Part TWO of our cover reveal, now with more @cpark.bsky.social! Go to @fuse8.bsky.social's cover reveal/interview to see what Chris had to say about working on this book!
afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/04/t...
MANY thanks to CP Natalie Mitchell Design for making this brilliant video for me!
Wonderful interview! I love that Jilanne says of THE OCEAN'S HEART: "[E]very sea creature deserves our attention and respect, no matter how small." ❤️
I'm so proud of the many ways our literary community has been showing up in this moment--this article gives a great look at events from just the past week!
Thank you to @fuse8.bsky.social for this fab cover reveal and interview about THE NEW CAT by @grubreport.bsky.social and @cpark.bsky.social!!
Hurrah!! 🎉
Exactly!!
Front cover of the picture book The Ocean's Heart: The Tiny Creatures Essential to Life by Jilanne Hoffmann, illustrated by Khoa Le. The cover depicts a variety of bizarre-looking translucent ocean creatures, some of which appear to be bioluminescent with glowing yellow, orange, or red areas. The background is very dark blue and some small fish are slightly visible along the bottom.
Front cover of the picture book Beisbol Begins: How Nemesio Guillo Brought Baseball to Cuba by Ramon Olivera. It depicts a light-skinned man wearing an old-fashioned black suit and black necktie with a white dress shirt. He his holding a wooden baseball bat in his hands. Behind him are two men who are playing catch with a black ball, and farther back we see a harbor with a ship in it, and a gray stone lighthouse (Cuba's famous Faro del Castillo del Morro lighthouse).
Front cover of the poetry anthology For the Win: Poems Celebrating Phenomenal Athletes, selected by Irene Latham and Charles Waters. Photos depict the following athletes on a purple background with a montage of sports equipment: Jalen Hurts, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, running while holding a football; Nelly Korda, a professional golfer, holding up a golf club she just finished swinging; Lionel Messi in a soccer uniform, smiling and pointing; Suni Lee in a blue and red long-sleeve leotard, posing gracefully on one leg (presumably during her floor routine at the 2024 Olympic Games), and LeBron James, wearing a bright yellow Lakers uniform, holding a basketball over his head with two hands, as though about to shoot it.
Front cover of a photo book for young children called Let's Camp! by author and photographer Shelley Rotner. It depicts a girl with medium brown skin and brown curly hair pulled back into a ponytail who wears a purple short-sleeve t-shrt and jeans. She appears to be about 9 years old and is posing alongside a gravel trail, with one hand resting on a sign that reads "Darling Trail." In the background, a large orange and off-white tent is visible and there are lots of tall pine trees on either side of the trail as well as lots of lush, green ferns and brown leaves on the ground.
Happy book birthday to these fab titles! We have a lyrical look at zooplankton by @jilanne.bsky.social & Khoa Le, the origins of baseball in Cuba by Ramon Olivera, poems about current athletes, ed. by Irene Latham and @charleswaters.bsky.social , and a first look at camping by Shelley Rotner! 🦠⚾🤸♀️⛺
This book came together so beautifully, and the process making it was such a joy!!
THE OCEAN'S HEART releases on Tuesday!
My own heart is full of gratitude for those who see the awe and wonder in this story!
#kidlit #nonfiction #picturebooks #wonder #awe #ocean #STEM #STEAM
@carolhinz.bsky.social @steelworksliterary.bsky.social @pbspree.bsky.social @steamteambooks.bsky.social
Such a wonderful group of editors to connect with at my first-ever Kindling Words!
Rent is due in Minnesota. Essentially every rent fund still needs donations to keep people in the houses that offer them protection from ICE.
There’s a very long list of places to donate on this website. Please help spread the word!
Just got a message from South High saying “We currently have requests totaling $33,965 for rent and we have $7500 available tomorrow. Please try to share the gofundme widely! Thanks”
Well, that simply will not do. I'll match the first $900. Please help my fellow South High families if you can! 🖤🧡🖤
Thank you to @authorsabb.bsky.social heroes @beccacoffindaffer.bsky.social and Ed Underhill, we have some slides that can be shared by anyone about this, with particular reps to target. Let's kill this bill in committee.
I've written up a brief script for anyone who wants to call or write your representatives regarding this bill (yes, even the ones you think won't care). PLEASE DO THIS IF YOU ARE ABLE. This bill *cannot* pass.
You can find your representatives here: www.congress.gov/members/find...
So great to see our book baby continuing to reach new readers!! 😊
Blue sky background with graphic stars, the cover of Touch the Sky, an emblem for the monarch award, and the Association of Illinois School Library Educators
OMG! TOUCH THE SKY has been nominated for The Monarch Award -- a readers' choice state award in Illinois -- and I am so thrilled!
Full list of all the other noms, including @fuse8.bsky.social and Andrea Tsurumi's hilarious book, POP! GOES THE NURSERY RHYME here: drive.google.com/file/d/1O_ZL...
I got a sneak peek at this one because @geckopress.bsky.social is part of Lerner. KIKI & ME is absolutely a spectacular book, and this is a glorious interview with Leo Timmers!
Please join me in celebrating the release of THE OCEAN'S HEART with a reading on StoryTime Sprint! It may be recorded, so please register if you're interested. Thanks! #kidlit #nonfiction #teachers #librarians #ocean @steelworksliterary.bsky.social @lernerbooks.bsky.social @carolhinz.bsky.social
A graph using reports from people over papers showing Numbers of reported kidnappings and activity from Minnesota, California, Florida, Texas, and then a combination of all other states. The highest Spike is in mid-January showing that Minnesota was reporting 500 incidents a day while California was reporting right around 100. Along this whole graph, Minnesota is showing at least double reports compared to everyone else with the exception of a time in very early January when California was almost on Pace with what we were seeing here. There is a small heading up top that says: immigration enforcement in Minnesota dwarfed the rest of the nation.
Seeing this visualization has been really impactful for me. There were times when people tried to come at us sideways for claiming this is *different* and massive in a way that we hadn't seen other places. But it really really has been.
Glad to see both RETURNING THE SWORD and SACHIKO: A NAGASAKI BOMB SURVIVOR'S STORY, both by Caren Stelson, on this list!
ICE activity continues to interrupt daily life for students, staff and families, despite the announced end of the two-month surge of federal immigration agents. Students attend school remotely, staff monitor arrival and dismissal, and leaders wonder when they can resume normal school operations.
Wonderful!! 😊
I don't think it matters in terms of being the author or illustrator. I have seen illustrators do some cool drawing demos at book events (often with a big pad of paper and markers) as an interactive element. And of course art projects for kids are fun too!
Locally, I don't see as many kids at weeknight events, though there are some. On the weekend, a Saturday mid-morning time slot is good for families who have kids young enough to still need an afternoon nap. Or else you could do something like 4pm, and most will be done napping by then.
I love that you're asking these questions! Honestly, if you are thinking of doing a launch at a bookstore, ask them what they would recommend--both in terms of what dates are available and in terms of when they tend to get the best turnout.
Absolutely incredible. What a reminder of the power of dance.
Today is still, officially, Washington's Birthday, but if you're going to call it the other thing I suggest styling it, apostropheless, as Presidents Day—that is, a day of and about presidents, not owned by them.
Also, Washington's Birthday never falls on Washington's birthday.
It isn't enough that the operation draws down here. This violent occupation cannot happen ANYWHERE. DHS is a lawless, unaccountable organization that needs to be dismantled and investigated. And every act of violence must be prosecuted.
Thank you, @shannongibney.bsky.social for finding the time to write about what it's like to live and work in Minneapolis, particularly as a children's author
pearlsandrubys.slj.com/2026/02/10/s...
This is an incredible piece--I cannot recommend it highly enough!
