It's OUR BOOK BIRTHDAY! 🎂 🍾 🥳 Check out INFLUENCED by Cindy L Otis and me! Another book for these goofballs to devour 😂 #booksky #YA #kidlit

My TAKE 5 interview is with @carolynbfraiser.bsky.social ! She wrote her new PB, M IS FOR MASON JAR, on a dare and sold it to the first publisher!🤯 GIVEAWAY: a 30-min AMA Zoom OR a signed book! To enter: Share Like & Comment Follow #Booksky #kidlit #teachersky beckywalkerbooks.com/2025/08/04/t...

The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” — Samuel Johnson

I've said it before, but it bears saying again: a good review does not have to be a LONG review. My newest GR review is four words--and it does the job! If you like a book, please post a review and make a writer happy today! #mglit #kidlit #teacher #Librarian #abramskids

Recently a beloved character appeared at a sporting event, middle grade authors held a conversation, an author-illustrator made his debut, and a graphic novelist enjoyed a launch party + more

Dear Writer, Remember to find and hold onto the joy of storytelling. Love, Kayleigh

The books we love when we're young change our lives forever - and so do the people who help us find those books. So here's a huge & heartfelt THANK YOU to all the amazing teachers, librarians, booksellers & everyone else out there who's helping kids find books to read & love! #literacy

So the latest publishing gossip I heard was that we should stop writing middle-grade books for boys, because "they don't read anyway." I know at least one middle-grade boy who is a dedicated reader. How about you? Do you know one? #mglit #kidlit

Today is the birthday of American author Ernest Hemingway, who won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for "The Old Man and the Sea," and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. His personal library of over 7,000 volumes has been cataloged on LibraryThing as one of our Legacy Libraries. #💙📚 #Booksky

This is good entertainment right here.

“By fifth grade, I knew I wanted to write sports books and ones that featured someone like me as an athlete”: Amar Shah on his love of the sports genre and his new graphic memoir, ‘Wish I Was a Baller’ buff.ly/eoe5pvz

Keep creating, even if the world feels hard. Even if the work feels hard. The world needs your voice. There's a kid out there who will be changed because of your imagination and efforts. And even if the work feels lonely, you aren't alone. I'm so proud to be in the publishing trenches with you.

This is a pinnable post for the #KidLitMegaFeed, a collab (multiple curated #KidLit lists). Admins: @boringstorybook.com @charlenedraws.bsky.social @debbieohi.com. READ THIS re: how to be added, how to post. Pls: 📌Save/pin the feed if you enjoy 🔁Repost to share bsky.app/profile/debb...

Not a damn thing. Not one damn thing!

Let's celebrate the kickoff of summer w/ a #Giveaway! To enter: Follow & share. Extra entry for subscribing to my newsletter, The Briefing Room (see website). @sourcebooks.bsky.social #BTPTravelingARC #BookPosse #BookAllies #BookJaunt #booknerd #mystery #middlegrade #Reading Winner on 6/30.

I ring the closing bell here at #kidlitchat with hopes that 10 years from now, we have this same topic again with all of y'all still joining us every Tuesday night! See you then! (Or... for now... next week)

I'm a couple days late, but thought I'd still say, "Happy National Pollinator Week!" Support #bees, #butterflies and other pollinators by planting #nativeplants, #booksky, #writersky #readersky, #kidlitchat, #kidlit,#saveourpollinators, #insectsky

I absolutely love this guideline. And let me just say, it works in pottery too.

Been thinking about this a lot. I’ve been writing for 20+ years now in different capacities, and I think the devaluation of knowledge, creativity, literacy, and nature has just cemented what I aimed for at the start: These things matter, so if you want to keep them — protect them. #kidlitchat

I favor universal emotions and situations more than themes "of the moment," as one friend put it. That being said, because so many things don't really change in the tween world (mean friends! flawed parents! siblings are great but also SUCK!) I think my books still feel current. #kidlitchat

To the lovely human out there who posted an Amazon review of 365 DAYS TO ALASKA and bumped it up to 113 reviews after months of it quietly simmering at 112--thank you. Whoever you are, you are appreciated. This little book just keeps toddling along. #kidlit #mglit #creative

If anyone else is feeling bleh, then you're welcome to hang out with us in the #5AMWritersClub. #scriptsky #scriptsky+

Time to get working on your Porter Square Books Writer in Residence applications. Form is open now. Deadline is August 31! www.portersquarebooks.com/porter-squar...

I did not give up on writing middle-grade fiction in favor of a focus on something easier and more lucrative. That was my big writing milestone this quarter. 😂 I'm laughing. But also somewhat serious. #kidlitchat

Please share to let young people and teachers know that they (or their pupils) can submit pieces for the @theguardian.com Young Country Diary. Some great tips on #naturewriting here and published YC diarists will be paid! #countrydiary

My father knew that chore trick. No one ever told Dad they were bored more than once.

Gotta celebrate #hugyourcatday !

May's topic for #KidLitArt chat will be - Going Places! Join your hosts on May 29, 9pm EST/6pm PST for an hour-long chat about moving forward in your own kidlit journey! Banner art by @anneappert.bsky.social

Tonight! Monthly online chat hosted by @charlenedraws.bsky.social & @weyakindesigns.bsky.social, with banner art by @anneappert.bsky.social. Follow @kidlitart.bsky.social for updates & topics. Great way to meet other #KidLit artists & fans of #KidLitArt!

Extremely smart of Netflix. Whatever Sesame Street costs, it's almost certainly a fraction of their usual production costs for series, there's probably some sort of tax break in there, and the goodwill Netflix just earned is a publicity multiplier. www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/s...

A brilliant idea.

I love this.

Happy Mother's Day.

Good advice!

Don't be precious or confessional--the agent doesn't know you yet! Write your best prose--the agent will notice if the query is badly written. Think in terms of marketing language or a film summary. Last tip--NEVER be bitchy or demanding in followup. Ever, ever, ever. #kidlitchat

I have to repost because of the sterling phrase "Don't just throw query-spaghetti at a wall."

A query tip based on what I've heard from various agents: do your research! It's also worth taking the time to find out more about the agent you're querying: what they're specifically looking for, what they do/don't like. Don't just throw query-spaghetti at a wall. #KidLitChat

Topic of tonight's #KidLitChat: QUERIES, so I'm inspired to share my comic about querying. 😀 Features @jpchanda.bsky.social, my editor at Simon & Schuster (who was having squirrel woes in his #SkyGarden at the time).

Question for educators and librarians! This one is about point of view. Do you feel your kid readers prefer third person over first person? Or is it the other way around? While I'm at it, do they prefer present or past tense? #mglit #kidlit #kidlitchat #teacher #library

I don't write horror and so won't be participating in #horrorwriterschat but it's great it exists so I'll give it the boost. Have fun, horror writers.

Today is writer/illustrator Garth Williams’ birthday! #UrsulaNordstrom and #EBWhite chose him to illustrate STUART LITTLE and CHARLOTTE’S WEB. Ursula asked also him to illustrate the reprinted LITTLE HOUSE series. His own book, THE RABBITS' WEDDING, stirred up segregationists in 1958. #kidlit

I need quiet to write. No music, no conversations, and preferably no one else around (although I can block them out if I need to). How about you? #kidlitchat

Oh hellooo

It is #kidlitchat day once again! Join us tonight at 9 PM Eastern/ 6 PM Pacific/Your Time Your Zone for an hour of talking with your #kidlit pals and soon to be pals. I predict you'll be glad you join us, though I admit to some pro-chat bias. Still! Give it a try, and I hope to see you tonight....

I have finally launched my pre-order campaign! Link to how to apply in my linktree!

Have you read the latest Children's Bookshelf?

Another weekend, another opportunity to gift free books! #teachers #librarians #educators #reading specialists, I'm giving away copies of my Spellbinders series for #classrooms and #schoollibraries. Check it out here: www.spellbindersbooks.com/educatorcopies #tlsky #edusky #kidlitchat

The three key words of my life this past year seem to be "slow steady progress." This first 2025 quarter was not much different. One foot in front of the other. But I do wish I was having more fun, and felt more optimistic about things in general. #kidlitchat

For me, it's always Beverly Cleary--I think because she was one of the first kidlit writers I encountered whose work felt truly realistic--in some deep sense, her books conveyed the world as it really was. I just loved that, and still do. #kidlitchat

Well, whatta ya know? It's #kidlitchat night here on Bluesky. Every Tuesday at 9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific, a bunch of us folk gather here and, you know, chat #kidlit stuff. We kick off with a topic at the top of the hour and then, well, come join the fun and you'll see what happens! See ya soon....