Cabbages! Carrots! Cauliflower! IN OUR GARDEN, a new picture book out next week from G.P. Putnam’s Sons, has all those veggies plus a heartwarming story of a student with an idea, a school with a rooftop garden, and plants and people that blossom and bloom. I’m so happy to welcome …
Sometimes, there’s that person in your life who just gets you. Your BFF. Your bestie. Your boo. Maybe they’re someone you’ve known forever. Maybe you’ve only just met. You might love them platonically. Or romantically. They might live close by. Or far away. Eliza Wheeler and I — with some …
I read a lot of picture books in 2021. And, I talked about some of them on this blog. But, as I looked back on the year, I found three books I truly meant to talk about, but did not. So, now seems like a great time to highlight these …
People learn in different ways. Some, by reading words. Others, by listening to or watching people explain things. And others, by looking at graphs, charts or pictures. I’ve always learned best by reading. In eighth grade, I even taught myself to do a cartwheel and the splits by reading a …
When you’re a picture book author, you know all about why you wrote the book you wrote. What inspired it. What you were trying to convey. And then … then … your words go off to an illustrator, and that person brings a whole new level of talent and skill …
Ever since I can remember, my father had a thermos of hot tea with him. It sat on his desk when he was working, rolled around my feet in the car, and caused alarm when he tried to bring it through airport security after 9/11. (They made him pour it …
Lately, I’ve been reading picture books about “hidden history” as research for a manuscript that I’ve been struggling with. These books cover historical people and events that have been left out of school history books, often deliberately and usually because they involve people of color. Leah Henderson’s moving A DAY …
When I was in grade school, I hated rope-climbing day in gym class. I was skinny and gawky and uncoordinated, so I’d hang desperately two feet off the ground while my more athletic classmates reached the ceiling with ease. I didn’t think I was strong. In Jen Hill’s and my …
Sometimes, life is hard. And, when it is, remembering that there are lovely things alongside the hard ones can be helpful. Not that that’s easy to do when you’re sick, sad, scared or angry. That’s one reason why TEN BEAUTIFUL THINGS by Molly Beth Griffin and Maribel Lechuga (Charlesbridge, 2021) …
So, I recently sold a book. Which is always exciting. But, this book sale was especially exciting because it was my 22nd sale. Twenty-two books might seem like an odd milestone to celebrate. Why not 20 or 25? But, I have a reason. When I went to my first-ever conference …