Manuscript Transformations: Staying Open to New Approaches & Books!

I have accumulated a big, beautiful pile of rejection letters over the years. I believe the more rejection letters you get, the easier it is to let them roll off your back and keep writing. But what really makes my pile beautiful is that I have identified some interesting patterns …

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Be a Tree, Q&A w/Maria Gianferrari + GIVEAWAY!

“Maria Gianferrari has climbed fig trees in Italy, stood under stately coastal redwoods and twisted Torrey pines, marveled at mitten-shaped sassafras leaves, colorful coral trees and sawtooth oak acorn nests. She lives with her family, including dog, Maple, in a house encircled by trees.” Jennifer: Maria, your book, Be a …

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TEN BEAUTIFUL THINGS is one beautiful book

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) …

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THE BEAR IN MY FAMILY by Maya Tatsukawa

I like checking out ALA’s Geisel Award winners, given to authors and illustrators of “the most distinguished” books for beginning readers. I’m not exactly sure what the judging criteria are, but—since they’re geared to the newest readers—I figure the books are likely to have engaging stories told in simple language. …

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JUNE ALMEIDA, VIRUS DETECTIVE! The Woman Who Discovered the First Human Coronavirus (+GIVEAWAY)

One year ago, everything seemed to change overnight. Suddenly we were hunting down toilet paper, sewing masks, learning to Zoom, and doing “drive by” birthday parties — all because of a microscopic particle called coronavirus. The Covid-19 pandemic also shined a light on a brilliant scientist named June Almeida. Most …

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