SARA: In Mixed-Up Mooncakes, written by Christina Matula and Erica Lyons and illustrated by Tracy Subisak, Ruby gets ready for the Mid-Autumn Festival with her nainai and Sukkot with her zayde. Told in an appealing voice and adorable watercolor and pastel illustrations, Ruby takes the reader from her yard to …
It takes about 4 hours to make a challah and about 6 years to make a book about one. At least this was my experience for my most recent picture book, Challah for Shabbat Tonight. Below is a behind-the-scenes look at my sometimes-messy writing kitchen, plus a GIVEAWAY! Recipe timelines …
Seeker of Truth: Kailash Satyarthi’s Fight to End Child Labor by Srividhya Venkat and Danica da Silva Pereira is a new picture biography detailing the work of the Indian children’s rights activist. Readers begin our look at Satyarthi’s life with a story in a story. As a young child, Satyarthi …
“Sara!” a voice called across the exhibit floor of the ALA Annual Conference a couple weeks ago. I looked around for a colleague or friend, but instead found a stranger. She handed me a hot pink ribbon to stick on my attendee badge boldly printed with “THE SARA CLUB.” Also …
While I love biographies, and teachers sometimes check them out for lessons, this part of the library collection has not been particularly popular with my students. They do, however, love sports books, whether of the fun facts variety, odes to favorite local teams, or photo-heavy manuals. A few weeks ago, …
PEACHES by Gabriele Davis and Kim Holt tells the story of a little girl attempting to surprise her father with a homemade peach cobbler. This isn’t just any cobbler, though. This is the recipe her mother loved to make before she passed away. This tale of the way food creates …
NOURA’S CRESCENT MOON by Zainab Khan and Nabila Adani is the warm and gentle story of a little girl who marks the end of Ramadan by searching for the new moon signifying Eid ul-Fitr festivities will begin. This moon sighting will be especially meaningful to Noura as this year is …
As soon as I heard the premise of Tricky Chopsticks by Sylvia Chen and Fanny Liem, I immediately added it to my school library wishlist. Following the story of Jenny Chow, who must come up with a solution for her chopstick troubles in order to succeed at the family Chopsticks …
One of the best things about my path to publication has been the formation of Kidlit Works, the fantastic debut group I am a member of. I got to know other writers with books coming out this year—and their stories. And now that it’s 2024, I get to talk about …
My kindergartners and first graders can’t get enough of fairy tales. And the second graders have a whole unit for studying folktales and fairytales from around the world. Ying Chang Compestine is queen of retellings, and RA PU ZEL AND THE STINKY TOFU, with its feisty heroine, adorable pup, and …