28 Days Year: 2019

Colorful. Credible. Necessary. These are the words that describe my feelings about Francie Latour’s debut picture book, Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings. “Colorful” because both the text and the artwork are equally vivid and evocative. “Credible” because of the many nuanced details in this culture-rich story, written about a Haitian-American by a Haitian-American. “Necessary” because children’s books centered in Haitian [ Read the full article… ]

Today we welcome Leslie C. Youngblood, whose middle grade debut, LOVE LIKE SKY, was released in October of 2018. The Backstory The character of G-baby (Georgie) has been with me since my first published piece, “King of Soul,” in the late 1990s.  G-baby lives with her grandmother and is awaiting a visit from her father. [ Read the full article… ]

Humble, loving and sincere, Laura Pegram believes in celebrating children’s book creators of color and Native creators but shies from shining the spotlight on herself. We’re delighted to turn the table and share some of her many accomplishments. Whether crooning jazz, painting murals, teaching or writing her own stories, Laura’s talent dazzles and glows. She [ Read the full article… ]

Tatyana is a celebrated street artist and now the debut illustrator of the picture book biography, Libba – The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotton. Based on the story written by musician Laura Veirs, Tatyana masterfully evokes the times and musical talent of Libba. As a young girl, Libba wrote one of her most popular [ Read the full article… ]

There are many paths to writing for children. Still, some might be wondering how today’s spotlight author traveled away from the glitz and glitter of Hollywood to the trenches of kidlit. Her journey speaks to the power of the pen and how passion for representation burns in all of us. Excited to highlight Dana L. [ Read the full article… ]

I first met Kosoko (pronounced: Koh-So-Koh) at BEA a year ago. His debut was yet to come, but there was already so much buzz around him from YA writers I knew. A PLACE FOR WOLVES has been highly anticipated with good reason. I for one can’t wait to read a historical novel that features a [ Read the full article… ]

Born and raised in the rural South, Karen Strong spent most of her childhood wandering the woods, meadows, and gardens of her grandmother’s land. A graduate of the University of Georgia, she is an advocate of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and worked in the software development industry for several years as a systems [ Read the full article… ]

  I had a delightful telephone conversation with Breanna about her career. She has a warm personality, someone you could talk to for hours. Read on and you’ll be equally impressed. The reviewers were! The Journey My path to publishing was a bit roundabout. I went to Simmons University to receive a MFA in Writing [ Read the full article… ]