Sneaky Peek into "Splish Splash"

I thought I would share a little backstory about how "Splish Splash" came to be. I am inspired everyday by where I live - in a nature preserve outside of Atlanta. I wake up every morning to lots of animal sounds - although I don't live on a river, I do live on a lake with lots of ducks, water birds, bugs, turtles, beavers, and  frogs. I wrote a draft that was focused on the sounds that surrounded me on my daily walks. When I showed it to my art director at Little Simon, she immediately saw my vision for the book. We condensed it to a board book and added an interactive feature - using interesting materials that the reader touches to simulate the sounds they are reading about. What I particularly love is the lo-tech nature of the interactive component  - no batteries or buttons. Here are a couple of spreads from "Splish Splash" that are featured on Amazon.com.  Although you can't see it in these illustrations, the dragonfly's wings flap up and down by pulling a tab and the frog's throat is a material that you stroke to hear the crickety croaking. I can't wait to hear how kids respond to this book. The book is available for pre order on various sites here and abroad, including Amazon.com, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository (UK), Flipkart (India), to name a few.