Photo courtesy of Boxer Books
By Clara Hammett
Bernette Ford, author, editor, publisher, and champion of books by people of color died of cancer on June 20. She was 70.
Obituary: Bernette Ford, Who Made Children’s Books More Diverse, Dies at 70 by Neil Genzlinger from the New York Times.
By Elisa Zied
I recently read Liara Tamani’s All the Things We Never Knew (Greenwillow, 2020)—a 2020 Kirkus Reviews Best YA Book of the Year that’s now out in paperback—and I couldn’t put it down. I laughed, cried, and swooned over the romantic, immersive, and layered story—a perfect YA novel.
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Change Sings by Amanda Gorman, illustrated by Loren Long (Viking Books for Young Readers,
I am excited to welcome author-illustrator Deborah Marcero to Cynsations today to talk about her latest work as well as what she loves about the creative process of writing and illustrating books.
Welcome, Deborah! What do you love most about the creative life/being an author? Why?
Continue Reading Author-Illustrator Interview: Deborah Marcero on Whole-Hearted Creating »
Photo credit: Velma Cooper
Celebrated illustrator Floyd Cooper died on Friday, July 16, 2021, in Easton, Pennsylvania after a battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Velma and sons Dayton and Kai and his grandchildren. He was 65.
Today, I am excited to welcome Clara Hammett to the Cynsations Team! Clara joins us as a reporter-at-large covering the many facets of the children’s-YA community. I know that Clara’s enthusiasm for books and their creators will surely endear her to Cynsations readers.
Welcome to Cynsations! Could you tell us about your vision for your coverage here at the blog?
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Magic Like That by Samara Cole Doyon (Lee & Low Books, 2021).
Author/Illustrator Insights
I am excited to welcome Rita Williams-Garcia back to Cynsations. Rita is the celebrated author of One Crazy Summer (HarperCollins, 2010), Clayton Byrd Goes Underground (HarperCollins, 2017), and Jumped (HarperCollins, 2009). Welcome, Rita.
Tell us a little bit about your newest release,
Continue Reading Rita Williams-Garcia Weaves Truth with Imagination in A Sitting in St. James »
By Bree Rae
Award-winning children’s book author Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton (Inuvialuit) died on April 21, 2021. She was 85 years old.
Remembering Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton, children’s book author and residential school survivor from Quill and Quire. Peek: “Born on Baillie Island in the Arctic Ocean, the author of Fatty Legs: A True Story,
Continue Reading In Memory: Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton »
Above image: AJ Eversole with her well-read copy of Buffalo Gal by Bill Wallace (Holiday House, 1992).
It’s my pleasure to introduce our newest Cynsational reporter, AJ Eversole, who will cover children’s-YA writing, illustration, publishing and other book news from Indigenous authors and illustrators. And like me,