WRITERS' RUMPUS

Yes, the title of this post borrows from this gloriously AWEsome picture book (published March 3, 2026 by Scholastic Press), but I totally couldn’t resist! Both a visual treat (thank you, Susan) and an inspiring read (thank you, Chana), what makes AWE! vault into being one of the best picture books I’ve ever read is how the words and pictures meld together to create a memorable, soul stirring, heart lifting experience.

Interview with #Kidlit Coauthor of Unbreakable – Jolene Gutiérrez

June 9, 2026 Monica Acker

Storytelling unites generations, preserves culture, and shares the human experience. It can connect us to the past in the hope of a better future. This

When Narration and Puzzles Intertwine: Creating Storified Puzzle Books

June 5, 2026 Alumni & Guests

Guest Post by Derek Reid I’ve always dealt in the truth and glory of the real universe. When I was five or six years old,

Picture Book Review: In The World of Whales

June 2, 2026 Genevieve Rossi

In The World of Whales, written by Michelle Cusolito and illustrated by Jessica Lanan, was published by Neal Porter books on June 17, 2025. Upon

I Wish I Didn’t Have To Tell You This

May 26, 2026 Marti Johnson

I WISH I DIDN’T HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS was written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin, a Russian-born American author and an artist of many

Teen Book Review: I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver

May 7, 2019 Rebecca Moody

I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST by debut author Mason Deaver is a contemporary coming of age that’s out from Scholastic/Push in May 2019. *I

Interview: Susan Kaplan Carlton, author of IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF TRUE

May 3, 2019 Joyce Audy Zarins

This is more than an interview with a young adult author about her newest book. Recent events in the news reveal that antisemitism has not

Survival Guide for #NESCBWI

April 30, 2019 Alumni & Guests

By Dana Nuenighoff The annual spring conference for NESCBWI is coming this weekend! That means a weekend full of workshops and keynote speakers, of being

B is for Books! Two Wonderful Surprises

April 26, 2019 Laura Fineberg Cooper

I thought I missed my chance to review these March debuts, so imagine my surprise when I opened a big box (filled with the nicest

YA Book Review: To Best The Boys by Mary Weber

April 23, 2019 Rebecca Moody

TO BEST THE BOYS features lush world-building, a spunky, dynamic heroine with a mile-a-minute mind and voice reminiscent of Felicity Montague of Mackenzi Lee’s Petticoats & Piracy, and a plot as nail-bitingly intense as Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games.