I am thrilled to announce my next picture book, coming out in Fall 2024 with Barefoot Books, with illustrations by Jenny Meilihove! Inspired by a tale from the Talmud, The Midnight Mitzvah is the story of Hanina, a generous chipmunk, who risks a confrontation with a great horned owl in order to help a hungry friend who's too embarrassed to admit she can no longer fend for herself.

I've got a new picture book coming out!

​Inspired by a real event in Lincoln, Vermont, ELI'S LIBRARY  celebrates the love of books, the power of nature, the library’s place as the heart of the community, and the strength that comes when a community works together. Eli loves driving down the mountain road with his dad to visit the library, especially on Story Circle days. And Eli loves the river that tumbles beside the library. But when the river rises and threatens to flood Eli’s library, Eli and his dad brave the storm to help their neighbors save the books, and become a part of the library’s own story. 

Here's the official announcement:

I had a great time yesterday as a guest reader for Reading Week at Rhodes School, just a few blocks from my house.

This school just voted to adopt the horseshoe crab as its mascot, and some of the campaign posters were still on the walls.

The whole school had already read Crab Moon, but they didn't seem to mind hearing it again, from the person who wrote it. The older kids (3rd-5th grade) taught me some things about horseshoe crabs, and I told them things about what goes into turning an idea into a book. 

I read Crab Moon and Are We Still Friends? to the Kindergarten-2nd graders. We had a great conversation about apologizing and accepting apologies, and about sometimes the right word can be stronger than a tall wall.

I'm so grateful for the work these teachers are doing, and so glad to have had a chance to meet these wonderful kids.

Here I am with the fourth grade class that was the driving force behind the horseshoe crab drive. We're all doing the horseshoe crab sign -- another thing they taught me.

​Check out this cool story about my neighborhood elementary school! The whole school has been learning about horseshoe crabs this year, and the students and staff just voted (by a landslide!) to change the school mascot from the tiger to the horseshoe crab. They’re even getting shirts made that say, “Save a horseshoe crab, save the world.”

I don’t have kids at Rhodes School (my kids are grown up), and I wouldn’t have known anything about this horseshoe crab love if my neighbors hadn’t knocked on my door the other day, just as I was sitting down to supper.

“We have news!” they announced.

It seems they were out on their evening walk when they noticed a crowd of kids and grown-ups headed towards the little cove near our home. They were carrying what looked like butterfly nets, and my friends, who are both curious and the opposite of shy, asked what they were doing.

When they found out that they were fourth graders looking for horseshoe crabs, my friends told them they should read Crab Moon.

“It’s not only about horseshoe crabs, but the author lives right over there!”

Well, it turns out they had been reading Crab Moon. But they had no idea that the author lived right there.

“You need to go to the Cove right now and introduce yourself,” my friends told me.

So I did.

Here I am with Susan Weber, the teacher behind Rhode School’s horseshoe crab craze. We only talked for about fifteen minutes, but as you can see from the picture, we feel like we’ve known each other for years.

I’m looking forward to visiting Rhodes School in the fall, when they officially adopt the horseshoe crab as their mascot. And I am immensely grateful that teachers like Weber are out there, inspiring kids to care about the world beyond the classroom walls.

By the way, there weren’t any horseshoe crabs in the cove the other night. But they should be showing up there soon. I’ll be keeping an eye out, as I do every year. And I’m guessing that this year I won’t be the only one.
 

​ Many thanks to the folks at Kidlit411 for putting me in the Spotlight! You can click here to read a little interview I did. And if you visit the site before April 20, you can enter a chance to win a freed copy of Are We Still Friends?!

On April 15, 2-4 pm, I’ll be joining nine other area children’s authors and illustrators at An Unlikely Story, Jeff (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) Kinney’s destination bookstore and café in Plainville, Massachusetts. There’ll be schmoozing, book signing, and a scavenger hunt for the kids. Should be fun! If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll stop by. Here are the details.

I'm still flying high from an amazing event in Vermont, my old stomping grounds. I have a lot to say about it, and haven't had a chance to put my thoughts into words. But look at this sweet write-up by Elizabeth Bluemle, children's author and book store owner extraordinaire! My heart is full.

What a wonderful afternoon we had in Garden City yesterday! It was a thrill to read Are We Still Friends? aloud in public for the first time. And we sold every copy the store had in stock! Many thanks to Stacy Kaplan and the folks at Barrington Books Retold for hosting the event. Many more thanks to friends old and new who turned out. And most thanks of all to my family for being there from the start of this project 20-plus years ago to yesterday's launch. You are the finest of families, indeed!

For local folks who couldn't make it or who couldn't buy all the copies they wanted, Barrington Books is getting in more this week. Leave a message in the comments or contact Barrington Books if you'd like to pick up signed copies.

Next stop, Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne Vermont! Can't wait.

Well, this is adorable. Thank you, School Library Journal and Travis Jonker!
100scopenotes.com/2017/02/18/book-title-toons-brothers/