“What your child reads sets the path for their own self-worth as well as how they see others. Grace Lin is a children’s book author/illustrator whose book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Little, Brown), received the Newbery Book Honor. She shows how the books that are not on your child’s bookshelf are just as important as those that are.
Continue Reading Video: Grace Lin on Windows, Mirrors & Children’s Books »
Mary E. Cronin and Bonnie Jackman
Life is just different for kids of LGBTQ parents.
They navigate awkward questions, tricky social situations, and hetero-normative language on a daily basis.
My wife Bonnie Jackman and I shared sparks for inspiration as well as seeds of conflict for writers in “Re-imagining Families: Writing about Characters with LGBTQ Parents”
Continue Reading Guest Post: Mary E. Cronin on Writing Children & Teens with LGBTQ Parents »
As with a lot of aspects of creative media these days, Disney movies have been criticized for their lack of diversity.
While such criticism is necessary, I think it’s important as well to give praise where it’s due and acknowledge things done right.
So I want to hand it to Disney for featuring resonant Asian-white characters in several of its recent animated movies,
Discussion Guide & Common Core Teacher Guide
Kathryn Tanquary is the first-time author of The Night Parade (Sourcebooks Fire, 2016). From the promotional copy:
“I thought you might sleep through it.” The creature smiled.
Saki’s voice was little more than a whisper.
Continue Reading New Voice: Kathryn Tanquary on The Night Parade »
By Cynsations Readers
Over the past couple of weeks, children’s-YA author Cynthia Leitich Smith put out a call for questions from readers on Cynsations and Twitter. Here are those she elected to tackle and her responses. A few questions were condensed for space and/or clarity.
See also a previous Cynsations reader-interview post from November 2010.
Continue Reading Cynsations Readers Interview Cynthia Leitich Smith »
The Heart of It: Creating Children’s Books that Matter is an online course for aspiring and emerging children’s book writers and illustrators who want to create powerful books for kids while simultaneously coming more fully into their own power as storyteller and artist.
I combine my passion as an educator and activist along with 20 years of experience in creating award-winning multicultural children’s books to craft a course that is a journey of self as much as a practical guide to creating children’s books.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Maya Christina Gonzalez on The Heart of It & Write Now! Make Books »
Why do we write middle grade and young adult books? Perhaps we love to play with words. Or we admire the honesty and realness of kids—and never quite grew up ourselves.
These reasons also apply to those of religious faith, but we have an added motive—to inspire children,
Continue Reading Guest Post: Susan Thogerson Maas on Writing from a Faith-Based Perspective »
Space. Not up, as in the final frontier, but between, as in the distance between you and me.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that kind of space lately, and I’ve been especially curious about what can happen inside of it. What I’ve come to believe is that anything can happen—and everything.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Tamara Ellis Smith on Another Kind of Hurricane »
Check out the book trailer for Wish Girl by Nikki Loftin (Razorbill, 2015, 2016)–now available in paperback. From the promotional copy:
Peter Stone is a quiet boy in a family full of extroverts, musicians, and yellers.
Continue Reading Book Trailer & Giveaway: Wish Girl by Nikki Loftin »
By Patti Buff
for SCBWI Bologna 2016
and Cynthia Leitich Smith‘s Cynsations
Christopher Cheng is the award-winning author of more than 40 children’s books in print and digital formats. The picture book New Year Surprise! is his latest publication.
His other titles include the picture books One Child,
Continue Reading 2016 SCBWI Bologna Author Interview: Christopher Cheng »
