Authors & Illustrators Wild About Kidlit!
A look at how Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown grow their beloved Creepy picture books into early chapter books — and why spooky stories work year-round for young readers.
Before we close the book on 2025, I welcome you to peruse my annual Writers’ Rumpus Year in Review. As with my first review post back in 2017, my goal for 2025 is to showcase the breadth and depth of our offerings from our talented contributors with a single post from each.
Guest Post by Danna Smith What are SEL Picture Books? An SEL picture book teaches children about emotions, life skills, and empathy. Creating one can
Pam Vaughan is one of the most supportive creators in the kidlit community. She cheers everyone on with her positivity. It came as no shock
Carol Gordon Ekster: Our guest today is Joy Nelkin Wieder, a talented long time New England creative. It is my pleasure in this holiday season
There have been so many great books released this past year, I had to squeeze in one more multi-book post highlighting some of my favorites.
I’m hoping to build on Vicky Fang’s blog post, focusing specifically on humor: How do you create a humorous chapter book series that engages young readers and keeps them turning page after page after page?
Hello, Tobi (Candlewick, 2025), by Author/Illustrator Andrea Cáceres had me at hello. Literally. The cover is a playful invitation, with an illustration of Cáceres’s 15-year-old
Kimberly, it’s my pleasure to welcome you to Writers’ Rumpus! Congratulations on your debut picture book, Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken, published August 19, 2025 by Third State
I met children’s author and indie publisher Donna L. Martin through a #BookHero school library book drive I coordinate every March with fellow kidlit authors
Liesl in the Sound of Music; Beth in Little Women; Helena Landless in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. This seemingly random string of characters are
Spark – Jim West’s Electrifying Adventures in Creating the Microphone is the first nonfiction picture book biography in the Black Innovators Series by MIT Kids Press, an imprint of Candlewick. Today is this remarkable book’s birthday, and I’m honored to welcome talented author Ainissa Ramirez to Writers’ Rumpus.
Guest Post by Janet Daniels I met Amy Cherrix at Simmons University in 2008, when we began our master’s programs through the Center for the
Carol Gordon Ekster: Linda and I first connected at Jane Yolen’s Picture book boot camp about ten years ago, but have continued to cross paths
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