Hello, readers, writers, and lovers of all things booooks 👻📚 We’re excited to welcome Serina Mercier, publicist extraordinaire with Tundra Books!She’s bringing us a spellbinding selection of books to ...

Hi, readers and writers and little ghosties, too! We’re thrilled to kick off another day by welcoming back prolific author Stephanie Campisi! If you’re in the mood for a fright-filled read, from pict...

Hi, to all you charming readers, writers, and creators out there! ✨ Today, we’re serving up a Witch-tastic treat by celebrating author Karen Yin and her delectable picture book, Nice to Eat You! When ...

Greetings, readers, writers, and spooky game lovers! We’re back with Day 2 of #SeasonsOfKidLit’s Trick-or-Treat event, and today we’re serving up a spine-tingling MG that’s perfect for spooky season!T...

Happy October, and welcome to #SeasonsOfKidLit’s 4th Annual Trick-or-Treat Event, parents, librarians, book fanatics, writers, and readers of all sorts! 🎃 We’re thrilled to celebrate another spooktacu...

Hi, parents, librarians, book fanatics, writers, and readers of all sorts! It's your co-ghostesses Heather-ween Macht and Gob-Lynne Marie here with some fall-tastic & de-frightful fun coming your way ...

Ever since this blog’s anniversary, I’ve been having a lot of thoughts… about websites! I never had a web presence before, and I never wanted one. I figured one day I’d have an author website, but in the interim, social media was enough. Then, Twitter imploded. I deleted my account. I reconnected with most people […]

Ahoy, readers, writers, and swashbucklers, too! 🏴‍☠️ Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day, and we're thrilled to celebrate with debut author Daryl-Lynne Gottier and her book, Set Sail for School!In Set Sai...

Hey there, readers, writers, and storm chasers too! 🌪️📚 Did you know peak hurricane season in the South begins this week? Eek! There's no better way to kick off the season than by celebrating with an ...

Schuler Books is an independent bookstore with four locations in Michigan. Grand Rapids, Okemos, Ann Arbor, and West Bloomfield. When you walk into a Schuler Books store you can find what you need, an...

Happy National Sandcastle Day, readers, writers, and beach lovers too! 🏖️🏰 Grab your buckets, shovels, and sunscreen because today we're celebrating with a picture book that's as warm, wonder-filled, ...

Happy Embrace Your Geekness Day, readers, writers, and RoboCorn lovers of all kinds! 🤓⚙️ Today we're celebrating with a picture book that proves imagination, creativity, and a little geekiness can lea...

Happy 4th of July, readers, writers, and stars-and-stripes story lovers, too! ✨ Get ready to let freedom read as we celebrate America's birthday with a picture book that's sure to make your heart spar...

Happy National Dinosaur Day, readers, writers, and prehistoric adventurers! 🦕🌎 Today we're celebrating with a story that blends science, history, and imagination in a truly unforgettable way. We're th...

Hi readers, writers, and book lovers of all kinds! Did you know that May is Get Caught Reading Month? It’s a celebration that encourages everyone to pick up a great book and get lost in its pages. Wha...

Anchors aweigh, readers, writers, and lovers of heartwarming reads! ⛵💕 Mother's Day is here, and we're celebrating with a story made for sharing. We're thrilled to welcome author Kate Hosford and her...

Hi readers, writers, and asthmanauts of all kinds! 🌬️💙 May 5th is World Asthma Day, and we're celebrating with the wonderful author Jake Lockett and his heartfelt and inspiring new book, My Life as an...

Hay there, readers, writers, dreamers of all kinds! 🐴💚 May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we're trotting into it the best way we know how - with books, of course! 📚 And what better way to celeb...

Hoppy Easter, readers, writers, and bunnies of all kinds! 🐰🌸 We’re thrilled to celebrate the holiday in the best way possible - with books, of course! 📚 And what better way to celebrate than with prol...

Hi readers, writers, and pet lovers of all kinds! 🐾 Today marks the start of Passover - a holiday celebrating freedom and faith. What better way to celebrate than with prolific author Ana María Shua ...

In the past twenty-five plus years that I've been immersed in writing and publishing children's literature, I have heard many pieces of advice over and over and over. One that stands out is: get to kn...

How do you engage readers? There are so many ways! High-interest content, gorgeous thought-provoking illustrations, impeccable rhymes and lyrical language, or my personal favorite, gift readers a gigg...

Picture Books About Cultural Name Awareness by Maria Wen AdcockWhat’s in a name? In a very practical sense, our names are our identities. When someone says our names, we know they’re talking to us. Cu...

How a Picture Book Can Grow Into Global Licensingby Helen H. WuWhen we talk about mentor texts, we often focus on voice, structure, or page turns. But sometimes, a mentor text teaches us something lar...

It happened the other day – a stroller child at the next table was chewing a copy of a board book I authored! When I told his mom, she said, “Oh, he loves to chew that one!” Take that, awards judges! ...

It’s All in the Details by Lisa RogersPrecision in writing can be hard-won. As writers, we can get carried away by our words, without making sure that each one communicates what we intend. Sometimes, ...

Finding the Right Voice & Tone in Nonfiction Picture Books By Lydia Lukidis Writing compelling nonfiction for children isn’t just about sharing facts, it’s about sparking curiosity and making learnin...

Squirrels, Porcupines, and Bears--oh my!Mentor texts with animal characters and how the rules, as well as my upcoming book Squirrel Draws Big Feelings evolved… No animals allowed!Twenty years ago, whe...

Simply stated, the value of strong verbs is movement. They define action that serves to move the story forward and give it spark. Strong verbs paint pictures that give the illustrator more to work wit...

MOWMT: The Secret to Writing Page-Turning NonfictionBy Mary BooneFacts matter. Accuracy matters. Research matters.But here’s the truth: Kids don’t fall in love with books because of footnotes, bolded ...

The Magic in Books That Make Us FeelBy Danielle Render Turmaud, PhDHave you ever opened a book and found yourself taken on an emotional journey that you never expected? The transformation can be insta...

I love picture book stories that practically force you to turn the page right from the very start. The recipe is not rocket science. Start with something mysterious. Something unexpected, something st...

Conjuring magic in picture books isn’t as easy as it may seem. First, the magic must be seeded in the ordinary world. It can’t just come out of nowhere, magically or not. Since essentially everything ...