Alyssa Bermudez‘s middle grade graphic memoir, Big Apple Diaries, has been shortlisted for the Comic Arts Awards of Australia (The Ledger).  Winners will be announced in August. You can view the full list here.

Congratulations Alyssa!

School Library Journal gave a Starred Review to Stand Up! 10 Mighty Women Who Made a Change, written by Brittany Cooper and illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson. SLJ writes, “Vibrantly illustrated and featuring a variety of justice-seekers, this book belongs in every library and classroom.” The book hits shelves in August 2022 from Scholastic. You can pre-order a copy here!

The Association of Illustrators’ World Illustration Awards announced their 2022 Long list, which includes Acamy Schleikorn‘s piece “Mother’s Love.” Her piece is one of 500 selected out of over 5,000 entries. Congratulations Acamy!

Juneteenth: Our Story of Freedom (Random House, Step into Reading) by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, illustrated by Kim Holt, has been featured on School Library Journal’s list of 7 titles to teach young children about Juneteenth!

See the full list here

Get the book here

Blueberry Cake, written and illustrated by Sarah Dillard, and published by Aladdin Books, has won First Place in the “Fruits Books” category of the Gourmand Awards.  The Gourmand Awards recognize the best books of food culture from around the world. This year’s award ceremony was held in Sweden on June 5th.

Congratulations Sarah!

Hitting shelves this Tuesday, June 7th, Because of You, John Lewis (Scholastic) has been selected as an Amazon Best Book of the Month for Ages 6-8. Illustrated by Keith Henry Brown and written by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Because of You, John Lewis has also received a Kirkus Starred Review and is a Junior Library Guild Selection.

Pick up your copy here.

Juneteenth: Our Day of Freedom, illustrated by Kim Holt, will publish on June 7th by Random House Books for Young Readers. In a positive review in their June 2022 issue, School Library Journal wrote, “An engaging narrative and powerful drawings make this book a standout choice for new readers ready to tackle more challenging content, and for lower grade nonfiction reading groups.”

Pick up your copy here.

Lynn Gaines appeared on Cleveland News Station 3 WKYC’s Education Station with Stella Keeps the Sun Up author Clothilde Ewing. Lynn, a Cleveland native, and Clothilde read Stella to students at Charles Dickens Elementary School in Cleveland.

In the interview with 3 WKYC, Lynn says, “It’s important for our kids to see that they can do and be whatever they want, if they apply themselves. They don’t have to be restricted to just certain things. It’s like hearing the kids, like ‘Wow! I can draw for a living and they’ll pay me?’ It’s like, ‘Yes, they will. You just have to practice this and apply yourself like you would any other job and you can do this.”

Watch the full video here. Pick up your copy of Stella Keeps the Sun Up here.

Everything in Its Place: A Story of Books and Belonging (Doubleday) by Pauline David-Sax, illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow has received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly.

“Using emotionally astute prose and collage art that resembles a personal scrapbook with crayon-textured sketches, debut author David-Sax and Pinkney Barlow (The Real Santa) honor their protagonist’s rich interiority, never minimizing Nicky’s pain or yearning, nor her preference for books and (some) solitude.”

The book will be out July 19. Pre order it here

Read the full review here

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, visited Assumption Elementary School in Ottawa, Canada. Known for her championship of literacy, the Duchess marked the visit with a reading of The Library Bus, (Pajama Press) written by Bahram Rahman and illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard. This picture book celebrates women and girls finding innovative ways to spread education in Afghanistan, where the author was born. The book was a finalist for the 2021 Governor General’s Literary Award and won the Middle East Book Award, among other honors.

The visit to Assumption Elementary School was part of a three-day Canadian tour being undertaken by Prince Charles and the Duchess to mark the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s 70^th year on the throne.

Read more about the visit here

Get the book here