#ArtemisII launched yesterday, sending humans toward the moon for the first time in over 50 years. In honor of the mission, here are some of my favorite picture books about space! Can you guess them all? See answers in thread!

One more day!

I'm thrilled to be joining the wonderful authors of #PictureBooksEh for another year of creative Canadian content! 🍁 You can see this year's picture books on the website, and don't forget to enter for a chance to win a critique or picture book! (I've offered a critique for one winner!)

You can get a query package critique AND support a good cause with the Lit for Queer Liberation virtual auction. Two successful bidders will get a critique of their: 📝Query letter 📃Synopsis 📕First chapter (novel) OR manuscript (picture book) Browse the auction: www.32auctions.com/organization...

💫Cover Reveal for Marian's Big Dig💫 What a wonderful story to illustrate, written by the talented @laurabontje.bsky.social If you like dinosaurs, fossils and a clever hero, you'll love Marian's Big Dig. 🦕 Preorder now, wherever books are sold. Published by @groundwoodbooks.bsky.social

I'm excited to share that my 4th picture book is underway! It's lyrical, informational #PB comparing underwater astronaut training at #AquariusReefBase with life on board the ISS. The team at @owlkids.bsky.social has been great, and I can't wait to see what Crystal comes up with for the artwork!

Do you allow "laughed" as a dialogue tag? See my opinion, along with tips on how to format dialogue tags and action beats, in the latest post for my editing blog! #WritingCommunity #WritingTips #AmEditing #KidLit

Thinking of inviting a Canadian #kidlit author or illustrator to visit your readers? Trending today: @jlbaileybooks.bsky.social @laurabontje.bsky.social @susanhughes.bsky.social @marcuscutler.bsky.social and more! authorsbooking.com

When I was a student in Alberta, I read a variety of enriching books in IB English classes. Many would no longer be considered "appropriate" for schools. Also, these policies often target books that offer rep. to LGBTQIA+ students who deserve to see themselves in literature. Please sign. #CAIABB

Want to get professional feedback on your query package and also support a good cause? Check out the #KidLit4Ceasefire summer auction: www.32auctions.com/organization...

I'm tremendously honored to have been selected from among the many incredible volunteers I've gotten to know over the years.

Congrats to my friend, @laurabontje.bsky.social, on her newest picture book, WHEN THE AIR SANG, a beautiful, intergenerational celebration of cicadas! Perfect for curious kids. #KidLit

Starting soon! I look forward to reading to you all ❤️

Go see Sarah at #TCAF!

❤️🌳🐞

It's release day! When the Air Sang is officially on shelves! Five years ago, I saw my first cicada, and now ... I couldn't be prouder of how this story has come together. @anderkaya.bsky.social and Annick Press, you've outdone yourselves.

I just discovered that my debut picture book (Was It a Cat I Saw?) received a media review last year that I hadn’t known about. Right away, I excitedly emailed my family. Then I saw the reviewer's other headlines, and my excitement turned to indignation. (🧵)

Save the date! If you're in #LdnOnt, I hope you'll join @anderkaya.bsky.social and me on April 12 to celebrate our new #PictureBook, When the Air Sang! There'll be remarks & a draw at 2:45. Sound in Motion Studio: 1570 Highbury Ave N. (Shoes are left at the door, so wear your fave socks!)

It's hard to believe it's been a full year since my very first book came out! Thank you to everyone who has read it over the past year; it means so much to see people enjoying it. And many thanks to Emma Lidia Squillari, @jmcgowanbks.bsky.social, and the team at @amicuspublishing.bsky.social!

Happy publication day to this beautiful biography! I loved working on this book and learning more about Grace Lee Boggs. Congratulations, Songju!

One of the things I find perplexing about billionaires is that they're all so utterly desperate to be loved but also utterly unable to comprehend that they could become heroes across the world by spending even a fraction of their obscene wealth on others.

Every so often, I get a snarky answer in the "pronouns" section of my contact form. It's important to me that my business is welcoming to trans & nonbinary clients. (And rude answers tell me that someone isn't the client for me.) But asking for pronouns also helps ALL clients. (1/2)

🎉I recognize a client's title! Congratulations to that author, and many hoorays to all who made the list!🎉 (To others: I know contest announcement days can be tough. Hang in there. If it helps, I didn't make it to the finals the year I entered PBParty either.)

When you color, do you keep the colors true to the original, or do you prefer to add your own flair? My family and I had so much fun coloring our own versions of @anderkaya.bsky.social's art from When the Air Sang today! Free coloring sheet: www.annickpress.com/Books/W/When... #AnnickPress

A tip for #PB authors drafting in the common metre (iambic 4/3/4/3) or in iambic heptameter (7/7) and struggling to hear the rhythm: Can you sing your stanzas to the tune of the first verse of "I Just Can’t Wait to Be King"? If yes, you've got it! (1/3) #kidlit #rhyme

Found a #WritingTip I wrote on my old bird account. Apparently I instantly forgot it, because I've looked it up every time in the 3 years since. 🤦‍♀️ A helpful tip on licence and license in 🍁Canadian English: C comes before S. N(oun) comes before V(erb). So licenCe is the noun and licenSe is the verb!

Please learn to criticize terrible, racist, sexist, crusted-smears-of-toxic-sludge-on-our-collective-shoes grifters without calling them "senile," "moronic," "dumb," or "fat." You can do it--I believe in your ability to insult and criticize without being ableist, ageist, and fat-shaming!

What a fun way to connect for a book club! And this book is gorgeous; @rosenafung.bsky.social has truly created something beautiful here.

#WritingTip: Instead of writing acknowledgements at the end, plan as you go! Whether you're on your first draft or your publisher's edits, if you appreciate someone's contribution, make a note. Down the line, you'll have a ready-made list to refer back to! (1/2)

Gotta love that Friday feeling where you pull up your editing to-do list and remember that you sent off today's edit yesterday 🙌 I guess that means more time for writing!

Did you know you can book virtual and in-person visits from 🍁Canadian kidlit creators at @authorsbooking.bsky.social? There are so many great books coming out in spring 2025, and I'm happy to include When the Air Sang among the list of stories you could learn more about through an author visit!

Amazing 2025 books on their way -- and a chance for you to win books and giveaways, including a manuscript critique from me! See more on the #PictureBooksEh website :)

Looking for feedback on your picture book or middle grade novel? Consider supporting the #Kidlit4Ceasefire fundraiser: www.32auctions.com/organization... 🍉

For a picture book WIP, I wanted to confirm when chrysanthemums begin to bloom. So as my mind wandered back to my story, I googled ... "When do flowers start?" Excellent search, self. Very helpful 🤣

📚👍🏼 Look for these new #kidlit books by: @parentclub.bsky.social @laurabontje.bsky.social @franbwrites.bsky.social @caseylyall.bsky.social @susanhughes.bsky.social @mahtabnarsimhan.bsky.social l @valeriesherrard.bsky.social @kirsten-marion.bsky.social

Happy new year! It's officially the release year for When the Air Sang (illustrated by @anderkaya.bsky.social), and I'm looking forward to getting the ball rolling at the #OLASC on January 30 at 3:30!

Exciting news! I finally get to tell you all about Marian, the inquisitive, creative, geology-loving protagonist of my third picture book! I can't wait to see how this evolves with Scot Ritchie and @groundwoodbooks.bsky.social ❤️🦕

As I flipped through the @kidsbookcentre.bsky.social magazine, I never imagined I'd see my own book! What a joyful surprise to spot Emma Lidia Squillari's bright yellow cover there. ❤️ 🎉And very special congratulations to my editing client Michelle Wang, whose book Oma's Bag also made the list!🎉

I've wanted a cat since I was very young. After so many years of yearning, it's hard to believe Nimbus has only been with us since March—it feels like forever. Yesterday he turned one, but he's still our little baby!

10 INCREDIBLE ways to BOOST your immune system: The Measles vaccine The Mumps vaccine The Rubella vaccine The Tetanus vaccine The Diphtheria vaccine The Polio vaccine The HPV vaccine The Pneumonia vaccine The Hepatitis B vaccine The Covid-19 vaccine

I will never forget following news out of Wuhan & being CERTAIN we would take steps to prevent it Then early reports of triage medicine in Italy & thought “now we will care” Then early reports of Long Covid. I was positive we would take chronic illness more seriously. I hate how wrong I’ve been.

In case you missed it, there's still time to save on your next edit—and get all the fun that comes with my newsletter!

Adrienne's resources are always excellent, and in this case, also a good reminder of the value of human editors!

Hey, #KidLit! I've got a special promo for new newsletter subscribers. If you're looking for an editor, check it out! 🔗Link in bio🔗 I work with fiction for all ages: #PB, #MG, #YA, & select adult lit (most often mystery/thriller or upmarket fiction). More info at laurabontje.com.

One of the many reasons I love being a #kidlit editor!

I definitely saw this shout-out, and I was beyond honored. Friends, go read Elisa's new book!

I can't believe I'm holding @elisastoneleahy.com's second book in my hands. To go from editing Tethered to Other Stars and hoping it would be acquired to seeing its name listed as "also by" is beautifully surreal. Congratulations, Elisa! Mallory's story is going to resonate with so many kids. 🎉

A first for me: readings and crafts in an 19th-century historical home! It was a (very) small turnout on a rainy Friday, but I had a fabulous time getting to know the kids who came out! Many thanks to Backus-Page House Museum, Canada Council for the Arts, & the Writers' Union of Canada.

We have to stop treating planet as a dumping ground. "Generative AI applications alone could add 1.2 million to 5 million metric tons of this hazardous trash by 2030." #PlanetaryBoundaries #PublicHealth www.scientificamerican.com/article/gene...

A little something to make it easier to find some dope Black creatives to follow on here. ☺️ go.bsky.app/U3UQX2A