So You Want to Publish a Picture Book!
Ten Steps to Publishing Success You’ve written a children’s book and you’d love to get it published. Now what? First, congratulations! You’ve taken a huge first step—getting your story on paper. No small feat! And the world needs to hear your story. But patience is key: The road to publishing is long and twisty and…
Read MoreFive Important Things for Writers
Once in a while, a picture book grabs you by the collar and makes you sit up and take notice. THE IMPORTANT THING ABOUT MARGARET WISE BROWN by Mac Barnett and Sarah Jacoby (Balzer & Bray, 2019) is one of those books. Each time I read it, I continue to be blown away by its…
Read MoreOn the Radio!
Hello, listeners in radio land! For the release of my new book ANIMAL ZOMBIES!…AND OTHER REAL-LIFE MONSTERS, my publicist from National Geographic Kids arranged a 16-city radio media tour in cities including Bend, OR, Fargo, ND, Los Angeles, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. It didn’t matter that some of these were small towns. I was…
Read MoreTeaching Advocacy Through Picture Books
For a recent author visit, I was asked to talk to kids about advocacy, which is funny, because I mostly write silly fiction, as well as non-fiction books about weird science & history. But a quick glance at my library … and I was ready for action. I decided to show the students how to…
Read More5 Writing Lessons I Learned from an Ironwoman
Sunni Herman, a dear friend of mine, recently completed the Atlantic City Half Ironman IM70.3 triathlon. She swam 1.2 miles, biked 56 miles, and then ran a half marathon. After this monumental achievement, she wrote an inspiring article about her “aha” moments and lessons learned. While Sunni’s article added a pep to my step and…
Read MoreThe Making of DADDY DEPOT!
Interview with author Chana Stiefel by co-blogger Donna Cangelosi DC: Back in 2013 when I registered for my fifth NJSCBWI conference, I signed up to be part of a critique group. Several weeks before the conference, I received five manuscripts from the writers who would be participating in the group. One of them was DADDY DEPOT,…
Read MorePicture Book Portrayals of the Holocaust
This Monday, April 24, is “Yom HaShoa V’Hagevurah,” the “Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and the Heroism,” celebrated throughout the world to commemorate the six million Jews and all who perished at the hands of the Nazis. With the addition of the expression of heroism, the Israeli Knesset enacted the full name in 1953 to focus…
Read More