We're thankful for families and friends, libraries and rainbows, nature walks, books, and freedom. We're also thankful for YOU - our followers - and the entire #kidlit community. What are you thankful for? #PBJam #Thanksgiving #Gratitude

@kazwindness.bsky.social @mattforrestvw.bsky.social and @mirkahokkanen.bsky.social will be speaking and signing books at #NCTE25 #edusky

I'll be over at #NCTE2025 on Friday signing books and presenting about early reader graphic novels. If you are there, stop by and say hi! #picturebookauthor #picturebookillustrator #earlyreadergraphicnovels #kidlit

I'm offering a virtual market to all friends who are not able to shop at my in-person ones! Join me on Sat, Nov 29, 1-3pm. To receive the zoom link sign up in link in comments. If you cant make it live, I'll send a link to my event specific store where you can make purchases after. #holidaymarket

I work as a printmaker in addition to illustrating books. This week I've been working on a set of 5 mini prints to set up a vending machine at my upcoming Nov 2nd DC Print Fair. Excited! 😃 #printmaking #linocut #reliefprint @eastcityart.bsky.social

2026 Calendars are up! I've got them available in 2 sizes, and a limited number 3rd set that I print at home that is also a pony bunting kit. Cut the horses out at the end of the year to make a bunting. 🫏🐎 Find them here: www.etsy.com/.../2026-per... & www.etsy.com/.../11x16-wa.... #2026Calendar

This big boi was showing off his breakfast catch as I was leaving the house this morning. #spiders #jumpingspider

Our chapter is hosting Brian over for a really interesting talk on typography + picturebooks. Tickets $15 for SCBWI members. Happening Nov 3rd at 7pm. #mddewvscbwi #kidlit #picturebooks

New interview up with Heather Macht at Seasons of Kidlit. Check out the whole series of interviews and learn more about new fall books coming out. www.seasonsofkidlit.com/post/trick-o... #kidlit #childrensbooks #picturebook @mackidsbooks.bsky.social

Book giveaway! Last chance to enter. 📣🎉📚 #kidlit

Happy #kidlitartpostcard day! Changing gears and figured I'd do an underwater scene for once. 😊🐟 I'm an illustrator working on my own books, but also open to new projects. Find me at mirkah.com/pbillustration. I'm represented by @laurelsymonds.bsky.social at KT Literary. #kidlit #kidlitillustration

I'm so excited to have @mirkahokkanen.bsky.social on the Writing While Impaired blog this week as she shares how she manages her own creative chaos with a calendar system. Hope it is helpful to you as you create through the chaos of life! substack.com/home/post/p-... #kidlit #illustration

A few photos from the author event at Dancing Bear Toy Shop in Frederick, MD last weekend. I ❤️d reading with the kids, and the leaf characters they made were so cute! Thank you to @curiousiguana.com books for coordinating the event. ❤️📚🍁 #kidlit #childrensbooks #picturebooks #nonfictionpicturebook

New interview up at Jonathan Roth's blog: jonathan-roth.com/2025/09/10/g... #kidlit #kidlitillustration #kidlitillustrator #picturebook #outdooradventure #edusky #skybrarians #newbooks

Hi all graphic novel creators! KidlitGN is gearing up for a pitch event at the end of September. The community also has a chance to win awesome prizes so check it all out here: kidlitgn.com/2025/09/03/w... #kidlit #graphicnovels @kidlitgn.bsky.social

Happy publication day to Little Seasons: Autumn Leaves! So excited for this book to be out in the world making little ones smile while teaching them all about leaves and how they change color. Great for a classroom or homeschool. mirkah.com/autumnleaves #stembooks #kidlit #autumnbooks #edusky

Hi #kidlit verse. Who has great books coming out this year that you recommend checking out? (Add your own too if you have one.) Looking to add some preorders to my cart for free shipping.

Maryland Friends Ahoi! 📣 I'll be at the Crious Iguana in Frederick, MD, on Sep 6th from 11am-12pm for storytime and a fun leaf craft. If you are interested the area come and say hi! curiousiguana.com/event/mirka-... #kidlit

Fall is in the air. Ready for some amazingly fun nonfiction about all sorts of leaves? Then check out this #picturebook #kidlit #interview #bookbloggers jenabenton.com/2025/08/21/s...

It's a #kidlit giveaway. ❤️📚❤️ Make sure to click to the original post to like and comment.

Make an adorable leaf craft with us! Steps in comments below. I've got two fall themed books coming out this fall and now a fun craft to go with them. #kidlit #fallcraft #fallkidscraft #easykidscraft #leafcraft #autumnkidscraft #edusky #skybrarians @holidayhouse.bsky.social @ktliterary.bsky.social

Learn about the illustration process for How the Forest Feels and get a peek into my studio at Katrin Dreiling blog today. www.kids-bookreview.com/2025/08/meet...

We've had a nature filled vacation this summer. My sister's horse turned 3 today and it was the first time she had a rider on. Happy to say both horse and sister are still alive. Lol. We also have a lot of barnswallows and two jumped out today. We put them up a higher so they wouldn't be trampled.

Happy #kidlitartpostcard day! I'm Mirka, an illustrator who loves to draw animals and cute kids. I'm open to new picture and board book projects. I've also done nonfiction and graphic novels. Portfolio: mirkah.com/pbillustration I'm represented by @laurelsymonds.bsky.social at KT Literary. #kidlit

Yay! This beauty is out today. Available online and in bookstores. "How the Forest Feels" Written by Wendi Silvano and illustrated by me. Published by Holiday House. For buying options visit mirkah.com/forestfeels #kidlit #sensorybook #picturebook

Yay for Doodle Chat with @bonniekelso.bsky.social! ✏️ #kidlit #kidlitillustration #skybrarians #edusky #kidlitart #kidlitillustration

I wrote about why funny books for kids are IMPORTANT. Especially now.

Out in 2 more days! This is a great book to be inspired to go outside. I uploaded a nature bingo activity under "free resources" & How the Forest Feels book pages Mirkah.com. The game is made for outdoors, but indoors works too. It's all sensory words: somthg heavy, scratchy etc #picturebook #kidlit

Painting process photo for one of the illustrations for How the Forest Feels. It's a wonderful rhyming book full of great descriptions for things outdoors. Fun book to read and then go out and explore. Coming out everywhere Aug 5th. #kidlit #kidlitillustration #edusky #librarians

I got the chance to do updated artwork of the Gem Dragons for the new book: Dungeons & Dragons The Book of Dragons. I worked waaay too hard on these, I'm extremely proud of them. This is dragon 1 of 5

New free activity sheets just posted on my website for "How the Forest Feels". The book launches in just a few days on Aug 5th. Can't wait to share it with everyone. It got great reviews on both SLJ and Kirkus. 🫶 ➡️ mirkah.com/forestfeels to download and find out more about our book. #kidlit #edusky

Take your character designs from bland & stiff to charming & energetic. Learn how to: •use the personality of your character to guide its design •use shapes to convey personality, •make an appealing character •Top tips for drawing consistently. September 8 / LINK BELOW #kidlit

I took the kids to the zoo today in Helsinki. It was a hot day but we had a great time. The best highlights were the lynx that was laying right by the window and the bears catching fish in their pond. #helsinki #zoo #eläintarha

Brand new class on designing environments for picture books! www.mirkah.com/outdoordesign You can see the 2min introduction video at the link. #kidlit #kidlitillustration #kidlitart

Kidlit411 is such a great resource! Sharing this week's post

#kidlitartpostcard almost passed me by with the holiday weekend! Hi, I'm Mirka and author and illustrator represented by @laurelsymonds.bsky.social at Kt Literary. I love to illustrate animals and nature, both fiction and NF. You can find my portfolio at mirkah.com/pbillustration. #kidlit

Celebrating #juneteenth2025 with a bunch of our favorite #PictureBooks about the history of slavery and the Juneteenth holiday. Do you have a favorite picture book you'd like to recommend? #kidlit #childrensbooks #PBJam

We're celebrating the longest-running children's literacy initiative in the country with our 2025 releases! That's right, this is #ChildrensBookWeek, sponsored by the @cbcbooks.bsky.social What books are you and your kids reading this week? #KidLit #PictureBooks #edusky #ChildrensBooks #Poetry

I love seeing the different ways my work gets framed. The copper frame compliments the colors of this print so nicely. Great choice @rooie.bsky.social 😊🫶

These look so fun!

Printable Mother's Day card activity for kids now available on my blog. www.mirkah.com/pb-blog/mothersday. Great to use in the classroom or at home. Personalize with 4 favorite things about that person. . #mothersday #mothersdayactivity #skybrarians #edusky

Last three pages from my travel journal. I was getting to have more fun with it the further we went. Adding more text and details about things we saw. Heidelberg goes on list of places to revisit. . #traveljournal #germany #travelillustration #heidelberg #heidelbergcastle #kidlit #illustrator

B&N is having their preorder sale! Get my fall books at 25% off. Barnesandnoble.com/s/mirka+hokkanen Autumn Leaves is a funny nonfiction book about leaf life cycle and photosynthesis and Forest Feels is a sensory adventure written in soothing rhymes. #kidlit #edusky #planlifecycleunit #sensoryplay

Feeling guilty about not working on my comic, or working at snail pace.. Then remembering *this*, and feeling a little more justified in taking things slow.

Here are 2 more travel diary pgs. My favorite from this spread was the Residenz palace in Munich. Munich definitely goes on my list of places to revisit one day. I have actually already visited Dachau and Salzburg previously, so they were more familiar. . #traveljournal #kidlit #travelillustration

Traveling in Germany with my daughter's school group. Keeping a sketchbook of the things we've seen. Lot of wobbly lines on the bus so decided to do pen lines in the hotel. 😆 Loved the 2 medieval cities we visited. They're filled w so many pretty details. #germany #illustrator #traveljournal #kidlit

Just posted this cute little frog craft on my blog. Fun to do at home or in the classroom. 🐸💚 www.mirkah.com/pb-blog/frog... #edusky #skybrarians #kidlit #kidlitillustration

Im honored that my illustration picked for the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association Speed Run Puzzle 2025! I attended the reveal and was floored by the positive energy in the room. I can't wait to see what the best time for '25 will be. The best time for the Speed Run Puzzle from '24 was 17 min! 😱 #puzzle

Hi #Edusky and #skybrarians! I've just added a new set of free activities to my website. They go with the book Little Seasons: Spring Seeds. The resources include a flip book, creative drawing, math and sensory activities! www.mirkah.com/pb-blog/plan... #plantlifecycle #kidlit #STEAM #nonfiction

Happy #KidLitArtPostcard day! I'm Mirka, an author-illustrator who likes nature and animals. Represented by @laurelsymonds.bsky.social #kidlit #kidlitart