Learning From a Christmas Classic by Maria Antonia

We are so excited to have Maria Antonia join us today to share about Religious Picture Books!

Maria Antonia learned to write her name at five years old and tried typing with an old manual typewriter at age eight. However, it was when she met the computer that she never turned back. Many years later, she still clickety-taps out her stories onto the screen, stories that have turned into picture books like The Christmas Elephant and Barnaby the Runaway Sheep. In addition to writing, Maria also enjoys sipping a nice cup of hot tea and capturing the world with her camera. She has lived in Sunny Spain, Busy New York City, and currently resides in the Great White North of Canada. Her website is: http://mariaantoniawrites.com

Every year, when I was a kid, I remember gathering around the television to watch The Charlie Brown Christmas Special. And I know we're not the only family who had this tradition. It's become a classic!

However, there was a time when, before the special first aired on December 9, 1965, everybody thought it would be a flop. The executives didn't think jazz music belonged in a cartoon. And then there was the controversial speech near the end of the program ... But wait! I'm getting ahead of myself. 

That's What Christmas is All About, Charlie Brown

The plot of Christmas Special follows underdog Charlie Brown as he's chosen to direct his first Nativity play. What he wants is to find the true meaning of Christmas, but what he gets is all the commercialism surrounding the holiday. Charlie Brown is about to give up in despair. "Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I don't really know what Christmas is all about. Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

That's when his friend Linus steps forward. "Lights, please. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night..." Linus goes on to recite the whole passage from the Bible about that first Christmas night, ending with: "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

Did you know that Charles Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts Gang, had to fight to keep this monologue in the program? Everybody thought it would be the kiss of death, but Schulz insisted. I'm glad he stood firm, because this scene, as simple as it is, holds its own even today. The words Linus speaks from the Bible not only inspired Charlie Brown but countless television viewers. Despite the dire predictions that this half-hour special would be a flop, it went on to win an Emmy in 1966 and would become a beloved classic watched year after year. 

What made this work? I often think about such things as an author. For me, I think it worked because the religious part wasn't forced. It fits in with the theme of the story.

And this is something that can help us when writing "religious books" for children.

Story First

My first rule is that story must come first. People love hearing a good story. And the message needs to naturally flow out from that story. You don't want something to come across as too preachy. This is what I did for my book, The Christmas Elephant. My story takes place during the performance of a Nativity play. I worked hard to make sure the story about two sisters would stand on its own two feet. The message of Christmas needed to naturally flow from what's happening on  the stage.

Hooray for Backmatter

The Author's Note at the end of the book is a wonderful opportunity for picture book authors to convey a little something more to their readers. Because I (and my publisher) wanted to add a little more to the Christian message of the story with an application from the Bible, including Bible verses, we put it all in the backmatter. (I also added some fun facts; so my backmatter is jam-packed with all sorts of extra material for parents and teachers!)

Keeping it Kid-Friendly

A lot of picture books written years ago tended to be wordy. And for many of us, those are the picture books we grew up with. But people's vocabulary has changed over time, and so has their attention spans. Part of the challenge of religious books is how to deal with the jargon that's often involved. Remember your audience and keep your words kid-friendly to today's children. This is not to say that kids can not handle hard things or even hard words. I think we should address all sorts of topics, but we need to make sure it's done in a way so that it's accessible to today's children.

Overall, religious books are a great way for parents and grandparents to share their faith with their little ones. Like Charles Schulz, authors need to find the right balance in bring such stories to life. 

Note about the photo: I told you our family loves the Charlie Brown Christmas Special.

About the Book: Ellie wants to be an elephant in the Christmas play but her know-it-all sister says she’ll ruin everything. When Baby Jesus goes missing, Ellie must find him, or the play will be ruined (but not because Ellie is an elephant)!

Thanks so much for joining us, Maria!

You can find Maria on her website is: http://mariaantoniawrites.com, Instagram @ofmariaantonia, Facebook @ofmariaantonia, and Twitter/X: @ofmariaantonia1.

Religious Picture Books With Sidura Ludwig

We are so excited to have Sidura Ludwig join us today to share information about Religious Picture Books!

Hi! I'm Sidura Ludwig, writer of books for children and adults. 2024 has been a busy year for me, with my debut picture book RISING (illustrated by Sophia Vincent Guy, Candlewick) published in May, and my debut middle grade novel SWAN: The Girl Who Grew (Nimbus Publishing) out in Canada in September. SWAN comes out in the US March 2025! I'm thrilled that RISING recently won the 2024 Canadian Jewish Literary Award for children. I got my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts (where I met the amazing Stefanie!) in July 2021. I live in Thornhill, ON with my husband, three kids and a geriatric, toothless Havanese dog.

When I wrote RISING, I thought I was writing a picture book about making challah. I didn’t realize I was writing a book about my relationship with God.

Let me back up. During the early days of the pandemic, we all remember how upside down everything felt. Weekly routines blended into weekend routines, which blended into “what routines?” Who knew when we would get back to a world we recognized?

But the one routine that didn’t change for me and my family was getting ready for and celebrating Shabbat. Shabbat is the Jewish 25-hour period of rest from sundown on Friday to one-hour after sundown on Saturday. For religious Jews, there are a number of rituals and restrictions we follow during that period in order to “keep” Shabbat. In those early pandemic days, I still got up early on a Friday to make my challah dough. I still prepared all the foods my family enjoyed eating for Friday night dinner and Saturday lunch. We still lit Shabbat candles when Shabbat came in and took comfort in the prayers and rituals around our Shabbat table. We may not have had guests, but for those 25 hours, life felt more normal than any other time of the week.

At the time, I was getting my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. That semester, I took the Picture Book Intensive. My advisor, Jane Kurtz, challenged us to write a non-fiction picture book. RISING was born out of that challenge. It started with the mixing of ingredients. A mother and child rising early in the morning to spend quiet time together with this weekly ritual. But as the day goes on, as the child’s anticipation and excitement for Shabbat grows, challah becomes something so much more than a loaf of bread. It’s the food that connects her to her family, to her community, to her history and to her faith. Challah becomes an anchor for her, and in the end, the ritual is a comfort she can count on week after week after week.

Maybe this was my love letter to God. A thank you for granting me one of many rituals that sustain me through joyous, and difficult, times. Religious books that pose big questions are important for young readers, who have big questions themselves. But so too are religious books that show the “doing,” the actions that make up faith and allow us to connect with each other and something greater, time and time again.

Thanks so much for joining us, Sidura!

You can find Sidura on Instagram@siduraludwigauthor, Facebook @siduraludwigauthor, or her website siduraludwig.com.

Picture Books for Older Readers with Jeff Gottesfeld

We are so excited to have Jeff Gottesfeld join us today to share information about Picture Books for Older Readers!

Jeff writes for page, stage, screen, and television. He has won awards in America and internationally, including from American Library Association, Association of Jewish Libraries, The Christophers, National Council for the Social Studies, and the American Alliance for Theater and Education. His current focus is picture book texts for children. His prize-winning picture books are The Tree in the Courtyard (Knopf, 2016, illustrated by Peter McCarty), No Steps Behind: Beate Sirota Gordon’s Battle for Women’s Rights in Japan (Creston, 2020, illustrated by Shiella Witanto), Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Candlewick, 2021, illustrated by Matt Tavares), The Christmas Mitzvah (Creston, 2021, illustrated by Michelle Agatha), and Food for Hope: How John van Hengel Invented Food Banks for the Hungry (Creston, 2023). Upcoming are We All Serve (Candlewick, 2026, illustrated by TeMika Grooms), about the extraordinary lives of American’s military brat children, Honor Flight (Candlewick, 2026, illustrated by Matt Tavares), about the Honor Flight program that flies aging veterans and their volunteer “guardians” to Washington DC to visit their monuments, and Strike! For the Right to Read! (Creston, 2025), with Michelle Y. Green, illustrated by Kim Holt), about the 1939 Alexandria VA sit-down strike to integrate its then-segregated library. A native of Teaneck, New Jersey, he now lives in Los Angeles. Visit him at www.jeffgottesfeldwriter.com

I always admit that I am the most imperfect messenger for a picture book about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC, and the Tomb Guards who protect the sacred rest of our three Unknown Soldiers every moment of every day. I didn’t serve in the military. In fact, none of us four Gottesfeld brothers, nor my parents, nor grandparents, served. But as I grew up, I have become passionate in my belief that the United States military is the greatest fighting force for good the world has ever known. And so, passion for a subject is the starting place for every nonfiction picture book. I had it, in spades.

Of course, passion is less than useless when there’s no focus. For me, the starting place is the idea. Ideas come from everywhere. Some writers mine their own lives. That’s not me. I travel widely, read voraciously, and am always on the lookout. Museums? Check. Foreign newspapers in English or French? Check. Obituaries? A gold mine. The idea for Twenty-One Steps came on a visit to the Los Angeles National Cemetery on Memorial Day in 2016, when I saw a tombstone that said, UNKNOWN. That flashed me back to a boyhood trip to Arlington, and to the realization I knew practically zero about our nation’s secular shrine. I was determined to write the book by the time we left the cemetery that day. 

Next, a point of view. There’s a lot of ways to tell a story. Some may be okay, some may be good, and usually one is just awesomely great. I struggled with this text until I got the idea that maybe I could tell the story from the point of view of the first Unknown, interred in 1921. That turned out to be the perspective, because that Unknown could be anyone, and thus belong to all of us. Try a few points of view. All it takes is time. 

The next step for me is to figure out the story beats. Every story has beats, like music. The beats are the big notes of what happens. In Twenty-One Steps, a few of the main beats are meeting the first Unknown, his homecoming, his burial before 150,000 people, and the posting of the first Tomb Guard at midnight on July 2, 1937. There are others. If the writer knows the beats, the story is easier to tell. Of course, good research will help figure out the beats. 

Then, I write. And write some more. Until I’ve got a draft. 

Finally, I fix it. This can happen in a month, two months, or sometimes it takes five years and forty or fifty named drafts. Maybe if I’m stuck I’ll put it away for a few months. But there also comes a time when I’m fixing and fixing, and it isn’t getting any better or worse. 

That’s when I know it’s time to stop. I’ve got a manuscript. And so will you. 

I do want to add a few words about figuring out the right audience. I’m pretty ruthless about the subjects I choose. It’s not just that I’m interested in them, but it’s that I think there’s a universe of readers and book buyers out there that care, too. I try to match subject, grade level, and language, but always with no upper limit on whom the reader might be. That is, K to age 120 for The Christmas Mitzvah, first grade to age 120 for Food for Hope, and grade three to age 120 for Twenty-One Steps, a book about which I have presented to as many adult audiences as kid ones. 

I was a young athlete before I ever became a writer, and would counsel young writers to approach writing like an elementary school or middle school athlete approaches a sport. Basically, no school-aged tennis player will beat Carlos or Serena, and no school-aged soccer player is going to start for the USMNT or USWNT. Being young is the time to learn from the best, and practice. So, young would-be writers need to read, read, and read some more. Smash the screens, and read. Reading good writing gets it inside you. And then, when they write, keep the expectations reasonable. Strive every day to get just a little better, or make it just a little better. There’s a long way to go, and you will get there one good sentence at a time. 

Thanks so much for joining us, Jeff! 

You can find Jeff on his website at www.jeffgottesfeldwriter.com. You can also check out his books Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, The Christmas Mitzvah, and Food For Hope: How John van Hengel Invented Food Banks for the Hungry.

Ten Favorite Milestones Picture Books

From losing teeth to losing confidence, there are countless milestone experiences that children face. Reading books can help build emotional resilience as kids better understand such experiences and learn how to handle the potentially difficult milestones they will face. Check out some of our favorite books that tackle childhood milestones!

Here Comes the Tooth Fairy Cat by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Claudia Rueda

When Cat loses a tooth, the tooth fairy brings him a coin. But he wants to meet the tooth fairy! When he tries to trick her into coming again, she leaves him a note—and a tooth-collecting challenge! Will Cat and his new partner Mouse collect all the teeth—without getting eaten? This fun story is a great way to celebrate losing teeth!

Maple by Lori Nichols 

Just before Maple was born, her parents planted a maple tree. As she grows, the tree grows—but the older she gets, the more she needs a real friend. When her parents plant another tree, Maple learns that she’ll be a big sister—and that sisterhood, combined with special trees, is just what she needs. This story is perfect for big siblings!

On the First Day of Kindergarten by Tish Rabe, illustrated by Laura Hughes

 From riding the bus to sliding down the slide, painting a picture, and going on a field trip, there are so many things to love about kindergarten! This cumulative story is perfect for kids who can’t wait—as well as those who are nervous!—to start going to school. 

Waiting for Baby by Rachel Fuller

Waiting for a baby is exciting—and full of questions! In this book, a little boy asks all kinds of questions as his mother sorts through baby clothes, visits the doctor, and prepares for the new arrival! A perfect read-aloud for expectant parents, this book allows readers to answer new baby questions in a fun and engaging way.

Charlotte and the Rock by Stephen W. Martin, illustrated by Samantha Cotterill

All Charlotte wants is a pet, but her parents’ gift of a pet rock is not what she had in mind. But despite the challenges of caring for a pet rock, Charlotte and her rock eventually become friends. Then, to Charlotte’s surprise, the rock cracks—revealing a surprising new pet! Complete with Charlotte’s rules for caring for a pet rock (which can be applied to any pet!), this story is a fun read-aloud—great for any child with a new pet!

Hello, New House by Jane Smith

In this simple picture book, a young girl leaves her old house in the city for a new house in the country! While many things are new—including some scary new sounds!—there are still so many things that are the same. This sweet book reminds readers that no matter where we live, the most important things will always remain the same. 

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael López

This lyrical picture book addresses every child who feels left out at some point or other. Perhaps it’s because they didn’t go on trips like everyone else, maybe their lunch is different, or it could be that the games kids play at recess aren’t games the child plays well. In warm, poetic ways, this story addresses the beauty and insecurity that coexists in those moments, while offering hope for connection. This book is perfect for any child (and adult) who feels alone sometimes—which means all of us! 

Your Baby’s First Word Will Be Dada by Jimmy Fallon, illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez

Calling all dads! This book is a hilarious way to train your child to say Dada! As animal parents each take turns saying Dada, their babies don’t seem to listen… until everyone says Dada together at the end! The fun illustrations and simple repetition is sure to have your child saying Dada way more than Mom would like!

Bike On, Bear! by Cynthea Liu, illustrated by Kristyna Litten

Bear can do just about anything—except ride a bike! No matter how hard he tries, it never seems to work. But when a new community park opens that doesn’t allow training wheels, Bear is willing to do anything to hang with his friends. He heads to the library to learn all he can about bike riding. But will it be enough? This fun story is great for kids who are struggling to try new things—because sometimes all we need is a little extra push (pun intended)!

When You Can Swim by Jack Wong

Imagine all the adventures that swimming can bring! When you can swim, you can jump off bridges into the canal, see another world in the ocean, enjoy twilight swims in a pond and feel waterfalls down your back! With lyrical language and gorgeous illustrations, any child who is nervous about swimming will be ready to jump right in!

I hope you enjoyed these Ten Favorite Milestone Picture Books!

For more great ideas, feel free to check out 10 Favorite Identity Picture Books or 10 Favorite Mindfulness Picture Books!

And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss more great ideas and future blog posts!

Identity Picture Books with Laura Obuobi

We are so excited to have Laura Obuobi join us today to share information about Identity Picture Books!

Laura Obuobi was born and raised in Accra, Ghana but has been living in the United States since 2003. Laura received an MA in Early Childhood Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and taught for 8 years as a preschool teacher. Her time in the classroom with preschoolers set the stage for her transition into writing for children. Laura is a graduate of the Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Besides creative writing, Laura also finds joy in drawing, collaging, and painting.

When I wrote Black Gold, I didn’t set out with the theme of identity at the forefront of my mind. I was simply thinking about myself as a child, and the physical, psychological, cultural, and even spiritual attributes I have that make me who I am. And isn’t that what identity is about? 

When I think about what identity means, I consider the following: 

What is your name? Where are you from geographically? What is your ethnicity? Which neighborhood did you grow up in? What kind of family do you come from? Who are/were your caregivers? What values and moral codes were instilled in you? How were you raised? What values, moral codes, or belief systems have you adopted? What is your personality? How do you like to dress? What colors are you drawn to? What is unique about you that no one else in the world has? Which socio-cultural groups do you affiliate yourself with, feel most connected to, and/or at home with? Where were you raised? Are you religious? Which religious societies are you a part of? Where do you worship? How often do you visit this place of worship? What festivals and holidays do you celebrate? How do you celebrate these festivals and holidays, and with who? What habits, behaviors, and activities do you like to participate in? All these questions and more, point to the kind experiences that shape our perspective of self, impact how we show up in the world, and reveal who we are.  

The beauty about writing picture books about identity is that you can take any one of the questions above and use that to craft a story or poem that answers the question: who are you? 

The following picture books all answer the question “who are you?” and highlight various aspects of identity. (These are just a few books that stand out to me, and is not at all prescriptive, but I hope it gives you a sense of how the topic of identity can be written as a picture book.)

Your Name is a Song - Jamila Thompkins-Bigelow and Luisa Uribe

Eyes that Kiss in the Corners - Joanna Ho and Dung Ho

Say my Name - Joanna Ho and Khoa Le 

I’m From - Gary R. Gray and Oge Mora 

I am Golden - Eva Chen and Sophie Diao 

I am Brown - Ashok Banker and Sandhya Prabhat 

Alma and How She Got Her Name - Juana Martinez-Neal 

Where Are You From? - Yamile Saied Méndez and Jaime Kim 

Hair Twins - Raakhee Mirchandani and Holly Hatam 

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story - Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal  

The Day You begin - Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael Lopez

Mommy’s Khimar - Jamila Thompkins-Bigelow and Ebony Glenn

Sankofa: A culinary story of resilience and belonging - Eric Adjepong and Lala Watkins 

Even books where the character shows or describes their understanding of a universal concept such as love, can fall under the theme of identity because in these books, the character is exploring and explaining what love means to them, and how they express this universal concept called love. 

I am Love by Peter H. Reynolds, is one; my picture book - What Love Looks Like illustrated by Anna Cunha - is another.  

Reynold’s book shows the character describing the various ways they express and embody love, while my book shows the main character exploring and experiencing what love looks like with her father. 

Picture books about identity aren’t only restricted to fiction. They can be non-fiction too. A perfect example is Before She was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome. In this biography picture book about Harriet Tubman, we get to see and learn the various roles and jobs Harriet Tubman took on, in her life’s journey and work as an activist and abolitionist. These various roles and jobs all reveal and answer the question: who was Harriet Tubman?

And so, I think that identity covers a wide range of subjects that inevitably answer the question, who are you, and what makes you special, different, unique, powerful, interesting? 

If you were to write a picture book about identity, what would you write about? 

Thanks so much for joining us, Laura!

You can find Laura on Instagram: @lauraobuobi or her website at
lauraobuobi.com.

You can also preorder her new book, What is Love here! It comes out on 06/18/24! 

Community Picture Books with Rina Singh 

We are so excited to have Rina Singh join us today to share information about Community Picture Books!

Rina Singh is an award-winning Children’s Author and Spoken Word coach. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Concordia University, Montreal, and a teaching degree from McGill University. As a writer, she is drawn to real life stories about social justice, the environment, and wildlife preservation.

Grandmother School, (Orca Books) which won the BC Yukon Prize for literature affirms the life-changing power of education.  111 Trees, (Kids Can Press) won the Social Justice literature award and inspires us to become eco-feminists. The Lion Queen was among the New York Library’s Best Books of 2023.

Her books have been translated in many languages and have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist.

A lover of poetry, photography, beautiful books, and trees – she lives in a blue house in Toronto.

Reading picture books that explore community helps children forge deep ties to the world around them. These books play a crucial role in children’s development by nurturing empathy, comprehension, and a feeling of being part of something larger. With relatable stories and vibrant artwork, they expose children to various cultures, customs, and situations, encouraging them to value both their own community and beyond.

I’m going to share two of my books with you.

111 Trees by Rina Singh and Illustrated by Marianne Ferrer Published by Kids Can Press.

My inspiration for writing 111 Trees was Sundar Paliwal, an eco-feminist creating wonders in the small community of Piplantri in Rajasthan, India. I have been alarmed about nature and what we as humans have done to our environment. And gender inequality has always infuriated me. I gravitate towards stories that can help restore the balance. I got excited when I heard about this man planting 111 trees every time a girl was born in his village. I knew I had to write about him.

In Sundar’s story everything came together–– nature, activism, eco-feminism, and community. Since the story seemed too good to be true, I needed to see the village to believe it. So, in 2016, I went to India and planned a trip to Udaipur but was unable to get Sundar’s contact. I flew there anyways. (I don’t advise anyone should arrive unprepared like I did). I reached the village by taxi, and the local school principal welcomed me and contacted Sundar for me. I toured the village with him and then he invited me to meet his family. It was a beautiful day. He told me his story.

After the heartbreaking loss of his mother in childhood, and then his young daughter in adulthood, Sundar had a revelation in his grief–– he drew three lines 111 in the sand for three things: Water, Daughter, Trees, that became his mantra of action. He turned a desert village into a thriving community surrounded by forests. Marianne Ferrer helped me bring the story to life. The book got many awards including the 2021 Social Justice Award. Kat Caric, a blogger called the book a small miracle and said it could change the planet! Wow!

GRANDMOTHER SCHOOL by Rina Singh, Illustrated by Ellen Rooney. Published byOrca Book Publishers

Grandmother School was inspired by true events that happened in 2016 in Phangane, a small village in Maharashtra, India. It is so remote that you probably wouldn’t find it on the map.  I read a news clip that Yogendra Bangar, the village teacher thought to himself – that everyone in the village could read, write, and do enough math to get by except the 29 grandmothers. So, he built Aajibaichi Shala, a one room school for grandmothers. He invited them to attend, provided them with school bags and gave them bright pink saris as uniforms. They were all over the age of sixty, and the oldest grandmother was ninety. Some were hard of hearing and many of them forgot what they had learned too easily, but they all came, dressed in their bright pink saris. They were excited to go to school for the first time in their lives. I fell in love with the story.

The idea to write a fictional story set in that village came from a personal memory. The two characters are based on my grandmother and me. Biji, my grandmother was the most loving person and had also never gone to school. She used to tell me stories and I regret not teaching her anything in return. I dedicated this book to her memory.

I wanted to discover the joy that education would bring to the community of grandmothers. This is one of my favourite illustrations. Learning to sign her name was a milestone moment in Aaji’s life. The book is brilliantly illustrated by Ellen Rooney, and it won the 2021 Christie Harris Children’s Literature Prize.

Many of my stories are rooted in small and even remote communities that have been transformed by one individual’s activism. I personally don’t picket, march, rally, plant trees, or start schools for illiterate grandmothers, but the act of writing about these everyday heroes is my contribution to social change.

Maybe I’m an activist of words.

Thanks so much for joining us, Rina!

You can find Rina on her website www.rinasingh.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram @storiesbysingh.

The Story Behind We're Better Together with Eileen Spinelli

We are so excited to have Eileen Spinelli join us today to share the story behind, We're Better Together.

Eileen Spinelli has been writing since she was six years old. Her very first poem was about a sailboat. When she is not writing (or reading) you might find her walking the lake path with her husband and fellow author, Jerry Spinelli; playing MahJongg with friends, knitting scarves for the grandkids, hanging out with the family or baking cookies for community movie night.

When Marlo Scrimizzi, editor at Highlights Press, invited me to write a book--title to be We’re Better Together--I was delighted to say yes.

Marlo and I had worked together before. We make a good team.

Plus the theme touched a responsive chord in me. We ARE better together aren’t we? How dreary life would be without family and friends, neighbors and colleagues. It would be an easy topic to write about.

There was one issue, however. Since my first love has always been poetry, I lean toward a lyrical style. For this book, Marlo wanted the text to be simpler and more straight-forward. That was my challenge.

Several times Marlo had to “rein me in.” And she did it with kindness and grace.

The book offers many examples--from a child’s point of view-- of how we might be better together.

Some examples come from my own childhood: huddling under the kitchen table with my cousins during a summer storm...playing circle games with my friends in the park...using my toy mop to clean up spills.

I also used experiences from the lives of our kids and grandkids: searching everywhere for a beloved blanket that has gone missing...working together on crafts... delivering soup to a neighbor.

Marlo added her ideas as well. She suggested that a young mother carrying groceries while pushing a stroller might need some help.

We came up with many more “better together” scenarios than we could use. So some had to be cut.

One scenario that we cut was an airport scene. Marlo liked the idea at first but then commented that it was feeling a little out of place compared to the rest of the scenes.

While the main message of the book is to speak to the happy aspects of doing things together there is a secondary one: the fact that life can be fun without hours of screen time. I don’t say so directly in the book but it’s included in every page.

Considering that the book is not a long one, it did take a fair amount of revising. My least favorite part of the process. Ha!

And what picture book journey is complete without celebrating the art? We’re Better Together was endearingly illustrated by Ekaterina Trukham.

The first time I saw her illustrations I couldn’t stop smiling.

I love her bold, crayon-box colors, the expressions on the sweet faces, the playful spirit on each spread.

My personal favorite is the bath-time spread--complete with yellow rubber ducky.

On the last page real kids tell about how they are making the world a better place. Tucker, age five, helped clear the table without being asked. Walter, age six shoveled snow off his neighbor’s sidewalk. Anastasia, age six let someone use her coat because they were cold.

There are more ways to be part of a community than you might imagine. The question is posed: How do YOU work together? Something to think about.

Thanks so much for joining us, Eileen!

You can find Eileen on her website at www.eileenspinelli.com.

Environmental Picture Books with Frank Murphy

We are so excited to have Frank Murphy join us today to share information about Environmental Picture Books!

Frank Murphy has taught various grades at the elementary level for 32 years. He has published several award-winning picture books and easy readers for over 23 years. He loves traveling with his wife and co-author, Carla. He roots on the Philadelphia 76ers and UFC matches with his sons. He loves the hobby of collecting and trading sports cards - he has two of the biggest Tyrese Maxey and Bo Nickal collections in the hobby. Two of his own favorite books are Heroic Heart and A Boy Like You. His all-time favorite kids' book is When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. He's most proud of the accomplishments his kids are making - Griffin (marketing), Chase (filmmaking), and Haley (teaching).  

“If not us, then who?” - that’s the quote from A Planet Like Ours that matters the most to me. It’s a rallying call to readers, young and adult, to care for our world - and all that lives in it. And it’s why Charnaie Gordon and I wrote the text.

A Planet Like Ours is the fifth book in the “like You” series. After writing the first book, A Boy Like You, I didn’t imagine that the book would turn into a whole series of picture books. After A Girl Like You, A Teacher Like You, and A Friend Like You - our team wanted to take a little bit of a different path. We arrived at the idea of taking care of our planet. It was the first book in the series where the title didn’t end with “You”. I had already co-authored A Friend Like You with Charnaie Gordon. I really really love collaborating with Charnaie – we have great chemistry together and we just get each other; it’s always a seamless and smooth writing experience with Charnaie. 

There is so much happening in our world that is about division. We have hoped all along that this book would relate to everyone - no matter what. Even though politics and its inherent divisions (now more than ever) make their way into debates about climate change, global warming, and the ways we use and abuse natural resources – we think everyone can agree that we can all contribute to caring for Earth. From eliminating littering to caring for animals we wanted to give readers gentle reminders and inspiration to remember that we’re all sharing the same home – our Earth. 

Kayla Harren, the books’ illustrator, is the driving force in illuminating our words. Her art ignites everything we write and she is the one who actually creates the story with her illustrations - in each book. With A Planet Like Ours, Kayla created some memorable and dramatic images. My favorite piece of art is the full spread of the child sitting in a boat, attempting to clean the waters below; the way Kayla put the readers underneath the water, looking above is powerful. Also, the scene of barren land with only tree stumps remaining is stunning - and so sad. Additionally, Kayla is skilled at representing the vast diversity we have as humans. With each “like You” book we hope that every kid sees a part of themself in the art.

Another hope we have is that teachers, librarians, and caregivers share the book year-round, not just on and around Earth Day. The messages in this book need to be taught and acted upon daily. The last message I wanted readers to notice and remember is that caring for each other is incredibly important – maybe now more than ever. Charnaie and I were very intentional about having that message in this book.

Thanks for joining us, Frank!

You can find Frank’s book here and you can also check him out his website at www.frankmurphybooks.com.

Writing Picture Books to Appreciate and Inspire Nature by Bridgitte Rodguez

We are so excited to have Bridgitte Rodguez join us today to share information about Environmental Picture Books!

Bridgitte Rodguez was born in Puerto Rico, grew up in sunny San Diego, and now writes books from her New York City apartment. She has a BA in Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz and an MA in Anthropology from The George Washington University. When she isn’t writing or reading or wandering, you can find her hanging out with her nieces and nephews who inspire many of her stories.

You can find her online at www.BridgitteRodguez.com. On social media @KidsBookWriting and on Substack at Everyday Creative and Books and Bread.

I’ve always been a fan of the environment. Ever since the third grade when we learned about the Amazon and the ozone layer. I immediately jumped on the reduce, reuse, recycle bandwagon. That doing all these things would then work to protect the environment and the plants and animals that join us in calling Earth home.

Now that I write books for kids, I realize that I tend to almost always write on topics concerning nature. If it isn’t the focal point of the story, it is certainly a theme or layer throughout. The stories take place outside and/or display a variety of plants and animals. They explore a new environment, appreciate nature and leave the reader with a feeling of awe about the world around them.

My debut picture book, A Walk Through the Redwoods, illustrated by Natalia Bruno, takes readers on a journey through a redwood forest. My goal in writing the story was to take readers to a place they may not be familiar with— the redwoods. I wanted the book to feel as if they were going on a walk through the redwoods. A takeaway I often hear from readers is that the book gives you an appreciation for nature, for our environment and gives you a reason to care, without telling you to care. And I love this. As someone who doesn’t like to be told what to do, I don’t want to tell others that they should care and want to protect the environment but rather, show them why it’s important and let them come to their own conclusion.

Books provide a great opportunity to be subtle in their teachings. I can’t recall if I read any environmentally themed books as a child, but I was a reader. Books leave imprints whether intentional or not in our minds. We may not remember exactly what or where but we remember the feeling. Books can expose kids to the environment and nature and get them to care. Give them a reason to care. And they can do so in a fictional way. Where they aren’t thinking they are learning anything. They are reading a fun story about a real place or real animals or real plants. Objects they can find around them.

Kate Messner’s Over and Under series, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal takes us to many different environments: the forest in winter, the pond, the ocean, the rainforest, etc. Becoming familiar with the different plants and animals that call these places home. But also puts children in these places in relationship to the environment.

The City Tree by Shira Boss and illustrated by Lorena Alvarez, takes readers through the life of a newly planted street tree and all the benefits that a tree provides in an urban environment. I love the theme that nature can be anywhere and an appreciation for nature and the environment can happen even when living in a city.

In the Palm of My Hand, written by Jennifer Raudenbush and illustrated by Isabella Conti, provides a lyrical exploration of the small parts of nature and the wonder and inspiration they provide. Leaving the reader to want to take a closer look at the tiny objects they may encounter in their environment and what they may mean.

There are many ways to tell stories about nature, about the environment, about its inspiration and about appreciating it. I find it easiest to start with what I know and go from there. Either a place that I have enjoyed visiting, a favorite outside spot, or a plant or animal that I find fascinating. Once I have that, I determine if I want the story to be about the experience and interaction with nature or about the nature. In either case, I always want the informational parts to be factual and sometimes this requires a bit of research. Light research, it isn’t non-fiction, but enough to make sure that the real plants and animals described are accurate.

Our youngest readers are inspired by just about anything and everything! The world is brand new to them and nature provides endless possibilities for exploration. Even for grown ups— books about inspiring and appreciating nature can open up new worlds to them and provide opportunities to further their own connection to the environment.

Thanks for joining us, Bridgitte!

You can find Bridgitte online at www.BridgitteRodguez.com, on social media @KidsBookWriting, and on Substack at Everyday Creative and Books and Bread.

Mindfulness, Empowerment, and Picture Books with Joy Givens

We are so excited to have Joy Givens join us today to share information about Mindfulness Picture Books!

Joy Givens is the author of several award-winning short stories and the lucky mother of four young superheroes, including her son Joshua, who inspired The Unstoppable Jamie. She also leads after-school programs that serve refugee and immigrant youth throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania. Joy lives in Pittsburgh with her family. Follow her @joyeilene on Instagram or visit her at www.joygivens.com.

Joy's debut picture book, The Unstoppable Jamie has been called "Heartwarming and reassuring" by Kirkus Reviews and "A wonderful and educational story" by Midwest Book Review. Find it online HERE or at your favorite local bookstore!

Huge thanks to my gracious friend Stefanie Hohl for hosting me on her gorgeous blog today—and huge thanks to you for reading! I’d like to tell you a little about my debut picture book, The Unstoppable Jamie (illustrated by Courtney Dawson), and how I approach the intersections of mindfulness, empowerment, and children’s literature.

The Unstoppable Jamie is dedicated to and inspired by my oldest child, Joshua, who is 11 now and has Down syndrome. Ever since he was born (even before, since we had a prenatal diagnosis), I have wished for a book that stars a kid with Down syndrome but isn’t about having Down syndrome—a book that tells a story specific to a kid with Down syndrome but that is also relatable to any kid, and a book that saves the (important) educational content for the back pages and just lets the kid be the star of the show.

Jamie is a self-proclaimed superhero who travels to New York City with his family to see his picture in Times Square for the NDSS Buddy Walk. When his noise-controlling headphones get lost upon arrival, though (and his superhero cape “stops working”), Jamie quickly experiences sensory overload and shuts down. With the help of mindfulness exercises and some tight hugs from his family, he realizes that he is super not because of his cape or super gadgets, but just as he is. The last few pages are full of information for kids and caregivers who want to learn more about Down syndrome, genetic differences, and the Buddy Walk.

When I’m not writing children’s books (or chasing Joshua and his three younger siblings around), I also work for JFCS Pittsburgh as an Immigrant and Refugee Youth Services Specialist. One of my primary responsibilities is leading the Bridge Builders program, a mentoring and enrichment program for resettled refugee youth ages 5 and up. In other words, I spend time with a lot of young superheroes, and mindfulness and restoring autonomy are at the forefront of what I do.

When we talk about mindfulness, we are talking about developing the ability to be aware of experiences without judgment. That is a powerful—and empowering—experience for a kid. When we can invite young readers to develop awareness of their own feelings, and not code them as “good” or “bad,” we are giving them space to sort through their experiences. Even in the static medium of a picture book like The Unstoppable Jamie, a child can join a character through the experience of sensory overload and choose to breathe through it alongside them.

A picture book is a safe environment to try out feelings and process them. When my book shows New York City overwhelming Jamie, the reader doesn’t have to experience sensory overload firsthand in order to understand it better. They (or their caregiver) can read the siren aloud with a blaring “WEE-YOO WEE-YOO” or take it quieter. They can use the printed, comic-style words or focus on the faces. They can skip or repeat. And they can try out the focused breathing in the illustrations to find calm alongside Jamie, and the restored confidence that empowers him to feel unstoppable. All of that active reading is a mindfulness exercise in itself.

The last reflection I want to share about The Unstoppable Jamie and my approach to writing it focuses on empowerment. It’s a book starring a kid with Down syndrome—and as the mom of a child with Down syndrome, I wanted to make sure that the kid was the star, not the chromosomes. I had always wanted to see a book (or multiple books!), featuring kids like mine, in which Down syndrome was a key part of the story but wasn’t the point or plot. I didn’t want to swoop in like a superhero and blare to the reader, “This kid has Down syndrome, but he doesn’t let that stop him!”

I specifically wanted to get out of the way so Jamie could be the hero, and the reader could be right there alongside him—to set a stage on which he can star not in spite of who he is, not even because of who he is, but just as he is. Jamie isn’t a superhero because of his speed or strength, or any other stereotypical “power,” but because he doesn’t give up. He uses his mindfulness skills and the support of trusted loved ones to regain his focus, and then he gets back to being super, just as he is.

After all, what could be more empowering than being a superhero just as you are?

…But you know what they say:

“Always be yourself. Unless you can be Batman. Then always be Batman.”

Thanks so much for joining us, Joy!

You can find find Joy on Instagram @joyeilene on Instagram or visit her at www.joygivens.com. You can also find her book HERE or at your favorite local bookstore!