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!!
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.
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
IT WAITS IN THE FOREST by Sarah Dass
It Waits in the Forest by Sarah Dass is a deeply atmospheric YA thriller that will sink its bloody teeth into you and refuse to let go … until you read through to the spine-tingling conclusion. Is this a creepy mystery? Is the plot realistic, mystical, mysterious, and drawn from Caribbean folklore? Does it include a love triangle with two hot guys? YES to all those tantalizing questions and so much more!!
Books as Graduation Gifts? Absolutely!!
June is graduation month, and there is no more thoughtful gift to give your special graduate than an inspiring, encouraging, and enduring book. For this post, I set forth to cultivate a lovely collection for gift givers to consider, whether your student is graduating from elementary, middle, or high school, or even from the hallowed halls of college.
Interview with picture book author Karen Kaufman Orloff … with a 20 BOOK GIVEAWAY of her delightful book, DUDLEY’S DAY AT HOME!!
If you haven’t been following the incredible promotion by Flashlight Press, each month in 2024, one lucky blogger gets to interview an author and offer
When Truth is Stranger Than Fiction
Inspiration is all around us, within our homes and throughout our vast, amazing world. Case in point: the featured image comes from my once-in-a-lifetime trip
The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass
Award-winning authors Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass have teamed up on this delightful and mysterious novel! How could any lover of middle grade resist?
THE DAVENPORTS by debut YA author Krystal Marquis
“The first book in a breathless new series, The Davenports offers a glimpse into a period of African American history often overlooked, while delivering a totally escapist, swoon-worthy read.”
Beneath the Wide Silk Sky, The Blood Years, & Only This Beautiful Moment: Unforgettable YA Historical Fiction
For me, historical events, places, and individuals are enlivened by fictional storylines and characters. These three YA novels are beautifully written, incredibly compelling, deeply revealing, and I guarantee, absolutely unforgettable.
Before We Turn the Page: The 2023 Writers’ Rumpus Year in Review
Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, you’re invited to peruse my 2023 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!!
Six Heartfelt & Charming YA Contemporary Novels for All Seasons
These six YA Contemporary Novels all feature adorable covers, snappy titles, clever writing, and charming protagonists. As you’re curled up in your favorite reading chair, make sure you have a box of tissues nearby as these novels overflow with heart!
WRITERS' RUMPUS 