iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jane Ellis @jane1343.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Good advice! Who’s up for joining Katie and me?

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John Schu @mrschureads.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Jasmine Warga's brilliant and heartfelt storytelling made my heart soar. While spending time with Chase and Finnegan, words like friendship, family, connection, love, light, and joy kept racing through my mind. Most of all, the story filled me with HOPE! us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

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Josh Funk @joshfunkbooks.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Hey, all! My bookshelves are still too full, so it's time for another #giveaway. Want to win these 11 titles (some of which are signed)? All you gotta do is follow, like, and repost and/or comment and tag a friend. Winner announced on Saturday! ⁠ #kidlit #picturebooks #books #reading #literacy

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Jane Ellis @jane1343.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Just finished reading @erindowning.bsky.social’s newest MG book, What Happened Then. Wow! What a ride! This is Erin’s first mystery and she really nailed it! Looking for a good read that keeps you turning the pages, check it out in September.

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Lauren Magaziner @laurenmagaziner.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

My @writersdigest.bsky.social essay went live!!!! It’s all about walking that tonal balance between darkness and light, especially in middle grade fiction—how to find the hopeful note in the face of insurmountable odds 💜. www.writersdigest.com/how-to-find-...

A canva graphic with details of Lauren Magaziner’s essay in Writer’s Digest.

Heading: WRITER’S DIGEST
Title: How to Find Light in the Darkness in Fiction
Subtitle: Bestselling author Lauren Magaziner shares how to find light in the darkness when it comes to writing fiction, especially for MG readers.
Except from article: “It’s no easy task to remain truthful about these grim and pertinent themes while also giving kids enough optimism to find their courage. There were a few craft techniques I used to maintain that delicate balance.

The graphic also contains a head shot of pale skinned, dark curly-haired Lauren Magaziner, as well as a picture of the electric blue-purple cover of The Incorruptibles.

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Jane Ellis @jane1343.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Reading The Trouble With Heroes by Kate Messner! What a masterpiece! My 5th graders will love this.

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John Schu @mrschureads.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

#Bookaday I added @100scopenotes.bsky.social's Just One Wave to my 2025 Books I Love presentation: www.pinterest.com/mrschureads/...

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Colby Sharp @colbysharp.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

I’m giving away nine of my favorite 2024 middle grade novels in tomorrow’s newletter. If you’d like to subscribe, here’s the link! colbysharp.substack.com

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Laura Ruby @thatlauraruby.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Gotta celebrate the good news when you can. Today, I’m grateful to the folks at KIRKUS REVIEWS for including my novel BONE GAP among their picks for the Best Books of the 21st Century.

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John Schu @mrschureads.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

I'm grateful the school purchased 238 copies of Louder Than Hunger. Every copy was given away to students and teachers!!!

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School Library Journal @slj.com · 21/03/2025

Teen Librarian Toolbox Take Five: March 2025 Middle Grade Novels Books featuring grief, a magic school, a treasure hunt, a robot, and a young adventurer! teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2025/03/07/t...

teenlibrariantoolbox.com

Take Five: March 2025 Middle Grade Novels

Books featuring grief, a magic school, a treasure hunt, a robot, and a young adventurer!

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Heidi Heilig @heidiheilig.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

GIVEAWAY for CINCINNATI LEE, CURSE BREAKER! "A thrilling, thoughtful, and layered adventure story with fantastical elements." -KIRKUS ⭐ "A fantastic, adventurous foray into the ethics of archaeology." -BOOKLIST ⭐ "Epic roasts, a million stars." -my 10 yo son Repost to enter til 3/21, rules below:

Three copies of the hardcover middle grade book CINCINNATI LEE, CURSEBREAKER by Heidi Heilig, with the middle copy set atop two other copies to either side. The book's cover features three kids standing in front of a museum: Cincinnati in the front, a mixed race chinese/white girl, with an adventurous smile wearing a fedora, Parsley to the left, a Black girl wearing fashionable boho clothes, and Felix to the right, a Latino boy wearing an orange sweater and jeans. Mystical green curse magic is swirling in the background, through antiquities and artwork. The three books rest atop a blue glass table. The leftmost copy of the book is wrapped in beige paper featuring Shelly's Ozymandias poem (which is referenced in the book.)

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Erin Soderberg Downing @erindowning.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Got to visit my buddies at @dragonflybooks.bsky.social for a couple days of school visits (now I’m elsewhere in IA). LOVE the way they have their chapter book series displayed!

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weird fanart online @saraellis.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

the saving grace of parents isolated at home with small children. a place for air conditioning when your power goes out. a place to print out your resumé and get tax forms. a place to borrow tools or get access to job skill training. libraries are true bastions of equality and access.

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Colby Sharp @colbysharp.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Wow! What a wild ride! The Girls in the Walls is a middle grade novel in verse unlike about I’ve ever read. I’m so excited to see what kids think about this one. Watching this family try to navigate generations of trauma is both heart breaking and captivating. Highly recommend! Book drops 5/20/25.

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Erin Soderberg Downing @erindowning.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

This is Hank, the emotional support dog at today’s Iowa school visit. I wish my schools had a buddy like Hank when I was a kid!

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Chris Barton @bartography.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

I just saw that my upcoming picture book WE MATCH! is now available to preview on Edelweiss, so if you want a sneak peek at what this adorable bunch of dogs (illustrated by Sharon Glick) is up to, now's your chance: community.edelweiss.plus/title/166262...

cover of WE MATCH! written by Chris Barton and illustrated by Sharon Glick

thumbnail images from interior of WE MATCH! written by Chris Barton and illustrated by Sharon Glick

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Amy Atwater @maryanningsrevenge.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

My first book, The Fossil Keeper’s Treasure, is out now! It’s illustrated by the amazing Nat Cardozo. Each page features embossed fossils you can touch. Every fossil tells a story, and every scientist started out as a curious kid. I can’t believe it’s finally here! #fossilfriday #booksky

A paleontologist is outside holding a children’s book called “The Fossil Keeper’s Treasure” with a dinosaur poking its head in the background.

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Bookelicious @bookelicious.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

🚨 🎉 BOOK BUNDLE GIVEAWAY!!! 📚📚📚 #WomensHistoryMonth 1. FOLLOW 2. REPOST 3. COMMENT: Who is a woman in history everyone should know? Thanks to author @jeannewharvey.bsky.social's generosity, 5 winners will EACH receive 5 copies of Else B. in The Sea! #FBF #Edusky #kidlit #giveaway

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John Schu @mrschureads.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

The One and Only Ivan turned 13 yesterday! Congratulations, @kaaauthor.bsky.social!

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John Schu @mrschureads.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

It is Eating Disorders Awareness Week! anad.org

Eating disorder awareness is mental health awareness.

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John Schu @mrschureads.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

The paperback edition of Louder Than Hunger and Ruthie Rose's Big Idea both release next Tuesday!!

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Jane Ellis @jane1343.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Such an outstanding line-up of books. #AuthorsLoveTeachers and we teachers love authors!

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Mrs Boire @mrsboire.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

@lyndamh.bsky.social is back with her amazing #AuthorsLoveTeachers giveaway! The generosity of these authors each year is stunning!

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Daniel Miyares @danielmiyares.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Haven’t been on Bluesky in a bit. Here’s some recent fallish fare. 🍁❤️

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Erin Soderberg Downing @erindowning.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

My next book has a fun how-to-draw activity (courtesy of @jarrett-lerner.bsky.social!) in the back matter. Today I tested it and am so pleased with the results!! www.erinsoderberg.com/what-happene...

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AltYellostoneNatPar @altyellonatpark.org · 20/12/2024

We were seeing a 98% drop in exposure over on Twitter. The censorship was so extreme we thought it best to start over somewhere else. We chose Bluesky. Help us gain our following back Follow Retweet Repeat Join the park side @altyellonatpark.org

Black wolf looking straight at the camera. Pine forest behind. Yellow eyes.

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Meg Lewitin @mlewitin.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

YA NIV about friendship, struggle & the difficult decisions one has to make when their friends make bad choices. A powerful book that’s impossible to put down. Beautiful, thought provoking, heartbreaking. I loved every page of this book by Rex Ogle. Preorder immediately, pubs in March 💜 #BookAllies

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Erin Soderberg Downing @erindowning.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

I spent the weekend deep in @tameeksb.bsky.social’s gripping story. This book is so good - after the US military invasion of Panama in 1989, Danilo is desperately trying to hold himself and his family together while dealing with PTSD and his pro-baseball dreams. I highly recommend this pre-order!

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Rachel G. Payne (she/they) @rpayne.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

To learn about the unaddressed needs in society, ask public library workers. Since public libraries are one of the few free public spaces, they see it all daily- the implications of mental illness, homelessness, and illiteracy. All while being in the crosshairs of the culture war. #publiclibraries

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Lori Tecler @loritecler.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

NATURE IS A SCULPTOR by @heatherkinser.bsky.social uses amazing photographs & poetic text to show how wind, ice, & water alter Earth's surface, creating cliffs, canyons, & other features. Beautiful & informative read for young readers & a great addition to elementary library collections. #kidlit 📚👍🏻

Cover of Nature Is a Sculptor: Weathering and Erosion by Heather Ferranti Kinser. Image features the walls of Antelope Canyon in Arizona as carved by rivers.

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Kate Messner @katemessner.com · 15/12/2024

Just got the first review for HISTORY SMASHERS: EARTH DAY AND THE ENVIRONMENT (coming in March!) and it's a great one from Kirkus! www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews... (Art by @dylanmeconis.bsky.social (cover) and @justingreenwoodart.bsky.social (int.) & pubbed by @randomhousekids.bsky.social)

kirkusreviews.com

EARTH DAY AND THE ENVIRONMENT | Kirkus Reviews

The latest in the History Smashers series untangles myths around the history of humans and the environment and the origins of Earth Day.

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Kate Messner @katemessner.com · 15/12/2024

Novels in verse sometimes start out like collages – you collect snips and scraps of poetry that eventually come together in a story. Then there are blank spaces, so you add more snapshots. But some of the white spaces have to stay, to give readers room to process the poems & feelings of the story.

Book cover THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES shows a middle school boy on a mountain with a Bernese mountain dog gazing up at him.

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Kate Messner @katemessner.com · 15/12/2024

World Read Aloud Day with @litworld.bsky.social is coming up on February 5th! Want an author to Zoom into your classroom or library for a free virtual read-aloud on that day? Check out the list of volunteers here: katemessner.com/zoom-with-an...

WORLD READ ALOUD DAY graphic with cartoon animals celebrating.

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Aimee lucido @aimeelucido.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Going to pick three winners this afternoon so you still have time to enter!

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The Author Village @theauthorvillage.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Are you familiar with @phdcomics.bsky.social OLIVER'S GREAT BIG UNIVERSE graphic novel series? These STEAM-themed, diary-styled middle grade books by Jorge Cham are funny, engaging, smart, and ideal for young readers who enjoy BIG NATE by Lincoln Peirce and DIARY OF A WIMPY KID by Jeff Kinney.

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Erin Soderberg Downing @erindowning.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

This book by @annbraden.bsky.social is so powerful. Amazing survival and outdoor aspect, and I LOVED the nurturing and supportive mother-daughter bond. Addy is such a relatable, likeable character who is forced to deal with SO much - but handles it with patience, calm, and grit. Highly recommend!!

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Kate Messner @katemessner.com · 09/12/2024

Sometimes my books appear on those shiny "Best of the Year" lists, and sometimes they don't. But every year, I share this poem as a reminder for authors & illustrators (including myself!) to remember what matters most. katemessner.com/what-happene...

katemessner.com

What Happened to Your Book Today: An end-of-the-year poem for authors & illustrators – Kate Messner

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Phil Bildner @philbildner.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

The holiday season is about far more than Christmas. A great way to introduce young readers to other holidays is by sharing @teachandtransform.bsky.social's beautiful picture book, COME AND JOIN US! 18 HOLIDAYS CELEBRATED ALL YEAR LONG (illus. by Chaaya Prabhat)

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