Writer for children - Reader forever -
Mom of 3, educator, author of FOUR OTTERS TOBOGGAN: AN ANIMAL COUNTING BOOK (PomegranateKids, PIPPA'S PASSOVER PLATE (Holiday House), SWEET DREAMS, SARAH (Creston Books); MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: THE INSPIRING FRIENDSHIP OF ELLA FITZGERALD AND MARILYN MONROE (Little Bee Books); FROM HERE TO THERE: INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WAY THE WORLD MOVES (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Jan 19, 2021); PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: Annie Londonderry, First Woman to Bike Around the World (Calkins Creek/Astra, Feb 20, 2024) picture book junkie, lover of travel, hiking, fly-fishing, cooking, and playing Monopoly with my grandson.
Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends. Today’s selection is special for several reasons: the author is one of my Storm Agency sisters, the book just launched this month, and the topic of body autonomy and consent is one that used to be ignored, but is finally finding its way into conversations…and books!
I can remember when the aunties would come over – and cheek pinching and hug squishing would occur, whether I wanted it or not. I know there will be many children who relate to the main character in this story.
And it’s a book about a library – my home away from home when I was a kid!
And it’s written by one of my dear friends and panel mates from the 2019 NCTE – you know – when we were still traveling here and there, attending book festivals and conferences.
Libraries…one of the last great free resources – open to all.
And I give you:
SO YOU WANT TO BUILD A LIBRARY
Written by Lindsay Leslie – Illustrated by Aviel Basil – Published by Capstone Press – Launching August 1, 2021
WELCOME TO ALL! Whether you have participated in previous years or you are just dipping your toes in for the first time – whether you are a pre-published author or you have multiple books out there already – I am so very glad you are here!
The #50PreciousWords 2021 International Writing Contest is OVER and the 51 finalists will be announced March 31. If you have trouble accessing the entries, you are not alone. We had so many comments (over 10,000), I think we broke WordPress, but the tech gurus are at work trying to resolve the issue. Thank you so much for your patience.
Congratulations to all who participated! We had a record 763 entries! The linky list is complete. You can find your story or a particular story by scrolling down and clicking on the link.PLEASE NOTE: THE LINKY LIST IS NOT WORKING RIGHT NOW. But you can read many of the entries by scrolling through.
I hope you will visit many of the stories.- getting positive comments is a great validation for writers – and reading other stories is a wonderful learning tool for all of us!
I’ll be reading all of these amazing stories…and so will my assistant judges. There are going to be some very difficult decisions to make…so many of the stories are top-notch – several feel like they should be on shelves already! But right now, please celebrate your courage and hard work! YOU DID IT! And, if you didn’t participate this year with a story, I hope you will next year! Because we all have a story to tell – and I’d love to read your precious words.
VIVIAN KIRKFIELD - Writer for Children 