PARENTS Magazine Interview

Thanks very much to Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal who interviewed me for Parents Magazine.

Lauren asked me all about the making of Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist, my picture book biography of Uvalde victim Alithia Haven Ramirez. I told her the whole story, which includes a lot of support from Alithia’s parents Jess Hernandez and Ryan Ramirez.

The interview was arranged as a cover reveal by my friends at Michael Sampson Books, publisher of Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist. Doesn’t the front cover look terrific? It was designed by the publisher.

Click here to read the interview.

Click here to preorder Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist today!

GEMS Podcast

This morning I was interviewed by the lovely Genesis Amaris Kemp on her podcast, GEMS.

We talked about publishing, creativity, inspiration, and following your dreams... and even cures for writers block.

Click here to listen.

If you prefer to watch on YouTube, click here.

GEMS is a fun and inspiring podcast to follow. Whenever I listen, I feel like I'm having tea with friends. Make sure you subscribe!

The 500 Section Lounge Podcast

 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-500-section-lounge-podcast/id1481244711

Hi, Everybody!

Yesterday, I was a guest on The 500 Section Lounge Podcast.

The 500 Section Lounge is a fun show, fresh and entertaining. The hosts—three dads who've been friends since high school—talk a lot of sports, so you may be thinking one of two things:

1) I want to hear three dads talk about sports and interview lots of cool sports personalities!

If that's you, no worries, settle down. All you have to do is click here, or use your Google machine. There are many ways to listen and subscribe.

2) What's a children's book illustrator doing on a podcast hosted by three dads?

 Well, let me tell you. The 500 Section Lounge podcast isn't just cool, it's super cool. There is something for everyone. Sam, Matt, and Richey talk to all kinds of people. In my favorite episode, they interview a beekeeper! Check it out, and make sure you subscribe.

The guys asked me all about what it's like to write and illustrate books for kids. They were completely gracious, their questions were insightful, and the experience was overwhelmingly positive. The only thing missing was pizza and beer. Or White Castle. (This is an inside joke... gotta listen to get it!)

I forgot to snap a screenshot during the pod, so this illustration will have to do. :o)

Click here to listen on Spotify... or just Google the show. There are tons of ways to hear it!

Book-Fest Award for "Let's Be Friends"

I'm excited to announce that my latest book, Let's Be Friends, has won Book-Fest's first place award for multicultural children's books that celebrate diversity. Thank you, Book-Fest!

Click here to order your copy of Let's Be Friends, A Lift-the-Flap Book today.

Hooray for "Babies Around the World"

The Best 100 Children's Books of All Time

Thank you, Reader's Digest, for ranking Babies Around the World fourth in your amazing list! Here is an excerpt, written by Molly Pennington, PhD:

4. Babies Around the World by Puck

Age: Baby to 4 years

Bonjour! Hola, amigos! In this adorable 2017 board book, babies from all around the world offer the simplest of greetings: hello. Toddlers and the littlest humans will not only learn how to greet people in other languages, but they’ll also discover the diverse world they’re living in. Cheerful, inclusive illustrations depict happy kiddos engaged in daily life.

Click here to read the entire article.

Click here to read why Babies Around the World is near and dear to my heart.

And click here to order your copy of Babies Around the World today.

CBI Kidlit Distancing Social

On May 18th, I had the pleasure of joining the amazing Laura Backes Bard, founder of Children's Book Insider, for a live Zoom chat focusing on board books.

Click here to watch the replay.

I told the crazy stories behind my two most recent books, Healthy, Healthy, Love, Love, Love and Let's Be Friends. As luck would have it, I was able to reveal the cover for Let's Be Friends, which will be released by HarperCollins in December. Laura also asked me about The Obamas, A Lift-the-Flap Book, which was released in 2019. 

Dreaming of Writing for Children?

If you want to get into the business of children's books, get to know Laura Backes and Jon Bard, the team behind Write4Kids.org and Children's Book Insider. The couple has spent decades collecting helpful information for children's book writers. If you have always wanted to write for children but aren't sure where to begin, try one of these:

CBI's YouTube channel is a great place to start! There are tons of topics from which to choose. I've listened to every interview, and have learned from all of them.

Write4Kids.org is chock full of helpful info, too. While you're there, sign up for the CBI newsletter, which is amazing! Priceless content, for the price of a cup of coffee.

If you're looking for a class, CBI has got you covered. Their Writing Blueprints are revolutionary self-paced online courses tailored to various genres, at a very reasonable rate. I'm about to begin my own journey with one of these blueprints, and will keep you posted!

Meanwhile, if you have any questions about board books, give a shout!

Links to More Good Stuff

Click here to read more about my experience with the CBI interview on my WordPress blog.

Want to order some board books? Click the titles to be redirected to the publishers' websites; or, better yet, order them from your local independent bookstore! :o)

The Obamas, A Lift-The-Flap Book

Healthy, Healthy, Love, Love, Love

Let's Be Friends (pre-order now; this book is coming in December!)

Book Week

Covid put the kibosh on live author/illustrator events, which has been such a bummer. Visiting schools, bookstores and libraries used to be one of the joys of my life! 

Lucky for me, my husband works at Shattuck-St. Mary's Forest City International School in Johor, Malaysia. As the only author/illustrator in residence, I was the obvious choice to be the school's Book Week guest. Technically, I was probably the only option, thanks to Covid; but hey, let's not parse the details. I was so grateful to be invited, and Book Week at SSM-FC turned out to be spectacular!

Throughout the week I got to visit classrooms from PreK through 5th grade. The smaller children and I read books together—many of mine, but also, I got to read books that the kids have been writing. Wonderful!

Showing thumbnail sketches from The Obamas: A Lift-the-Flap Book to a 4th grade class.

For the older kids, I read from my books, but also explained the process of illustration.

The main event was a half-hour presentation to grades 6-12 in the school's auditorium. I spent a lot of time preparing for this, honing a PowerPoint to keep me on track and on time, as much as to provide visuals for the mostly bilingual student body. (Many ESL students in the masked, socially-distanced crowd!)

The upper school principal provided me with talking points, which I was careful to include. The resulting presentation is divided fairly evenly into three sections: the story of how I got into publishing, what my life as an author/illustrator is like, and a general description of the publishing industry.

Click here to watch the whole thing on YouTube. Hopefully some of you teachers can find a use for this in your classrooms. It's chock full of visuals. Enjoy!