Welcome to my new blog, which now includes content from many of the blogs I’ve created over the years. You can now also access content via category from this one page instead of having to search for my individual blogs, which were scattered over various platforms and websites.
Happy New Year! To celebrate the start of 2024, I’m giving away a copy of A GIFT FOR NAI NAI, written and illustrated by debut picture book creator Kim-Hoa Ung. Scroll to the end of the interview for details on how to enter. Psst: if you have helped boost this . . .
By Julie Damerell Jody Jensen Shaffer is an award-winning poet and the author of more than 80 books for children, including PRUDENCE THE PART-TIME COW, IT’S YOUR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, BUSY BUS!, A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK, EMERGENCY KITTENS! and more. You can learn more about Jody at . . .
Author photo credit: Randi Childs. Interview by Julie Damerell Ronni Diamondstein spent her life surrounded by books and immersed in the world of children’s literature. As a school library media specialist and teacher of gifted and talented students in the United States and abroad, Ronni nurtured her students’ creativity by . . .
Daphne Benedis-Grab is the author of the middle grade novels I KNOW YOUR SECRET, I KNOW YOU’RE LYING, and CLEMENTINE FOR CHRISTMAS as well as the young adult book THE GIRL IN THE WALL. Her middle grade book THE ANGEL TREE was made into a Hallmark Original movie. She earned . . .
Editor’s note: It’s more of a challenge to get books noticed these days! You can help boost this book and its creators by helping to spread the word on Bluesky, X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Substack. BEATRICE AND BARBAuthor: Kate Jenks Landry ~ Illustrator: Vivian MinekerPublisher: Kids Can Press (Oct. 3, . . .
Sara Truuvert is the author of Mira and Baku, her debut picture book, published by Annick Press. Sara’s short fiction and poetry have appeared in publications like Ploughshares, the Chicago Quarterly Review, Witness, and PRISM international. She lives in Ontario. You can find her at saratruuvert.com. Michelle Theodore is an illustrator . . .
PLEASE NOTE: Much of the info in this post is outdated. Please see my updated post about the kidlit community and social media. (Last updated November 18, 2023 – I’m now at https://bsky.app/profile/debbieohi.com; here’s how and why I converted to a custom domain Bluesky handle. Also, Bluesky now has PUBLIC . . .
Short URL to this post: https://debbieohi.link/bluesky-kidlitAlso see my UPDATED Bluesky post. (Last updated September 19, 2023) *** Please see my UPDATED POST ABOUT BLUESKY AND SOCIAL MEDIA, thanks! *** (Older version below, see link above for my NEW AND UPDATED post) As the Platform-Formerly-Known-As-Twitter gradually continues to de-stabilize, I’ve been . . .
Benson Shum is a children’s book author and illustrator. He uses watercolor, ink and digital tools to create his illustrations. His books, Anzu the Great Listener and Anzu the Great Kaiju were selected as Kid’s Indie Next List Recommended by American Booksellers Association, and received a starred review from School . . .
By Julie Damerell Tyler Charlton is an illustrator and children’s book author living in northern Virginia with his wife and three children. He is a native of Southern California and grew up near the beach where he played in actual, real waves. That experience gave him a way to think . . .