Cover Reveal for Nonfiction Monday

I'm so excited to show off this beautiful cover design for Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13.Coming June 2018! 

So It's Funny. Shoot Me.

Not every book for kids has to be "good for them." Kids need a break too. Something light and fluffy. You know, a good beach book.

But that doesn't mean it should be dumb. I really hate dumb books. Books that talk down to the reader, or that are written by someone's foot. Clumsy writing is reason to throw a book at the wall.

So may I suggest Do You Dare?

For those of you who agree that kids need a) light, fun books too and b) books that, at the same time, don't insult them, you may find this latest book in my Scholastic Canada quiz book series is just the ticket. So pick it. (Snorf.)

 You can also read an excerpt from the book here.

What Are Friends For? A Meditation. Ok, Not Really.

Because it's summer, a lot of us are reading light, fun books. Some of us actually enjoy light, fun books year round. And if you're a kid who happens to be a girl, and has a BFF, what could be better than reading a fun book with her?

Just in time for summer fun - or back to school (AGH I KNOW I SAID IT!!!! WHAT A DORK!!!!), Scholastic Canada has published the third book in my Quiz Book series just for us gals.

Here are some deets about it:

Are you and your BFF still meant to be? Take these quizzes and find out!

• Are you twins separated at birth?
• What sports star is she?
• Is she a princess, a peasant or a jester?
• Are you destined to remain friends?

Whether you want to make sure you've still got what it takes to be a great best friend, or have a new BFF, or need more questions for your best-ever sleepover, The Quiz Book for BFFs 2 is another fun way to celebrate your friendship and get to know each other even better!

Raves & reviews:

Praise for The Quiz Book for BFFs:

"The 31 quizzes in The Quiz Book for BFFs will have girlfriends talking and laughing... the combination of silly and serious questions would make this an entertaining book to bring along for a sleepover." —Canadian Review of Materials

You can also check out an excerpt here.

Previous books in the series are The Quiz Book for BFFs and  

The Quiz Book for Girls.

Don't Judge This Book by Its Cover Revised Repost

In honor of Nonfiction Monday, I'm reposting my June post about book covers.

I'd love your feedback on how much a book's cover influences your decision  to read or not read, especially in an age of Good Reads reviews et al...

I recently received a lovely letter from Cheryl Chambers, a Teacher-Librarian in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The letter said, in part,


"I recently read and reviewed (as part of the CANLIT reviews for schools in Halifax) your book "The Big Green Book of the Big Blue Sea."

I thought it was fabulous and gave it a 5/5 for its content. I recommended that every elementary school have at least one copy of the book.

There is however, one problem: the cover. None of the students I showed the book to would even take the time to open the book because they were put off by the cover....You have done such a fantastic job making all of the difficult concepts you bring up accessible. I think that "The Big Green Book" is an invaluable resource for educating students about the real problems facing our oceans today. But as you know, people can't help but judge a book by its cover. I would love to see this book republished with a new bright, interesting cover, so that more people will turn to "The Big Green Book" and hopefully learn from it and try to help improve the fate of our oceans...I think my favourite experiment in "The Big Green Book" was the one on over fishing, students should be able to easily understand the crisis facing the world's fish population after performing that simple experiment."

Letters like this are both thrilling (she liked it!) and disheartening for an author. We work hard on a book, as part of a team, and trust the other members of the team to do a great job all around. And they do. But sometimes, well, maybe there's a misstep.

I don't know if that's the case with The Big Green Book. Is Cheryl's opinion of the cover what's blowing in the prevailing wind? Is it a Slam Dunk, or an SOS? What do you think?

I hope, either way, that people will read the book and discover what's inside.

"Hopefully," Cheryl added, "my glowing review to the school librarians in Halifax will encourage others to purchase your book. " Me too.