See you in Denver!

Things are not looking up for the hungry. If you're feeling helpless, here's one tiny way to help.

Will you help me help the food bank, friends? This is a challenging time for so many, many people. 💔 www.justgiving.com/page/liz-gar...

Here are four bird books that are something to crow about. Shout-out to @lesliebarnardbooth.bsky.social, @lynnstreetbooks.bsky.social, Candace Fleming, @lizgardensalad.bsky.social, @scatterbee.bsky.social, Giselle Potter, Anne Hunter and Frann Preston-Gannon. picturebookbuilders.com/2025/10/bird...

Austin! This Thursday! Thanks to the @libraryfoundatx.bsky.social & @penamerica.bsky.social we'll be talking kids, book bans, & the new picture book THE DAY THE BOOKS DISAPPEARED. @joannahowrites.bsky.social @carolinekpritchard.bsky.social @frankstrong.bsky.social www.eventbrite.com/e/atcentral-...

This is THE essential guide for TX voters with school board seats on the ballot this fall. Huge thanks as always to @frankstrong.bsky.social The Book-Loving Texan's Guide to the November School Board Election is HERE open.substack.com/pub/franklin...

@audrey-vernick.bsky.social and I made a video with @bookbreak4schools.bsky.social to celebrate the arrival of our new book, The Family Tree! bookbreaks.org/ZeAnxYDN6636...

Happy book birthday to: 🦚 The Family Tree by @lizgardensalad.bsky.social and @audrey-vernick.bsky.social Check out the short author interview here: bookbreakimprovesliteracy.com/tree

If you're as sad as we are that Fat Bear Week is coming to an end (tomorrow!), here's something to look forward to! My pal @marthabee.bsky.social and I wrote a picture book inspired by real-life fat bear Otis, and it will be out in May!

News we can actually rejoice in: The bears of Katmai emerged this spring, they gobbled salmon and berries all summer, and THEY GOT FAT AGAIN!!! Yep, it's Fat Bear Week, y'all. Get your votes in!! explore.org/fat-bear-wee...

You and your kiddos should come meet Bibsy!! Alexandria, VA, Arlington, VA, Decatur, GA! Let me know if you'll be there!

This past Wednesday, we were woken before dawn to sirens, helicopters and a shelter-in-place order. There had been a shooting at the park down the hill, and the suspect was on the run.

GIVEAWAY Bibsy Cross is a regular-pegular 3rd grader whose wild enthusiasms can get her in a bit of a pickle! She comes to you via "beautifully crafted free verse" and with "an intuitive understanding of how children perceive the world" -- according to Kirkus, who starred ALL FOUR BOOKS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

NEWS: A House of Representatives Subcommittee just voted to continue library funding in next year's federal budget. This is thanks to YOUR hard work as library advocates. The fight to #FundLibraries isn't over yet. Stay tuned for more ways to take action for libraries. #ForOurLibraries

We’ve seen enough. Time to let our lawmakers know SB 13 is as bad as we knew it would be. Make some phone calls and send some emails. Use our quick email template to contact Governor Abbott, Senator Angela Paxton, your Texas state senator, & your local House Rep: www.txftrp.org/tx_students_...

Everyone can contribute something to the fight, but because certain actions tend to get all the coverage, it can be easy to feel shut out. So here's a thread of ways to help that do NOT include: Going anywhere Calling anyone Writing anything If you want to help, we want your help. Let's go....

This film, which is the story behind the story of Roe v Wade, is the grassroots reminder we all need right now. Grateful to have seen it tonight, alongside the filmmakers and one of the original three. lonestarthree.com

This film, which is the story behind the story of Roe v Wade, is the grassroots reminder we all need right now. Grateful to have seen it tonight, alongside the filmmakers and one of the original three. lonestarthree.com

There is no universe in which this is defensible.

Your child is never too young for their first library card!

Back to school reminders for TX parents! We know those annual registrations can be long, & some parents may just be on auto-pilot filling them out, without reading all of the questions super closely. Just make sure you’re selecting the options you want when it comes to your kids’ library access!

mRNA tech is some of the coolest, most powerful, most promising scifi shit humans are currently doing. They are being investigated to help with cancers, autoimmune diseases, M.S., stroke recovery, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and high cholesterol.

When Heather Cox Richardson called for concerned artists to come up with images to fight this administration, I came up with this, an encouragement to the millions of Americans who have taken to the streets to fight for Democracy. Thanks, Heather! (Feel free to share.)

I truly cannot emphasize enough how this is straight up Lysenkoism. Because of the incredible work of our nation’s scientists, we have our finger tips on the closest thing humanity has ever come to “a cure for cancer”, but brainworm over here doesn’t believe in it. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/h...

Happy book birthday, @katemessner.com! The picture book biography, FIRST ASCENT: THE EPIC YOSEMITE ROCK CLIMBING RIVALRY OF RO AND WARREN HARDING, illustrated by Stevie Lewis, is now available. Share this one with the young people in your life who love the outdoors and adventure! Congrats, Kate!

Bring your wee ones!!

It's my annual unsubscribe-from-all-the-emails effort. A rather tedious relief. Capitalism is exhausting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Kirkus Reviews is notoriously tough on books (and their authors) which is why I'm truly thunderstruck that they've given starred reviews to all four books in my Bibsy Cross chapter book series!!

A reminder that Ken Paxton's poor, put-upon wife is the state senator behind major book banning legislation.

OOOH! a new #picturebook by @lizgardensalad.bsky.social and Audrey Vernick with illustrations by Fiona Lee!! YAY! www.publishersweekly.com/9781665948371

I love the Bibsy Cross chapter book series by @lizgardensalad.bsky.social & illustrated by Dung Ho. Each story is sweet, funny, & full of heart. To me, the series feels like a modern classic. The final book, Bibsy Cross and the Time Capsule, will be available July 8th! I'm pre-ordering my copy!

Happy book birthday to: 📚 Island Creatures by @margaritaengle.bsky.social 📚 Bibsy Cross and the Time Capsule by @lizgardensalad.bsky.social We can’t wait to read them! Thank you for being part of BookBreak!

A reminder that Ken Paxton's poor, put-upon wife is the state senator behind major book banning legislation.

Don't worry, they said. How bad could it get, they asked. www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

🚨Now it’s on to the House, where we must demand that all Representatives #VoteNo. These are the vulnerable House Republicans. CALL THEM TODAY!!! ☎️

A paired haiku for today

Somedays all you really need is... mail. With grateful yums to @karengebbia.bsky.social ...

@pelosi.house.gov: "On January 6th...we begged the president of the United States to send in the National Guard. He would not do it...And yet, in a contra-constitutional way, he has sent the National Guard into California. Something is very wrong with this picture."

What does it look like when book banners come from your school district in 2025? open.substack.com/pub/franklin...

The Texas legislative session is over, thank goodness for small blessings

We know we are on the right side of history. We believe in libraries and the good librarians do. Unfailingly. Unflinchingly. Forever.

#picturebook creators this quote from @lizgardensalad.bsky.social is EVERYTHING! You and I have been given a sacred quest: to write highly illustratable stories with heart and musicality and emotional resonance – always with the child audience at their center. Lucky us. Liz Garton Scanlon 💕

If you have any relationship to TX-- you're from there, you have family there, you know people there-- now's the time to get on the ringer and rally against this truly disastrous bill. It's a death wish for school libraries statewide.

A bill in Texas would require the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school classroom. This is indoctrination. This is unconstitutional. This is Christian nationalism.

Don’t mess with Texas Libraries! 🤠📚 Texas Freedom to Read Project cofounder, Laney Hawes, joined fellow Texas advocates and book lovers for a press conference and a demonstration in support of Texas libraries and the freedom to read in the rotunda of the Texas Capitol.

We Need Diverse Books and more than 40 organizations representing parents, grassroots organizers, authors, librarians, booksellers, and publishers have signed a statement on the Trump Administration's firing of Dr. Carla Hayden. Share & act now ⬇️ 📧 bit.ly/EmailHayden

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Asking that you speak up for the Endangered Species Act. I've got an upcoming book about the ESA & I learned a lot during my research. The upshot? It's wildly successful legislation. Claiming that habitat loss isn't a serious harm is preposterous & devastating. open.substack.com/pub/congress...