Wow 2020 snuck up on me! I blinked and suddenly I'm posting interviews and prepping #PPBF reviews for the new year. Wasn't it just Christmas? Well, I have the perfect interview and absolutely darling book to ease you all into 2020. My good friend Elizabeth Stanton is starting the year off with a bang. Elizabeth Rose Stanton began her picture book writing and illustrating adventure a few years ago, after a brief career as an architect, and long career as a parent and fine artist. Her debut book, Henny, starred by Booklist (American Library Association), was named as one of the best books of 2014 for children by The New York Public Library. The School Library Journal called her second book, Pe

Well dear readers, what a year this has been! Besides traveling to three great writing conferences, I've been privileged to "meet" and interview some amazing authors and illustrators - Patricia Toht, Curtis Manley, Jessica Lanan, Pat Zietlow Miller, Varsha Bajaj, Carolina Rabei, Laura Roettiger, Sophie Gilmore, Vivian Kirkfield, Mirka Hokkanen, Danielle Dufayet, Cathy Ballou Mealey, Marsha Diane Arnold, Carter Higgins, BJ Lee, Sara Aronson, Bea Birdsong, Simona Ceccarelli, Barbara Lowell, Kristin L. Gray, John Hare, Nancy Churnin, Adah Nuchi, & Leslie Kimmelman, Liam Francis Walsh, Tara Lazar, The Notable 19's, Gayle Krause, Deborah Abela, Ioana Hobai, and Vanessa Brantley-Newton. (An unbeli

Is it human nature to belong? To feel as if we're part of something or some group? Even for those actively standing out, artists, writers, or geeks, we often seek out a group, or community, that we belong to. Though, since we are all unique individuals, it stands to reason that we would each be different in our likes, clothing, activities, and desires. And yet, even in small ways, we all still try to fit in. And others try to fit us into known, acceptable boxes. Perhaps a whole world full of total individuals is too chaotic. To this conundrum, we add the holidays. Times when we're told we're supposed to want to be with others, to want to attend parties and gatherings, and to be "home." The m

The holidays can be tough. While advancement and globalization has made the world smaller, at times it has made the world much larger. Chasing dreams across the country, or the world, can leave a person stranded during holidays that are traditionally family based. There have been many Thanksgivings and Christmases where my house and table has been packed full of friends who, for one reason or another, couldn't get home to their families, or had nowhere to go. As a result, my family has grown and I can't imagine not having these amazing people in my life. Lisa Mantchev and David Litchfield have created a gorgeous, tender book on friendship, acceptance, and finding where you belong. Remarkabl

Every family has its own traditions, its own twists to the holidays. Special foods, timing of opening gifts - Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or perhaps Epiphany. Things passed down through the generations, things added to a young family, or maybe things created to help blend together two families. My mom and stepdad started a number of fun traditions for us when they married - such as Christmas Eve soup and Christmas breakfast of sourdough waffles with whipped cream & chocolate sauce. But this one was the most unusual and the one each of us four kids continued with our own families. First, let me tell you about the contest (Link). Rules: Write a children’s holiday story (children here defin

I work with words every day, be it drafting, revising, making editorial changes, copyediting, page proofing, or daydreaming the next project. ~ Lisa Mantchev Lisa Mantchev is "a temporally displaced Capricorn who casts her spells from an ancient tree in the Pacific Northwest. When not scribbling, she is by turns an earth elemental, English professor, actress, artist, and domestic goddess. She shares her abode with her husband, two children, two upstairs cats and three downstairs dogs." By the way, in case you don't know her - Lisa is the author of the award-winning picture book Strictly No Elephants, which has now been translated into fourteen languages and has over one hundred thousand copi