With Star Ship Reviews, our goal is to bring attention to some of the wonderful independent authors and illustrators out there. For this week's entry, we'll be looking at "A Silly Milly Fall" Written by Sheri Wall and Illustrated by Ilona Stuijt.
A Silly Milly Fall Sheri Wall
The Artists:
Sheri Wall is a lover of rhyme who has lived in Texas for a really long time. She would read to her sons and kids that she knew, and they all enjoyed rhyming picture books, too. Then, A Matter of Rhyme began as a dream to help others learn with zippy rhyme schemes. Sheri likes to stay active and be on the go, either biking, shopping, or seeing a show. To find more lively books by this witty mom, visit her website, amatterofrhyme.com.
Ilona Stuijt is a traveling artist and illustrator from the Netherlands. She has worked on more than twenty books for children and adults. Ilona's paintings and illustrations are spread all over the globe. See Ilona's unique style at lankyartist.com
The Story:
"Oh Milly, you sure are amusing! The air is getting chilly, and Milly is ready to celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving in her own unique, willy-nilly way! Milly's silly escapades, recounted in a series of lively limericks, will cause everyone to "fall" in love with this memorable Great Dane from Texas."
The Review:
I really enjoyed reading "A Silly Milly Fall". It felt like an appropriate title to review this week as the leaves begin to fall into our own backyards!
The story is about Milly, a super silly Great Dane! We get to join her on her adventures through all kinds of staple Fall activities, such as; searching for that perfect pumpkin, creating the best Halloween costume, and even helping prepare a big Thanksgiving dinner! I quite enjoyed the rhyme scheme used throughout and I felt that the book really captured the quirky and loveable personality of Great Danes. It's definitely a great little story to read on a cool Fall night. (With some hot chocolate of course!)
The illustrations in the book were beautifully put together with a very satisfying color palette. The watercolor effect of the backgrounds made each page feel very unique.
The Mini Interview:
To wrap things up, we've asked Sheri to answer three quick questions for us!
What was your inspiration for the story?
Milly, my niece's Great Dane, inspired her very own collection of books. A Silly Milly Fall follows Milly through Halloween and Thanksgiving. I sometimes call Milly's books non-fiction as she has done almost everything in them, and we have pictures and videos of her being silly to prove it! Kids love seeing the real Milly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sillymillythedane/
What was your favorite book growing up?
Ah, I can't remember back that far, but I enjoyed reading No Nap for Benjamin Badger by Nancy White Carlstrom to my sons over and over again.
What piece of advice would you give to aspiring children’s authors?
Keep writing and being creative. There are many avenues to publishing these days, and you can make your first children's book happen!
The Links:
If you'd like to grab your own copy of the book, it can be purchased here:
Cheers,
-JE
info@starshippress.ca