Apri 4, 2025 vol. 14
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 Duachaka Her.
Picture Book Giveaway
We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Seasons on the Farm, by Chelsea Tornetto, illustrated by Karen Bunting (Sleeping Bear Press) out now. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below!
About the Book: Throughout the year, life on a farm is filled with growth and joy, patience and renewal. On a farm, each season arrives with new jobs to do--crops to plant, animals to tend to, and fields to harvest. Readers get an insider's look at what spring, summer, fall, and winter look like on a family farm, from adorable baby animals to rumbling tractors and pumpkins to pies. This sweet, rhyming story is perfect for young readers, whether their home is on a farm or not!
About the Author: Chelsea Tornetto is a former teacher turned author. She is the author of Gardens Are For Growing (Familius 2022) and God Made You Too (WorthyKids 2022), Seasons on the Farm (Sleeping Bear 2025) with two more rhyming picture books on the way this year. When she isn’t working on her own stories, she helps others follow their dreams of writing for children as a freelance editor and author coach for At Home Author.
About the Illustrator: Karen Bunting is a freelance children's picture book and publications illustrator who lives in Bristol, UK with her partner and two cheeky cats. She enjoys exploring ways to make her art come to life, using texture, vibrant colours along with thoughtful details for her characters and their surroundings. When not drawing, Karen loves to be out in nature either hiking or running. She also likes to rummage around in vintage shops looking for little gems.
Picture Book Giveaway
We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, I Will Always Be. . .. by Rebecca Garden Levington, illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell (HarperCollins), out on April 15. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below.
About the Book: I Will Always Be. . . is an inspirational rhyming picture book that encourages kids to celebrate their passions — whether or not they ever make it to Broadway or the big leagues. For fans of I Am Enough by Grace Byers/Keturah A. Bobo and Remarkably You by Pat Zietlow Miller/Patrice Barton, I Will Always Be. . . reminds young artists and athletes, bakers and ballerinas, inventors and investigators, that doing what you love and loving what you do is what really matters.
About the Author: Rebecca Gardyn Levington is a children’s book author, poet, and journalist with a particular penchant for penning both playful and poignant picture books and poems – primarily in rhyme. She is the author of Whatever Comes Tomorrow (translated into 9 languages and is the winner of a Crystal Kite Honor and a Northern Lights Book Award), Brainstorm!, Afikoman, Little Dreidel Learns to Spin, Write Here, Write Now, and I Will Always Be. . . with seven additional rhyming picture books forthcoming. Rebecca writes reviews and conducts author interviews monthly for the Picture Book Builders blog. Her award-winning poems and articles have appeared in numerous anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. She lives with her family in Summit, N.J., where she enjoys bouncing on a mini-trampoline, playing mahjongg, and eating chocolate-peanut butter ice cream (although not usually at the same time!). Find out more and sign up for Rebecca’s monthly newsletter at www.RebeccaGardynLevington.com.
About the Illustrator: Rahele Jomepour Bell is a children’s book illustrator. Originally from Iran, Rahele came to the United States in 2011 to pursue her dream of being a free international artist. She graduated with an MFA in Integrated Visual Arts from Iowa State University in 2015. She is now a full-time freelance picture book illustrator and teaches as a full-time assistant professor at the Department of Illustration at Kansas City Art Institute. She is happiest creating illustrations that make the imagination travel, take a new look at old ideas, and reaffirm the viewer of their natural place in this world. She has illustrated seven picture books published in Iran and twelve in the United States and Canada, including Missing Momma by Winsome Bingham (2024), My Mother's Tongues: A Weaving of Languages by Uma Menon (2024), Give by Jen Arena (2023), Peaceful Me by Sandra V. Feder (2023), To Change a Planet by Christina Soontornvat (2022), Angry Me by Sandra V. Feder (2022), The Treasure Box by Dave Keane (2022), and Book's Big Adventure by Adam Lehrhaupt (2021).
a Rafflecopter giveaway
For Writers
How Writers Can Use the Four Stages of Knowing in Character Arcs
A Hidden Reason Why Readers Read
Contests & Awards
- What: submit a fiction or nonfiction picture book manuscript less than 1500 words
- Who: may not have published or sold a picture book
- Award: two $500 stipends (one fiction, one nonfiction) to help sell your work (submission advice, counseling, editing, querying)
All About Kid Lit Publishing
How Do I Get Started Writing Children's Books?
Getting Started: The Basics of Children's Writing and Illustrating
Nonfiction
Elements for Writing Funny Nonfiction (Kidlit Haha Week)
Writing Courses
Apr 10, 7-9pm ET. The Genre Plot: Unpacking the Universal Truths of Narrative Even when a happy ending is certain, a great plot keeps your writing fresh while anchoring your audience and amplifying your voice. Learn how to craft a sure-fire structure that will keep you on the path to success. We’ll go beyond the bullet points and soundbites to dig into the wisdom in all plot theory. Rather than following one “true” blueprint, we’ll break down the major story models from Aristotle to Netflix, identify their seven shared plot points, and help you develop your own narrative strategy. Participants will receive a handout to take home. Rewatch for 30 days through May 10.
Submissions: Agents & Editors
The Science of Rejection: How Agents Decide in the First Ten Pages
Inspirational Things
Your Book May Be Ready for Publication but Are You?
farms rule and u appreciate them more after exposure
ReplyDeleterhyming pbs are cool
ReplyDeleteThese books look fabulous! Can't wait to check them out. I know my grandson and kids at school will love them!
ReplyDeleteThe books look great and loving these Friday posts!
ReplyDeleteWonderful books and wonderful links this week. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteVibrant & heartwarming. Thanks for sharing your books.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing all this info. The books look wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThese look like great books for my classroom!
ReplyDeleteI love learning about the new books and resources, Kidlit411! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI love rhyming picture books and both of these look like winners!
ReplyDeleteBoth of these books will be fun to read and share.
ReplyDeleteTwo fun books!
ReplyDeleteBoth of these books are about things I love.
ReplyDelete