Happy Book Birthday to Lucy's Lovey by Betsy Devany!

Friends, let me draw your attention to a wonderful new picture book which will be released into the wild tomorrow, September 27!

Lucy's Lovey, by Betsy Devany!

Here's what the publisher has to say:

Lucy's favorite lovey, Smelly Baby, is her most loyal companion. They are simply inseparable. Smelly Baby may be pretty rag-tag and, well, smelly, but her smell is very much a part of why Lucy loves her so much. Then disaster strikes as Smelly Baby accidentally flies out the car window and gets LOST! What will Lucy do without Smelly Baby in her life?

With artwork by the award-winning, New York Times-bestselling illustrator Christopher Denise, this winning picture book debut celebrates the irreplaceable bond between a little girl and her favorite doll.

Many thanks to the publisher for sending us a copy, because their praise is nothing to that lavished by my little girls! My Lucy read it to her little sisters so many times that Zoe and Ginny were quoting it and "playing it"--they all pulled out their favorite stuffed animals and dollies, and read the book to them, too!

And then, Maddie... Well, she loves this book about loveys so much that it became her lovey. I actually snapped photo evidence that she regularly falls asleep with the book in her arms:

The publication of this story is very special to me, as Betsy is one of my first critique partners, someone who helped me tremendously to delve into the hearts of my characters and stories. Not surprisingly, her debut picture book is full of more heart than you'd imagine could fit into such a slim volume! The illustrations are whimsical and full of details for little (and, ahem, big) readers to explore long after the first time the story has been read.

You can purchase Lucy's Lovey from Amazon by clicking the image of the cover above, 

or find it at your local independent bookstore!