The longer I am part of this incredible Kid-Lit community, the more fabulous people I connect with. Sometimes I meet folks at conferences or book events. Other times, it’s through contests like #50PreciousWords. Today we are singing a GLORIOUS Happy Birthday to a book written by Ginny Neil who I met when she won Susanna Leonard Hill’s Halloweensie Contest in 2020. Ginny chose me as her prize – I think it was a picture manuscript critique. I LOVED her story…and I read one of her other manuscripts also (this one!). And early in 2021, when I heard that Essie White had just taken on a new agent at Storm Literary, I encouraged Ginny to send Lisa Amstutz something because Lisa loves lyrically written informational fiction – and that’s exactly what Ginny does so well. Ginny did query Lisa…the rest is history. And the result is Ginny’s debut picture book, THE FOREST THAT FIRE BUILT which she wrote AND illustrated!