The Weekly 411 (7/25/25)

July 25, 2025 vol. 30

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 Heather Jenkins.

Picture Book Giveaway

We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Ready to Smile Again, by Katie Lee Reinert, illustrated by Sara Aziz (Gnome Road Publishing), out now. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below.

About the Book: When Dexter the chipmunk's home is destroyed and his belongings scattered, he comes up with the perfect plan – stuff his most treasured possessions into his cheeks for safe-keeping. But his plan has one major flaw. Dexter can't smile anymore . . . not with all the stuff in his mouth. He can't thank any of his friends for their gifts, their help or their kindness either. One day, Dexter can't take it anymore, and he finally tries to talk, with hilarious – but possibly disastrous – results.

About the Author: Katie Lee Reinert is a picture book author who loves writing books about the magic of imagination that will inspire kids and make them laugh. She is the author of Ready to Smile Again (2025), as well as the forthcoming titles, Sloths and Their Moths (2026), and Emma Wasn’t Ready (2026). She lives outside of Portland, Oregon with her family where she loves exploring new hiking trails in the summer and trying to stay dry in the winter.

About the Illustrator: Sara Aziz is a Pakistani-Canadian Illustrator who loves capturing emotions in her work; especially the naive, unadulterated glee that children exude. Having lived in Pakistan, UK and now North America, Sara brings a soft, multicultural approach to her illustrations. Currently, Sara lives in Ontario with her husband and two children where they can usually be found curled up with books and tea in their little backyard nook.

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Picture Book Giveaway

We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Finding Forgiveness, by Rebecca Gardyn Levington, illustrated by Diana Mayo (Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers), out on Aug. 5. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below.

About the Book: It’s Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, a time for new beginnings. But two sisters don’t know how to move forward after the fight they had the night before. As they gather for the ceremony of Tashlich, during which they’ll symbolically cast away their regrets from the previous year by throwing bits of bread into a body of water, the sisters reflect on their past mistakes. They can’t undo their actions, but they can start fresh again this year, if only they take the lessons of Tashlich to heart.

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 nine languages and winner of a Crystal Kite Honor and a Northern Lights Book Award), Afikoman Where'd You Go? (A PJ Library Selection), Brainstorm!, Little Dreidel Learns to Spin, Write Here Write Now, Finding Forgiveness, Some Days I'm the Win, Dinosaur Surprise, and I Will Always Be … with many more forthcoming. She lives with her family in Summit, NJ, where she enjoys bouncing on a mini-trampoline, playing Mah Jongg, and eating chocolate-peanut butter ice cream (although not usually at the same time!). Find out more at www.RebeccaGardynLevington.com.

About the Illustrator: Diana Mayo is an established illustrator now based in Chelmsford, near London. She enjoys working for a broad spectrum of clients across the publishing and design industries. Clients include; Bloomsbury Publishing, PenguinRandomHouse USA, Macmillan USA, Barefoot Books, Source Books, FranklinWatts Publishing, Oxford University Press and Mantra Lingua. Diana also enjoys exhibiting her illustration work and making illustrated ceramics. She has been a visiting lecturer on BTEC, Foundation and degree level courses and has enjoyed teaching in schools.

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