April Fool Phyllis's World Tour

April Fool Phyllis, a fabulous new picture book by author Susanna Leonard Hill, came out last month. In February, Susanna lined up a fantastic group of children's books authors and illustrators and sent Phyllis on a worldwide blog tour. This little groundhog gets to travel to various countries and to many states within the United States. While visiting each location, she learns about the local weather, meets children, sees local sites and shares her story. I feel very lucky to have been included in this event. Here is our story of her visit...

A package arrived on my doorstep on Tuesday evening. I anxiously opened the envelope and when I saw that it was April Fool Phyllis, I quickly took her out to get some fresh air. I welcomed her to Georgia and showed her the forest behind my home. She like it a lot. She wanted to meet the gopher who lives in the hole in my yard but I took her into the house to meet the family instead. My daughter read Phyllis’s story about April Fool’s Day before bed and I tucked Phyllis in for the night.

Wednesday morning, my four year old told me that Phyllis looked tired from her travels and asked if we could take her with us for a Spa Day. Phyllis rode with us to the salon. See photo. Erin got a haircut and Phyllis had a shampoo and blow dry to fluff up her fur.

Then Phyllis, Erin, and I went to Panera for a girl’s lunch. She was curious about Chik-fil-a but I told her that it probably wasn’t a good idea for a groundhog to eat chicken. Phyllis opted for a salad at Panera.

After lunch, we took Phyllis up to the top of a very, very high street in Marietta, Georgia so she could see the Atlanta skyline. Phyllis told us that she had never been soo high up. Erin held her really high to see the skyline (on the horizon in the distance).

The weather in Georgia was a sunny 82 degrees. Phyllis predicted that it would stay sunny for another whole week and then it would get a little drizzle of rain. She was right. Erin read Phyllis’s story again before bed and read another story to Phyllis about princesses. I tucked Phyllis and Erin in together for the night.

Thursday morning, Erin carefully put Phyllis in an envelope and we mailed her off to picture book author, Corey Rosen Schwartz for her next visit. She left Georgia pampered, rested, and refreshed. Phyllis was ready to visit more families in other states and countries.

If you would like to learn more about April Fool Phyllis, check out author Susanna Leonard Hill's website or blog. This book, full of adventure, suspense, and puzzles, would be a great addition to any child's bookshelf. I highly recommend this book as a read aloud. Click HERE to watch the book trailer.