iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Hello #EduSky #EduLib #Skybrarian #TeacherSky! 👋 I’m traveling for #schoolvisits in the Raleigh Durham area on April 24 & 25, and have time for 1 or 2 more! If you’re interested in a discounted #authorvisit for your classroom, please email me carriekruckbooks@gmail.com ! carriekruck.com/visits

An author visit with Carrie Kruck and a group of second grade students, arms outstretched as they “find their spark” together!

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

LIBRARIES ARE THE BEST! Mine has seeds! And my books! Support your local library! #kidlit #library

Screenshot of a reel with an antique card catalog and the caption “The Seed Library isn’t the only new thing blooming at the Etna Library…”

Caption: “We also have local authorities Carrie Kruck’s newest picture book: Alfred Blooms”

The picture book Alfred Blooms by Carrie Kruck and Carmen Mok sits on the antique card catalog. The cover shows a boy with a yellow bird perched on his head, and blue and purple flowers blooming all over him.

Caption: “And don’t forget Iggy!” The book Iggy Who Breathes Fire is shown in front of the “Town Library 1905”

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Today’s the day that Alfred Blooms! By me and @carmenmok.bsky.social, available now from @randomhousekids.bsky.social. Visit my website to see all my Alfred Blooms events this spring, starting this Saturday at Still North Books. I would love to read with you! carriekruck.com/events

The cover of Alfred Blooms by Carrie Kruck & Carmen Mok shows a boy covered in blue, yellow, and purple flowers and a cheerful yellow bird perched on his head.

A black and white pencil sketch showing a girl and a boy enjoying muffins together while butterflies fly around the flowers growing from the boy’s hair and pockets.

A colorful, whimsical illustration of a yard full of children playing on a swing and skipping rope.

A black and white pencil sketch of a boy covered in spilled wildflower seeds after a great big sneeze.

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Eric Smith @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

In case you want some sweet news today. I’m volunteering at the book fair at my kid’s school, and discovered Dav Pilkey paid for the whole thing. For the entire school. Every kid pre-k through fifth grade (the whole school) goes home with two free books.

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Katie Slivensky @kslivensky.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

Bringing this back because honestly I don't know how to help the world right now, but I do know that this helped many individual kids last fall. ❤️ I bought more books so I can give them away again. Please let me know if you know a kid or class who needs a #kidlit book with this message right now. ⬇️

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Chuck Wendig @chuckwendig.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

The thing about so-called generative artificial intelligence is, the intelligence isn't artificial. It's real. It's OURS. The techbros stole our intelligence (our data, our thoughts, our stories, our art) and used the software to regurgitate it and spackle it together into digital particleboard.

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Adam Rex @adamrex.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Folks, I need help—maybe one of you knows the right person to talk to. SodaStream ought to have commercials where Patrick Stewart points and says, “Make it soda.” Does anyone know somebody on their marketing team, or

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

I’m waiting with 1791 other people for a fish to ring a doorbell and it’s beautiful.

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Link to Libraries is doing amazing work in Western MA, building home libraries book by book in underserved areas, and I was so thrilled to work with them and meet these bright young sparks 🔥 www.linktolibraries.org/link-to-libr... #kidlit #EduSky

SPRINGFIELD, MA - Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - On Friday, February 28, 2025, Link to Libraries brought two children's book authors, Kari Allen and Carrie Kruck, to share their work and passion for books and reading with students at Sumner Avenue Elementary in Springfield and Lambert-Lavoie Elementary in Chicopee. In addition to sharing stories about their journey to becoming authors, Allen read a book from her Maddie and Mabel early chapter book series and Carrie Kruck shared her debut picture book Iggy Who Breathes Fire.

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

😂😂😂😂 I think not 🥴

A notification from my clearly drunk phone claiming that last week I averaged only 16 minutes of screen time per day on this device.

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Andrew Ihla @andrewihla.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

One of the really special things about Sesame Street was always these little art films that were less about teaching a specific thing than they were about instilling a sort of meditative sense of wonder at how the world works.

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

I appreciate this book so much

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

My delightful child helped me model these ADORABLE tattoos of Carmen Mok’s art from our upcoming #kidlit book Alfred Blooms. I love them so! Please consider preordering from my brilliant #IndieBookstore (they ship!) and I’ll send you some!🙏🏻 stillnorthbooks.com/ablooms-preo... #BookSky #kidlitart

A child’s arm covered in temporary tattoos of art from the illustrated picture book Alfred Blooms. The tattoos include a blue and yellow flower with purple leaves, and butterflies colored pink, blue and green.

A child’s arm with a temporary tattoo of cheerful yellow bird from the illustrated picture book Alfred Blooms.

A hand covered in temporary tattoos of hand-painted blue and yellow flowers with purple vines reaches for the picture book Alfred Blooms, which has the same art on the spine.

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

A lovely review from Booklist! Please consider helping Alfred bloom with a preorder from my lovely #independentbookstore! 🙏🏻 🌻 stillnorthbooks.com/ablooms-preo...

Booklist, March 1, 2025
Alfred Blooms
By Carrie Kruck. Illus. by Carmen Mok.
Mar. 2025.
Alfred lives at one end of the street, Lulu at the other. Lulu’s yard is full of life, with plants and friends in abundance, while Alfred’s muddy surroundings are less inviting. He tries to beautify his space but accidentally plants wildflowers all over himself. When he literally starts to bloom, the gouache, colored-pencil, and graphite illustrations humorously depict flowers sprouting from his hair and nose. Lulu welcomes and helps him, underscoring that it was Alfred who needed to accept himself all along rather than that others were rejecting him. The setting is fanciful, with Alfred’s house shaped like mushrooms, but the feelings are realistic. Alfred is searching for beauty, kindness, and friendship. Lulu’s warm environment is a reflection of her personal capacity. No family members are depicted, but the interpretation could be made that Alfred’s circumstances are different from Lulu’s based on the size of the houses and the state of the yards. Readers will empathize with Alfred’s plight in this multilayered story and cheer him on as he grows from floundering to flourishing.
— Lucinda Whitehurst

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

I just learned that a local bookstore chose my picture book IGGY WHO BREATHES FIRE for their story time that morning. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

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Rajani LaRocca @rajanilarocca.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

Feel like this book is more relevant than ever right now. We are getting a reminder of what the world was like before vaccines.

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

I just learned that a local bookstore chose my picture book IGGY WHO BREATHES FIRE for their story time that morning. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

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Adam Rex @adamrex.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Remember all the "Find 10 Things Wrong with This Picture" puzzles we did as kids? The fun thing about AI art is we never have to stop playing those.

AI illustration of a woman in her library with a cat that all looks pretty good until you focus closely onto almost any detail.

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

I think I’ve been doing this all wrong 😆

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Do you ever just want to stand on a mountaintop and shout - “No, like, you don’t understand, I REALLY love books!!!” ?

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Liz Lazar (she/her) @lizlazarlit.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Want to raise compassionate, humans who transcend hatred and prejudice? Read TO THE OTHER SIDE, by Erika Meza, with your kids. With simple, accessible language and interpretive illustrations, this #picturebook provides opportunity for open-ended discussion about concepts of immigration & fairness.

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Art is how we understand and connect and resist and move forward. “It is EXACTLY the time for what we do.” YES. Now more than ever.

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

This is TRULY horrifying. Illustrators are STORYTELLERS, and the idea that you can pop in some prompts and spit out an image “in their style” is deeply disrespectful to their artistry.

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

And if you look closely, you might even find a Little Free Library on one of the pages 🥰

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

This morning at the library, an adult was reading Bot + Boy to his library kid and the GIGGLES coming from both of them, their shared DELIGHT at this shared read aloud, it filled the whole room and that’s “the why”, right there, isn’t it? @amedyckman.bsky.social

A picture book cover showing a smiling boy standing next to a smiling red robot, twice his size but just as sweet. Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman and Dan Yaccarino

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Kellie DuBay Gillis (she/her) @kdubaygillis.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

20 days until BIG BIKE, LITTLE BIKE by me & @jacobsouva.bsky.social from HarperCollins 🚲 rolls into the world! To celebrate, we’re giving away choice of a #kidlit critique (manuscript or portfolio) or a signed copy of BIKE! (US shipping, please) Repost this message by 2/24 for a chance to win!

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April Berry | KidLit @aprilberrybooks.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Breathing fire today... ...and loving my new shirt from @weyakindesigns.bsky.social

A woman wearing a t-shirt with a dragon on it

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Happy #SuperbOwl Sunday from the VIP who likes to sleep in my yard

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Heidi EY Stemple @heidieys.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

It’s Superb Owl Sunday! I’m celebrating with an owl book each hour! #kidlit #owlsky @cedarpruitt.bsky.social

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

And if you look closely, you might even find a Little Free Library on one of the pages 🥰

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page158books.bsky.social @page158books.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Save the date, we are already lining up great things for this year's Independent Bookstore Day. So far we have a special storytime with Carrie Kruck planned as well as a meet and greet with author Jennifer Moorman.

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Have you ever wanted to live in the pages of a beautiful book? Turns out covering yourself in its art is almost as good! Let me send you some of these GORGEOUS temporary tattoos (this is just one of the designs!) with a preorder! stillnorthbooks.com/ablooms-preo... #independentbookstore #kidlit

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

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John Schu @mrschureads.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

"Picture books honor that the smallest amongst us are also the most capable of the biggest truths, the deepest courage, the quickest laughter, and the most generous acts of love and acceptance." — @carriekruck.bsky.social mrschureads.blogspot.com/2025/02/alfr...

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Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic @grubreport.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Some incredibly welcome news today: TOUCH THE SKY is named a Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Book. The Zolotow Award is given for outstanding writing in a picture book. Here's the full list of the 2025 award-winner, honor books, and full Highly Commended list.

ccbc.education.wisc.edu

Booklists

To print a CCBC booklist, click on a list below and then use your browser’s “Print” command. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include books ...

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Thank you for letting me finish your sentences, Mr. Schu! It was a joy!

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kelly jensen @heykellyjensen.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

*****Classroom 5 has been fully funded***** I will continue a little later today with classroom 6. Keep your eyes on this thread. In 15 hours, we funded five classrooms wanting Black History Month libraries. Amazing. Direct impact matters. www.donorschoose.org/project/dear...

donorschoose.org

Dear Ancestors: We Understand the Assignment!, a project from Mrs. Irby

Help me give my students a book about African American children and Black History so they can learn about our amazing history. The world is quickly changing. Black history is being erased from the ...

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Carrie Kruck @carriekruck.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

I really, really, love this book, and this is a beautiful offer from Katie:

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