Children’s Author and Poet
I know. I know. You’ve grown accomplished to children’s authors visiting for #AuthorAcrostics, but today I’m welcoming a columnist, poet, novelist and editor all in one. Madonna and I have only met through emails and online, but we have been friends for sometime now. We first connected when her work appeared in the anthology Toasts, compiled by June Cotner and myself. It’s been a grand time ever since. You may learn more about Madonna here.
The world has begun to take stock in a few good things that have happened during the pandemic. I would include my Zoom visit with the International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) as one of those surprise blessings. I had such a good time working on list poems with them. Take a look at some of their creations. A special thank you to Ms Catherine Bae, their amazing librarian, who organized this visit. The poem below is entitled SUMMER ROCKS by Mr George’s Second Grade. Isn’t it grand?!
Today I have a fabulous #GiveAway on Twitter, so go check out @NancyTupperLing. I’m super-blessed to have illustrator Shirley Ng-Benitez for #AuthorAcrostics. She will be signing two of her books (Pablo’s Pet and The Protest) to the winner of the drawing (at 11 pm EST). Just look at her illustrations. Doesn’t she capture a warmth and a sense that the world will be a better place?! Shirley and I share the same wonderful agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette (Erin Murphy Literary Agency), and she is here “wishing everyone a great new year of the Ox!” She hopes we have “a peaceful year ahead and we will all be able to get vaccinated so that we can hopefully start opening up things and resume seeing people . . . I miss that!” Personally, I can’t wait until Shirley and I meet in person. The sooner the better, maybe even in 2021!
It’s now over a week ago, but my WRAD experience was amazing this year. I loaded all of my events into my Google Calendar so that I could easily find the link to each Zoom or Meet. That was definitely helpful. I also printed off a sheet for each school so I knew which book or poem we were working on. With 7 visits in a row, there wasn’t time in between each one for any hesitation. From Colombia to Queens, El Paso to Midlothian, Virginia, I had a blast creating poems and showing a “sneak peak” of my next children’s book, For Every Little Thing (Eerdmans Publishing), co-authored with June Cotner. It’s safe to say, I can’t wait until next year.
I can’t think of anyone I’d rather hang out with during a New England snow storm than Elly Swartz. If you haven’t read one of Elly’s fabulous books yet, now is the time to start. You can choose from Finding Perfect, Give and Take, or Smart Cookie. If you finish those, her next book, Dear Student, will be coming out in 2022. To learn more at her website, click https://ellyswartz.com/ To book a photo session with her talented son, Greg, head to https://www.instagram.com/gregswartz_photography/
Turns out Heidi E.Y. Stemple and I have something in common besides writing for children. When I was younger I vowed I would never be a poet like my mother. Guess what? That didn’t last. And if you read Heidi’s #AuthorAcrostics below, you’ll discover that she had similar thoughts until she turned 28. The rest is history!
It’s always so nice to receive the invitation from my #ReadYourWorld friends to be an author sponsor for the year. The #kidlit world is vast and wide and deep, and I’m forever grateful to play an ever-small role here. Hope you can check out all the amazing books featured on January 29th, 2021. 
I can’t imagine starting out an #AuthorAcrostics New Year any better than this. I’m honored to have New York Times best-selling author-illustrator, Brian Lies, here with me today. I think this is a good omen for 2021, don’t you?! Please join me on Twitter for a chance to win a copy of Brian’s amazing book, The Rough Patch, which received a Caldecott Honor and a Crystal Kite award. To learn more about Brian’s upcoming book, Little Bat in Night School, and more click here.
Last #AuthorAcrostics stop for 2020! What better way to celebrate than with a prize! We have a visit with author & illustrator, Jarrett Lerner, and a drawing for a signed copy of his book, Give This Book a Title.
