dinosaur Book 1, which I guess means there's going to be a series. I hope so!
Congratulations Donte, Athena and Meredith, the hard work you must have put into this book has paid off and I can see that a lot of people already love it!
*All images are from the book.
V xoxo
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