Every month, Rate Your Story features one Guest Guru who will give Ratings and Feedback to each of four lucky Members! Those who want to...

1. What do you LOVE about children’s books? I love that children’s books are about such a wide range of topics. From picture books about...

1. What do you LOVE about children’s books? So many things! In picture books, I love the use of language: pacing, rhythm, literary...

by Maria Marianayagam When conceptualizing a picture book, we’re often focused on the story, which of course, is the most important...

We are very excited to feature our March Guest Guru who brings a wealth of knowledge and information to us and will give a rating and...

by Julia Recko I personally dislike basic fact-filled nonfiction. Even with clever construction or lyrical language, I’m just not as...

The Intersection of Art and Science By Lydia Lukidis If you know me, you know I’m a huge STEM fan. But interestingly enough, I started...

Turning the Page on Picture Books By Audrey Perrott While I prefer to avoid drama in my life as much as possible, when it comes to...

Exploring Multilayered Picture Books by Andrea J. Loney Layers in a picture book are the individual elements of the book that combine to...

Mentor Texts - Comps or Competition? by Erin Dealey Mentor Texts are wonderfully helpful when you’re crafting a story idea into a...

Using Quotes Effectively in Nonfiction PB Bios by Vivian Kirkfield Back in 2019, my agent submitted one of my manuscripts to an editor....

Endings that Resonate and Connect History to Today’s Readers By Beth Anderson For me, a “satisfying ending” is more than tying up the...

Finding a Fresh Approach to a Popular Topic BY: Eileen Meyer When I first thought about writing a book featuring stories about Abraham...

Mining the Kidlit  Magazines By Jennifer Buchet An often-overlooked mentor text is eagerly waiting for you to flip through its pages....

Sharing Tradition and Culture Through Picture Books by Mariana Ríos Ramírez As an author of children’s books, some of my favorite topics...

Laura Renauld Embarks on a Journey If you enjoy reading novels, you’ll notice that authors of longer-form fiction frequently use journeys...

Picture Books Showing Fear as the Central Emotion by Cynthia Mackey After submitting my manuscript for IF A BUMBLEBEE LANDS ON YOUR...

Ways To Play With Mentor Texts By Kari Ann Gonzalez Like many authors, I love to read! I read for pleasure. I read for research to see...

Mining for Gold: Exploring Little Golden Books by Danna Smith Most of us can remember growing up reading Little Golden Books with their...

Using Second-Person POV Narrative in Picture Books by Kristi Mahoney We often see books written in first- or third-person point-of-view...