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Kidlit Social #72: How Lesléa Newman Changed the World – And What Comes Next
Meet Lesléa Newman, author of dozens of children’s books that have made a major impact on our culture. In 1989, Lesléa published her first picture book, Heather Has Two Mommies. It’s a work that has deeply inspired parents and children, LGBTQ and otherwise, and has been a lightning rod for censorship and book bannings. Since then, Lesléa has built an award-winning career filled with beautifully written and meaningful books that give life to her motto: Changing the World One Book at a Time.
CBI Interview: Picture Book Author Johnny Ray Moore
Author Johnny Ray Moore is a dual threat in kidlit: he can write in verse and in prose. The author of six published picture books, Moore’s newest book is a diverse, heartfelt lyrical celebration of winter, spring, summer and fall along with the joys of fatherhood in the aptly titled Seasonal Adventures (Reycraft, June 2021), illustrations by Cbabi Bayoc. The book was hailed by Kirkus as “a pure ode to nature and sincere Black boy joy.”
Kidlit Social #71: Alda P. Dobbs on Mining Your Family History to Create Compelling Fiction
On this episode, we meet Alda P. Dobbs, author of the acclaimed middle grade novel The Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna. We talk about mining our family history for inspiration, and how to keep the spirit of the true stories alive while crafting compelling fiction.
Kidlit Social #69: ‘Radical Solutions’ to Beat Fear, Doubt & Criticism and Thrive Creatively
On this inspirational episode, meet award-winning Middle Grade/YA author and creative writing professor Todd Mitchell. Todd joins us to share insights from his new book Breakthrough: How to Overcome Doubt, Fear, and Resistance to Be Your Ultimate Creative Self.
Todd offers up some amazing, radical, perspective-shifting solutions for how to enhance creativity, deal with doubt, procrastination, and criticism, and make creative endeavors more enjoyable and effective.
Kidlit Social #68: Writing Graphic Novels for Beginning Readers
In this edition, meet authors Lola M. Schaefer and Jill Esbaum. Lola and Jill are both part of Simon & Schuster’s breakthrough Ready to Read Graphics series, which introduces young readers to the graphic novel concept.
This is an important trend, and one you should definitely be aware of. Lola and Jill l also share their thoughts on the Easy Reader market and give some great tips.
The CBI Interview: Caribbean Author Shakirah Bourne on Her Journey to Publication
Author and filmmaker Shakirah Bourne’s career is off to a fast start. In this interview, reprinted from the November 2021 edition of Children’s Book Insider, the Children’s Writing Monthly, meet this fascinating, up & coming author from the beautiful nation of Barbados.
Kidlit Social #67: Henry Herz on Writing Stories That Surprise Readers – and Editors
Henry Herz’s ten picture books have earned acclaim for their surprising, unconventional spins on storytelling. On this episode of the Social, Henry shares his advice for taking fresh approaches to kidlit that can set your writing apart. He also delves into the world of short story writing for children and adults, an area in which he’s been particularly successful.
Kidlit Social #65: Melissa Stewart on Creating Nonfiction for the Classroom
On this episode of The Kidlit Social, meet Melissa Stewart, author of “5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children’s Books”, along with dozens of kidlit nonfiction titles currently in use by school districts as part of their curricula.
Melissa discussed creating nonfiction for kids while keeping educators’ needs in mind – a vital skill as schools and libraries are the biggest market for children’s nonfiction.
Kidlit Social #64: Picture Book Author Nadia Salomon on Getting Published & Promoting Your Work
In this episode, meet Nadia Salomon, author of the wonderful, recently released Goodnight Ganesha (Philomel, 2021, ill. by Poonam Mistry).
Nadia joins us to discuss the steps she took to get her debut picture book published, and what she’s done since the release date to assure its success. Expect lots of great tips you can start applying right now to help aid your own publishing journey!
Kidlit Social #63: Writing Books w/ STEM Tie-Ins & Crafting Realistic Animals
Meet illustrator, explorer and children’s book author Katy Tanis. Katy’s work bursts with color, and a true love for every creature on land, in air and under sea. In this episode of The Social, Katy talks about her writing/illustration process, and gives her advice for aspiring illustrators. She also touches on the necessity for authors and illustrators to do their research and accurately reflect the behaviors of animals in children’s book texts (fiction and nonfiction) and illustrations, as well as the environment.
Katy gives some examples of how to do that research, and why this accuracy is important since so many publishers are looking for books with STEM tie-ins (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math).
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