#kidlit news, updates and what I'm reading from Sheila M. Averbuch

March 2021: are kids' phone habits changing?

For the first time, my teens are getting tired of their phones and beginning to prefer in-person meetups with friends. That's what Covid-19 has done, as enforced distancing makes them want the real thing. In this issue, I write about how the pandemic may be changing how kids socialize. I'm also celebrating the starred review from the prestigious School Library Journal for FRIEND ME, and I've fallen in love with middle-grade mystery WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU MANGOES. Thanks for reading!

Bullies, best friends and phones: Will Covid shift the balance toward real-world socializing?

Thanks to the Teen Librarian Toolbox at School Library Journal, a professional development website for teen librarians, for asking me to write about an issue that's precious to me: how young people use tech, for good and ill. I wrote this piece about how our own teenagers are craving in-person instead of screen-only meetups, and how my son's initial default of virtual socializing was a key inspiration for my debut FRIEND ME. Read the full piece here at Teen Librarian Toolbox.

Starred review for the Friend Me audiobook
I was rushing to make dinner last week, when I had one last look at my email. A thrilling message had just arrived from my editor at Scholastic, Emily Seife: my debut middle-grade novel Friend Me had received a starred review for the audiobook version, from School Library Journal. A star means that an experienced children’s book professional, such as a librarian or bookseller, had listened to the book and found it be outstanding in its category. They've called it a "valuable addition to any middle grade audiobook collection." Score! See the full School Library Journal review here:

FRIEND ME has picked up some fab industry reviews. Click the logos for the full text.

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What I'm reading

Sometimes I can't sleep, and Kereen Getten's debut WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU MANGOES was the perfect companion recently on another long night. I took this pic at 5 am after reading it cover to cover. Follow the story of 12-year-old Clara, who lives on an island where new people are infrequent, community is like family, and storms are a fact of life. You'll love unpicking the mystery of what happened last summer, and why amnesiac Clara and best friend Gaynah barely speak now.

Dig into the UK kidlit community

Do you love discovering new kidlit? Children's Books North will introduce you to kidlit authors and illustrators in the North of England and Scotland. I love their interviews with local creators, and they even let us do monthly Instagram takeovers to share our writing journeys and routines. You can also dig in to The BookChain Project, a weekly kidlit interview series on YouTube where debut authors interview each other; or, listen to new BookChain Project episodes as a podcast. When much of the kidlit world is dominated by the US, it's a thrill to see the UK scene in the spotlight.