#kidlitchat For those who haven't heard, there will be an official #MSWL day on Thursday this week. If you're currently in the query trenches or will be soon, it's a great resource and may put some wonderful agents on your radar based on what they're looking for.
A tree on a riverbank chewed by a beaver
If a tree doesn't fall in the forest, do you hear the beaver? (And what does a swearing beaver sound like anyway?)
Brilliant! #kidlitchat
"The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous." - Carl Sagan ✨ 🌙 🔭
What do you like to learn about?
#carlsagan #inspirationalquote #brainhealth #learningisfun
Submissions reopen 3/1/26 for the Karen and Philip Cushman Late Bloomer Award for authors over 50 who have not been traditionally published in the children's lit field. SCBWI members are eligible for this grant of $500 for their work-in-progress and free tuition to SCBWI conference. bit.ly/3YS1KPO
Yes!! My stories always stew in my head for quite awhile. And while I can approach revisions methodically, I need to wait for that precious calm, inspired (cup of tea on my desk) moment to be ready to bang out that first draft #kidlitchat
Ohhh... as a "not yet published" picture book author, this question is therapist level piercing! I take revisions as seriously as writing. My style is to get a first draft done, then get out my red pen and read it aloud. And repeat. #kidlitchat
Maybe just a coincidence that NYT ran this story at the end of Family Literacy Week... "teach reading well", make it enjoyable", and "model reading". Working on it!
Why Boys Are Behind in Reading at Every Age www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
The science of how and why it feels so good to be out on the trail:
"We should think of the human body not as a collection of separate systems, but like a forest itself - a complex ecosystem with interlinking reactions".
How ‘forest bathing’ keeps lungs healthy www.nature.com/articles/d41...
I never feel guilty about impulse shopping at my local independent children's bookstore! Stopped by today to pick up a book and of course ended up sitting down and reading... #kidlitchat
Gah. #kidlitchat
I absolutely love this line from Our Lake: "His smile is crooked, as if half of him is happy and the other half is not.
I absolutely love this line from Our Lake: "His smile is crooked, as if half of him is happy and the other half is not.
#kidlitchat happens every Tuesday at 9 pm Eastern, 6 Pacific and lasts an hour. It's an opportunity for anyone working with children's books to gather virtually via the hashtag (which is live all the time, of course). The easiest way to participate is with deck.blue (similar to Tweetdeck). Join us!
This question makes me laugh- there's so much of my heart and my passions in all my stories! I think that's why I enjoy writing. My PB themes are learning to read, SEL, and the wonderful wild world. I want to amuse & engage readers of all ages - hopefully publishers and agents too! 🤞 #kidlitchat
I started volunteering in a local park as a pandemic project and dug out this bramble patch. Crazy how fast the trees grew with the brambles gone. We planted native plants, and this winter I found a bird nest in one of the Nootka rose bushes - this project feels like an important accomplishment!
Love Dorothy's art - and artful approach to resolutions!
Absolutely... Stories help us understand, learn and grow into our potential, and to develop our capacity to imagine.
"Children who read, and are read to, do better at school. Actually, I don't care about them doing better at school, though others will. What I care about is the climate of the mind, the leap into suggestions of good and bad, of moral imperatives, of social possibilities, of other worlds."
Autocorrect has become our worst enema.
Oh yeah - MY LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARY! (Which is conveniently within a couple of blocks of one of the best independent kids bookstores in the world). #kidlitchat
So much to be grateful for..... the inspiration from all the kids who I helped with learning to read; kid and husband who are first and best critique group, actual critique group... and most of all, the joy and privilege of having the space in my life to enjoy writing creatively. #kidlitchat
As a kidlit author and a Canadian, inspiration doesn't get much better than this www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
I do try to stay tuned; I think it helps with getting clear in my head (and queries) about what and why I am writing and where it fits in the market. I am seeing a trend of author/illustrators (bad news for me!) #kidlitchat
Word Wizardry!
Book titled 101 Collective Nouns
Book page with illustration and text: a charm of finches
List of 101 collective nouns and the animals they reference
Flock of migrating dunlin feeding on the mudflats
This book was a delightful discovery in a street library, and a perfect reference resource for this morning's Connections game! Also watched migrating sandpipers and dunlin on the mudflats today- I nominate "choreography" as the collective noun for them. Wonderful wordy, birdy, nerdy day!
Today I learned that the science behind PCR tests originated from research on bacteria in hot springs. And flat screen TV technology built on chemicals isolated from carrots. What a wonderful wild planet! And some pretty amazing science too.
❤️ let children find their voices. And books are a good place to look.....
Some Words of Wonder for your Wednesday!
New native plants
Books I'm reading
This is hibernation season for me and I just had my idea of a perfect weekend: creative writing and critique group on Saturday, wet and muddy Sunday morning planting with volunteer stewardship group at local park, then curling up and reading for the rest of the day. Anyone else happily hibernating?
