What a delight it was to come home from camping to discover that B IS FOR BANANAS was a SCBWI Crystal Kite Award Honor winner! This award is given by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and is voted on by other authors and illustrators – thank you to everyone who voted for… Read more »

Woo-hoo! B IS FOR BANANAS has been shortlisted for an SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for the West Region. I’m delighted to have my book considered along with so many other great ones. Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators members can vote in each region now through June 21, 2024: https://www.scbwi.org/crystal-kite/CK10

I got some wonderful news this month – B Is for Bananas was selected to the Bank Street College of Education Best Books of the Year list, for books published in 2023. This is a huge honor, and I was delighted to see my book alongside so many friends’ great books. Check out the whole… Read more »

The wonderful booksellers at Annie Bloom’s Books in Portland, Oregon have set up a webpage where you can order signed and/or personalized copies of my books! For personalized books, just make a note in the checkout comments with the name of the person you would like the book signed to. Annie Bloom’s will let me… Read more »

Huge thank you to Imagination Soup for selecting B IS FOR BANANAS as one of 2023’s Best Picture Books! Of the process, Melissa says “Every month of 2023, I’ve read around 250 newly published picture books, adding up to three thousand books. Of those three thousand, these are my picture book picks for the best… Read more »

Eeep! B IS FOR BANANAS is one of Amazon’s Best Books of the Year for ages 3-5! Thank you Amazon Books!

Thank you to Good Housekeeping for selecting B Is for Bananas as a 2023 Good Housekeeping Best Kids’ Book Award winner! According to Good Housekeeping, “The process started in spring when 200-plus nominations rolled in for the 2023 awards. In addition to input from literary experts, Good Housekeeping tested the nominations with the best book critics—kids… Read more »

Thank you so much to the Oregon Council of Teachers of English for selecting Counting to Bananas as an Honor Book for the 2022 Oregon Spirit Book Awards in the picture book category! What an honor!

I’m so happy to share the B Is for Bananas, illustrated by Estrela Lourenço and written by me, has been selected for Amazon’s list of Best Books of the Year So Far for children’ ages 3-5. It joins Counting to Bananas in being selected for this great honor last year. Thank you Amazon!

Update: This podcast aired on June 20, 2023, and you can check it out now! This morning, I’ll be recording on the Reading with Your Kids podcast with Jed Doherty. I’m so excited to share in their mission of helping families grow through reading. I probably wouldn’t be an author today without all the books… Read more »