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
Author: Laura Fineberg Cooper
Reading, writing, and teaching fill me with joy! Along with being a regular blogger and editor of Writers' Rumpus, I'm also a CYBIL's judge, a Copy Editor for writers and businesses, an English Teacher/Tutor for students grades 5-12, and a College and Grad School Essay Coach. For more about my offerings, you're welcome to check out my website, www.laurafcooper.com.
Interview with Ainissa Ramirez, author of SPARK … and a giveaway!
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.
How to Become Your Own Copy Editor
“Impossible!” you cry. “Nonsense!” I reply. Here are ten common issues found in novel manuscripts and tips to help you avoid or correct them.
A LANGUAGE OF DRAGONS by S.F. Williamson: Class struggles, Codebreaking, and Conspiracies
Yes, I have a weakness for dragon books, especially those that portray dragons as creatures capable of intelligent thought and compassion. I’m definitely the kind of person who would go up to one and try to strike up a conversation, if the chance ever presented itself in the scaly, fire-breathing flesh.
Celebrating World Tiger Day! Interview with Debra Kim Wolf, author of A FAMILY FOR ZOYA: The True Story of an Endangered Cub … and a giveaway!!
When Debra wrote to our blog about a potential interview regarding her nonfiction picture book, A Family for Zoya: The True Story of an Endangered Cub, I took one look at the book cover and signed up immediately.
These Four Colorful, Creative, and Captivating Alphabet Books Go WAY Beyond Teaching ABCs
These alphabet books are out of this world! One introduces readers to space. One delights us in a magical robot world. One reveals an ever-changing
I’m over the moon for OVER the MOON by the immensely talented Natalie Lloyd
OVER the MOON is Natalie Lloyd’s third sparkling middle grade novel, published in 2019 by Scholastic Press. How I missed it until now, I seriously don’t know. But now that I’ve discovered this wonderful book, I want to shout from the moon just how much I adore it.
Body of Stars: A Stunning Debut by Laura Maylene Walter
The back cover of this dystopian novel asks this thought-provoking question: What if your body held the map to your future?
Interview with Rajani LaRocca, celebrated author of SONA and the GOLDEN BEASTS
Rajani pours her heart and incredible talent into each new story for children she writes: it’s no wonder she has garnered so many well-deserved awards!
The 2024 Writers’ Rumpus Year in Review
Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, you’re invited to peruse my 2024 Writers’ Rumpus Year in Review! As another year draws to a close, I continue to marvel at the variety and quality of our posts, and thank all of our authors and readers for your commitment to our kidlit blog. Once again, I’ve been honored and challenged to highlight one post from each of our talented contributors with an image, date link, and brief summary. Enjoy!!
The Do More Club by Debut Author Dana Kramaroff
Every so often, a book rocks me to my core. THE DO MORE CLUB, a middle grade novel in verse by Dana Kramaroff, is just such a book. I’m not typically drawn to books in this style, but I’m so glad the tag line, “Spread Kindness So Hate Can’t Win” made me overcome my hesitation.
Picture Books for the Delightful, Frightful, Celebratory Fall Season
October is my favorite month, with leaves creating a tapestry of glorious colors, pumpkins popping up here, there, and everywhere, costumed kiddos knocking at my door, and the cool temps inviting me to break out my sweater collection. I hope you enjoy three picture books I’ve chosen to honor delightful, frightful, celebratory October.
A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga: an unforgettable novel brimming with heart, humanity, gratitude, and perseverance
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll hope, you’ll dream. Resilience, a fictional Mar’s rover, is so full of humanity, he will leap off the pages and right into your hearts.
Interview with Poet, Scientist, Adventurer, and Kidlit Author Leslie Bulion…with a giveaway of her amazing book, Galápagos: Islands of Change!
If you read my earlier post, When Truth is Stranger than Fiction, you likely noticed the featured image, a Blue-Footed Booby whose picture I snapped
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