Okay, okay. I know I’ve been a bit absent lately, but I have a good reason, which I am going to reveal right here and now…I haven’t posted much of anything in the last couple of months because, drumroll please, I’m opening a new bookstore!!! @botanicabooks.bsky.social!
IG: @botanicabks
Ingrid Law is a fabulous writer, and this is a fabulous book. #picturebooks #bookreview
Happy Tuesday, Friends! I’m excited ro share my review for this powerful picture book: YOU ARE NOT ALONE, written by @ingridlaw.bsky.social and illustrated by Xin Li!
#picturebooks #bookreview
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
On Juneteenth, we celebrate freedom and recommit ourselves to the work that remains undone. We remember that even in the darkest hours, there is cause to hope for tomorrow’s light.
Here’s the latest in my Once Upon a Bookshop Seties! The Middle - Part 2: The Benefits of Cultivating Communities. Happy Reading!
#bookstores #bookselling #booklove #booklife
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
Few more spots open for Thursday!
PROTECT THE CREATIVE PROFESSION. SIGN AND SHARE THIS PETITION. It's already been delivered to Congress, but we're keeping the pressure on them and need your help!
Sign the petition: authorsguild.org/news/congres...
13 Incredible Middle Grade Books, May 2025 imaginationsoup.net/middle-grade... #kidlit
We are seriously blessed with some amazing sff books lately. I just reviewed four brand new titles that take place in worlds that are utterly irresistible.
wapo.st/4mrm0lQ
Authors are:
@novarensuma.bsky.social
Neon Yang
@emilytesh.net
Sayaka Murata
Congratulations! 🎉🎉🎉
It feels like authors don't stand a chance these days. Yet we keep writing and trying because we know how important stories are, and how much we all need them, esp kids. Real stories written by real people. AI will steal from us, but it cannot write from the heart. Because it doesn't have one.
Instead of getting your "summer reading list" from big for-profit publications that use AI, maybe support book bloggers who cultivate amazing lists because they actually love books. Also, bonus points for supporting BIPOC book bloggers!
Over on ye olde newsletter, I've shared 3 posts on how I made a dummy, queried, and then chose my #kidlit #kidlitart literary agent. It's funny. I think you'll like it.
1: jacobsouva.substack.com/p/how-i-quer...
2: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...
3: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...
Beautiful!
Just a reminder that your local library has more than books! Many also have dvds, cds, board games, video game systems, internet hot spots, streaming services, computers, ebooks, audio books, park passes, museum passes, passport services and so much more!
Maybe it's time for a visit 📚❤️
Yay for this list!💗💗💗 Here are some more I love…
#MentalHealthAwarenessMonth
In case you missed it this weekend, I wrote about @authorsabb.bsky.social (a group I volunteer with) for @ala-acrl.bsky.social's blog.
Congratulations! 🎉🍾🎊
OMG I love this! 👍
Getting back into illustration after a long break…why did I ever stop?
I know it’s been longer than planned but I’ve finally posted the latest in my Once Upon a Bookshop series! The Middle - Part One: Book Ordering, Bookkeeping & Book-Loving Ghosts 📚🤓👻
#bookstores #bookselling #ghosts
carissamina.substack.com/p/once-upon-...
It's Wonderfully Wild's book birthday!
Happy book birthday! 🎉🎂🥳
Join us this Friday May 9! for a Freedom Read-In! A ton of fantastic writers for young readers will be sharing their work throughout the school day!
Register for the morning session here: www.crowdcast.io/c/z2e4i7i652g1
And the afternoon session here: www.crowdcast.io/c/ky2m562xhkso
Two puffin socks. On the left is a perfectly nice looking one, labeled "How people see the work of writers and artists" and on the left is a jacked-up looking inside-out version of the same sock, and it's labeled "How writers and artists see their own work"
One of the few images I frequently share with kids that wasn't created by me is this. I like to reassure them this feeling is universal, and also, that it never goes away. I'm doing final edits on a new book right now and I for sure am feeling like a jacked-up looking inside-out puffin sock today
Love, Marriage, and Books - So Many Books, So Little Time
#books #reading #bibliophiles
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
100% - if we want indie bookstores we need to shop indie bookstores (same logic: if we want indie presses we need to shop indie presses, if we want diverse books we need to shop diverse books...) #kidlit
Today’s #independentbookstoreday haul! ❤️❤️❤️📚🤓
Happy Independent Bookstore Day! Read Maris's piece, then go show your local indie bookstore some love. They're so much more than places to get books--they are places to engage with ideas and others in your community. Staffed by actual humans to help you find the books you didn't know you needed!
