The Weekly 411 (8/2/24)

© Elizabeth Sparg

 

Aug. 2, 2024 vol. 31

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. This week's illustration is by Elizabeth Sparg.

Kid Lit News

Middle Grade Sales Continue to Slip

The Future of Children's Bookselling

Illustrator Spotlight

We are pleased to feature illustrator Elizabeth Sparg and her website banner design for August.

© Elizabeth Sparg

Middle Grade Giveaway

We are pleased to host a giveaway Mama's Chicken and Dumplings, a debut book for young readers by Dionna L. Mann (Margaret Ferguson Books/ Holiday House) out on August 6. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below!

cover art by Vanessa Brantley Newton

About the Book: With a jar of chicken and dumplings in one hand and a Man-for-Mama plan in the other, 10-year-old Allie sets out on a West Main Street adventure to take her life from broken to perfect.

 

About the Illustrator: Dionna L. Mann is a children's book author and independent researcher who loves uncovering lesser known individuals shining in the margins of African American history. As a kid, she dreamed of becoming a dolphin trainer when she grew up. Mama's Chicken and Dumplings is her debut novel for young readers. Learn more about her at dionnalmann.com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 Picture Book Giveaway

We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Have You Seen My Acorn? by DK Ryland (Flamingo Books/ PRH), out on Aug. 27. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below!

About the Book:  Squirrel has buried his acorn for safe keeping, and it is now missing. He digs and digs, but he keeps coming up short, which could only mean one thing, someone clearly took his acorn. Turing on his detective private eye, he asks Deer, and Skunk, and even Racoon, if they’ve seen his acorn, only to come up short. As his friends keep trying to tell him exactly where it is, Squirrel goes on a hysterical search for the acorn that will leave readers falling into a hoot of laughter.

About the Author-illustrator: DK Ryland is an author-illustrator who loves creating funny and subversive picture books. Before she started writing and illustrating, she filmed wildlife in Africa, was a collegiate all-American and professional athlete and was a teacher and coach. DK received a PBChat mentorship with Cori Doerrfeld in 2019 and was a PBParty finalist in 2020. Her debut picture book, Giraffe is Too Tall For This Book came out October 2023 from Page Street Kids. DK lives in San Diego with her super-awesome husband, two brilliant kids, and far too many pets. Just kidding--there's no such thing as too many pets.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Marketing & Creating a Platform

I'm Throwing in the Pre-Order Towel

Submissions: Agents & Editors

Agent on Why She Uses Form Rejections (Twitter thread)

For Writers 

How to Write a Children’s Book in 12 Steps (From an Editor) 

Everything You Need To Know About Creating Characters For Children’s Books

Picture Books

5 Ways to Add a Refrain to Your Picture Books (and Why You Should)