Blog

From Writing Conference Attendee, to Volunteer, to Faculty

Next week, I will be faculty at my first Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators writing conference, and it feels like a milestone. The first SCBWI conference I attended was in 2007. I was living in Los Angeles then, so attended the huge annual Summer Conference organized by SCBWI headquarters. As a wallflower who…
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Celebrity Meetings and Thanks to the Austin Public Library

I feel like I leveled up as an author recently. I got interviewed by a puppet! None other than Van of Austin Public Library’s The Van Show. I chatted with Van at the Texas Library Association convention in April about books, THE BOY, THE BOAT, AND THE BEAST, and zombie ants. So fun! The video…
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Book Birthday Bash: Extraordinary Birds

  Happy Book Birthday to EXTRAORDINARY BIRDS! Find hope. Take flight. For fans of The Thing About Jellyfish, Counting by 7s, and Fish in a Tree, a heartbreaking and hopeful debut novel about a unique young girl on a journey to find home. Eleven-year-old December knows everything about birds, and everything about getting kicked out…
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Tough Issues, Deep Impact at TLA

One of the highlights of this year’s Texas Library Association conference for me was my panel on Tough Issues – Deep Impact: How Middle Grade Books Can Inspire Empathy and Empower Young Readers. The topic is important to me, but the reason why this panel was a highlight is that the issue came up time…
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Going Local with Authors at TLA

The Texas Library Association convention was in my home town of Austin this year, and I was absolutely thrilled to attend as a speaker — and published author for the first time — speaking on topics that are dear to my heart: local authors and tough issues. Last year, I was on a panel for…
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Book Birthday Bash: Caterpillar Summer

  Happy Book Birthday to CATERPILLAR SUMMER! This beautifully honest, emotionally resonant debut tells the story of a girl, her brother with special needs, and the summer they will never forget. Since her father’s death, Cat has taken care of her brother, Chicken, for their hardworking mother—but on an unexpected island trip to visit grandparents…
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Book Birthday Bash: Noah Noasaurus

  Happy Book Birthday to NOAH NOASAURUS! In this picture book, Noah Noasaurus is grumpy and he woke up feeling very No. No to brushing his teeth. No to eating breakfast. And definitely No to playing with his little brother. Things only get worse when Noah goes for a walk and relentlessly cheerful Toby Rex,…
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Book Birthday Bash: Dancing Through Fields of Color: The Story of Helen Frankenthaler

  Happy Book Birthday to DANCING THROUGH FIELDS OF COLOR: THE STORY OF HELEN FRANKENTHALER! In this picture book, they said only men could paint powerful pictures, but Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) splashed her way through the modern art world. Channeling deep emotion, Helen poured paint onto her canvas and danced with the colors to make…
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Book Birthday Bash: Let’s Have a Dog Party!

  Happy Book Birthday to LET’S HAVE A DOG PARTY! In this picture book, Kate and Frank are best friends. To celebrate Frank’s birthday, Kate throws him a party with all her favorite things: lots of friends, dancing in circles, loud singing, and sparkly confetti everywhere. But best friends don’t always have the same taste…
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Book Birthday Bash: Angel Thieves

  Happy Book Birthday to ANGEL THIEVES! Here’s a message from Kathi Appelt, author of this young adult novel: “I’d love for you to know my large cast of characters, both contemporary and historical, human and not, in a story set along the banks of the Buffalo Bayou in Houston, TX. Each one is trying…
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