Thank you @laurashovan.bsky.social for joining our school’s 5th graders on #WorldReadAloudDay! They really enjoyed spending time with you & were so excited that you asked them about what they were reading. One student said you were the best author visit ever! #mglit #TLSky #schoollibrary

This #FairytaleFriday we have an 1850 portrait of Thomas Howland-- first Black man elected to political office in Rhode Island--who has a word or two to say about the current administration banning Black History Month. (Artist: John Blanchard)

Fellow Southern Californians, if you've been impacted by the fires, the FEMA application portal is here: www.disasterassistance.gov

"It is you, O' Prince, the youth of my dream!" Elaine slowly drew the bespelled Murder Sachet from the fluttering draperies of her nightgown. Thank the Goddess Hilaria for the prophetic dream that had warned her to prepare for this lowlife stranger invading her bedchamber. Happy #FairytaleFriday!

#Kidlit writers, someone out there needs your book to clutch to their heart. Keep going. ❤️

Time for #SephardicSky stuff! Listen and enjoy for a Hanuká Alegre! Flory Jagoda was a famous Sephardic singer-songwriter-musician, and she wrote the classic "Ocho Kandelikas" in Ladino, the Spanish-based language of my grandmother. My friend Sarah Aroeste's version is gorgeous.

Our Author Fireside Chat with the wonderful @etraintalks.bsky.social is up! Whether or not you celebrate Hanukkah, let this one play while you're holiday baking. It will resonate in your heart. If you're inspired to purchase THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS, hit me up for personalized, signed bookplates!

THIS.

Happy #FairytaleFriday! Victorian Artist: Imma make a Christmas card that shows how kids are the best gifts, as sweet as sweet peas! Artist's Friends: Yayyyy, we can't wait to see how you express this heartwarming concept! Hallmark Disclaimer: No kids were harmed in the making of this Xmas card

Happy #FairytaleFriday! Victorian Artist: Imma make a Christmas card that shows how kids are the best gifts, as sweet as sweet peas! Artist's Friends: Yayyyy, we can't wait to see how you express this heartwarming concept! Hallmark Disclaimer: No kids were harmed in the making of this Xmas card

Everyone's had a moment when you realize you forgot something back home but decide you can get through the day without it. It's #FairytaleFriday ! ("Winter" by Jean-François Hudon, 1785)

🚨 🎉 ➡️ WIN!!!! LOUDER THAN HUNGER by @mrschureads.bsky.social! 1. FOLLOW 2. REPOST 3. COMMENT: Tag a friend! Celebrating our Bookelicious Children’s Librarian, John Schu, being named to the @nytimes.com Best Children’s Books of 2024 list! #FBF #Edusky #kidlit #giveaway @candlewickpress.bsky.social

With one holiday behind us & more to go in the next months, it's time for a reminder: *If a chronically ill loved one bails on holiday plans at the last minute, it means they hoped until the last minute that the could come. Please: no shame or blame. *Unlike chronic illness, Ableism can be cured.

#FairytaleFriday mood after Thanksgiving. Our task is to use the truth of the past to shape a better future. To use the truth, we must first know the truth, then share the truth. Katie Robideaux Blue Thunder, with her doll, 1898 Rosebud Sioux

Going to enjoy chatting about our new MG anthology of Hanukkah stories with these lovely latkes; @nchurnin.bsky.social @bridgethodder.bsky.social @leslea.bsky.social @ericaperl.bsky.social @terrilibenson.bsky.social Many thanks to E Train Talks for the fun.

This! My 8th grade readers (and even the majority of my 7th graders) are looking for that step in the reading ladder between MG and upper YA. Edgy, but safe. As their ms librarian, I’m desperately looking for that too!

Happy #FairytaleFriday! Oh my God, Helga thought, the young master had stabbed himself with the letter-opener again to get the princess to hug him. That fancy see-thru undershirt of his was a dead giveaway.

I’m screaming!!!! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 @featherfully.bsky.social

Collecting stuff for the hard times to share with my friends here. This new book is one of them--how to feed yourself when cooking feels impossible. Happy pub day to @margareteby.bsky.social !

Boosting!

Someone let me know my art was being stolen (again), this time on Temu. She reported it & the listing seems to be removed now. But it’s a reminder to pls not shop on Temu, esp art stuff. Even at a glance, so much of it is obviously stolen from independent artists 😢.

Might be the perfect book for this fraught moment: JUST MAKING: A GUIDE FOR COMPASSIONATE CREATIVES "Mitali Bose Perkins helps creatives persevere through pushback from within and without. We can keep making art that heals human suffering, transmits truth, and confronts the oppressor."

Nothing feels more relevant!

Another #NCTE24 panel; this one shares how to support children's agency and diversity in a picture book way that makes a real difference! Going to be beautiful.

More NCTE goodness coming up! This time with Queer picture book joy along with Heart, Hope and Humanity...if you're in Boston for the convention, don't miss this one! @leslea.bsky.social

Hey, my kind and wonderful kidlit author friend Elly Swartz is now on Bluesky! She's doing an ARC giveaway and you will not be disappointed if you win! @ellyswartzbooks.bsky.social

Happy #FairytaleFriday! *Where loving snark meets awesome art* Today, we pay tribute to General Thomas Dumas, father of the author of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, greatest soldier and hunter in France...and an inspiration to tiny-footed people everywhere. Artist: Louis Gauffier, late 1700s

Browsing my GR feed for the first time in a million years and learned there is currently a US giveaway on for ARCs of COME AS YOU ARE! You've got until the 25th to enter! www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

And author @buffalojenn.bsky.social with @janetsumnerjohnson.bsky.social , Ernesto Cisneros, Tricia Springstubb, and others exploring the intersection of Heart, Hope, Humanity with sports and hands-on learning. Not to be missed if you're at NCTE.

And here is @philbildner.bsky.social discussing We Need Diverse Books and "An Activation of Hope" at NCTE with Ellen Oh, Dhonielle Clayton, Tracey Baptiste, Samira Ahmed and Cornelius Minor...should be amazing!

Buckle up for a whole slew of kidlit panel posts, coming at NCTE 2024 in Boston Nov. 21-24th! First up: @baronchrisbaron.bsky.social with @rajanilarocca.bsky.social Lisa Fipps, James Bird, Jarrett Lerner, Dan Santat, and a bunch of other fantastic authors!

Today's loving encouragement: I know many of you are feeling down. I know you feel hesitant to bring that into our public spaces. And toxic positivity instead of empathy can bring us down further. If you're feeling that way, here's something I made for you.

Hi!! I'm a children's author, a reading/language specialist, and a former educator & therapist in the Massachusetts & Texas public schools. I'm also the kind of person who calls everyone "my dear" and means it. Follow for loving encouragement, #FairytaleFriday art snark, kidlit, & Sephardic stuff!