Dear readers of my blog: As most of you know, after many, many years of running this feature, today is my very last Friend Friday. Don’t worry — I haven’t stopped shining the spotlight on fellow book creators and their work. I’m just doing it in a different form, over on Instagram, every Thursday at… Read more »
I so appreciate Margo Sorenson’s insights below, about the need to take a story from “oatmeal” to something special and unique. She does it through aloha spirit and puns, resulting in a charming picture book, Little Calabash, illustrated by Anneth Lagamo, about overcoming obstacles. And if you want to hear more about Margo’s work, see… Read more »
I am so pleased to host Kristin O’Donnell Tubb today in celebration of her newest novel, Luna Howls at the Moon — and not just because she’s a fellow dog lover. She’s a generous spirit, as you’ll read below (be sure to comment quickly to enter to win a copy of Luna!) and tender-hearted as… Read more »
While I do not have an origami box for moving multiple minuscule creatures, I am famous for not killing spiders. “What if it’s Charlotte?” I always ask. It is clear that we humans have a great impact on the natural world which is why I so appreciate Curtis Manley’s latest book, The Rescuer of Tiny… Read more »
Beth Bacon is one of the hardest working writers I know. One who is not dismayed if the road to publication takes several circuitous routes. I will confess that when she told me about her books for kids who (think they) don’t like to read, I was, “Oh, that’s. . .interesting.” But Beth’s faith in… Read more »
Oh my goodness: I love Dana Middleton‘s post today and its reminder that stories do indeed chose us! I’m sure many of us can relate to Dana’s story of wanting to wiggle out of being tagged “it,” and, like me, you will admire how Dana turned her desire to run into a connection with her… Read more »
Susan McCormick should probably buy a lottery ticket. Or perhaps a hundred. When she set out to write a medical fantasy that would catch young readers’ attention the way Rick Riordan’s mythology series has, likely she had no idea that we’d been spending a year or two or a thousand dealing with a pandemic. Her… Read more »
My memory of meeting Jennifer Richard Jacobson involves nearly throwing myself at her in the exhibit hall at an ALA conference; I love her work so much! Luckily for me, she has a high tolerance for fangirling. She still speaks to me! And in fact, we had a lovely chat last night for my Write… Read more »
I always enjoy hearing the story behind the story and Vicki Conrad’s story behind her newest picture book biography is full of twists and turns, not unlike the swampy Everglades themselves. A Voice for the Everglades: Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Albert Whitman and Company) led Vicki on a several year “scavenger hunt” (to borrow her phrase)… Read more »
Today’s guest is my first ever international friend! Paddy Donnelly lives and works in Belgium though his Irish roots certainly inform his work. And his newest book– a debut as a writer/illustrator — is based on a lake nearby where he grew up. I am especially drawn to Paddy’s The Vanishing Lake (Yeehoo Press) because… Read more »