Shennen Bersani's Weblog

A Sampling of my Books

Here’s a sample of the books I’ve written and/or illustrated. Most are available on Amazon. 
Check out Arbordale Publishing’s site for my Arbordale books, and head over to Charlesbridge for my books with them. I’m currently illustrating my 40th picture book! 📚🥳

Proofs arrived ~ Where Do Book Ideas Come From?

The proofs arrived for my newest Jerry Pallotta book, Where Do Book Ideas Come From? It’s really gorgeous, and totally classic Jerry Pallotta creative. I can’t wait to have the bound copies to share, just a few weeks longer! Until then, here’s the book cover reveal:

Speaking of Jerry books, you can buy an autographed copy of bookBlack an Alphabet on his website.

And for the collectors out there, I’ve got more, new Jerry Pallotta books in the works. I’ll keep you posted! Here’s a hint: 

Pollen Season arrives in time for St. Patrick’s Day giving

Pollen season has arrived! To celebrate I’ll be giving 50 of my lucky 🍀 clover pins away to random people for St. Patrick’s Day. Each pin has a real lucky four, five, and even a six! leaf clover I found during last year’s collecting. We are only a week or two away from the start of this year’s lucky clover season, so it’s time to share the last of the 2024 clovers I had saved before I find new ones. The “pollen” on the pins is glitter I’ve encased under the plastic cover. You can find more “pollen” glitter fun with my free pollen ‘snow’ globe craft here. 

Book News! This year marks the 10th anniversary of Achoo! Why Pollen Counts. You can learn more at www.achoowhypollencounts.com and can purchase your copy directly from the publisher, Arbordale Publishing, or from Amazon.

Bonus Book News! New books - yes, that’s plural - will be releasing this year. I am OVER THE MOON with the most recent books I’ve illustrated! I’m keeping them all tightly under wraps a little longer, but I promise it’s BIG news! 📚🎨✍️

 

My newest lucky clover art pins

The late October weather has been gorgeous! I keep finding lucky clovers…

and I keep making new clover art pins with them…

I give these away freely to people I encounter during my day; doing errands, out walking, visiting friends… I receive amazing feedback from people! How the pin affected their lives in a positive way. I am collecting your stories for an upcoming book. Email me yours at [email protected].

 

Just arrived! Award stickers and bookBlack hardcover.

A couple fantastic items arrived in the mail! Really awesome holographic Firebird Book Award stickers for Wild Fathers and my first hardcover copies of bookBlack an Alphabet. 

You can learn more about the Firebird Book Awards here. Wild Fathers can be purchased either from its publisher Arbordale or on Amazon. bookBlack an Alphabet can be purchased directly from Jerry Pallotta here. 

I have exciting new books in the pipeline for next year! I’ll keep you posted, but for now - check out Wild Fathers and bookBlack an Alphabet. Lots of non-fiction learning, and some amazing art work await you inside their pages. 

Wild Fathers wins Firebird Book Awards

I am thrilled to announce Wild Fathers has won three Firebird Book Awards for these categories:

1st place Animals/Pets

1st place Illustration

2nd place Children’s Picture Book ages 4-8

You can purchase Wild Fathers on Amazon or at Arbordale   

I am VERY honored to have received these awards. Here is the press release:

AUTHORS JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL FIREBIRD BOOK AWARD CIRCLE OF WINNERS

October 14, 2024 – Speak Up Talk Radio announced the recent INTERNATIONAL FIREBIRD BOOK AWARDS contest winners. 

One of the winning entries was from Massachusetts author Shennen Bersani, whose book titled Wild Fathers won first place in both the Animals and Illustration categories, as well as second place in Children’s Picture Book - ages 4-8. 

Authors and publishers worldwide submitted their work to the International Firebird Book Awards. The panel of judges includes 27 individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Two judges from a select panel read and scored each entry. All judges commit to a set of standardized criteria that evaluate the quality of the writing and the production aspects. The judges only award the coveted Firebird to entries with the highest scores.

Authors can view their entry fee for the International Firebird Book Awards as more than just a fee. It’s a tax-deductible donation that supports a noble cause. Patricia J. Rullo, the awards’ founder, explains, “We give back by hand making colorful pillowcases. We send them, along with children’s books, to women and children who are experiencing homelessness. This includes the shelter Enchanted Makeovers, which is a tax-exempt organization. In this way, authors gain recognition for their work and play a significant role in transforming homeless shelters into bright homes. Winning a book award feels good, but knowing your participation makes a difference feels even better.”

“Speak Up Talk Radio is a gateway to multiple avenues for creative individuals to promote themselves. We provide various opportunities for authors and podcasters to showcase their work and connect with their audience. This includes book awards, podcast awards, radio interviews, audiobook production, podcasting services, social media and audio marketing, and book editing and formatting services.”

The International Firebird Book Awards run quarterly contests so authors can receive timely recognition. Authors of all genres, mainstream, independent, and self-published, are welcome. For additional winning authors, titles, and entry information:

https://www.speakuptalkradio.com

 

Wild Fathers comes out strong!

Wild Fathers official book release date is in two days, September 10, 2024. But it is already available on Kindle and it’s coming out strong! Top New Release in Children’s Zoo Books.

Wild Fathers receives a 5 Star review on LitPick, read it here. 

Wild Fathers is also a CBC Hot Off the Press selection for September! 
Check out Wild Fathers and my other Arbordale Books (17 of them!) including award-winning Achoo! Why Pollen Counts.

Wild Fathers book trailer

Officially releasing next week, September 10, 2024… Wild Fathers Check out the great book trailer LitPick created: 

Just like human families, animal families come in all shapes and sizes. Some wild animal fathers have diverse and surprising wildlife parenting roles in the rearing of their offspring. Told through captivating illustrations and lyrical text, young readers learn how animal dads, from wolves to seahorses, protect, nurture, and teach their young. This educational picture book combines storytelling with scientific facts, making it ideal for young children fascinated by animal behaviors and nature.

Written by Shennen Bersani
32 pg, 8.5 x 10, Ages 4-8, Grades K-3, Lexile: AD 750:

 

bookBlack an Alphabet

Jerry Pallotta gave me the first ARC (advanced reading copy) of bookBlack an Alphabet tonight. I am over the moon! Jerry and I have teamed up on 14 books, this being our latest release. 
Yes! There will be a book for each color, and YES I am the author of the rest of the colors!!! 
Woo hoo! So lots more excitement in the works. Check out Jerry’s website, he’s phenomenal! ☺️

Very excited! WILD FATHERS releasing in September ’24

I’m very, very excited! Coming this September 10th, Achoo! Why Pollen Counts will have a sibling, my second authored book, again with fabulous Arbordale Publishing. 😊

Wild Fathers featuring the role of some extraordinary fathers in nature. 

“Just like human families, animal families come in all shapes and sizes. Many fathers in the wild have unusual and unselfish roles in the rearing of their offspring. While some animal fathers may never meet or know their offspring, there are some that protect and shelter their children. Others feed or teach their young. Let’s learn more about each of these Wild Fathers and their important duties.”

Written and illustrated by Shennen Bersani
32 pg, 8.5 x 10, Ages 4-8, Grades K-3, Lexile: AD 750:

Soon available in English and Spanish on Arbordale Publishing. But for now, you can preorder your copy on Amazon. 

Do you love my Activity pages? I’m creating all new ones for Wild Fathers! Here’s a link to a few free coloring pages and puzzles to get you started (puppets on their way!). 

Lots, lots more to come, including its own website! And head over to Arbordale to check out all of my books with them, 17 total.

Did you hear me say FREE ACTIVITY PAGES?! Find TONS of free coloring pages, puzzles, crafts, puppets, and paper doll clothes on Achoo!’s website! And here’s the link to Wild Fathers website. 

Spectacular 7-leaf clover

Today I found this spectacular 7-leaf clover. It’s the second 7-leaf I have found, the previous one had more of an appendage for its 7th leaf, today’s has 7 full leaves. 

Also, a whole new crop of lucky clover art pins are blooming for spring of 2024. These are ready to be shared with others while I’m out and about during my day.

Well over 1000 of these have been distributed. They bring joy and hope. So many people have reached out to me with their heartwarming personal stories, I’m compiling the stories for a book I’m writing. Reach out to me at:  [email protected]

KSLA Award Ceremony and Conference 2023

I got home late last night from the Keystone State Literacy Association’s 2023 Conference in Hershey, PA. I don’t know where to begin, so I’ll toss down highlights:

It started with The Eyeball Alphabet Book winning the KSLA 2022-2023 Keystone to Reading Elementary Book Award for the Intermediate Level. 

Jerry and I were invited to a book signing Sunday (and the award ceremony luncheon on Monday in Hershey). Here’s the poster for Sunday night’s book signing:

We had some fun with Miss Kiss and the Reese’s character:

Miss Kiss was rocking one of my lucky 🍀 art pins! 



The conference was at the Hershey Lodge - Kisses. Chocolate. Enough said, that place is to-die-for phenomenal. Chocolate butter, fresh hot cocoa bar with eye popping toppings and stir-in’s. Even the hotel soap was chocolate infused. Chocolate is EVERYWHERE.  I need to return! 😋

So in addition to creating many new lucky 🍀 art pins to give away, Lou suggested I also make 100 of these Eyeball pins to hand out:

The Eyeball pins are pivotal to my story. For I simply posted the above photo on my Facebook account and mentioned I was heading to Hershey a few days before heading out. 

My mother came from a large family, 8 kids. She grew up with her siblings in Pottsville. She married my dad and they moved to Boston, but most of her family - and their kids - all remained in the general area. (I think my sister and I have 32 first cousins.) Being born and raised in Massachusetts, I didn’t have the opportunity to get to know my relatives, or even meet most of them. (My mom passed in ‘89, it’s been a long time since I’ve visited Pottsville.) One of my first cousins, Ruthann, saw my Eyeball pin Facebook Post. She mentioned she lived about an hour from Hershey. (She later told me she recalled meeting me once, when she was 5 and I was 6 - I believe when our grandfather died.) Without my knowledge she reaches out to our cousin Bob…. Bobby had lived with us in MA the year I was in fourth grade. He attended BU for his freshman year and commuted from my house to school. I hadn’t connected with him since that school year. Our cousin Maryann also saw my “heading to Hershey” post, and she reached out to her sister….. 

Monday’s award ceremony luncheon comes around, and as I’m about to go onstage - I receive a text I had cousins in the back of the room…

I get up onstage to give a little speech, see my cousin “surprise” and I’m now overwhelmed with emotion, all choked up and teary-eyed. 

After the luncheon, we all got together for a couple hours to chat and catch up. I had the phone number to our cousin, John, in Texas - so I called him and put him on speakerphone so he could ‘join’ us. 



Here are my cousins who went out of their way to surprise and celebrate my award with me: Ruthann, Bobby, me, Maryann, Dotsy. 

After my cousins left there were many books to sign:

And a LOT more chocolate to eat:

Oh and the jacket I wore on Monday - I had it custom made in London by www.bagsofloveuk.com I uploaded 15 eyeballs from pages of The Eyeball Alphabet Book, and they created the fabric and sewed the kimono for me. Check them out, Bags of Love. Fantastic job! (The back has the cover snake eyeball centered with the others surrounding it.)

Together with Jerry Pallotta. I’ve illustrated many more of his books, check out Jerry’s site: www.JerryPallotta.com 

Onto my next book…. Updates will come later. 😉

 

To those who landed here due to the gift of a pin….

To those who landed here due to the gift of a pin….

I’m the award-winning children’s author of Achoo! Why Pollen Counts, and more notably the illustrator of 39 other children’s picture books. I’ve illustrated for Scholastic, Arbordale Publishing, Charlesbridge, American Cancer Society, to only name a few. My books have sold millions of copies worldwide. Not all, but most can be found on Amazon.

After art school, I started out hand lettering signs for a chain of retail stores, moved onto colored pencil portraits, surgical tools for Johnson & Johnson, illustrations for gardening magazines, and ultimately illustrating and designing children’s books. I have a great love of nature that typically shows up in my work.

A few years ago I realized I had a knack for finding lucky 4- and 5-leaf clovers. I turn the ones that I collect, plus flowers from my yard, into art pins. It gives me great joy to share these with others!

In 2023 I’ve traveled near and far, for work and family commitments. Along the way I’ve handed my pins to people I interact with. My goal is to spread cheer, love, hope, joy… and some good luck to others!

I hope you enjoy your pin as much as I enjoyed creating it. Much love. ❤️

….If you haven’t received one, and would like one mailed to you, DM me on Twitter @ShennenBersani

Update: So many people have now tracked me down and told me amazing stories of how their pins brought them; hope, joy, and luck…. I am collecting these for a book I am working on. If you would like to contribute to my book project, you can email me your pin story at [email protected] 

New lucky clover pins for 2023

I’ve been lucky to find more 4, 5 (and even a 6-leaf) clover in my yard this spring! 

I'm sharing my luck with others. They are limited to however many I can find. I’d be delighted to mail one out to you, DM me over at Twitter @ShennenBersani If I’ve run out, I’ll add you to a waiting list. 

Mini watercolor paintings with clover and flowers from my yard.

My friend Sneshka told me last summer I needed to find a 6-leaf one, last month I did! Sneshka then told me, “Now find a 7-leaf one! My aunt did once.” 😳

🍀

And for those who stumbled onto this page and don’t know who I am, I’m the author of Achoo! Why Pollen Counts, and the illustrator of 38 other children’s picture books. 

400 Art Pins

I’m currently illustrating a couple books, and in my down time I’m creating new Art Pins. 

How it started: a way for me to share 50 4-leaf clovers I had found.

My yard is full of normal run-of-the-mill 3-leaf clover, but a small patch of property under an old oak tree has the 4 and 5 leaf mutation. It’s just an over abundance of 4-leavers in that location. Over the years I would pick a few, put them in a thick book, and forget about them. Last year I realized the book was getting full of collected clover, so the question arose in my mind - how can I preserve these for people and pass along the good luck. The idea of Art Pins hatched in my mind.

After making 400 Art Pins, how it’s going.

I eventually made 75 clover pins, there were so many tucked away in that book! I gifted all of those away - save the ones above, which are spoken for. After they were gone, my list of recipients had grown beyond 75… so I created Art Pins with flowers I pressed. Each a unique watercolor painting and pen & ink drawing, each a unique piece of my art.

Just as the clover ones were special in that I had found each of the clovers in my yard, my latest batch of Art Pins are special, limited edition, in the fact that I’ve collected those flowers from my yard. You can dm me on Twitter if you are interested in one: @ShennenBersani 

#art #artist #illustrator #clover #butterflies #flowers #paintings 🎨🍀🦋🌸 #payingitforward #joy #goodluck 💗

Perfect pollen books for children (of all ages!)

Pollen, softly blowing in the breeze. The smallest seed of life. Here are some perfect pollen and pollinator books for children (of all ages!). I say, ‘of all ages’, because adult art collectors have told me they have copies in their personal book collections. These books are all available on Amazon. Achoo! Why Pollen Counts, Home in the Cave, and Night Creepers are also available at Arbordale. Butterfly Colors and Counting, Butterfly Counting, and Not a Butterfly Alphabet Book are also available at Charlesbridge. 

 

 

The Eyeballs have it! Keystone to Reading Book Award Winner!

I am delighted to share that The Eyeball Alphabet Book is the Intermediate Winner of the Keystone to Reading Book Award! This holds a special place in my heart as my mom was from Pennsylvania. ❤️

2022-2023 Keystone to Reading Book Award Winners

Keystone to Reading Elementary Book Awards

 Preschool:                Best Day Ever by Marilyn Singer-author, Leah Nixon - illustrator             

 Primary:                   The Elephants Come Home: A True Story of Seven Elephants, and One Extraordinary Friendship

                                  by Kim Tomsic-author, Hadley Hooper- illustrator

 Intermediate:         The Eyeball Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta-author, Shennen Bersani-illustrator 

Jerry Pallotta and I started an eyeball journey back in Snakes: Long, Longer, Longest. 




I love all the unusual things Jerry has me illustrate, I especially love all the research I get to do to accurately bring my art to ‘life’. Visiting museums, zoos, aquariums, the ocean….. my illustration research brings me…. everywhere! 

Here are some pages from The Eyeball Alphabet Book. 

Published by Charlesbridge, The Eyeball Alphabet Book is available from any book seller, if you don’t see it ask them to order it. 
I’ve illustrated a lot of Jerry’s books, with more on the way. 📚🎨 Look through my blog archives for how I started illustrating books with Jerry Pallotta, 21 years ago!