“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 …
I was in Singapore recently to speak at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content and was incredibly fortunate to meet Melanie Lee. Melanie was not only the moderator of one of my panels, but is also a children’s book author, a journalist, a multimedia project creator, and a teacher of …
Hello, Picture Book Builders people! This post is brought to you by my friend (and writing extraordinaire) Brenda Maier. ENJOY! 🙂 Nearly everybody loves a picture book with a puppy or kitten on the cover. But a picture book featuring an enormous blue monster? I’m picking up that one. Throw …
Earlier this year, I came to an uncomfortable realization. I owed too many books. Let me clarify that unexpected statement a bit. My HEART did not own too many books, but my HOUSE did. And, while my heart wanted to keep all those books, it also knew — deep down …
Happy book birthday to my writing pal, Linda Skeers! Woo-hooo!!! Look at this cover, folks. Doesn’t that beg to be picked up?! Linda is reeeeally good at writing sweet stories with humor and heart, and those elements abound on these pages, adorably illustrated by the funny and talented Heather Fox. …
As most of you know by now, Katey Howes, an extraordinary author, poet, and human, very unexpectedly passed away last month. I’ve known Katey for several years and I was so very excited that we were going to be presenting together on a poetry panel at ALA in San Diego …
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, …
Hello, Picture Book Builders people. The end of another school year is HERE, and I have the perfect way for all of you to celebrate–Goodnight School. This gem of book is written by my pal and critique buddy Catherine Bailey and illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld. Gift it to a child! …
Hello, my book-loving friends! Today I’m happy to introduce the first two books in a new series from Paw Prints (Baker & Taylor imprint) called BE BOLD!, authored by me. They are Sea Turtle Swims and Kangaroo Hops. I’m guessing these books will be shelved in a library’s nonfiction section. …
Hello, Picture Book Builders people. If you know me, you know I love to write funny and often heartfelt books that star farm animals. Well, I love to READ those kinds of books almost as much. My latest farm animal book crush is Moo Hoo written by Audrey Perrott and …