The First Book Blog chose Sunday Shopping, written by Sally Derby and illustrated by Shadra Strickland, for one of its Five Favorite Books of October. The First Book Blog chose Sunday Shopping as the best pick of the month for ages eight to ten.  They write, “This sweet story about a Sunday tradition between a loving grandmother and her granddaughter is also a great opportunity for imaginative play!” Congratulations, Sally and Shadra!

You can see the full list here and buy your own copy of Sunday Shopping here.

Elizabeth Zunon, illustrator of Poems in the Attic, will be doing several appearances this upcoming month.  November 8th she will be signing copies of Poems in the Attic at the The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, a book store in her hometown of Albany, New York, from 2 to 4 pm. You can find more information about the event here.

The New York State Reading Association will be having a conference on diverse literature from November 9th to 11th in Saratoga Springs, and Elizabeth will be speaking there on the 11th! Her session is entitled “Weaving Worlds Together” and will begin at 9:10 am. Further information can be found here.

If you’re in the area for either of these events, we hope you’ll have time to see her!

Race Car Count, written by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and illustrated by Michael Slack, made Amazon’s November Best Books of the Month for ages 3 to 5. Race Car Count is available online here!

One Plastic Bag: Isatou and the Recycling Women of Gambia  written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon, won a Eureka! Honor Award. The Eureka! Gold and Honor Award are awards established by the California Reading Association to recognize great children’s non-fiction books and assist parents and teachers in picking books for their kids to read. Check out the full list of winners and purchase One Plastic Bag here. Congratulations, Elizabeth Zunon!

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ (SCBWI) latest bulletin featured both Shadra Strickland and Constance Lombardo. Shadra Strickland beautifully illustrated the cover, and Constance Lombardo wrote an SCWBI success story article. Constance is author/illustrator of the hilarious middle school illustrated novel Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat to the Stars, and her article is about the process of trying to get published and eventually finding success with her first novel, Mr. Puffball. Constance went from children’s picture books to graphic novels to illustrated novels, but at last she found herself with a “book that was better than I could have imagined.” The process was hard and it took years, but thanks to her positivity and hard work, in the end she succeeded. Congratulations to Shadra Strickland and Constance Lombardo. Check out Mr. Puffball here!

Poems in the Attic, written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon, was recently nominated to the 2015-2016 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List. The Texas Bluebonnet Award is a program aimed at encouraging reading in grades three through six, and allows students to vote for their favorite book. It’s one of the most prestigious programs in the country, and has been running since the early 1980’s! The winner will be announced in February.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Zunon and Nikki Grimes! Poems in the Attic can be purchased here. Here’s the Master List for 2015 to 2016.

Frederick’s Journey: The Life of Frederick Douglass, illustrated by London Ladd, made the Winter 2015-2016 Kids’ Indie Next List – “Inspired Recommendations for Kids from Indie Booksellers.” Congratulations! Frederick’s Journey can be bought online here!

The finalists have been announced for the 2015 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards, and Ashley Spires and Steve Adams have books on the list.  Ashley’s The Most Magnificent Thing and Steve’s If: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers are both up for the  TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. Congrats Steve and Ashley!

Read the full list here.

Amazon named Marilyn Sadler’s and Eric Comstock’s Charlie Piechart a Best Book of the Month for Ages 6-8. The book is available now online and in bookstores near you!