Rajani LaRocca's Blog, page 13
February 1, 2022
A Star for I’LL GO AND COME BACK!
I’m thrilled and honored that my forthcoming picture book, I’LL GO AND COME BACK, has received a STARRED review from Publishers Weekly! This story, inspired by my own grandmother, is about a grandmother and granddaughter, and loves that flies across the world. I’LL GO AND COME BACK is gorgeously illustrated by Sara Palacios and releases on March 29 from Candlewick! It’s available to preorder now!
January 24, 2022
RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE Wins a 2022 Newbery Honor!
I’m over the moon that RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE has won a Newbery Honor Award!! Given to “most distinguished American children’s book published the previous year,” this is the oldest children’s book award in the world! I’m so grateful to the Newbery Committee and the American Library Association for recognizing this book of my heart in such a spectacular way. Thank you to Alexandra Cooper and Rosemary Brosnan at Quill Tree Books / HarperCollins for believing in this story!
When I wrote this story, I wasn’t sure that anyone else would want to read it. This recognition is beyond my wildest dreams, and I have no words for what this means to me! I’m lucky to have an agent, Brent Taylor of Triada US, who believes in me and my writing and encourages me to write what is in my heart. We did it, Brent!!And I couldn’t have written this book without the connections I’ve made through Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and my amazing writer friends. Thank you SO much!And THANK YOU to all the teachers and librarians and kids out there who have read this book and shared it. Know that you are carrying a piece of my heart in your hands, and I’m so very grateful for your support.I’m stunned and overjoyed and so, so, so thankful!
January 18, 2022
RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE has won the 2022 Walter Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature!
I’m utterly thrilled and honored that RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE has won the 2022 Walter Dean Myers Award for Younger Readers! The Walter Awards are given by We Need Diverse Books to works of outstanding children’s literature that celebrate diversity.
When I first wrote this book of my heart, I wasn’t sure whether anyone else would want to read it or care about it. Seeing it recognized in this way is so incredible and humbling. The world needs all kinds of stories!
Huge thanks so my publisher, Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins, and my editor, Alexandra Cooper, for believing in this story. And I couldn’t have written it without my amazing agent, Brent Taylor at TriadaUS, so I owe him thanks for…well, everything. This story was inspired by aspects of my own life and childhood, and is dedicated to my parents, who are my heroes.
Congratulations to all the winners and honorees! The full list here.
January 17, 2022
RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE is a 2022 Notable Books for a Global Society Award Winner!
So honored to see RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE on the 2022 Notable Books for a Global Society Award list along with 24 other marvelous books! Each year, a committee of the Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group of the International Literacy Association selects 25 outstanding trade books “for enhancing student understanding of people and cultures throughout the world.” You can see the whole list here.
January 16, 2022
RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE is A Mighty Girl 2021 Book of the Year!
I was thrilled to find that RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE has been selected as a 2021 Book of the Year by A Might Girl! A Mighty Girl has incredible suggestions for books, toys, and movies for smart, confident and courageous girls, and I love that they recommend my books MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM, RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE, and WHERE THREE OCEANS MEET! Check out all the 2021 Books of the Year here!
January 1, 2022
December 30, 2021
RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE Wins a 2021 Nerdy Book Club Award!
I’m absolutely thrilled that RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE has won a 2021 Nerdy in the Poetry/Verse Novel Category! I’m honored that this book of my heart has touched so many. Take a look at all the winners!
December 26, 2021
WHERE THREE OCEANS MEET Wins a 2021 Nerdy Book Club Award!
I’m so thrilled that WHERE THREE OCEANS MEET has won a 2021 Nerdy Book Club Award in the Fiction Picture Books Category! This story about a girl, her mother, and grandmother who travel together to the very tip of India and share love along the way is very close to my heart. Check out all the winners here.
December 12, 2021
My interview on Voice of America’s “Dropping In” with Diane Dewey!
I loved talking to Diane Dewey on her show “Dropping In” on Voice of America. We chatted about writing, family, “otherness,” and food (of course!) and my books WHERE THREE OCEANS MEET, RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE, and MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM! Listen to the full interview here!
December 6, 2021
A HUGE Giveaway to End 2021!
2021 has been quite a year . . . in the midst of some very difficult times, I’ve been very grateful to release SIX books this year! To celebrate, I’m giving away a bundle of signed copies all eight of my books, including my novels MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM, RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE, MUCH ADO ABOUT BASEBALL, and my picture books SEVEN GOLDEN RINGS, BRACELETS FOR BINA’S BROTHERS, WHERE THREE OCEANS MEET, MY LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK ABOUT KAMALA HARRIS, and THE SECRET CODE INSIDE YOU!
Thanks so much for your support in 2021. Here’s to a fantastic 2022!
