By Cynthia Leitich Smith & Gayleen Rabakukk
Author & Illustrator Interviews
YA Authors Nic Stone and Jared Reck Chat About Crafting Characters, Their Paths to Publication, and More by Shelley Diaz from School Library Journal. Peek from Nic Stone: “For me,
By Cynthia Leitich Smith & Gayleen Rabakukk
Author Interviews
Five Questions for Liz Garton Scanlon, Author of Caldecott-honored Book from the Writers’ League of Texas. Peek: “I think in my transition from poet to children’s author, the biggest leap was, ‘Why does something always have to happen?’
By Cate Berry
The third annual Picture Book Summit online writing conference will be Oct. 7.
To find out more about this opportunity, which not only allows, but encourages attendance in pajamas, I interviewed one of the founders, Emma Walton Hamilton.
What prompted you to start the Picture Book Summit?
Continue Reading Guest Interview: Emma Walton Hamilton on Picture Book Summit »
By Cynthia Leitich Smith & Gayleen Rabakukk
Interview: Mitali Perkins on You Bring the Distant Near by Elissa Gershowitz and Anatasia M. Collins from The Horn Book. Peek: “You say Ranee is a tricky character to love, but the USA, too, can be tricky to love for new arrivals like her.
The One and Only Ivan: Meet the Author Book Reading from TeachingBooks.net. Peek: “Katherine Applegate introduces and shares some of the backstory for creating The One and Only Ivan.”
Empowering Parents to Increase Literacy in the Home by Sarah Walzer from Lee &
Activity Pages & Teacher Guide
Congratulations to Emma J. Virján on the release of What This Story Needs Is A Pig In A Wig (HarperCollins, 2015). Peek:
What this story needs is a pig in a wig, on a boat in a moat with a frog,
During the pandemic some baked sourdough bread, others learned to knit or gardened. Author Mary Tony reflected on life deeply and compiled the stories of her childhood adventures of growing up near Chitina, Alaska into a memoir, Windswept: Chitina Alaska Childhood, illustrated by Pyrce Raphael (Fathom Publishing Company,
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: The ABCs of Asian American History by Renee Macalino Rutledge, illustrated by Lauren Akazawa Mendez (Bloom Books for Young Readers,
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.
The Cynsational Books of 2022 were selected by Cynthia Leitich Smith from nominations by Cynsations Team members.
The selections:
Berry Song by Michaela Goade (Tlingit/Haida) (Little, Brown, 2022) From the promotional copy:
On an island at the edge of a wide, wild sea, a girl and her grandmother gather gifts from the earth.
