The Weekly 411 (12/6/24)

Dec. 6, 2024 vol. 49

The Weekly 411 gathers all the links added to Kidlit411 each week. To receive this post by email, sign up for our email updates. Are you on Facebook? Join our Kidlit411 group for conversations and camaraderie. We can also be found on Bluesky. This week's illustration is by Colleen Muske.

Picture Book Giveaway

We are pleased to host a giveaway of the nonfiction leveled reader Reindeer: On the Move! by Ginger L. Clark (Penguin Young Readers). Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below!

About the Book: Did you know that a reindeer's hooves act like snowshoes to keep them from sinking in the snow? Or did you know that blood vessels in their nose can make it look rosy? It's no wonder Rudolph is known for his red nose! Bundle up and get ready to find out all about these fascinating creatures.

About the Author: Ginjer L. Clarke loves hiking and enjoying nature outdoors, but she’s also happy inside, reading and baking. She enjoys traveling to schools to give author presentations, but staying home researching cool science stuff and writing in her pajamas is her dream job. She is the author of 40 books, including picture books, beginning readers, and chapter books. www.GinjerClarkeBooks.com FB/Insta/YouTube: @GinjerClarkeBooks

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Middle Grade Giveaway

We're pleased to host a giveaway of the historical middle grade novel, That Smudge of Smoke, by Edie M. Hemingway (BeaLu Books). Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below!

cover art © Susan Detweiler

About the Book: That Smudge of Smoke spans the years from 1929 to 2015 about two 12-year-olds navigating crucial changes in their lives. The vital link between the characters and the time periods is a diary, hidden in a door for the intervening eighty-six years—a door salvaged from an old Chesapeake Bay steamboat. The diary, known as Dorie, takes on the unexpected role of narrator, a compelling character in itself. This is a multi-generational story of hope, friendship, family, and of the far-reaching influence of history and music.

About the Author: Edith (Edie) Hemingway is co-author of two Civil War novels, both licensed by Scholastic Book Fairs and optioned for films. Her middle grade novel, Road to Tater Hill (Delacorte Press), won a Parents’ Choice Gold Award and was listed on Bank Street College’s Best Books List. That Smudge of Smoke (BeaLu Books), her newest MG novel, was recently named to VLA’s Cardinal Cup 2024 Booklist for historical fiction. An MFA graduate of Spalding University’s Naslund-Mann School of Writing, Edie taught writing for children and young adults as a member of their faculty for nine years. She and her husband live in a house overlooking the Great Wicomico River on the northern neck of Virginia. Visit her website a https://ediehemingway.com.

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For Writers

5 Tips for Writing Series Characters

How to Make Your Novel Unputdownable

Writing Courses

Rhyme Made Easy(er) - join editor Lou Piccolo in a skills-based resource for authors of children’s rhyming picture books, poetry collections and standalone poems. The paid membership provides authors with a warm and welcoming community of ongoing support, personal feedback, and rhyming resources to assist in revising their work, and practice their rhyme and scansion. There are two Zoom workshops a month: one for practicing scansion and the other is a hot seat where subscribers can get community feedback on a particular issue they're having with their manuscript. There is an also a content vault of downloadable resources for writing and revising rhyme, a monthly poetry prompt to spark ideas and a warm and welcoming community of like-minded poets for children.

Indie Publishing

The Top 12 Royalty Free Sources for Cover Book Images (and other graphics)

Why Self-Publishing May Not Be the Best Choice for Picture Books

Inspirational Things

Rethinking Writing Productivity

The 5 Gift Rule for Writers at Christmas

4 Reasons You're Procrastinating Instead of Writing