By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Love Makes a Garden Grow by Taeeun Yoo (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 2023).
Author/Illustrator Insights
Cover Reveal for When a Brown Girl Flees by Aamna Qureshi from We Need Diverse Books.
Congratulations to Christina Soontornvat on the publication of Legends of Lotus Island: The Guardian Test, illustrated by Kevin Hong (Scholastic, March 2023). From the promotional copy:
Young Plum is shocked to discover that she’s been accepted to the Guardian Academy on Lotus Island, an elite school where kids learn how to transform into Guardians,
Writing can often be lonely and isolating. How do authors address this? Some co-author books, others write in public places, and others find a community. One such place is the Writers’ Loft in Hudson, Massachusetts, which offered me a place to meet other writers, build on my craft, and be surrounded by dedicated kid lit folks.
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Jovita Wore Pants: The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter by Aida Salazar, illustrated by Molly Mendoza (Scholastic Press,
Congratulations to illustrator Don Tate and author Sherri Duskey Rinker on the publication of Roto and Roy: To the Rescue! (Little Brown, March 21, 2023).
From the promotional copy: When a flash flood threatens a nearby town, helicopter Roto and pilot Roy soar to the rescue! Quick—a truck needs to be hoisted to safety!
Continue Reading Throwback Thursday: Don Tate’s Journey to Becoming an Artist »
Path to publication stories always intrigue me, especially those that feel very serendipitous. Take, for instance, Ian Falconer‘s Olivia (Atheneum, 2000), a story he originally wrote for his three-year-old niece (also named Olivia) as a Christmas gift in 1996.
“I thought I’d do a little book for her,
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Justice Rising: 12 Amazing Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Kim Holt (Viking Books for Young Readers,
By: AJ Eversole
Spotlight image: Carole Lindstrom and Steph Littlebird present My Powerful Hair at the LibLearnX conference.
Today on the blog we have an interview with Carole Lindstrom. Her picture book, We Are Water Protectors (Roaring Press Books, 2020), received extensive critical acclaim, earning the Caldecott Medal along with many Best of Year awards.
By Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley
Lindsay: Thanks to Cynsations for inviting us to discuss the collaboration process for our latest picture-book poetry anthology, No World Too Big: Young People Fighting Global Climate Change, co-edited by Keila V. Dawson, Jeanette Bradley,
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Remember by Joy Harjo, illustrated by Michaela Goade (Random House Studio, 2023).
Author/Illustrator Insights
The Reading Culture Podcast: Eye of the Tiger: Ellen Oh on Rising Up for the Right To Read from Listen Notes.