John Schumacher, better known as Mr. Schu of Watch. Connect. Read. interviewed author illustrator Julie Paschkis on her latest book P. Zonka Lays an Egg.  We love the sentence starter format and the use of videos!  Who else wants to visit Seattle now?

Read the full interview here, and find P. Zonka Lays an Egg at your local library here.

Jama of Jama’s Alphabet Soup also featured Julie Paschkis for a “chat, a cluck, and a kulich.”  Not only does Jama share beautiful spreads from inside this new book, but also some delightful peeks into the egg decorating party that started it all!

Make sure to scroll all the way down for the Easter Coffee Cake Recipe!!!

Shannon of Gidget Girls Reading absolutely brought this book to life with the help of her daughters; artwork featured below.

You SHOULD try this at home! In fact, here is the How To Egg Party Guide written by Julie herself!

Thanks for reading, blogging, and following along.

Julie  Paschkis’ Unconventional Guide to Throwing the Best Pysansky Party

Welcome to the very first New Book Wednesday!
Stop by every Wednesday to get the scoop on our Spring 2015 titles.

This Wednesday we’re talking about P. Zonka Lays an Egg, written and illustrated by Julie Paschkis.

P. Zonka and her daydreaming ways are getting a lot of attention. If P. wasn’t such a head-in-the-clouds type of gal, I’d be worried the fanfare might make her a little vain. (Read the STARRED reviews here: PW, Kirkus, SLJ)

P. Zonka Lays an Egg is a bright, beautiful celebration of individuality and imagination. But the coolest thing about the book is what inspired it.

Have you ever heard of pysanky?

In short, pysanky is an egg decoration technique, stemming from ancient Ukrainian tradition, closely associated with Easter.

www.caelumetterra.wordpress.com

www.mnn.com

The sun was the ancient Ukrainians’ supreme god, but the only creatures able to approach the life-giving star were birds. Hoping the winged creatures could fly high enough to intercede for humanity, Ukrainians inscribed wishes and requests to the heavens on birds’ eggs.

These richly decorated eggs are called pysanky.

The pysanky were made as gifts for honored family and friends—talismans meant to bring happiness, fertility, and protection. Each of the elements and colors carried symbolic meaning.

☼ The sun represented happiness, growth, and good fortune.
{Flowers signified love, charity, and good will.
h Waves, ribbons, and belts meant eternity.
Birds, hens, and roosters symbolized fulfillment of wishes and fertility.

Red was the color of love and joy, while pink meant success.
Yellow represented resurrection and spirituality.
Green was the sign of new life, of prosperity and wealth.
Blue encompassed courage, strength, stability, loyalty, and health.

So, what do pysanky have to do with P. Zonka?

Every year, Julie Paschkis’ sister, Jan, and brother-in-law, Greg, throw a big neighborhood party where friends and family make pysanky and eat traditional Ukrainian food to celebrate spring and the Easter season. 

P. Zonka Lays an Egg came out of this experience. (Get it? Pysanka…P. Zonka?)

Want to know more about pysanky, Julie Paschkis, or how to throw your very own pysanky party? Stay tuned!

This got us thinking about all of the things we’re looking forward to about the warmer months ahead: Hiking (without the parka!), going to Braves games, picking strawberries, and spending rainy days curled up with a good book.

Everything about spring feels new and fresh and hopeful, doesn’t it?

The world emerges, full of color, from the dreary, monochromatic winter, and we can’t help but wonder at the beauty around us. That feeling is exactly what P. ZONKA LAYS AN EGG, today’s #FreeBookFriday, is all about. We could tell you more…or we could let the [STARRED!] reviews speak for themselves. Enter to win your copy below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Will your kids sit still during a P. Zonka storytime? The illustrations have to read well from far away, and  they should tell a story along with the one told through the text.  Submitted for your approval is the Stand-Far-Away-Holding-the-Book-Cover-Test. How’d we do??

PS: Storytimes are even better if you’re willing to do voices 😉

Days like these are very exciting.  What was once an email attachment, “How about this design?” is now realized as a final picture book cover.  Behold the Advanced Reading Copy! Julie Paschkis makes cover design look E-Z.

Guess what?! The inside is just as lovely.