Copy
Kidlit in Color
View this email in your browser

Summer 2021

Cover Reveals
 A Comb of Wishes
The cover reveal for Lisa Stringfellow's middle grade debut A Comb of Wishes took place recently! The cover was illustrated by Michael Machira Mwangi and designed by David Curtis. Read her author interview and an excerpt of the novel on Mr. Schu's blog, Watch. Connect. Read.

A Comb of Wishes is available for pre-order now.
The cover reveal of Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow's latest picture book, Abdul's Story, happened this week on Tara Lazar's blog! The picture book was illustrated by Tiffany Rose with art direction by Tom Daly. Read the author interview here.
Upcoming Releases
Farah Rocks Florida & Little Seeds of Promise
The fourth book in Susan Muaddi Darraj’s Farah Rocks series releases on August 1, 2021, Farah Rocks Florida. Pre-orders are available now.

Sana Rafi's debut picture book, Little Seeds of Promise, releases on October 26, 2021 with Innovation Press and can also be pre-ordered.

Don't forget, you can see all our covers and order links on our website!
On the Blog
Gathering Before Drafting: A Process for Pre-Writing Picture Books
Gathering Before Drafting: A Process for Pre-Writing Picture Books

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow talks about her process for writing picture books:

"People often ask me about my writing process for a picture book (PB), including this question, which always trips me up: How do you go from an idea to a complete draft of a PB? I know the person asking is often looking for a strategy, but I never know how to simply describe my strategy in a clear way except to call it “gathering.” This article is my attempt to lay it out. Maybe, it will be useful to some writers out there. At the very least, I hope it will be entertaining."

Read more
Also featured on the blog are interviews with Mélina Mangal, author of Jayden's Impossible Garden, Sarah Kamya, founder of the Little Free Diverse Library movement, and Reem Faruqi, author of Unsettled and two other 2021 releases.
Summer Reading
Summer is the perfect time to catch up on your reading and introduce new books to the children in your life. We've been busy reading and have some great recommendations to share!
  • Valerie recommends Ty’s Travels: Beach Day by Kelly Starling Lyons and Nina Mata for your young reader. Grab a swimsuit, bucket and shovel, and this book for a fun day at the beach! 
  • Rashmi recommends Rea and the Blood of the Nectar, a debut middle grade fantasy by Payal Doshi. Get ready to join Rea, a 12-year old girl from Darjeeling, India, who travels through the fantastical world of Astranthia on a quest to rescue her twin brother and save magical realms! 
  • Lisa suggests Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall. Fans of the Percy Jackson books will enjoy this Mexican-American retelling of The Odyssey featuring five sisters who stumble upon the body of a man in a river and go on a magical quest to return him to his family. Aided by La Llorona, the girls battle witches and monsters and learn the true meaning of sisterhood.
  • Kirstie just finished Ona Judge Outwits the Washingtons: An Enslaved Woman Fights for Freedom, a nonfiction picture book by Gwendolyn Hooks. Enslaved by Martha and George Washington, Ona Judge was skilled in fabrics and made beautiful dresses. She was so valued that she was one of the few chosen to travel with the Washingtons. While on one of these trips, she witnessed free Black people living in Philadelphia which sparked something in Ona - a desire to be free by any means necessary.
  • Aya recently finished reading Unsettled, a middle grade novel in verse written by Reem Faruqi. It’s about a girl named Nurah who immigrated to Georgia with her family and the struggles she faces! 
  • Jamilah suggests Farah Rocks Summer Break, book 2 in Susan Muaddi Darraj’s Farah Rocks chapter book series, for unputdownable reading about a take-charge girl who works hard to earn money to go to the summer camp of her dreams.
  • Sana loved reading With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo. This young adult novel takes us into the complicated world of Emoni Santiago, a teenager who is grappling with motherhood, high school, and her love for cooking. 
Awards & Recognition
Awards
Publishing News
Salat in Secret
Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow’s Salat in Secret (illustrated by Hatem Aly) was acquired by Ann Kelley at Random House Studio. This book about a little boy looking for a secret place to perform salat (prayer) in school will be published in summer 2023.
Connect With Us
SCBWI - Valerie Bolling
Build It Better
  • Lisa Stringfellow and science fiction and fantasy author K. Tempest Bradford are partnering for The Author’s Web Toolkit, a pair of weekend webinars designed to help writers create and maintain a website and a social media presence even if they aren't tech-savvy or trained in digital marketing. The webinars take place July 24 & 25, 2021 and participants can register for just one or both.
  • Valerie Bolling will be one of the presenters at SCBWI’s BIG FIVE-0H Summer Conference. She will be on a panel with Janae Marks, Ernesto Cisneros, and Tammi Sauer, discussing their paths to publication.
  • Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow is a featured author in this year’s Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival. Kicking off in August, this project of the Indigo Arts Alliance celebrates Black children’s books created by Black authors and illustrators.
Little Free Kidlit Library
Books We Love
  • Jamilah loves We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell and Frané Lessac. Through this book, I have learned about the historical and present-day actions of Native Nations to persevere and continue to say “We are still here!”
  • Tameka loves Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford and Floyd Cooper. With Unspeakable, Weatherford and Cooper have crafted a phenomenal resource for sharing this historical truth with young people, a truth that has finally reached the fore of America’s collective consciousness.
Halal Hot Dogs & In My Mosque
Aya loves Halal Hotdogs by Susannah Aziz and Sana loves In My Mosque by M.O. Yuksel and Hatem Aly

The KidLit in Color newsletter and website are designed by member Lisa Stringfellow.
If this newsletter was forwarded to you, sign up here to receive it directly.

Twitter
Instagram
KidLitinColor.com
Email
Copyright © 2021 KidLit in Color, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp