Congratulations to Margarita Engle on Island Creatures (Atheneum, July 8, 2025), a young adult novel in verse about childhood friends, once lost and now reconnected, and their fight to protect endangered animals. From the publisher’s description:
Every day, Vida reads to the creatures at the wildlife rescue center and dreams of her childhood in Cuba,
Continue Reading Throwback Thursday: Margarita Engle Uses Verse to Convey Emotional Essence »
Anita Fitch Pazner and I studied at the Vermont College Of Fine Arts together. I saw earlier drafts of this brand new book, and I’m thrilled for its release. Words Matter is coming to us from Groundwood Books in September 2025. It’s an honor to welcome Anita to the Cynsations blog.
We welcome Marcella Pixley to Cynsations. In this interview, Marcella talks about her writing process, including her habit of art journaling while drafting novels. She generously shares her behind-the-scenes work that goes into bringing a book to life. Her middle grade verse novel Neshama deals with family trauma and healing,
Congratulations to Nikki Grimes on the upcoming publication of A Cup of Quiet, illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson (Bloomsbury, April 15, 2025). From the publisher:
When the squeal of tires and thrum of Grandpa’s hammer fill the air, Grandma gets thirsty for a cup of quiet.
“That’s silly,
Continue Reading Wayback Wednesday: Author Nikki Grimes on The Power of Words & Advice for Writers »
Thank you for your ongoing support and enthusiasm for Cynsations!
Effective immediately, the Cynsations digital magazine is on hiatus. Find links to posts from our latest issue below:
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole, Mitu Malhotra, and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Dream a Dress, Dream a Poem: Dressmaker and Poet, Myra Viola Wilds by Nancy Johnson James,
Cynsations welcomes two outstanding children’s book authors, Sue Ganz-Schmitt and Maureen Charles, whose newest books are nonfiction biographies. Sue’s nonfiction picture book, Skybound!: Starring Mary Myers as Carlotta, Daredevil Aeronaut and Scientist, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno (Calkin Creek, 2024) is about a courageous and determined female aeronaut/scientist/inventor who designed and built gas balloons,
Spotlight image: Author Marta Crisp
Author Marta Crisp
Marta M Crisp (Marty), a well-known children’s author, died from complications of the flu on Dec. 29, 2024, according to the Hampton Cove Funeral Home. Marty worked for many years as a journalist at the Lancaster Sunday News in Lancaster,
Spotlight image: Illustrator S.D. Nelson and co-authors Donna Janell Bowman and Billy Mills at a 2024 event.
I’m thrilled to welcome fellow Austin author and Vermont College alumnx Donna Janell Bowman to discuss collaborating with Olympian Billy Mills on Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills,
Continue Reading Author Interview: Donna Janell Bowman on Collaborating with Olympian Billy Mills »
Spotlight image: Co-Authors Reneé Critcher Lyons and Helen Kampion at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center bookstore.
Today I’m pleased to welcome two fellow Vermont College alumni, Helen Kampion and Reneé Critcher Lyons to Cynsations to discuss their recent picture book biography, Rollin’ On Down The Line: Lady Bird Johnson’s 1964 Whistle-Stop Tour for Civil Rights,