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#GrowYourWriting Creator Interview: Alison McGauley
Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting 2025 Creator Interviews blog series. I’m thrilled to feature talented kidlit creators this year and spotlight their beautiful work and inspiring journeys. I’m so excited to introduce our May featured creator, Alison McGauley. Alison is is truly an inspiration. I’m so grateful ro have her as a friend and critique partner as we navigate this giant KidLit jigsaw puzzle together. Alison is a special education teacher and the author of Kenzie’s Little Tree (Orca Book Publishers), illustrated by Emilie Leduc. As a chronic illness warrior, Alison is passionate about writing stories that speak to children and caregivers who are impacted by illness or disability. She also…
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#GrowYourWriting Creator Interview: Suzanne Elson
Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting 2025 Creator Interviews blog series. I’m thrilled to feature talented kidlit creators this year and spotlight their beautiful work and inspiring journeys. Our April featured creator is Suzanne Elson. Suzanne’s debut Middle Grade Haunted Pond (Oh MG! Press) debuted in March 2025. Suzanne’s debut picture book, Calm Down Counting (DCCED) also launched in March 2025, in both English and French. Suzanne’s twenty-plus year career as an ESL teacher has allowed for an easy transition to classroom visits. Happily married for over thirty years, with three adult sons and two beautiful grandbabies, (and one more on the way!), Suzanne’s passion for camping remains undiminished. Born in Scotland,…
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#SpringFlingKidLit 2025 Entry: SUNFLOWER SUPERHEROES
SUNFLOWER SUPERHEROES By Christine Alemshah [WC: 143] I’m sure you know all about sunflowers.How they start as itty bitty seeds and grow, grow, grow — even taller than you sometimes!And that their seeds are tasty snacks for birds, critters, and humans!If I’m honest, they’re more like salty cases with crunchy nuggets inside that become perfect projectiles for —Phooey – puh!Right.Where were we?The good part!Did you know sunflowers can be secret superheroes for our Earth?Picture this:A place where the soil is toxic and nothing will grow.It’s not safe for animals, plants, or humans.How can an area like this thrive?Scatter seeds across barren Earth.Add waterand sunshine,and sunflowers will grow, grow, grow.They soak…
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#GrowYourWriting Creator Interview: Leslie Eva Tayloe
Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting 2025 Creator Interviews blog series. I’m thrilled to feature talented kidlit creators this year and spotlight their beautiful work and inspiring journeys. Our March featured creator is, Leslie Eva Tayloe. She is the author of Save the Trees (Brandylane Publishers, 2024, Illustrator Lintang Pandu Pratiwi) which is a Moonbeam Bronze Medal Winner. She has also authored two other books, The Attic Door (Doodle and Peck Publishing, 2024, Illustrator David Barrow), and I’m Fishing with Pop-Pop Today (Austin Macauley Publishers, 2022). You are in for a treat as Leslie has offered not one but two giveaways for our readers! Stay tuned all the way to the end…
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#GrowYourWriting Creator Interview: Cynthia Mackey
Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting 2025 Creator Interviews blog series. I’m thrilled to feature talented kidlit creators this year and spotlight their beautiful work and inspiring journeys. Our February featured creator is, Cynthia Mackey, a Children’s Author and Early Years Educator. Cynthia Mackey is the author of Katie Shaeffer Pancake Maker and The Lullaby Monsters and her poetry appears in The Toy, The Dirigible Balloon and Little Thoughts Press, Hit the Road magazine. Her debut picture book, If a Bumblebee Lands on Your Toe is set for publication with Yeehoo Press in April 2025. She was mentored by highly acclaimed Canadian author, Jean E. Pendziwol. With a Bachelor of Education degree,…
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#GrowYourWriting Participant Journey Series: Author, S. J. Barratt
Welcome to the 2025 Grow Your Writing Challenge Participant Journey Series. I am so delighted to highlight the journeys of many of our wonderful participants. I hope their journeys help inspire your own. We all grow in our own ways in our own time. I love hearing the unique details of everyone’s garden of growth. Our first creator to share about their journey is author, S.J. Barrett. The Year I Took Flight: My 2024 Writer’s Journey By S. J. Barratt 2024 was a year of caffeine, creativity, and courage. As a children’s author, it felt like a balloon ride—scary at lift-off (when that first book is launched), quiet in the air (slow sales ), but filled with breathtaking…
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#GrowYourWriting Creator Interview: Paola Santos
Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting 2025 Creator Interviews blog series. I’m thrilled to feature talented kidlit creators this year and spotlight their beautiful work and inspiring journeys. Kicking off the new year, I welcome Author, Paola Santos and her gorgeous book How to Eat a Mango / Cómo se come un mango illustrated by Juliana Predomo and published by Neal Porter Books / Holiday House. You can connect with Paola on X/Twitter, Instagram, and her website. Stay tuned to the end of the interview for your chance to win a 30 Minute Zoom “Ask Me Anything” with Paola. 1 – What inspired you to pursue a career in children’s literature, and when did you…
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Updated! Winner Announcement: #GrowYourWriting Creator Interview PLUS 20 Book Giveaway: Thad Krasnesky
Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting Creator Interviews blog series in 2024. I’m thrilled to feature talented kidlit creators this year and spotlight their beautiful work and inspiring journeys. This month I’m honored to participate in Flashlight Press’ 20th-anniversary celebration and feature one of their authors, Thad Krasnesky, and his fabulous book, Pterodactyl Show and Tell. As part of the anniversary celebration, Flashlight Press is giving away 20 copies of the book! So, without further adieu and fanfare of virtual trumpets, I introduce you to the fabulous Thad Krasnesky. Please stay tuned to learn how you can win a copy of his book Pterodactyl Show and Tell, illustrated by Tanya Leonello. Thad has won multiple awards for writing…
- Author Interviews, Creator Interview Series, Grow Your Writing, Picture Book, Publications, Sunflower Scribe Spotlight
#GrowYourWriting Creator Interview: Author, Stacey Bartlett
Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting Creator Interviews blog series in 2024. I’m thrilled to feature talented kidlit creators this year and spotlight their beautiful work and inspiring journeys. Today, I welcome Author, Stacey Bartlett. Stacey was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, and currently lives in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina with her four children and two rescue dogs. She graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic University with a BS in psychology and has been a homeschool teacher for over twenty years. Stacey loves to read and to write stories that bring hope to her readers’ hearts. Stacey’s work appears in the eleventh edition (2024) of County Lines Literary Journal,…
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#GrowYourWriting Creator Interview: Author, Andrew Hacket
Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting Creator Interviews blog series in 2024. I’m thrilled to feature talented kidlit creators this year and spotlight their beautiful work and inspiring journeys. Today, I welcome Author, Andrew Hacket who welcomes not one but three picture books into the world in 2024! You can connect with Andrew on X/Twitter, Instagram, and his website. Stay tuned to the end of the interview for your chance to win a 30 Minute Zoom “Ask Me Anything” or brainstorming session with Andrew. 1 – What inspired you to pursue a career in children’s literature, and when did you start creating? Connecting with children has always been a strength of mine. It is something…
