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 Kim Rogers
Today, we are thrilled to have Dawn Quigley join us on Cynsations. Dawn is a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, ND and the author of the hilarious chapter book series published with Heartdrum/HarperCollins (May 11, 2021). The first book in the series is Jo Jo Makoons: The Used to Be Best Friend.
Continue Reading Native Voices: Author Dawn Quigley on Humor, Chapter Books & Decolonizing Grading »
By Chris Barton and Jennifer Ziegler
Time is everything.
We know that’s not quite how the old saying goes. But time — the scarcity of it, the abundance of it, the passage of it, how we choose to fill ours or ask others to spend theirs — has shaped all aspects of our new kidkit video series,
By Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell
Janet: More than a year ago, back in February 2020 (although it seems like 2010…) we had an open call for poems for HOP TO IT: Poems to Get You Moving (Pomelo Books, 2020). Our plan was to curate an anthology of 75 poems that encourage movement—short poems to help “get the wiggles out.”
We first thought about doing a movement-themed book at the end of 2015,
By Kathi Appelt
This interview includes plot spoilers for Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Heartdrum, June 1, 2021). You may want to bookmark and return to it after reading the story.
Cover art by Floyd Cooper (Muscogee); from the promotional copy:
Lily and Wendy have been best friends since they became stepsisters.
Continue Reading Guest Interview: Kathi Appelt & Cynthia Leitich Smith on Rebirth in the Neversea »
At age 8, Aslan Tudor arrived in North Dakota to help stop a pipeline. Aslan and Kelly’s book, Young Water Protectors (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018), is about his experiences in the Oceti Sakowin Camp at Standing Rock.
From the promotional copy:
“Learn about what exactly happened there,
Happy New Year and welcome back to Cynsations!
We love bringing you upbeat and useful information and inspiration about the children’s-YA literature community, writing, illustration, and publishing. And we are particularly excited about what we have lined up for you in the coming months.
As always,
I am so pleased to welcome Elisa Boxer, author of The Voice That Won The Vote: How One Woman’s Words Made History, illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger (Sleeping Bear, 2020). Today Elisa shares her thoughts on writing for children and the importance of each voice.
Continue Reading Interview: Elisa Boxer on Writing, Voting & the Importance of Each Voice »
What an honor it’s been to revisit my first few books and to re-envision them for today’s young readers:
Thank you, Cynsations readers, for joining us in the 16th year of this blog! We are so grateful to you all for reading, sharing and supporting our efforts. You’re the whole reason we’re doing this.
Thanks also to those of you who submitted questions for Cynthia over our winter hiatus. Full disclosure: Some of the wording was changed to fit the style of this blog.