Mark your calendars for #BNStorytime!

Visit your local Barnes and Noble this Saturday, September 28, 2019, at 11 am for their Storytime and Activities event featuring How I Met My Monster!

Click here to find a B&N store near you!

Crafts for Grandparents Day!

Even though it isn't Grandparents Day any more, it's never too late to celebrate! Join in the fun with these Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie-inspired activities from the Mommy and Me Book Club blog.


Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie by Laurie Jacobs was the featured selection this week for our book-inspired fun! I wanted to feature a book about Grandparents, in honor of Grandparents' Day this weekend in the US. And I ADORE this book. It was a new find for me this summer.

Gathering Activity: Make Hand Print Pot Holders for Grandparents
I was inspired to make these potholders with our hand prints painted on them from an idea on saw at Second Grade Sparkle.

Materials Needed:
Fabric solid colored pot holders
fabric paint, coordinating ribbon
copies of the poem to attach to the pot holders printed on cardstock
hole punch

We attached a great poem I discovered at Kindergarten Rocks! Make sure you go there to see all of the words! We will mail these (or hand deliver these) to our grandparents since the next Sunday is Grandparents' Day in the US.

Circle Time

*We read Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie by Laurie A. Jacobs.
This is a delightful book about a grandma who comes to babysit for the evening.  

Happy Mother’s Day from Flashlight Press

Written by Laurie Jacobs, illustrated by Anne Jewett

According to Mommy Secrets, our new book, Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie, is

a fun Mother’s Day gift for grandmas in your life!

Present a copy to the quirky and playful grandmas (and moms!) in your life.

For more Silly Frilly Mother’s Day fun, check out the book trailer and our printable activity pages. You can even preview Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie here.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Author Laurie A. Jacobs Spreads a Little Sunshine

image from Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie written by Laurie A. Jacobs, illustrated by Anne Jewett

Laurie A. Jacobs, author of Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie, participated in the Project Sunshine Book Club on March 7 at a Manhattan hospital. Laurie channeled the silly playful spirit of Grandma Tillie and did an art project with the children. 25 copies of Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie were donated by Flashlight Press to the young patients.

Project Sunshine is a nonprofit organization bringing programming – recreational, educational, and social service – to over 60,000 children facing medical challenges in 150 major cities across the United States and in five international satellite sites: Canada, China, Israel, Kenya and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit http://www.projectsunshine.org.

Grandparents Down Under

Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie is written by Laurie Jacobs and illustrated by Anne Jewett.

We are thrilled to announce that our five current titles about grandmas, grandpas, and grandkids, are on page three of www.grandparentsdaymagazine.com, an Australian publication. The Autumn 2012 Issue is now viewable in pdf.

Illinois Illustrator Appearance

McFarland painting Grandfather's Wrinkles in his Huntley, IL art studio

Artist Richard McFarland will demonstrate how he illustrated the picture book Grandfather’s Wrinkles, written by Kathryn England, at the Harvard Diggins Library, on Saturday, February 26th. The event will take place at 2 p.m. at the library, 900 E. McKinley St., Harvard, IL.

McFarland, who used himself as the model for the grandpa in the artwork, will read the book and explain how it was made – from initial concept through finished product. His demonstration of how stick figures become printed art will engage children and adults alike. Participants will learn some artistic secrets plus get an interesting behind-the-scenes look at how a picture book is created.

McFarland’s presentation is appropriate for all ages, and copies of “Grandfather’s Wrinkles” will be available for purchase.

The event is free and open to the public. For information, call the Harvard Diggins Library at 815-943-4671.

Drawing inspiration, and eyes!

Grandfather’s Wrinkles illustrator Richard McFarland  only began illustrating at 70, but he’s helping others start young.  Richard’s series of  school presentations teach – and inspire – children to draw.

“How exactly are you able to make eyes like that?” fifth-grader Grace Knudsen asked. Grace tries to shape eyes like lemons, she said. “It just doesn’t look like a real eye.” “You have to be focused,” McFarland said. “It would be helpful to have photographs. … Be patient. Take it slow and easy. You’ll get there.”

Richard’s most recent appearance was at Montini Catholic School in McHenry, Illinois. To read more about this visit from the Northwest Herald, click here.

Antique Week features Grandpa for Sale

An antique shop is the perfect setting for a story about a girl and her grandfather, and Antique Week is a perfect place for a review of that story.

Grandpa for Sale is  a front page feature article in this week’s edition of Antique Week, the top national newspaper of all things antique.  The article includes excerpts from the book, interviews with the authors, and other rave reviews our book has gotten.

For a link to the online copy of the feature, click here.

Grandpa for Sale is Pick of the Week

Flashlight’s Grandpa for Sale is featured as Childhoodreading.com’s “Pick of the Week.”   Childhoodreading.com focuses on classic stories for kids with classic illustrations, along with recommendations for modern books with timeless themes.

Check out the full review here.