Today is the last day of my Cynsations Spooky Middle Grade Takeover! I thought I’d go out with a bang and give you a double-librarian interview.
Since a lot of spooky middle grade books tread that fine line between upper elementary and lower middle school age,
Welcome to Day 3 of my Cynsations Spooky Middle Grade Takeover!
Today’s post is an author interview with fellow spooky middle grade writer, Adrianna Cuevas. Adrianna’s debut novel, The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez (FSG), comes out May 12. It’s now available for preorder.
Continue Reading Guest Interview: Adrianna Cuevas on Spooky Stories Inspired by Folklore »
It’s Day 2 of my Cynsations spooky middle grade takeover!
Today’s post is an interview with Jane Pica, the illustrator for The Second Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street (Amulet, Aug. 18, 2020). She is responsible for the gorgeous cover and the interior illustrations.
Continue Reading Guest Interview: Illustrator Jane Pica on Drawing Spooky Stories »
My next book, The Second Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street, is coming out from Abrams/Amulet on Aug. 18 and is now available for preorder. To celebrate, I’m taking over Cynsations this week to talk about spooky middle grade!
Continue Reading Guest Post: Cory Putman Oakes on Writing Spooky Middle Grade Books »
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gail Vannelli, Gayleen Rabukukk, and Stephani Eaton for Cynsations
Author/Illustrator Insights
Group Interview: The Sowing Circle Sisterhood by Elizabeth Bird from School Library Journal. Peek: Kelly Starling Lyons: “My writing powers are fueled by imagination,
Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Susan Jeffers died January 22 at the age of 77.
Her book Three Jovial Huntsmen (Bradbury, 1973) received Caldecott Honors in 1974.
Jeffers studied art at the Pratt Institute, then worked in the children’s art department at three different publishing houses.
Working on other illustrators’
As an author, poet, and chronicler—and clinical social worker—my writing tends to explore social-emotional learning (SEL). While I deeply value the STEM and STEAM frameworks (and poetry and stories!) my own commitment and abilities lean toward creating work that handles issues that promote and build on SEL, without which STEM and STEAM learning cannot thrive.
Continue Reading Heart and Spirit: An Interview with Lisa Jenn Bigelow »
By Kim Rogers
Today we’re chatting with Dr. Debbie Reese (Nambé Pueblo) and Dr. Jean Mendoza (Euro-American, U.S.) about their middle grade book, An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People (Beacon Press, 2019), which is an adaptation of Dr. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s book, An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (Beacon Press 2015).
Continue Reading Native Voices: Co-Authors Dr. Debbie Reese & Dr. Jean Mendoza On Writing History »
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gail Vannelli, Gayleen Rabukukk, and Stephani Eaton for Cynsations
Author/Illustrator Insights
Linda Sue Park with Matthew Winner from The Children’s Book Podcast on YouTube. Peek: “When you write for young people you actually get a chance to introduce them to concepts and ideas…You get to provoke them into thinking about things they may not have thought of before.
Mina Javaherbin‘s latest picture book, My Grandma and Me, illustrated by Lindsey Yankey (Candlewick, 2019) explores the tender relationship between a young girl and her grandmother.
I’m excited to share insights and inspiration about her writing process with Cynsations readers!
Congratulations on My Grandma and Me!
Continue Reading Author Interview: Mina Javaherbin on Writing Family & Faith »