Refreshment & Curiosity for June 2024 June 17, 2024June 17, 2024June 17, 2024Summertime and long days!OK, and heat, too, depending on where you are located. The lawns in Jacksonville, Florida are brown due to the early heat going into the 100’s. Gregg and I have retreated to the mountains of southwest Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, we may have brought the heat with us. But we did enjoy sleeping with windows open and sleeping under quilts since it was 59 degrees in the bedroom. Ahhh! That’s when we get the best sleep!What are you doing to enjoy and/or avoid your summer weather? (Or winter weather if you are in the Southern Hemisphere)Jacksonville Book Giveaway EventJacksonville’s Mayor Donna Deegan hosted a River City Readers book giveaway the first Saturday of June from 9am-noon. I was one of 50 local children’s book authors who participated in this event by invitation only. The event purchased 25 books from each author to that they could “sell” books to the children.Each child who attended received a free clear backpack, a ticket to “purchase” a book of their choice, and a ticket to “purchase” a treat like Kona Ice, and other freebies.It was fun to interact with the children. What a great concept to allow the children to select a book they would like to read rather than receiving a random book. Eight children chose There’s Only One You with Aunt Kitten and the rest of the purchased books were taken by the library for future summer events.A wonderful bonus was meeting local children’s book authors and making connections. My table was in between Heather Dukes, author and illustrator of Two Shoes, and the authors of I Love the Skin that I Am In, Mary Davis-Johnson and Sandra D. Johnson. I’m pretty sure Mary and Sandra “sold” all 25 of their books – there was always a crowd at their table.I also connected with Kathi Snow Smith, author and illustrator of Doodlebug’s ABC Adventures, who already has been a huge encouragement and provided helpful resources. Come to find out, we have mutual friends!I was delightfully surprised to meet Jane R. Wood and purchase her book about doing school visits. I’ve enjoyed reading her other five Middle Grade fiction books. Trouble on the St. John’s River and two others were a fun way for me to learn more local history. In the other books, the family travels to Savannah and Boston, learning local history along the way.Kathi Snow Smith and DoodlebugKathi Snow Smith and Aunt KittenHeather Dukes and Aunt KittenMy favorite Jane R Woods bookAunt Kitten Book UpdateIt is looking like Keep Going, Don’t Stop is going to have a name change to Do I HAVE To Go??And…I am attempting to change the illustration style to better match the animal illustrations in There’s Only One You With Aunt Kitten. I hope to keep the Tree Frog hurkle-durkling illlustrations, though. Time will tell.Sneek peek #4:Would These Entice You to Buy a Picture Book?Your feedback is appreciated…Authors sometimes offer book bonuses as a thank-you gift. In your opinion, would any of these free items be enticing enough to pre-order a picture book a few weeks before publication date?A YouTube read-aloud video of the bookAn audio of me reading the bookAn audio of me reading the book including a sound for page turnsBeing entered into a drawing for a set of my two booksA PDF of lists of picture books to read, organized by topicColoring pagesI’m open to other suggestionsStay cool, keep reading, and think of me when you eat ice cream.-Kristin Emily Friend 🐾PS – Hit reply to send an email directly to me.www.KristinEmilyFriend.com Double Scoop Newsletter