Ad-Lib Mondays
Lydia Lukidis, author of NO BEARS ALLOWED — interview
I’m very happy to welcome Lydia Lukidis to my blog today! Thanks for participating in this interview, Lydia. For those of you who don’t know Lydia, she has several books published – mainly as work-for-hire projects – and recently her first “all hers” picture book came out. We’re celebrating that book today! NO BEARS ALLOWED…
Read MoreBeth’s Faves — Top Middle Grade and YA Books I’ve Read This Year
As promised last week, my fave Middle Grade and Young Adult reads of the past year. (There won’t be as many MG and YA as there were picture books.) As I said last week, please note that not all these books were published this year. I chose from what appealed to me, as well as…
Read MoreBeth’s Faves — Top Picture Books I’ve Read This Year
At the beginning of 2018, I had the intention of reading one picture book every morning throughout the year. I did well for the first half of the year, then not so well the second half – but I’ve still read a LOT more picture books than I would have otherwise, and many of them…
Read MoreHEARTS UNBROKEN by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Title: Hearts Unbroken Author: Cynthia Leitich Smith Publisher: Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2018 Genre: YA Fiction, #ownvoices Audience Age: 14 to 18 years Themes/Topics: Friendship, romance, Native American history and issues, racism Synopsis: Lou (short for Louise), is a high school junior in current-day Kansas. By the time the book ends, she is a senior.…
Read MoreHARBOR ME by Jacqueline Woodson — Book Recommendation (plus thoughts on writing, Thanksgiving, and supporting each other)
Today is Thanksgiving in Canada. Usually I would write a post about some of the things I am grateful for, and in a way, this post is about gratitude, for gratitude is important. But it’s a different kind of gratitude than the sort we usually think about on Thanksgiving. As you know, I write for…
Read MoreAmina’s Voice by Hena Khan — Book Recommendation
Title: Amina’s Voice Author: Hena Khan Publisher: New York: Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster Children’s, 2017 Genre: Middle Grade Fiction Audience Age: 9 to 12 Themes/Topics: empowerment, racism, feeling comfortable with who you are, lifting up your voice Opening Sentences: Something sharp pokes me in the rib. “You should totally sign up for a solo,” Soojin…
Read MoreIt’s International Dot Day! — ish
Actually, International Dot Day is actually September 15th-ish, but I figured the 10th was ish-ish enough to celebrate. International Dot Day grew out of Peter H. Reynolds’ wonderful book, THE DOT, which my friend Patricia Tilton reviewed here. If you haven’t read THE DOT, please do, and also read the companion books ISH and SKY…
Read MorePicture Book Summit is coming!
Well, not until Fall, but early-bird registration begins on June 14th! What is Picture Book Summit? It’s a fantastic day-long conference for picture book writers, that happens entirely online, so there are no travel or accommodation costs, and you can attend in your jammies if you want. It is hosted by author, editor and educator…
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