By Kekla Magoon
As I was working on the initial draft of my new picture book biography, The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Leadership and Legacy illustrated by Laura Freeman (Quill Tree Books, 2021), I naturally gravitated toward reading biographies written by other children’s writers, for inspiration and to gather a sense of the many and varied styles that were possible.
By Kekla Magoon
“In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute,” wrote Thurgood Marshall, in one of the landmark cases he presided over as a U.S. Supreme Court justice. Indeed, Justice Marshall spent most of his life working to ensure recognition of the humanity of all people within his nation’s laws.
Today I’m pleased to introduce Cynsations readers to Hollis Kurman, whose debut picture book, Counting Kindness: Ten Ways to Welcome Refugee Children, illustrated by Barroux (Charlesbridge, 2020), has been released in six countries so far this year, with two more countries planned for 2021.
Continue Reading Author Interview: Hollis Kurman Highlights Human Rights in Her New Picture Book »
By Erik Talkin
I had been the talented “nearly” man for a while, with a middle-grade that was purchased by a mid-level publisher that promptly decided to get out of the MG market before the book was published.
This was followed by a novel that went to the final stages of acquisition with a major publisher,
Continue Reading Guest Post: Erik Talkin on Finding the Book You Are Uniquely Qualified to Write »
If you love old dogs and small kids, Martha Brockenbrough’s newly published picture book This Old Dog, illustrated by Gabriel Alborozo (Levine Querido, 2020) will capture your attention and your heart as you experience a friendship blooming between “old dog” and “his girl.” The story is remarkably well written,
Continue Reading Author Interview: Martha Brockenbrough on Real-Life Inspirations for Stories »
As a talented author and poet, how does your love of poetry influence your picture books?
Poetry is where I got my start. I have loved words from the moment I meet them and found it was great fun to twist them around and make them sing! I wrote my first poem when I was eight years old and continued to and through adulthood.
Continue Reading Awesome Authors: Danna Smith on How Poetry Inspires Picture Books »
We welcome picture book debut authors Hayley Barrett and Jasmyn Wright to Cynsations today! They share their inspiration for their debut books as well as some of the challenges in bringing those stories to life.
Hayley Barrett
What were the best and worst moments of your publishing journey?
Jennifer Lane Wilson—a beloved author, loving mother, and wife—passed away from cancer Oct. 13 in Topeka, Kansas. She was forty-eight.
Obituary: Her family and friends shared their reflections here.
As news of her death broke, Jennifer’s friends shared their reflections: Clelia Gore,
Today I am so pleased to welcome the illustrator/author debut duo Larissa and Keith Marantz. From being inspired by their own children to working as a team, they’ll share their unique path to publication.
What first inspired you to write for young readers?
Keith: Well,
Today we welcome author-illustrators Flavia Z. Drago (whose sketchbook is pictured above) and Nicola Killen, who highlight the importance of having lots of ideas as creators of children’s books. They’ll share the inspirations behind their recent works, Gustavo the Shy Ghost (Candlewick,
Continue Reading Author-Illustrators Flavia Z. Drago & Nicola Killen on Cultivating Lots of Ideas »