Sept. 12, 2025 vol. 37
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 Eric Castleman.
Picture Book Giveaway
We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken by Kimberly Tso, illustrated by Louie Chin (Third State Books), out now. Enter to win a copy via the widget below or through this link.
About the book: New York City is not a great place for a chicken to live. It’s crowded and loud and busy. But you can find the city’s most famous chicken, Lillie, a.k.a. the Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken, in Chinatown. When tourists ask, “Where’s the Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken?” locals point them to a video-game arcade on Mott Street, where Lillie plays games of tic-tac-toe against anyone who wants to play against her. But eight-year-old Beatrice worries that the dark arcade is just not a good place for Lillie to live. She devises a clever plan: She will challenge the arcade’s Big Boss in a game of tic-tac-toe. Will Beatrice win Lillie’s freedom?
About the Author: Kimberly Tso is an author of children’s books. Her debut book, Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken, illustrated by Louie Chin, is published by Third State Books. Ms. Tso was born in New York City, and growing up she split her time between there and Arlington, Virginia. She now lives in Los Angeles with her partner and two daughters. Prior to writing children’s books, she was a grant writer for nonprofits and taught grant writing to graduate public policy students. When she is not writing books, she enjoys cooking, reading, playing video games, solving puzzles, and spending time with her family.
About the Illustrator: Louie Chin is an illustrator whose work includes the children's book, Bodega Cat, which was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection in 2020. He has created artworks for a variety of publications and projects, including the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Nike. He works in both traditional mediums such as watercolor and gouache as well as with digital art software. He was born and raised in New York City, where he still resides. Louie is of Chinese-American descent.
Picture Book Giveaway
We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Mama Moon, written and illustrated by Noah Grigni (Macmillan), out now. Enter to win a copy via the widget below or through this link.
About the Book: Deeply felt and beautifully told, Mama Moon is the story of a child who muses that their mother is like the moon—ever changing, sometimes blue, sometimes bright. Mama loves warm summers, and eating cherries while stargazing with Baba and Kiddo. But on her bluest of days, she can’t do the things that other mamas do. Persevering with love, no matter what phase Mama is in, this family weathers the ups and downs of a loved one's illness.
About the Author-Illustrator: Noah Grigni is a mad trans artist and organizer living in Atlanta, GA. They make art in collaboration with their community, exploring themes of gender, care, interdependence, and abolition. Noah is the author and illustrator of Mama Moon: A Story About Love and Mental Health (2025). Noah is the illustrator of It Feels Good To Be Yourself by Theresa Thorn (2019), The Every Body Book by Rachel Simon (2020), and The Every Body Book of Consent by Rachel Simon (2024). Noah has also illustrated the covers of several middle grade novels, including The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean (2019), Too Bright To See by Kyle Lukoff (2021), Rolling Warrior by Judith Heumann (2021), and Joy To The World by Kai Shappley (2023). You can see more of their work and get in contact at noahgrigni.com.
Feb. 20-22, 2026 Big Sur Workshop with Andrea Brown Literary Agency Long recognized as one of the top agencies for children’s book writers and illustrators, Andrea Brown Literary Agency (ABLA) brings top tier professionals together with both beginner and seasoned writers. This popular workshop fills quickly. Two industry professionals will mentor you in very small group sessions where one-on-one feedback is provided. Writers will get the chance to mingle and discuss their works with editors, agents, and published authors throughout the all-inclusive weekend. (Big Sur, California)
both PBs sound interesting.
ReplyDeletei think the first is funny and teh second is about mood disorders
ReplyDeleteWooooo Tic Tac Toe Chicken! Go Kim! :)
ReplyDeleteBooks look great! Thanks for posting!
ReplyDelete