Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 27
October 20, 2022
Throwback Thursday: Liz Garton Scanlon
Congratulations to Liz Garton Scanlon on the publication of Lolo’s Light (Chronicle, 2022)!
From the promotional copy:
This is a truth about growing up: Once in your life, sometime after your first memory but before you can drive a car, something is going to happen to you that doesn’t happen to anyone else you know. It might be something good. It might be something bad, or special, or funny, or shocking. For Millie, it’s something really sad. Lolo, her neighbors’ infant daughter, dies unexpecte...
October 19, 2022
Guest Post: Jessica Vitalis on Heroes, Villains, & the Gray Space in Between
Heroes and villains are typically archetypes that let us see the best––and worst––of the human race. In the Superhero genre, these characters are usually obvious: Superman and Lex Luther, Batman and the Joker, Black Panther and Killmonger. In real life, they can be obvious, too––we see that playing out on the world stage in the fight between Russia and Ukraine.
There can be value in examining the roles these archetypes play. Through their examples, we learn about compassion a...
October 18, 2022
Author Interview: Laurie Goodluck Reflects on her Influences & Forever Cousins
By: AJ Eversole
Today on Cynsations we are chatting with Laurie Goodluck. I had the pleasure of meeting her during We Need Diverse Book’s Native Writing Intensive in its debut year, 2020. Seeing her career move forward since that time has been absolutely beautiful.
Forever Cousins (Charlesbridge, 2022)What is the heart of Forever Cousins?
At the heart of Forever Cousins, illustrated by Jonathan Nelson (Charlesbridge, 2022) is the complex history of the enduring...
October 14, 2022
Cynsational News
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Be a Good Ancestor by Leona Prince and Gabrielle Prince, illustrated by Carla Joseph (Orca Book Publishers, 2022).
Author/Illustrator InsightsQ&A With Varsha Bajaj, Thirst by Danielle Wilkinson from We Need Diverse Books. Peek: “I think middle schoolers are watching and learning whether we educate them or not. They have access to information that we didn’t when we were ...
October 13, 2022
Throwback Thursday: Mari Mancusi on Kids Kids Don’t Read Like They Used To…And That’s a Good Thing
Congratulations to Mari Mancusi on her newest book, New Dragon City (Little, Brown BYR, 2022)!
From the publisher’s description:
No one predicted the dragon apocalypse. The dragons came suddenly and decimated the world as we knew it, including New York City. Now, three years later, Noah, his hardcore survivalist father, and a ragtag group of survivors are barely scraping by in this new reality. Kids scavenge not only for materials in abandoned homes but also for leftover books at the library. A...
October 12, 2022
Author Interview: P.J. Hoover Tackles Nonfiction With Problem Solvers
Today I’m thrilled to welcome fellow Austin author P.J. Hoover to Cynsations!
P.J. may be best known for her fast-paced adventure novels like Homer’s Excellent Adventure (CBAY, 2020), The Hidden Code (CBAY Books, 2019) and Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life (Tor/Starscape, 2016), but recently she shifted gears and wrote a nonfiction book, Problem Solvers: 15 Innovative Women Engineers and Coders (Chicago Review Press, 2022).
What drew you to the project?
With Problem Solver...
October 11, 2022
Author & Illustrator Interview: Patricia Newman & Natasha Donovan Reflect on A River’s Gifts
Spotlight image: Patricia Newman signs a book for Bebe, the narrator of A River’s Gifts book trailer.
I’m excited to celebrate an amazing new book by Sibert Honor award winning author Patricia Newman and acclaimed illustrator Natasha Donovan. I’ve been lucky to be in a critique group with Patricia for over a dozen years—she’s one of the best critique partners ever.
I remember when Patricia (Patti) first announced her plans to write this book. I was wowed by her adventurou...
Author & Illustrator Interview: Patricia Newman & Natasha Donovan Reflect on A River’s Gift
Spotlight image: Patricia Newman signs a book for Bebe, the narrator of A River’s Gifts book trailer.
I’m excited to celebrate an amazing new book by Sibert Honor award winning author Patricia Newman and acclaimed illustrator Natasha Donovan. I’ve been lucky to be in a critique group with Patricia for over a dozen years—she’s one of the best critique partners ever.
I remember when Patricia (Patti) first announced her plans to write this book. I was wowed by her adventurou...
October 7, 2022
Cynsational News
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, AJ Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Something About Grandma by Tania de Regil (Candlewick Press, 2022).
Author/Illustrator InsightsInterview With Billy Yong, Debut Picture Book Illustrator of My Pet Feet from Debbie Ridpath Ohi. Peek: [Advice for young illustrators:] “Find what you love and try to put it into everything you do. Keep your eyes open to the world around you, there is so much charm and magic in...
October 6, 2022
Throwback Thursday: Guest Post: Tom Angleberger on Children’s Literature as a Team Sport
Congratulations to Tom Angleberger on the publication of his new graphic novel, Two-Headed Chicken (Candlewick, Sept. 6, 2022).
Take a look back at his reflection on Children’s Literature as a Team Sport. It first appeared on Cynsations in February 2020.
I’m coming up on the 10th anniversary of Origami Yoda (Amulet, 2010) in a month or two. And it won’t be long until I hit the 20th anniversary of quitting my day job and deciding to really try being an author.
Have I learned...
