Welcome to my blog (scroll down to see individual posts), which was originally on a separate site at Inkygirl.com. I also have a separate Inkygirl newsletter on Substack at debbieohi.substack.com.
Also see: Inkygirl interviews – Resources
Happy I Read Canadian Day! You don’t have to be Canadian to celebrate. One suggestion: Read a book by a children’s book creator for 15 minutes, then share your experience your experience with others. You can see what others are posting by browsing the #IReadCanadianDay hashtag on Twitter and other social media. Looking . . .
I am *very* excited to reveal the cover of I’M SORRY, which launches from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers on September 6, 2021! This is the newest in the I’M…. picture book series written by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by me (Debbie Ridpath Ohi). Don’t you love Laurent . . .
By Sara Truuvert When I reached out to Chrystal D. Giles back in November 2020, the excitement around Take Back the Block was already palpable. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and Kids’ IndieNext Pick, the novel has garnered praise from numerous authors and a starred review from School Library Journal. Take Back the Block follows Wes, a funny, stylish sixth-grader whose main . . .
I am thrilled to be interviewing Basil Sylvester and Kevin Sylvester about their new middle grade book, THE FABULOUS ZED WATSON!, which launches *today* from HarperCollins. You can attend the virtual launch party tomorrow (Jan.27) courtesy Glad Day Bookshop and HarperCollinsCanada: see the Facebook Event Page and Glad Day Lit TV page. Excerpt from the Quill and . . .
By Sara Truuvert How do you teach children about intolerance? How do you teach them about death? How do you introduce to them a culture with which they may not be familiar? You turn to books like Root Magic, the MG debut of author Eden Royce. Hailed as “spellbinding”, “necessary”, and a “must-read”, Root . . .
Happy New Year, all! Not making any New Year’s Resolutions. Things went VERY wonky last year, but I’m heading into this fresh, shiny new year with cautious optimism. How about you?
(Note: feel free to use my GIPHY animations in your blog posts, too!) I find that I always hesitate a bit whenever I hear the phrase, “How are you doing?” There’s part of me that feels like answering, “Pandemic-fine.” Because like many others out there, I have behind-the-scenes stresses going . . .
By Sara Truuvert “My daughter said she wasn’t going to science camp because ‘science was for boys.’” Shelli R. Johannes had never written a picture book when she heard her daughter’s stance on science, but it sparked the idea that she, with co-author and friend Kimberly Derting, would turn into the Loves Science series. Libby . . .
By Sara Truuvert Christina Li likes to keep herself busy. At just 14, she began querying literary agents and at 15 pitched live to her current agent. Now, Christina is making her literary debut with Clues to the Universe, an MG novel she wrote and sold all before beginning her junior year at . . .
If you are doing NaNoWriMo this year, good luck! Though chances are good you don’t have the time to read this blog post. If you attempted NaNoWriMo and gave up partway through, or avoided doing it at all because you knew you wouldn’t have the time, don’t abandon all hope! . . .