I would love to see a practical book about how to improve our media literacy! There is a great kids’ book called KILLER UNDERWEAR INVASION that I use to teach my kids about identifying fake news, bias, and scams, but kids are not the only people who need this info! We could all use some help tbh.

This is a good reminder for those of us making best of lists that if yours looks like everyone else's, it's a sign that you need to read more widely. There is so much great work that often goes unnoticed because it doesn't get a splashy marketing campaign.

MAGAZINER: How many veterans have you deported? NOEM: We haven't deported veterans MAGAZINER: We are now joined on Zoom by a combat veteran you deported to Korea

At the gym just now, the sniffling exerciser on the machine next to me gave a mighty sneeze, and it GOT ON MY HAND. Please, if you are not feeling well, stay home if you can, or at least mask up! I will be scrubbing like Lady Macbeth for the rest of the day if you need me…

@carolinecarlson.bsky.social shines a light on 10 great children’s books you might have missed in 2025.

I have kind of a complex friendship situation and could use some advice... lmk if you think this relationship is over for good?

My kids were restless and cranky last night at bedtime. I stomped downstairs, retrieved The Lives of Christopher Chant from the shelf, brought it up to kids, started to read. Instant silence & awe. Cannot wait to share the rest of this book with them (and then listen to the podcast!).

@carolinecarlson.bsky.social shares 10 new children’s books that take readers from the cosmos all the way back to Earth.

On my way to my mammogram, wondering if you’ve scheduled your mammogram yet? Today is a great day to do that! 🩷

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE SECOND INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE OVER ZOOM TO MEET MORE OF THE TEAM UNFORTUNATELY, YOU HAVE NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL ON THIS OCCASION, BUT WE HOPE YOU'LL APPLY FOR FUTURE POSITIONS WITH THE VAMPIRE

Also, and hear me out, the world of The Lord of the Rings would be a miserable place for most of us to live, and we should not be trying to emulate it.

I absolutely loved chatting with brilliant author Uma Krishnaswami about how I wrote THE TINKERERS. Find the whole craft-y chat on Uma’s blog here: www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/process...

🧵It has been clear for years that a key difference between past instances of book banning and the present censorship cataclysm is that the banning happening now targets not only books, but librarianship as a profession and libraries as an institution. 1/4

The Stressed-Out Hero’s Journey: Writing About Anxiety in Middle Grade Fantasy, a post by Caroline Carlson What would you do if you found a magical device that could turn back time—but only by five minutes? teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2025/10/13/t... @tltkaren.bsky.social @carolinecarlson.bsky.social

Tonight at White Whale Bookstore in Pittsburgh, come celebrate the launch of THE TINKERERS, my new novel for young (and not-so-young) readers! whitewhalebookstore.com/events/48225

repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself

Q&A with Caroline Carlson about her new middle grade novel, THE TINKERERS. tinyurl.com/y7t4472k @carolinecarlson.bsky.social

CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT is about a popular girl who ✨spectacularly✨ implodes her friend group, only for them to humiliate her by posting every brutal text she ever wrote about other students--including the ones about the unpopular boy she has just begun to befriend . . . and fall for. 10/21

THE TINKERERS is on sale today! I’m so proud of this weird, magical, cozy, mini-time-travel book, and I really hope you enjoy it. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/787553... #kidlit #mglit

Oh no, this is really sad news. Thinking of all the B&T employees and everyone in publishing, library jobs, and bookselling who will be negatively affected.

The nice folks at @candlewickpress.bsky.social are giving away 10 finished copies of THE TINKERERS over on Goodreads, and there’s still a day or so left to enter. Here’s the link if you need it! www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho... #kidlit #giveaway

Yes, I do have a book coming out in 6 days, but I am currently on an hourly eye drop regimen, so forget the author thing; I am now a full-time Eye Drop Application Professional. Please stay tuned for interesting eye drop facts.

The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls is out today! This pro-immigrant, pro-freedom to read #middlegrade #historical is inspired by the life of my grandmother, and I'm so happy to share it with you all. www.jandersoncoats.com/the-unexpect...

Dermatologists often recommend nicotinamide — a form of Vitamin B3 — following skin cancer. A study of nearly 34,000 veterans finds this supplement reduces the risk of skin cancer recurrence.

I had a question about trends in marmalade exports (don’t ask). My husband offered to ask ChatGPT. I told him that was like if a guy broke into our house and stole all of my stuff, and then my husband tracked the thief down a few days later and asked him what he knew about marmalade.

You may have been watching too much @taskmaster.tv with your family when you find some dried ketchup in your American 9-year-old’s hair and she says, “At least it wasn’t a bloody satsuma!”

I loved the book I just reviewed for Timeslip Tuesday! @carolinecarlson.bsky.social charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-...

This evening my sweet children, ages 9 and 6, told me where in their classrooms they are supposed to hide if someone comes to their school to hurt them, and I could not stand to hear it. It’s not okay to live like this. It’s not okay to force children to live like this. It’s not okay.

I spy a Goodreads giveaway of THE TINKERERS! @candlewickpress.bsky.social is giving away 10 gorgeous finished copies. (You can share it with your middle grade cozy fantasy fan or keep it for yourself!) www.goodreads.com/book/show/22... #giveaway #booksky #kidlitsky #readingcommunity

Ahhhh the North American ARCs for Enchanting the Fae Queen are here, & they are GORGEOUS. I love @wingbuffet.bsky.social's perfect cover art, @lesleyaworrell.bsky.social 's cover design, &all the perfect details of page layout inside (with huge thanks to my wonderful editor @erikatsang.bsky.social)!

Best advice I can give to parents: once a week go to the library, pick out a stack of books (make sure your kid gets to pick out several on their own) and then throughout the week, read them together. Reread their favorites. Talk about them together. Snuggle and read. Ask open ended questions.

Celebrate TOWED BY TOAD’s first birthday by taking a peek behind-the-scenes! jashar.substack.com/p/towed-by-t...

I just pulled a total Ramona, by which I mean that I was supposed to use smoked paprika in this chicken recipe and I used cayenne pepper instead 😬 Don’t tell my kids! #kidlit

This frontispiece in my book just made me laugh a lot. Is this Buddhist reincarnation, or some other form of afterlife?

I think that if you are trying to understand the Anthropic book settlement, and you are not doing it in light of the (extremely) failed Google book settlement from 2011, you will never be able to understand what is happening.

Read our blog to get an overview of the Anthropic settlement. There’s an FAQ for authors, too. We hope you find it helpful. authorsguild.org/news/what-au...

On the one hand, good, and I sure hope that I get my money owed, and that we all do. On the other hand, if anyone had actually, you know, ASKED ME whether they could use any of my books in this way, I would not have said "yes you can do it for $3,000." You know, for the record.

NEW YORK (AP) — Anthropic agrees to pay authors $3,000 per book in landmark settlement over pirated chatbot training material.

I don’t think there are enough books, cozy socks, interesting teas, fancy moisturizers, linen sheets, or handmade mugs that I can buy to make the news feel less grim today.

I was in a medical appointment when this news came out, and was instantly devastated that I couldn't be the first one to make the joke.

Oof, it’s very hard all over children’s lit right now.

Pittsburgh has a mayoral election coming up, too, and i would really like to do a scavenger hunt. How about it, @coreyoconnorpa.bsky.social ?

Just saw an ARC of THE TINKERERS being sold illegally on eBay. (They didn't even read it first!) Don't buy an ARC for $13 to support a jerk--buy the gorgeous hardcover for only a little more money and support me (a fairly nice person) and all the very nice people who worked hard on this book.

Not to add to the discourse, but… It’s ‘toe the line,’ not ‘tow the line.’ It’s ‘free rein,’ and not ‘free reign.’ It’s ‘eke out,’ not ‘eek out.’ It’s ‘sleight of hand,’ not ‘slight of hand.’ It's ‘Anchors aweigh,’ and not ‘Anchor's away!’

The first trade review for THE TINKERERS is a lovely one from Kirkus! I’m so grateful for their thoughtful read of the book.

Hello from the week between the end of camp and the beginning of school, when we are resettling after vacation, houseguests are coming, I have the regular errands and chores and 40+ hours of work to take care of this week, my husband broke his arm, the kids need haircuts, we all need to eat food...

Texas families, especially those with kids in schools—please raise your voices in support of books in your children’s classrooms. Your kids deserve to read. Your kids deserve to learn to love reading. They deserve the same excellent education that kids in other states receive.

Have gotten close to the end of my current read and am trying to stretch out the time I've got left in its world. In fact, have now hidden the book from myself to make it last longer. (It's THE INCANDESCENT by @emilytesh.net--a book for grown-ups, as we kidlit people say. It's great.)

I guess we all respond differently to not being interviewed by Terry Gross. Some of us change our entire worldviews. Others of us, while cooking dinner, hold up a carrot like a mic and give answers to imaginary interview questions with only our fridge as an audience.

I was invited to this beautiful library last summer for an event. It is a gem in rural western PA, with a children’s section so cozy and well-curated I could have stayed there for weeks. Libraries like this are a precious resource, and it breaks my heart that this one may not survive.