The Weekly 411 (4/11/25)
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| © Joni Nemeth |
April 11, 2025 vol. 15
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 Joni Nemeth.
Kid Lit / Publishing News
Publishers Ask Congress to Defend Libraries as Federal Library Grant Funding Ends
100 Best Children’s Book Blogs and Websites in 2025- KidLit411 has made the list!
Middle Grade Giveaway
We are pleased to host a giveaway of the middle grade novel, The Gods' Revenge, by Katherine Marsh (Storytide), out on April 22. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below.
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| cover art/design by Catherine Y. Lee |
About the Author: Katherine Marsh is the author of Medusa, a Kirkus Reviews Most Anticipated Book of 2024 and Amazon Editors' Pick; The Lost Year, a National Book Award Finalist and winner of the Jane Addams and Golden Kite Awards; Nowhere Boy, winner of the Middle East Book Award; and The Night Tourist, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery; as well as other books for middle grade readers. A former journalist and managing editor of the New Republic, Katherine lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, two children, three cats, a rabbit, and an assortment of exotic pets.
Picture Book Giveaway
We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, So-Hee and Lowy, by Anna King, illustrated by Christopher Weyant (Two Lions) out on April 22. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below.
About the Book: So-Hee is an only child to a loving and single immigrant mother, living in an apartment building in the city (imagine Queens, NY). She’s routinely picked last at schoolyard games and longs for her own pet, but she’s allergic to anything furry or fuzzy. Desperately lonely, she feels the pain of being an outsider and of not fitting in. But when So-Hee encounters a big yellow snake named Lowy and brings him home to be her pet, she discovers the friendship she’s been dreaming about. Imagine her joy when her very unusual, scaly best friend opens up her world in marvelous, unexpected ways, connecting her with the community that’s always been right under her nose.
About the Author: Anna Kang won the 2015 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for her debut picture book, You Are (Not) Small and has since published five more books in that series, as well as Christopher Award winner Eraser, and several others. Her picture books have sold a half-million copies worldwide. Visit her at www.annakang.com
About the Illustrator: Christopher Weyant is an editorial cartoonist for The Boston Globe and The New Yorker whose work has been published worldwide. In 2016, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard selected Christopher to be a Nieman Fellow, the second cartoonist to receive the honor in its seventy-five year history. For two consecutive years (2023 and 2022), Christopher won The National Cartoonist Society’s Reuben Award for the Best Gag Cartoonist of the Year. Visit him at www.christopherweyant.com.
The Power of Unspoken Words: How to Write Subtext in Fiction
How Many Pages Are in a Children's Book?
Kid Lit Critique Partner Meet Up 2025 (a form to sign up if you're interested in joining a newly formed critique group based on your category & experience, organized by author Hannah Holt)
April 21, 8-9 p.m. ET Writing Spooky Mysteries (free webinar) Join a conversation between bestselling authors Matt McMann and Lindsay Currie. They’ll talk about how they write spooky mysteries and the journeys that led them to this genre. Learn how they map out their books, blend “scary” with “mysterious,” and construct zinger scenes. Matt and Lindsay will also weigh in on the current middle grade market and the trend of some authors expanding into other kinds of writing.
Marketing & Creating a Platform
4 Ways to Write Hooks for Books
My 5th graders *loved* Medusa and cannot wait for the sequel!
ReplyDeleteyeah, defeating teh gods! also, cool cover of snake wrapped around girl. reminds me of me. we're asian too
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read this!
ReplyDeleteI can think of so many of my readers that would be excited to read The Myth of Monsters: The Gods' Revenge. I know I am!
ReplyDeleteI have added The Myth of Monsters: The Gods' Revenge to my "to read" list. I can't wait to read it and share it with my students.
ReplyDeleteThat picture books sounds so good! I actually love snakes - but don’t think I’d want one as a per.
ReplyDeleteI love the twist on mythology and the question who are the heroes/who are the villains. The picture book sounds relatable as many people want animal companions but experience limitations on the type of pet.
ReplyDeletethanks for the link to critique groups.
ReplyDelete