Two Friends, One Dog, and an Audiobook!
I can’t yet reveal the cover of Two Friends, so I’ll share this photo of my favorite character in the book, Otto the dog. We all need an Otto.
Very excited to share that my upcoming chapter book Two Friends, One Dog, and a Very Unusual Week (out next April) will have an audio edition put out by Listening Library! I’m so eager to hear an actor voice Rani, the narrator’s new best friend–her voice is unique and will be a lot of fun.
Here’s snippet of Rani-speak:
Read MoreSalutations! Like Charlotte says. You know Charlotte, right? Charlotte’s Web? Charlotte is an Araneus cavaticus–that’s a barn spider. Did you know that the biggest spider of all is the Goliath birdeater? They don’t actually eat birds all that often. They do eat mice, though. It’s a good thing there wasn’t one of those in the barn with Wilbur, or Templeton would have been toast! Their legs can stretch over a foot long. Wouldn’t it be amazing to hear one tap dance?
What I’ve Been Reading
Actually, listening to. (I’m a big audiobook fan.) My new favorite: Hench: A Novel by Natalie Zina Walschots.
Sometimes a romp, sometimes a deadly serious meditation on moral responsibility, and most of all a book that answers the eternal questions we didn’t know we had, like: Who the heck runs payroll for supervillains? Who does R&D on those space lasers and mind-control rays? Who’s renting the space for the hidden lair? Do minions get health benefits? Do they have HR?
It’s not strictly YA but it could be. Mostly it’s fascinating, suspenseful, and fun. I found the end a bit unsatisfying, though, and am wondering if this is supposed to be the first in a series or at least a trilogy. If so, I’m eager for more!
Read MoreThe Jean Little Library Praises Brown Is Warm
I’m both elated and humbled by this review for Brown Is Warm from the Jean Little Library.
This book is perfect in combining the diversity I want to see in my collection with subjects that teachers and parents are looking for and which will make it a popular choice and, possibly, an enduring classic.
Verdict: If you long for beautiful and diverse high-concept books but know they won’t circulate well for you, this is the book you need for your collection! If those high-concept books are easy circulators for you, this lovely book will be a wonderful addition. Either way, I recommend it for most collections.
Along with the illustrator, the editor, the designer, and the production team, I work my hardest at making a book that is beautiful, lyrical, a pleasure for the senses. But the one thing that is always a bit up in the air is reader engagement. I try to keep my readers in mind always, but I’m not sure any writer can ever really read their own work as a reader would–coming to it completely fresh. And the difficulty is doubled when the writer is an adult and the reader is a child.
It’s so gratifying, then, to hear praise from a librarian not just for the literary quality of the book (I mean, thanks for that, I do appreciate it), but also because she believes it will circulate–go into a reader’s hands over and over again. Because that’s what makes a book complete.
Read MoreHappy Elephant Day!
Save the…Elephants! is on the shelves today!
May it inspire young conservationists and activists everywhere. And always remember my favorite elephant fact, destined to enchant seven-year-olds everywhere: Elephant calves eat the grownups’ poop.
Read MoreCensorship
Thank you, Bonny Eagle School Board, for taking a stand against censorship and making sure kids will still be able to check out It’s Perfectly Normal!
A few takeaways in case you do not get a chance to read the whole article:
It’s Perfectly Normal is one of the most straightforward, nonjudgmental, accessible books about puberty and sexuality out there. It’s constantly praised and recommended for this age group.
It’s Perfectly Normal was not required reading or assigned in any class. It was just there, on the library shelf.
There was already a mechanism in place where parents could request that their kids be prevented from checking this book out. (I don’t like that, but it was there.) That didn’t satisfy this particular group of parents. They wanted to be sure that no kid could read this book. And while we’re on this topic, why does parental control only ever go one way? As a parent as well as an author, what if I want this kind of book available to my child? Do I not have any rights in that regard?
And finally, It’s Perfectly Normal for kids who are going through adolescence to want to read about adolescence, and it’s admirable for them to reach out and learn more about what’s happening to them. We should support that, not try to shut it down!
(And one extra point–I now really want to read Genderqueer, also under threat of censorship. Censors, take note–we most want to read what you try to take away.)
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Virtual Picture Book Panel
I’m so thrilled (and perhaps a touch nervous) to be sharing the news that I’ll be doing a virtual author panel for Brown Is Warm, Black Is Bright. This is the book that School Library Journal describes as:
The book makes for a beautiful read-aloud for a group setting with its detailed full-color vibrant imagery and for individual sharing. File this under Black joy, childhood, autumn reveries, or pair with other celebrations of Black strength and beauty.
The panel will be moderated by the fine staff at Books of Wonder in New York. If you would like to tune in, we’d be so delighted to have you. And please feel free to share this with anyone else you think might be interested.
Date: September 3, 2022
Time: 1:00 PM
How to join
(They recommend reserving a spot, so do check it out before the event starts.
The other authors on the panel will be Sophia N. Lee and Isabel Roxas (Holding On) and Thyra Heder (Sal Boat).
Signed copies of all the books will be available for order. Please come! Spread the word!
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Review for Brown Is Warm!
Delighted to share a warm and bright review for Brown Is Warm, Black Is Bright. School Library Journal says:
Read More“This book is a joyous celebration of the bucolic life of a Black child and her father….The book makes for a beautiful read-aloud for a group setting with its detailed full-color vibrant imagery and for individual sharing. VERDICT File this under Black joy, childhood, autumn reveries, or pair with other celebrations of Black strength and beauty, such as Tami Charles’s All Because You Matter and Useni Eugene Perkins’s Hey Black Child.“
Sarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Readers will treasure the blossoming friendship between opposites in this whimsically illustrated tale. Short chapters and plenty of action make for an accessible and appealing reading experience. . . . Touching and inspiring.”
—Kirkus Reviews