Jen Petro-Roy is the debut author of P.S. I Miss You (Feiwel & Friends, 2018). From the promotional copy:
Evie is heartbroken when her strict Catholic parents send her pregnant sister, Cilla, away to stay with a distant great aunt. All Evie wants is for her older sister to come back.
Continue Reading New Voice: Jen Petro-Roy on Epistolary Novels & P.S. I Miss You »
By Traci Sorell
I love a good picture book biography and read so many in elementary school, especially those featuring women.
So when I learned Patricia Valdez’s debut picture book would feature the work of Joan Proctor, a zoologist researching amphibians in the early twentieth century, I knew there’d be a great story there.
Continue Reading New Voice: Patricia Valdez on Joan Proctor, Dragon Doctor »
Story beginnings are so important, it’s no wonder they get a lot of attention.
Writers not only have to come up with a fresh idea, they have to nail an opening hook that sets up the main character, grounds the reader in a specific setting, and gets a compelling story problem rolling.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Lori Mortensen on Writing Story Endings & If Wendell Had a Walrus »
Russell Freedman, 88, Writer of History for Young Readers, Dies by Neil Genzlinger from The New York Times. Peek:
“Russell Freedman, who brought readable, relatable history to young readers in dozens of well-researched, generously illustrated books, died on March 16 in Manhattan.”
“The prolific nonfiction author — winner of the 1988 Newbery Medal for Lincoln: A Photobiography (Clarion,
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Robin Galbraith,
Gayleen Rabukukk & Kate Pentecost
Author/ Illustrator Insights
Donna Janell Bowman and Abraham Lincoln’s Dueling Words! By Adi Rule from The Launch Pad. Peek:
“Initially, I was a bit nervous about shining a light on an event that Lincoln himself was ashamed of,
By Traci Sorell
To say that I’m thrilled to feature Daria Peoples-Riley, fellow Epic Eighteen member, today on Cynsations is an understatement.
This Is It (Greenwillow, 2018), her debut picture book as an author-illustrator, follows a young girl of color getting ready for a ballet audition.
Jessie Janowitz is the debut author of The Doughnut Fix (Sourcebooks, April 2018). From the promotional copy:
Tristan isn’t Gifted or Talented like his sister Jeanine, and he’s always been okay with that because he can make a perfect chocolate chip cookie and he lives in the greatest city in the world.
Continue Reading New Voice: Jessie Janowitz on Finding a Literary Agent & The Doughnut Fix »
I’ve been thinking a lot about page turns in picture books recently, and all of the amazing things they can do, including:
Show the passage of time
Using page turns to show the passage of time is probably the usage that everybody is familiar with.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Agent-Author Tracy Marchini on Page Turns in Picture Books »
In this video from Reading Rockets, Rudine Sims Bishop, professor emerita from Ohio State University, speaks on Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Doors as metaphors for diversity in children’s-YA literature.
See also Rudine Sims Bishop: In Appreciation by Sam Bloom from Reading While White and Mirrors,
Continue Reading Video: Rudine Sims Bishop on Mirrors, Windows & Sliding Glass Doors »
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Robin Galbraith,
Gayleen Rabukukk & Kate Pentecost
Author/Illustrator Insights
Islandborn Author Junot Diaz on Representation in Children’s Books by Denise Balkisson from The Globe and Mail. Peek:
“I myself think that it’s important to give children their due,
