{"id":1907,"date":"2026-07-03T21:38:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T21:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/?p=1907"},"modified":"2026-07-03T21:38:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T21:38:57","slug":"at-the-cookout-written-and-illustrated-by-nadia-fisher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/?p=1907","title":{"rendered":"At the Cookout, Written and Illustrated by Nadia Fisher"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You won&#8217;t want to miss this review of a charming, engaging book entitled <strong><em>At the Cookout<\/em><\/strong>. This is the first book that Nadia Fisher has written and illustrated, and it is a charming, engaging tale. Enjoy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"376\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Dr.-Toughloves-Book-Club-Column-July-2026-376x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1908\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Dr.-Toughloves-Book-Club-Column-July-2026-376x1024.jpg 376w, https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Dr.-Toughloves-Book-Club-Column-July-2026-110x300.jpg 110w, https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Dr.-Toughloves-Book-Club-Column-July-2026-564x1536.jpg 564w, https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Dr.-Toughloves-Book-Club-Column-July-2026.jpg 734w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 376px) 100vw, 376px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Summer is in full swing and Dr. Toughlove has been reminiscing about summer barbecues and cookouts. As a young girl growing up in New York City, she always marveled at how hot dogs and hamburgers always tasted better when they were cooked outdoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With that as a backdrop, Dr. Toughlove is excited to review a recently published book by author\/illustrator Nadia Fisher. Ms. Fisher has enjoyed a distinguished career as an illustrator, but this book, entitled <strong><em>At the Cookout<\/em><\/strong>, is her initial effort executing a dual role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. Toughlove had the pleasure of conducting a podcast interview with Ms. Fisher recently <a href=\"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/?p=1845\"><strong>https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/?p=1845<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong>and learned that this book was inspired by her memories of cookouts at family members\u2019 homes during her youth. Much like Dr. Toughlove, her recollections focus on familial\/generational bonds, traditions, love, friendship, and music. This story is seen through the eyes of the protagonist, Cici, and her excitement at attending the first family cookout of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Very often during July and August, parents and caregivers are looking for books to continue to build reading\/listening\/speaking skills. <strong><em>At the Cookout<\/em><\/strong> would be an excellent book selection any time of year, but might be particularly timely during the summer months. Engaging conversations can ensue about summer season activities. This book is also an excellent book for emergent readers to continue to hone their skills. For a child who is physically active, there are lots of opportunities to act out many of Cici\u2019s family activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. Toughlove would be remiss if she did not mention Nadia Fisher\u2019s illustrations and book design. They include beautiful use of contrasting colors, speech bubbles, varying text colors, two-page illustrations and so much more. They are eye-catching and joyful, and can engender marvelous exchanges between the reader and the listener. The symbiotic relationship between the words and the pictures that Dr. Toughlove believes is the hallmark of a great children\u2019s book is unmistakenly present.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>At the Cookout, <\/em><\/strong>written and illustrated by Nadia Fisher is suggested for readers aged 4-8 and can be found at your local library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You won&#8217;t want to miss this review of a charming, engaging book entitled At the Cookout. This is the first book that Nadia Fisher has written and illustrated, and it is a charming, engaging tale. Enjoy! Summer is in full swing and Dr. Toughlove has been reminiscing about summer barbecues and cookouts. As a young [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[12],"class_list":["post-1907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-readaloud"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1909,"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907\/revisions\/1909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}