When a book makes me laugh out loud a time or two, that’s a book I’m going to love. When I can’t stop giggling/smiling through an entire book that also emits massive doses of that elusive element we call HEART, that’s a keeper—a book I’m adding to my permanent collection. …
Hello! I’m so pleased to have author (and fellow Chapel Hill resident) Sue Soltis here today to chat about her beautiful new book The Stars Just Up the Street, illustrated by Christine Davenier (Candlewick Press, 2020). In the book, young Mabel—with assistance from her grandfather—convinces neighbors and town officials to …
Over the years, I have bonded with Kelly Starling Lyons through a sisterhood of storytelling and Syracuse University (SU). We graduated from college in the 90s, and we both studied magazine journalism at SU’s Newhouse School. One of our professors was the great Bill Glavin, an angel of a professor …
It’s December! (How did that happen already?) So it’s time to think about great new holiday books. One that caught my eye is THE HANUKKAH MAGIC OF NATE GADOL, by Arthur A. Levine, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. Arthur A. Levine, successful publisher and children’s book editor for over 30 years, …
Like most of you, I am ready to shut the door on 2020. Let’s go ahead and take a peek at some of the good stuff 2021 has in store for us…. I also have three books coming out in 2021 that I’m pretty excited about: Not Now, Cow illustrated …
I have noticed a happy trend of many book makers teaming up with their local Independent Bookstores to offer signed books this holiday/pandemic season. It does take some extra effort on both people’s parts. It usually requires that the bookstore is close enough that the author/illustrator doesn’t mind stopping in …
Say hello to my crit partner and friend, Norene Paulson. She looks like a happy camper, doesn’t she? That’s because her DEBUT book, BENNY’S TRUE COLORS (Imprint, illustrated by Anne Passchier), flip-flaps out into the world TODAY!!! BENNY’S TRUE COLORS is the story of a sweet, lovable little bat who …
I was drawn to this book in the bookstore because of the cover, though I can’t place which one, it reminded me of a book or books from my childhood. Opening it up and leafing through it I was mesmerized with both the style and the subject matter—a myriad of …
Who doesn’t love the Harlem Globetrotters? With their precision shots and hilarious stunts, these phenomenal athletes are admired around the world. But there’s much more to this remarkable team than you might think. My new picture book SWISH! THE SLAM-DUNKING, ALLEY-OOPING, HIGH-FLYING HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS (illustrated by Don Tate), which releases …
Whenever words come to me in the middle of the night, I embrace them. I get up, grab the notepad from my nightstand, and scribble everything down fast. For FLYING HIGH: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles, I was immersed in research about Simone’s life for several months. And …