Empowerment
EVERYWHERE BOOK FEST, May 1&2
I want to alert everyone to the fabulous event coming up ONLINE on May 1 and 2 — it’s free, and features amazing book people — authors and illustrators of picture books, middle grade novels, and young adult novels. It’s just what we need in this time when we’re all staying home, staying safe, but…
Read MoreJulie Hedlund’s 12 Days of Christmas for Writers 2018 Edition!
Woohooooooo! Julie Hedlund has just announced the 2018 edition of her fabulous 12 Days of Christmas for Writers. If you read my post on Monday, you’ll know I’ve been pacing around with my fingers crossed, eagerly awaiting this announcement. To find out more and to sign up, go to this link: 12 Days of Christmas…
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 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 MoreA Journey to America on NPR’s FROM THE TOP
I shared this post on my other blog a couple of weeks ago, but its message is so important that I wanted to share it here, today, as well. Music can truly be like a candle lighting the darkness, whatever darkness might surround a person. This post will show how music created light in one…
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…
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