Q&A with Melissa Stewart and Sarah S. Brannen about their new children's picture book, MONARCH AND MOURNING CLOAK: A BUTTERFLY JOURNAL. @sarahsbrannen.bsky.social @mstewartscience.bsky.social tinyurl.com/mrxphhft

Gosh, Rio Nakata takes my breath away. I can't wait to see him on the senior circuit. That short program deserves to go viral. #WorldJFigure

I'm watching Junior Worlds, on and off... I already have 3 new favorites, Daiya Ebihara, Jiarui Li, and Artur Smagulov (despite the (many, serious) mistakes). And extra credit to Matias Lindfors for the paint on his face to match the voidy program. #WorldJFigure

Melissa tells a part of the story behind our new book. When we first shared the dummy with our critique group, two people cried and three people said they wanted to start nature journals. @simonkids.bsky.social @ssedlib.bsky.social

Goodness, Nikolaj Memola got a buzz cut and dyed it blond. Well, if you can't get to the Olympics in your home country because you're injured, get a haircut, I guess.

There are so many good books out today! Happy #bookbirthday @jarrett-lerner.bsky.social and @supriyakelkar.bsky.social's ROOHI AND NATE, @underwoodwriter.bsky.social's TINY GARDEN, Loree Griffin Burns' EXTREME BIRDWATCHING, and of course @mstewartscience.bsky.social's MONARCH AND MOURNING CLOAK :)

Happy book birthday to all of these incredible client titles!! 🥳🎉 Available in bookstores and libraries everywhere.

It's here! MONARCH AND MOURNING CLOAK: A BUTTERFLY JOURNAL emerges from its chrysalis today!

While she was there for the Today Show, Alysa Liu told NBC that she would like to compete at the 2030 Olympics. "I like France..." And they repeated what she said at the closing ceremony in Milan:

Big weekend coming up! On Saturday, @mstewartscience.bsky.social and I will launch MONARCH AND MOURNING CLOAK: A BUTTERFLY JOURNAL at @silverunicornbooks.bsky.social! 11 am. On Sunday, I'll be reading and signing LOLLY ON THE ICE at The Book Shop of Needham, 2 pm. You're invited to both of these!

Inspired by Paula.

So I had two main ideas about promoting Lolly on the Ice. 1. Have it published right before the Olympics. 2. Have an American woman win the figure skating gold medal. So I would just like to take a moment to thank THE MAGNIFICENT ALYSA LIU for doing her bit for me. 🙂 Photo by YantsImages

Oh, I loved The Egypt Game so much as a kid. I read it again as an adult... still good!

"These bills aren’t about removing books; books are just one of the tools. These bills are about the complete and total erasure and removal of queer people from American life."

~What an amazing combination of poetry, art, and information! @mstewartscience.bsky.social & @sarahsbrannen.bsky.social #kidlit #picturebooks #picturebooknonfiction #kidslovenonfiction @simonkids.bsky.social @blueslipmedia.bsky.social geolibrarian.blogspot.com/2026/02/wild...

I'm seeing more book reviews blatantly written by AI. (Not just books; I just read a review of an opera production that included a paragraph explaining what opera is. Sung without amplification. Everyone dies at the end). What do y'all think? You know what I think of course.

This very Saturday I'll be at the lovely Beacon Hill Books in Boston, talking about skating and reading LOLLY ON THE ICE! And the weather forecast is great! 11 am.

Just one more week until it hits bookshelves! It's been a 16-year journey, so I just can't wait to share this book. @sarahsbrannen.bsky.social @ssedlib.bsky.social @simonkids.bsky.social @blueslipmedia.bsky.social @steamteambooks.bsky.social #TLsky #Skybrarian #bookrecommendation #edusky #kidlit

In interviews with PEN America, authors who have experienced book bans called it a creativity killer. While many said they refuse to self-censor, they still find themselves second-guessing their choices and bracing for backlash. Read the full story at: pen.org/book-bans-ki...

Strange that I haven't seen this being talked about elsewhere. Alysa said it on live TV, talking to Andrea Joyce on NBC while the US athletes were waiting to go into the stadium.

Hey Northeast Alysa Liunatics, do you know she will be performing in the Skating Club of Boston's Ice Chips shows this very weekend? Info at icechips.org.

This is the limpest, dullest closing ceremony I've ever seen. The athletes look bored to death.

Alysa Liu just said she has no plans to retire and can't imagine not skating next year, and that she'd love to compete in another Olympics. Yay!

Fantastic piece. www.si.com/winter-olymp...

This event had everything! Even an F-bomb from the women's champion.

I missed most of the women's free stuck in traffic (bad accidents) and got to my computer just in time for Isabeau. But so far this event seems EPIC. #MilanCortina2026

I feel the need to share this with all the new skating fans; Nathan Chen's Olympic gold medal-winning 2022 free skate. 5 quads (he did 6 in 2018). I love the way the first combination lands on the beat. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLyG...

I totally did that.

I'm afraid none of the likely scenarios I've been imagining ever included Amber as a medalist. :( I hope she skates really well in the free, for her own sake.

Were there protesters creating a disturbance during Alysa's skate? Dammit. What did she ever do to them?

Ok, Alysa doesn't look nervous at all. Kaori and Isabeau look a little nervous. Mona looks really nervous. Amber looks a little nervous but fierce.

I am now possibly too nervous to watch any more. #MilanCortina2026 #figureskating

Loena's tech score is dropping, dropping...

3s on all her elements, boo, but that was so entertaining. (Samodelkina)

Iida Karhunan, the first child of the void. I do love the weirdos. #MilanCortina2026

I could have lived a lot longer without seeing that coach at the boards of an Olympics again, not to mention the cheesy choreography that camp is known for.

Everyone's saying it, and they're all right. Any of the US women could win a medal. Any of the Japanese women could win a medal. That individual athlete could win a medal. 7 people, 3 medals. Who's nervous?? (and I'm just talking about the fans)

If this women's event follows the script of games past, youngster Ami Nakai will win the event and dark horse Isabeau Levito will be a surprise medalist. I make no predictions; there are 7 women who could medal and Sakamoto and Liu seem like rational choices. But this year, anything's possible!

Just 2 weeks until this book of my heart enters the world. I began writing it in 2008. Phew, what a journey it's had. @sarahsbrannen.bsky.social @ssedlib.bsky.social @simonkids.bsky.social @steamteambooks.bsky.social @blueslipmedia.bsky.social #TLsky #Skybrarian #SchoolLibraries #edusky #kidlit

It's really strange to me that Johnny didn't know Deanna and Max had taken the backflip out of the program. It was officially told to the media, wasn't it?

I never thought it was nerves although it was partly pressure. Adam Rippon breaks down the program in specific detail and it makes a lot of sense. Starting at about 17:30. open.spotify.com/episode/0fX8...

I hope this makes you smile! www.olympics.com/en/milano-co...

And interviewed immediately after, he was thinking carefully about the cause of the what happened and able to articulate it. I'm not sure I've ever seen a skater be able to do that after such an enormous disappointment. 2/2

One last thought about Ilia: For such a young man he is extremely thoughtful and self-aware. He had a moment of shock and dismay but even before he got his scores he was analyzing not what had happened, but why. 1/2

because I need to heal, here's the very touching moment when ilia malinin congratulated mikhail shaidorov on winning gold seconds after his own dream was crushed #MilanoCortina2026 #figureskating

Ooh, this would be a really good night to rewatch Heated Rivalry episode 5, am I right?

ilia malinin hugging mikhail shaidorov immediately after losing men’s free skate #olympics

I've only just realized Steven Gogolev was second in the free.

I’ve been worried about exactly this all season. So much media, so much hype. The Olympics is unlike anything else and people freak out. Four years ago I really thought they should have sent him; he'd earned it after all.