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,
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.
Congratulations to Michaela Goade (Tlingit) on Berry Song (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2022)! It’s the first book Michaela has authored as well as illustrated, and it received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, The Horn Book, and School Library Journal.
Take a look back at Michaela’s 2020 Cynsations interview discussing the creation of her Caldecott-award winning We Are Water Protectors,
Continue Reading Throwback Thursday: Michaela Goade Shares Her Illustration Process »
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Finding My Dance by Ria Thundercloud, illustrated by Kalila J. Fuller (Penguin Workshop, 2022).
Author/Illustrator Insights
Shapes and Lines and Light: A Katie Yamasaki Interview by Betsy Bird from School Library Journal.
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Be a Good Ancestor by Leona Prince and Gabrielle Prince, illustrated by Carla Joseph (Orca Book Publishers, 2022).
Author/Illustrator Insights
