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Catching the Valentine's Day Trend with Pin Lit Marketing & Guides by Deb Client Books

Those of us who market our wares on Pinterest reference the term “Trends” on a regular basis. We use Trends to anticipate when our intended audience will access the platform to search for our content. This type of marketing requires consistency, intentionality, and laser focus on offering quality content, the type that our readers are compelled to connect with. 

This blog post is being written at the end of November. Believe it or not, we’re now beginning to anticipate how we’ll use the Valentine’s Day trend to our benefit. Because this trend begins to rise on December 22 and peaks on February 16, now is the time to begin exploring how we might use the climb to our advantage. We’ll begin dropping this content by December 15. 

We here at Pin Lit Marketing and at Guides by Deb are privileged to work with some of the finest books in the business, many of which celebrate love. Below you’ll find examples of books that we’ll be featuring in efforts to catch that Valentine’s Day trend. Stop by the Pin Lit Marketing Pinterest platform to see just how we showcase these amazing stories. 


Book Information:

Title: When You Look Out the Window: How Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Built a Community

Author: Gayle Pitman

Illustrator: Christopher Lyles

Publisher: Magination Press

ISBN-13: 978-1433827365

Educator Guide

Synopsis: When You Look Out the Window tells the story of Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, one of San Francisco's most well-known and politically active lesbian couples. Describing the view from Phyllis and Del's window, this book shows how one couple's activism transformed their community — and had ripple effects throughout the world.

Includes a Reading Guide that provides helpful historical context, and a Note to Parents, Caregivers, and Educators about the importance of teaching LGBTQ history and culture to children.

This is a unique way to introduce children to untold stories in history while also being a clever tribute to two notable women.


Title: Daddy Speaks Love

Author: Leah Henderson

Illustrator: E.B. Lewis

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books

ISBN-13: 978-0593354360

Educator Guide

Synopsis: A moving tribute to the joy and grounding that fathers bring to their children's lives.

What does a daddy do? From day one, this daddy speaks love to his little one. And along with that love, his words and actions speak many other things, too: like truth, joy, comfort, and pride. Like many dads, he answers a million questions and tries to make sure that days are full of fun adventures, giggles, and hugs. Dads are good at scaring away imaginary monsters, and honest about how to confront the real ones too. They set an example for the future, speaking out for equality and justice, while sharing lessons from the past. But most of all, daddies encourage their young ones to fight for a better world, with the comfort of knowing their dads are right beside them. Daddy Speaks Love speaks to that everlasting bond between children and their fathers and is a perfect gift for special occasions including Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, baby showers, and more!


Title: The Best Kind of Gift

Author: Kathi Appelt

Illustrator: Paul Brett Johnson

Publisher: HarperCollins

ISBN-13: 978-0688153939

Kathi on Pinterest

Synopsis:The folks in Dogwood are abuzz with excitement when a new parson comes to lead their congregation. The whole town gets busy preparing a pounding -- where everyone brings "a pound o' this and a pound o' that" to make Brother Harper feel more at home.

Jory Timmons wants so badly to give the perfect gift to Brother Harper. But it seems that he is too small to do anything right! He can't light a stove to bake a pie like Mama, and he isn't strong enough to carry a sack of corn like his older brother, Thomas.

But in this lively tale, loaded with country charm, Jory Timmons learns that the best gifts are given when he is simply being himself.


Title: Until the Blueberries Grow

Author: Jennifer Wolf Kam

Illustrator: Sally Walker

Publisher: PJ LIbrary

ISBN-13: 978-1736557334

Jen on Pinterest

Synopsis: Until the blueberries grow . . . until the grapes are ripe . . . until the snow falls . . . until the flowers bloom . . . Ben tries to convince his great-grandfather to stay in his house just a little longer as the two celebrate a yearly cycle of Jewish holidays together.

"This sweet story of family abounds with food, flowers, and quality time with loved ones." - Kirkus review, 2022

“The book opens with Ben and his great-grandfather, Zayde, enjoying blueberries right off the bushes, and the two continue to share different foods together throughout the seasons of the year... But Zayde is growing older, and Ben must learn to accommodate change…Every picture shows their sensitivity and awareness of one another’s needs, echoing the Jewish traditions of caring for children and the elderly…The love between generations, the observance of holidays that give meaning to the Jewish year, and the sacred proportions of both the natural world and the homes where we live — all are presented as tangibly as the blueberries that a boy and his great-grandfather share." - Emily Schneider for The Jewish Book Council, 2022


Title: Under an Indigo Moon

Author: JL Crosswhite

Publisher: Tandem Services Press

ISBN-13: 9781954986053

Part of the Holcomb Springs Small Town Romantic Suspense Series

Jennifer on Pinterest

Synopsis: Former big-city architect and single mom Carissa Carver is starting over in Holcomb Springs with her two boys. She has dropped all of her savings into vacant Victorian she bought at an online auction, hoping to flipping and build a better life.

But the house is nothing like what it was represented in the photos, and the neighbors are just plain weird. Figuring she has once again made a bad choice, she’s re-thinking her whole plan. But the chocolate lab that comes with the house, Charlie, has adopted them, particularly Alex, her son with Asperger’s. Not having the heart to tear him away from something that brings him joy, she digs into making this money pit work.

But when things go missing, her house is vandalized, and she finds human bones in the basement, she wonders what she’s really gotten them into. Is this one more bad decision or something truly dangerous?

Deputy Sheriff Jonas McCann relocated to Holcomb Springs four years ago after the death of his wife and daughter in a car accident. He’s visiting the town’s library when he inadvertently stumbles upon a singles’ meetup the librarian has arranged: Find your soul mate by their taste in books. He tries to duck out, gets roped in. Spotting Carissa and assuming she's a tourist, he figures she’s a safe bet and strikes up a conversation with her, pretending to know her from somewhere, to get away from an overly interested woman. She’s a good sport and plays along.

Later when he responds to a burglary call, he’s surprised to discover it’s her house. As more strange things happen around the house, Jonas is drawn further into his desire to protect her and to be a positive influence on the boys he’s come to have a heart for. Can he solve the mystery before she and her boys get hurt? Does it have anything to do with the missing teenager? Or are those just ghost stories and small-town rumors? Especially the ones about the indigo moon.

 

Simple Saturday: Labels of Love

What? Me? Read?The Simple Saturday Labels of Love reading game is so easy a dog can do it! For real. Let me show you.

Did you do what I asked you to yesterday? Did you take note of your wee one's objects of desire? Things that are the most important to them? We're going to use their love for these things to spark a love of the written word.

Have you gathered up the supplies? The index cards and markers? You haven't? Well, hurry up and get them. Tripod and I will wait for you.

Lick. Lick. Slobber. Slobber. Hug. Hug. Oh! You're back! Good...

 Now all you have to do is write the names of the objects of desire on the cards. Make a few labels. How many? Oh, about ten or so would be good. Show your child how the word is spelled. Talk about the beginning letters, the ending sounds...you know the drill. Help your child become familiar with the identification of the words. Then, mix up the cards and ask your little darling to read the cards and then find those items in the house. Reading is that easy! 

 Tripod actually did a pretty good job with this game, too. He found his toys, where his food is stored, his water bowl, and his bed. Good boy, right?

Well, I guess since he matched the label for his leash we'd better use it. See ya! We're off for a lovely Simple Saturday walk. Wish you could join us!

Simple Saturday Prep: Labels of Love

 In efforts to enhance letter/word recognition, tomorrow we're going to capitalize on your newbie reader's objects of passion. We're going to use the stuff they love to our/their academic benefit.

Food. Clothes. Games. People. Pets. Anything's fair game!

The supplies we'll need for tomorrow's Simple Saturday fun are index cards and a marker. That's it.

So, for now, observe your little darlings, closely. Notice what their objects of desire are. Keep those thoughts in mind. Check back in with me in the morning when we'll have some Simple Saturday Labels of Love fun together, okay?

I do love these sneaky posts, don't you?

Simple Saturday: The Ultimate Dog Toy

 Just look into those amber eyes, will you? He LOVES this toy!

Here's all you do to make it. Of course you've purchased the most inexpensive 9 inch wide piece of fleece fabric you could find, right? (If you paid more than $3.00, shame on you. Keep it as cheap as you can. That's half the Simple Saturday fun.)

So, all you do is lay it out flat, cut it into three or four long strips, and knot it in random places. Big knots. Little knots. Tie the strips together here and there and everywhere. And then...presto! You've made a Simple Saturday Ultimate Dog Toy!

Tripod hasn't quit playing with it since I gave it to him. He flips it in the air. Gnaws on it. Paws at it.

I'm ready for him to saw some logs on it.

Good night, Tripod.