Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 35
March 9, 2022
Author Interview: Sundee Frazier Talks About Mighty Inside & Her Writing Journey
I am thrilled to welcome Author Sundee Frazier to Cynsations today! Welcome, Sundee!
Could you tell us about your latest book?
Mighty Inside (Levine Querido, 2021) was inspired by the true story of how my grandparents acquired their first and only home. It was the 1940s, and the neighborhood in Spokane, WA, where my grandpa wanted to live was off-limits. Restrictive covenants—wording in deeds outlawing sales to Black people—meant realtors wouldn’t even show homes in certain ...
March 8, 2022
In Memory: Mark Karlins
Mark Karlins, author and poet, died Jan. 1, 2022. He was 74.
He was born Sept. 19, 1947. He was originally from New York City, and many of his picture books are set there. In a Children’s Book Review interview with Luisa LaFleur he said, “To see the Brooklyn or Manhattan Bridge stretching across the water fills one with longing . . . I easily return to New York in my stories.”
He graduated from Bard College in New York.
Mark authored six picture books for children....
March 7, 2022
New Cynsations Reporter for New England Helen Kampion
By Gayleen Rabakukk and Stephani Martinell Eaton
We are thrilled to welcome Helen Kampion to Cynsations as a reporter covering the New England area.
Helen is very active in the children’s-YA literature community and we’re excited about the posts she will contribute!
Welcome, Helen! You’ll be covering the New England youth literary scene. Could you give us a general sense of the types of posts that we should expect to see from you?
First of all, I’m so pleased to be part of the Cynsations team....
March 4, 2022
Cynsational News
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender, AJ Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Eyes That Speak to the Stars by Joanna Ho, illustrated by Dung Ho (HarperCollins, 2022).
Author/Illustrator InsightsDay 25: Bryan Patrick Avery by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich from The Brown Bookshelf. Peek: “I’ve always considered it a privilege to write for young readers. Lately, I’ve begun to view it as a privilege and a responsibility. Th...
March 3, 2022
In Memory: Betty X Davis
By Lindsey Lane
On January 5, 2022, Betty X Davis vacated her seat at the front row of our BookPeople launches. At one hundred and six years old, still quoting Shakespeare at length and spouting snippets of French, it seemed like she might live forever. But alas, she slipped away, quietly, as one does when they’ve been to an excellent party, had a wonderful time and leaves at the exact right time without a lot of unnecessary fanfare. Betty didn’t go in for a lot of sentimentality or over-the-to...
March 2, 2022
Reflections on Cover Design with Author Suma Subramaniam & Illustrators Sandhya Prabhat & Shreya Gupta
I’m honored to be in conversation with my artist-collaborators and share the inside story of the cover-design process for our upcoming debut fiction and nonfiction picture books, Namaste Is A Greeting, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat (Candlewick, October 2022), and She Sang For India: How M.S. Subbulakshmi Used Her Voice For Change, illustrated by Shreya Gupta (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, November 2022) with Cynsations readers. The cover reveal posts on the We Need Diverse Bo...
March 1, 2022
New Voices: Alison Green Myers & Meera Trehan Explore Different Ways Of Seeing The World
Spotlight image: Alison Green Myers with her son and dog exploring the setting from A Bird Will Soar.
I’m so happy to introduce Cynsations readers to two debut authors, Alison Green Myers and Meera Trehan.
Alison and Meera, thank you for joining us today. Would you introduce yourselves and tell us more about your books?
AGM: Thanks for having us! I’m Alison Green Myers, my pronouns are she/her, and A Bird Will Soar (Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2021) is my first book for...
February 28, 2022
Cynsations Intern: AJ Eversole & The Spark Of Imagination
By: AJ Eversole
I grew up living with my mom and grandparents on an old rural farm in Northeastern Oklahoma. The adults in the house lived by the idea that if the sun was up, the children should be finding something to do outside and away from view or they would be put to work. Obviously, I chose to spend most of my time exploring the fields and forests around the farm, usually dragging a cousin along with me.
I have always been a reader. I would pick up a book at the school library, spend the ...
February 25, 2022
Cynsational News
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Mardi Gras Almost Didn’t Come This Year by Kathy Z. Price, illustrated by Carl Joe Williams (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2022).
Author/Illustrator InsightsDay 18: Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow by Tameka Fryer Brown from The Brown Bookshelf. Peek: “I overheard a conversation in a Muslim women’s group…about the lack of children’s books representing Black M...
February 24, 2022
Cover Reveal: Carmen Oliver on Turning Editor Critiques into Published Books
Editor critiques are invaluable in many ways. They offer insights and takeaways that if we’re open to receiving them, they can improve our stories and lead to publishing contracts in unexpected ways. Some of the best ways to meet editors who are actively looking to acquire new manuscripts are face-to-face or virtually at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrator (SCBWI) conferences, and/or writing retreats or workshops. I’ve been blessed to publish two books becaus...
