WOW…just…WOW! Today is launch day for my newest book, PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World, brilliantly illustrated by Alison Jay and published by the fabulous team at Calkins Creek/Astra headed by my amazing editor, Carolyn Yoder.
WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES
INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION
FOR WRITERS, ILLUSTRATORS, PARENTS, TEACHERS, LIBRARIANS,
AND BOOK LOVERS EVERYWHERE
TODAY’S GUESTS
What a joy this kid-lit community is!!! I just returned from Columbus, Ohio where I attended the National Council of Teachers of English conference – presentations by Jacqueline Woodson, Tom Hanks, and Angie Thomas offered hope and actionable steps for teachers AND writers as we move forward into the new year in this challenging world. Dozens of sessions by book creators, teachers, and librarians provided encouragement and fresh ideas for engaging students and for battling book banning. I loved it all – but the best part was connecting with attendees – old friends and new ones. And in a similar way, I’m thrilled to bring you another group of #KidLitJunction authors – Astrid is a familiar face – we hosted her cover reveal back in March…and Helen and Dominique are new to Picture Books Help Kids Soar.
Please enjoy each of their interviews – you won’t want to miss their insights – and make sure you leave a comment to let us know which prize you would prefer if you are one of the three lucky winners because each of our lovely authors is offering a wonderful giveaway! And don’t forget how important it is to share the post on your social media so that your circle of friends and family find out about their wonderful debut picture books!
ME: Welcome to Picture Books Help Kids Soar! We are so excited to chat with you, Dominique, Astrid, and Helen.
You are up first, Dominique.
Who were your favorite authors/illustrators when you were a child?
DOMINIQUE: My favorite storyteller was my dad. He told us stories about a boy named “Sing Sing” and I loved them so much. I have read Shel Silverstein’s “Where the Sidewalk Ends” hundreds of times. But my favorite book of childhood was “ Walt Disney’s Annette Sierra Summer”. My mom read it to me when I was little and it made me fall in love with reading.
ME: What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started writing?
DOMINIQUE: You can make your very best even better. I totally panicked when I got my first round of edits from a professional editor. I just kept thinking “but I sent my very best! I don’t have anything left!” After completing those edits I was amazed at how much I’d grown as a writer simply by working on my own work!
ME: Where do you like to write – inside, outside, special room, laptop, pen and paper?
DOMINIQUE: Voice to text in the car lol. Some of my best ideas happen on the freeway or in carline waiting for my kids. I find when I’m really on a roll my brain is moving faster than I can type so voice to text works so well for me! If I have real time to write I go to a specific coffee shop. I get the same drink and meal every time. Since I only write there my brain switches into work mode quickly and I can get a lot done!
ME: When do you write – early morning, late in the day, middle of the night, on schedule, as the muse strikes?
DOMINIQUE: Literally whenever I can squeeze it in…which really isn’t as much as I’d like! This is the major part of my writing practice I’d like to change!
ME: Why do you write for children?
DOMINIQUE: The brevity of children’s books really grounds me. Slowing down enough to think about what I’m really trying to say and how to say it concisely has helped so many parts of my life! As the mother of young children I have found that sometimes the book our family needed hadn’t been written yet. So I write for children because of my own children.
Bio: Dominique Furukawa is a licensed clinical social worker and children’s picture book author. She lives with her wonderful family in the greatest city in the world, Los Angeles, CA. She is passionate about teaching little people big things in a way they can understand. Her debut picture book is Black Girls: A Celebration of You (Harper Collins, 2023).
Get in touch:
Website: www.dominiquefurukawa.com
Instagram: @dom.furukawa
Book Purchase link: I love Supporting Octavia’s Bookshelf and Paper Heart Books through Bookshop.org. You can also find my book at Target and Barnes and Noble
Treat recipe:
Listen friends. If you want to change your life, you’ll need the following four ingredients:
You’ll never make those old chocolate chip cookies again.
Giveaway: personalized and signed copy of Black Girls
ME: WOW! Thank you so much for sharing your journey, Dominique. And your super-powered chocolate chip cookie additions sound AMAZING!!!
Okay dear friends. Are you ready for interview #2? Now it’s Astrid’s turn.
Who were your favorite authors/illustrators when you were a child?
ASTRID: Thinking of my childhood, I first think of my favorite storyteller, my grandma, who both read to us a lot and told stories, including from traditional Armenian folklore. My grandfather had created a huge library, and we were exposed to stories and fairytales from all over the world. As a young child, I was captivated by the world created by Lidia Charskaya, touched by the stories of Nodar Dumbadze and Alki Zei, and fascinated by poetry of Firdousi and Omar Khayyam.
ME: What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started writing?
ASTRID: That I shouldn’t toss away the diary I kept in school!
ME: Where do you like to write – inside, outside, special room, laptop, pen and paper?
ASTRID: I write whenever and wherever I get a chance. I wish I could say I have a writerly oak desk with some fountain pens in the drawer and a cat sleeping on top.
On the technical side, I write first drafts on a laptop, then print to edit, and sometimes I use sticky notes of different colors to better structure my manuscripts. I also use the Evernote app on my phone, since some first drafts and ideas demand to be written down at random places, like playgrounds or the dentist’s office.
ME: When do you write – early morning, late in the day, middle of the night, on schedule, as the muse strikes?
ASTRID: My muse is very kind in that she keeps nagging me all the time, but I am not that kind to her. I write as soon as my little ones allow me to, no matter the time of the day. Don’t be me, wake up early to get your writing done.
ME: Why do you write for children?
ASTRID: I love the world of childhood whimsy. I feel like with writing for kids I get transported back to that special state of the mind that kids have. It is also a safe, beautiful, and kind place to discuss difficult and important topics, and do so with the courage of a child, which I feel we all need today.
Bio:
Astrid Kamalyan comes from a big, happy Armenian family, where she is the oldest of five siblings. Childhood summers spent in Artsakh are what inspired her to paint with words. Astrid’s debut picture book Bábo: A Tale of Armenian Rug-Washing Day, is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and received starred reviews from Kirkus, The Horn Book, and Publishers Weekly.
Astrid loves globetrotting with her husband and two sons. She currently shares her time between Chicago and Yerevan, Armenia.
Get in touch/Social Media:
Website: astridkamalyan.com
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/astridkamalyan
IG: https://www.instagram.com/astridkamalyan/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/astridkamalyan.bsky.social
Book purchase links:
Signed copies from Abril Bookstore, a portion of proceeds are donated to organizations that aid the forcibly displaced families from Artsakh: http://www.abrilbooks.com/books/children-s/ages-6-10/babo.html
Now through Thanksgiving, 100% of all proceeds from BÁBO sales from Charlesbridge website will be donated to Red Cross Armenia to aid the forcibly displaced families from Artsakh: https://www.charlesbridge.com/products/babo
Other: https://www.amazon.com/Babo
Favorite treat:
I call it The Happies Salad (and that, my friends, is how you market a fruit salad to kids).
I am an Armenian mama, which means I eyeball the measurements when cooking.
Turn on your favorite music, peek and slice a banana, peel an orange and dice into nice little triangles, peel and separate a mandarin or two, dice an apple, cut some prunes into 4 (really, just eyeball, the more prunes the sweeter the salad). Optionally, you can chop some walnuts or pecans, whichever you have at home. Transfer all that beauty into a bowl, dust with a little bit of powdered sugar (sorry not sorry!) and add plain greek yogurt (enough to generously cover the fruits), stir. Transfer into the most beautiful serving bowls you have and enjoy!
Giveaway: Winner’s choice: A copy of BÁBO or 30-min Zoom AMA.
ME: How fabulous, dear Astrid! I’m a huge fan of salad…in fact, I often have one as my evening snack, mixing fruits and veggies even though my son rolls his eyes because he’s a salad purist.
And now it’s time to meet our third debut author, Helen Taylor.
Welcome, Helen.
Who were your favorite authors/illustrators when you were a child?
HELEN: I loved humor—A Very Special House by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, Shel Silverstein’s poems, Roald Dahl’s stories, and Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar.
ME: What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started writing?
HELEN: I’ve learned that I can talk myself into or out of just about anything—which story to write next, what structure fits a certain topic best, and so on—to the point where it becomes difficult to make a decision! So, I am working on listening more carefully to my instincts.
ME: Where do you like to write – inside, outside, special room, laptop, pen and paper?
HELEN: I write on my laptop, but I like to revise on paper. There’s something about going back and forth that lets me switch between writer and editor modes. I prefer my backyard office, but I also end up working on my phone in parking lots, waiting rooms, etc. quite a bit.
ME: When do you write – early morning, late in the day, middle of the night, on schedule, as the muse strikes?
HELEN: I try to write in the mornings while my kids are at school, but the muse often strikes at other times. If I’m out, sometimes I’ll send myself emails with new ideas. I also go through a lot of Post-it notes! Collecting all those fragments later on is not very efficient, but sometimes that’s just how it goes.
ME: Why do you write for children?
HELEN: My hope is that the stories I write will encourage kids to ask more questions about their world. STEM books are not just for tomorrow’s scientists and engineers. They model critical thinking, problem solving, and scientific literacy—skills that are important for everyone!
Bio:
Helen Taylor is a children’s book writer whose favorite questions are how? and why? even though the answers are rarely simple. She started telling quirky stories in the museum world, writing about polar bear hair plugs, catfish physicals, and other curiosities. Now, Helen writes books that make science fun and accessible for kids. She lives in California with her family and How to Eat in Space is her picture book debut.
Social media links:
https://bsky.app/profile/heyhelentaylor.bsky.social
https://www.instagram.com/heyhelentaylor/
https://twitter.com/HelenTaylorCG
Book purchase links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316367745
Signed copies from Bookshop Santa Cruz: https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/how-eat-space-helen-taylor-signed
Recipe:
In How to Eat in Space, there’s a spread in which the astronauts enjoy almond tart with caramelized pears, a special dessert created just for them by a Michelin-starred chef. My recipe isn’t that fancy (sorry!), but on the plus side, it’s much easier to make:
Pear Custard “Pie”
3 ripe but firm pears, halved and cored
¼ C unsalted butter, melted
⅓ C granulated sugar
⅓ C all-purpose flour
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
¾ C milk
¼ tsp salt
¼ C sliced almonds (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F; butter a 9” pie dish. Slice pears lengthwise and arrange in a spiral inside the dish. In a blender, process the other ingredients (everything except the almonds) until smooth. Pour batter over the pears, sprinkle with sliced almonds, and bake for 40-45 mins, until golden and firm to the touch. Optional: Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Giveaway:
Winner’s choice: A signed copy of How to Eat in Space OR a non-rhyming PB critique (1,000 words max)
A million thanks to our fabulous debut authors…for their insights and giveaways and very yummy recipes! Please, dear friends, make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win – remember to tell us which giveaway you would prefer if you are one of the THREE lucky winners! And please do at least one of the following things to help these books find perfect homes out in the world:
SHARE this post on social media
BUY copies of their debut books
REVIEW the books on Amazon
PLACE the titles on your Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf
ASK your local library to purchase copies for their collection
And as we move into the hurry and scurry of December, I’ll share some photos of favorite moments at the conference and also a couple of quotes from one of the keynotes at NCTE, Jackie Woodson:
“We read to learn, and when we learn, we have a responsibility to care for the world and make it better.”
“Writing is a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets.”
“Nobody has to do everything – but everybody has to do something.”
Let’s all embrace at least one of those thoughts – and move forward into the new year with passion and compassion.
What a blast! One of my dear kidlit friends, the incredible Keila Dawson, just stirred up a new book, YUMBO GUMBO, illustrated by the talented Katie Crumpton, that launches from Charlesbridge on February 20, 2024. And I am so honored to participate in the celebration with the COVER REVEAL.
TA-DA!!!
VIVIAN KIRKFIELD - Writer for Children 