Books by Type

I am so excited to bring you this year’s crop of South Asian Kidlit books. There are so many books coming out this year that I will be breaking it down into three posts over the course of this year. And for the first time ever we have over 10+ picture books coming out in… Read more »

Title: Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years Author: Stacy McAnulty Illustrator: David Litchfield Publisher: Henry Holt, 2018 Editor: Sally Doherty Book Type: Fiction Ages: 4-8 Theme: Earth, Space Opening Lines: Hi! My name is Earth. Some people call me Gaia, the World, the blue marble, or the third planet from the sun. You can call me Planet Awesome. Synopsis (from Amazon website):… Read more »

Title: Far Apart, Close in Heart Author: Becky Birtha Illustrator: Maja Kastelic Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company, 2017 Book Type: Fiction Ages: 4-8 Theme: Coping, Prisoner Families’ Synopsis (from Amazon website): Children can experience many emotions when a parent is in jail or prison. They may be angry, sad, lonely, or scared. Sometimes friends act… Read more »

Welcome back! Summer is flying by and we’ve got a lot of wonderful South Asian Kidlit books coming out in the next few months. It is wonderful to the see the breadth of South Asian books that are coming out from real-world stories, to contemporary, and fantasy. Last week, I was interviewed by Kristi at… Read more »

I can’t believe we are almost half-way through summer. Hope you and your families are having a wonderful, relaxing, and joyous time. When I first started my writing journey back in 2011, I was fortunate to be a reader for the Cybils early chapter books category. I loved the spunkiness of the characters and the… Read more »

Hope everyone is keeping warm this winter. Here in California, we’re just trying to stay dry in one of the wettest winters ever. Not that I’m complaining. It’s better than the string of drought years. I am still working away on my picture books and have started working on a YA historical novel. Speaking of… Read more »

Title: Dear Mrs. Naidu Author: Mathangi Subramanian Publisher: Zubaan Books, 2015 Pages: 286 Genre: Contemporary, Multicultural Themes: Activism, Friendship, Economic Diversity Ages: 10 and up Synopsis (Zubaan Books website): Twelve-year-old Sarojini’s best friend, Amir, might not be her best friend anymore. Ever since Amir moved out of the slum and started going to a posh private school, it seems… Read more »

Title: They All Saw a Cat Author/Illustrator: Brendan Wenzel Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2016 Editor:  Ginee Seo Book Type: Fiction Ages: 3 and up! (all ages should read it) Themes: Perspective, Subjectivity Opening Lines: The cat walked through the world,  with its whiskers, ears, and paws … and the child saw A CAT, and the dog saw… Read more »

Title: Beautiful Author: Stacy McAnulty Illustrator: Joanne Lew-Vriethoff Publisher: Running Press Kids (September 13, 2016) Editor: Lisa Cheng Book Type: Fiction Ages: 3-6 Themes: Identity, Girl Power, Self-Esteem Opening Line: “Beautiful girls … have the perfect look.” Synopsis (from Amazon’s website): Every girl is unique, talented, and lovable. . . .Every girl is BEAUTIFUL. Much more… Read more »

Hope you summer as been relaxing. My life seems to be a bit all over the place with writing conferences, kid camps, vacation … can’t believe summer is half over. Yesterday I did a guest post on South Asian kidlit for We Need Diverse Book’s Looking Back series. While researching for that post I felt a… Read more »