Blog

Did you get the teacher's note about sending your child to school dressed as their favorite book character or to send a donation for the Dr. Suess birthday party...if so, then you are fast approaching National Reading Month!

National Reading Month is celebrated across the United States by schools, libraries, and literacy organizations, and is officially sponsored by Reading is Fundamental (RIF). It happens all month long, starting on Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2nd.

Their vision: A nation of...

Recently there has been a good bit of research that has brought to light the difference in how our brain processes what we could call analogue habits vs tech habits, including handwriting v typing and e-readers v physical books. A recent blog I wrote centered around the "Just One Book" study, which showed how dramatically having one real book in the house affected literacy and future educational success. One of the most surprising findings in this study was that there was no bump in literacy...

World Read Aloud Day!

Today, February 4th, is World Read Aloud Day!

Did you know such a thing existed? Well, it does, and you know those of us who promote children's literacy are so glad for it.

It is an annual event promoted by LitWorld, a global nonprofit based in the U.S., which is focused on literacy and education access. Their goal is to remind people that reading aloud still matters, and that stories are meant to be shared.

A long time ago, reading aloud to one another(even amongst literate...

My Youtube algorithm gives me a lot of child literacy videos due to my research interests, and recently a video called, Why Your Brain Learns Better From Paper, came into my feed. (I’ve linked the video down below in case you want to watch it.) It immediately caught my attention with its Luddite headline.

The video was based on a large international study that examined children across dozens of countries, income levels, and family backgrounds. The researchers found that children who grew up...

One of my favorite things about working in children’s literature is realizing how many people around the world share a love of reading. Reading is a lifeline and a source of joy and connection all over the globe for adults and children alike. Living overseas for a while gave me a glimpse (honestly, a fascination) into how other cultures approach storytelling. I follow several YouTubers from all over the world for book reviews and cozy read alouds, and it is a source of great enjoyment.

In...

Now that The Unicorn Shore series is complete and all three books have been published, I would like to share my heart behind why I chose to write this series first.

I wanted to write a series that felt magical, yet timeless. I wanted to send my heroine, Marigold, on an emotional and fantastical journey where she would find through courage to face her loneliness. Marigold wants a friend but doesn't know where to start. Her adventures in this magical realm help show her how to trust others,...

The Unicorn Shore: The Ring of Mischief (A Junior Novel)

Book Three in a Magical Junior Novel Series for Young Readers aged 6-9. (Can be read as part of the series or as a standalone)

ONE ENCHANTED RING. ENDLESS MISCHIEF.

Return to the magical Unicorn Shore in the third adventure of the series, as nine-year-old Marigold fulfills her promise by bringing her little sister, Sophie, to celebrate Eclipse’s coronation. At the castle, everyone gathers to cheer the...

“Mom, I’m bored!” The dreaded three words of motherhood.

We live in a world that hates boredom. Actually, that was the world I grew up in. Now we live in a world that is intolerant of boredom. As adults, we’ve been conditioned this way too. Think about the last time you stood in line, sat in traffic, or waited at a doctor’s office. How long did it take before you pulled out your phone? Probably seconds, not minutes. Our kids see that too, and they learn from it.

Boredom feels wrong…like...

Will went into the woods alone—but something followed him back.

Thirteen-year-old Will Anders never knew his parents were running from something. After the accident that killed them, he's sent to the sleepy town of Black Hollow to live with his Aunt Mags. It's...

Throughout history, authors have frequently used pen names. The practice has deep roots in publishing history and is especially common in children's literature.

Louisa May Alcott, author of "Little Women," wrote gothic thrillers under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard. More recently, J.K. Rowling has written under the pen name Robert Galbraith for her adult crime novels, wanting to separate this style of work from her beloved Harry Potter series.

Daniel Handler writes adult literary fiction under...

(This blog is a follow-up to the last blog about AI)

Watching AI trends over the last year, as well as following the emerging science looking at the impact it has on our lives and brains, has turned my initial fascination into one of concern. While I am not a full-blown hater of the potential of AI for things like medical advances, I have become deeply concerned about the psychological and developmental impact of AI on children and believe we should approach it with some skepticism and eyes...

AI.

I think most of us have had some fun with AI tools at some point over the last few years. In 2024, I was quite fascinated with, and naive about, AI and I enjoyed learning about it. It is, understandably, a very divisive topic, especially among writers and illustrators. There are so many reasons to limit AI use and I can't cover them all in one blog, so I will do this as a 2-part post to keep it manageable.

Most modern creatives, especially writers, have a deep fear of being accused of...

Draven the Kirin: A Magical Creature from Ancient Legends

In Eclipse’s Secret, we learn Draven is a kirin. But what exactly is a kirin? Let’s step into the world of myths and legends to find out.

What is a Kirin?

A kirin (pronounced “kee-rin”) is a magical creature from East Asian mythology. In Chinese stories it is called qílín, and in Japan it is called kirin. People have been telling stories about the kirin for thousands of years.

The kirin is often described as looking like several animals...

The Unicorn Shore: The Ring of Mischief (A Junior Novel)

Book Three in a Magical Junior Novel Series for Young Readers aged 6-9. (Can be read as part of the series or as a standalone)

ONE ENCHANTED RING. ENDLESS MISCHIEF.

Return to the magical Unicorn Shore in the third adventure of the series, as nine-year-old Marigold fulfills her promise by bringing her little sister, Sophie, to celebrate Eclipse’s coronation. At the castle, everyone gathers to cheer the new king when a powerful tremor cracks...

When we think about magical creatures, two of the most famous ones that come to mind are the unicorn and the pegasus. They both look like horses, they both show up in fairy tales and adventures, and they both feel like they gallop straight out of dreams. But even though they are sometimes mentioned together, they are different.

The Unicorn

A unicorn is usually described as a white horse with a single, spiral horn on its forehead. That horn is the unicorn’s most important feature. In legends,...

Have you ever wondered what happens as a newborn's brain grows and develops into a child that, only a few years later, can read? It's quite a fascinating thing to witness as a parent. Here's a gentle overview of the brain science behind the development of reading and some ways to support each stage.

From birth to one year, babies’ brains form rapid connections in areas that handle vision, hearing, and language. They start noticing sounds and speech patterns that will later help with letter and...

The Unicorn Shore: Eclipse's Secret (A Junior Novel)

Book Two in a Magical Junior Novel Series for Young Readers aged 6-9. (Can be read as part of the series or as a standalone)

“Magical and exciting with wonderful imagery!”—Amazon Reviewer

“Another exciting adventure with our favorite unicorns!”—Amazon Reviewer

Eclipse has vanished—and he took a dangerous secret with him.

When nine-year-old Marigold returns to the magical Unicorn Shore, she discovers that her...

There were two things I was pretty neurotic about when our children were younger... reading and playing an instrument. I suppose throughout my life I had casually observed that it seemed the smartest people with the most opportunities had those two things going for them.

The studies agree!

How Music Makes You a Better Reader and Writer

Musicians might actually be smarter, and there's science to back it up. A study from Vanderbilt University found that professionally trained musicians typically...

I have kept a commonplace book for many years. If you aren't familiar with the term, a commonplace book is a notebook where you write down things you hear or read that inspire you and you want to keep in one "common" place.

They have been used by some of the greatest minds since the mid-1500s by the term "commonplace," but the idea goes all the way back to the time of Plato and Aristotle. Some people have extensive systems of cataloging in their commonplace books so they can later find...

Illustrations play an important role in helping young children learn to read. They support early comprehension, provide context, and help make stories more engaging and enjoyable. Everyone love pictures!

But somewhere between early readers (think-Step Into Reading levels by Scholastic) and middle grade(books with no in-chapter images), something begins to change in the child's brain. Children’s cognitive development is rapidly growing during this stage, and the type of the books they read...