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I said a lot of things during the #scbwiny26 panel on the Outlook of Children’s Publishing, but this is definitely the most important. Thanks for capturing it @acaseoflala and thanks for the question and for having me@temikatheartist

Huge congratulations to X. Fang / @xfang_studio for winning Best Picture Book of the Year at the 2026 Barnes & Noble Children’s & YA Book Awards!! 🏆

This is especially meaningful as X. Fang spent her weekends as a child in a local B&N because “it felt like going to a friend’s house.” We get it, X. Fang! Books are definitely our besties, too.

Huge thanks to the @penguinrandomhouse sales team for all their support! And to @barnesandnoble for shining a spotlight on Broken and to @bnupperws for hosting such a lovely event.

Broken by X. Fang | @xfang_studio
Publisher: Tundra (PRH Canada) | @tundrabooks
Agent: Erica Rand Silverman | @ericarsilverman

Huge congratulations to X. Fang / @xfang_studio for winning Best Picture Book of the Year at the 2026 Barnes & Noble Children’s & YA Book Awards!! 🏆

This is especially meaningful as X. Fang spent her weekends as a child in a local B&N because “it felt like going to a friend’s house.” We get it, X. Fang! Books are definitely our besties, too.

Huge thanks to the @penguinrandomhouse sales team for all their support! And to @barnesandnoble for shining a spotlight on Broken and to @bnupperws for hosting such a lovely event.

Broken by X. Fang | @xfang_studio
Publisher: Tundra (PRH Canada) | @tundrabooks
Agent: Erica Rand Silverman | @ericarsilverman

Huge congratulations to X. Fang / @xfang_studio for winning Best Picture Book of the Year at the 2026 Barnes & Noble Children’s & YA Book Awards!! 🏆

This is especially meaningful as X. Fang spent her weekends as a child in a local B&N because “it felt like going to a friend’s house.” We get it, X. Fang! Books are definitely our besties, too.

Huge thanks to the @penguinrandomhouse sales team for all their support! And to @barnesandnoble for shining a spotlight on Broken and to @bnupperws for hosting such a lovely event.

Broken by X. Fang | @xfang_studio
Publisher: Tundra (PRH Canada) | @tundrabooks
Agent: Erica Rand Silverman | @ericarsilverman

Huge congratulations to X. Fang / @xfang_studio for winning Best Picture Book of the Year at the 2026 Barnes & Noble Children’s & YA Book Awards!! 🏆

This is especially meaningful as X. Fang spent her weekends as a child in a local B&N because “it felt like going to a friend’s house.” We get it, X. Fang! Books are definitely our besties, too.

Huge thanks to the @penguinrandomhouse sales team for all their support! And to @barnesandnoble for shining a spotlight on Broken and to @bnupperws for hosting such a lovely event.

Broken by X. Fang | @xfang_studio
Publisher: Tundra (PRH Canada) | @tundrabooks
Agent: Erica Rand Silverman | @ericarsilverman

Just plain giddy to announce that my author debut WE’RE LATE! comes out summer of 2027 from @holidayhousepeachtree / @nealporterbooks! Once again I have the honor of being edited by @taylornorm and art directed by @brownie_girl_42.

The book follows the story of a family of rabbits late for a flight, scrambling through an airport. Inspired by real events!

Thank you so much to @ericarsilverman for working with me on this story and helping bring this book to life. Can’t wait to show you all this book soon enough!

Just keep doing what you’re doing, Steve Teare! You are doing it right! Congratulations to the whole team of SIXTEEN GAMES OF HIDE AND SEEK 🥂

Just keep doing what you’re doing, Steve Teare! You are doing it right! Congratulations to the whole team of SIXTEEN GAMES OF HIDE AND SEEK 🥂

Just keep doing what you’re doing, Steve Teare! You are doing it right! Congratulations to the whole team of SIXTEEN GAMES OF HIDE AND SEEK 🥂

If you know me at all then you know I love Halloween SO MUCH.And now, I have Halloweenie, the cutest cutie patootie around, to look forward to. Can’t wait to introduce you all to him. Thanks to @annabethbondorstone @theconnorwhite @jayafleck @catbirdagencypix @abbalzer @mackidsbooks for making my Halloween dreams come true. 2027 🎃🐾🐶

Happy book birthday @julianapillustration ☀️

A moment from An Evening with Neal Porter: celebrating an icon, a friend, a legacy ✨ I didn’t know what I wanted to do in publishing or why I was even here until I realized my goal was to sell a book to Neal Porter. It’s true. It went exactly like that for me. If you’re in the know, then you understand why this is. I won’t tell you how long it took, just that somehow it was easier and faster to make Neal my friend than it was to sell him a book. But don’t worry, the day finally did come when over a lunch I ‘pitched’ a book to him and Neal raised his hand, literally raised it like in class, and said “Me.This one’s for me.” But, what I learned by just being actively present in the orbit of THE Neal Porter for all the years leading up to that and all the years since has far exceeded what I could have learned by just our joint projects. George Nicholson gave me so much, but best of all, he gave me, you, Neal.And you - you dapper mensch - have always given me something to reach for. And, still do! 🥂

Just us and the short one making business.

Bologna Children’s Book Fair #BCBF26

Huge congratulations to Tundra Books @tundrabooks and my dear friend and creative collaborator Tara Walker @tarawalker19 on winning The Bologna Prize for Best Children’s Publisher of the Year in the North American category🏆🎉📚🌎 Tara Walker, you are a gem and we are so lucky and so proud to make books with you and the truly amazing Tundra team. What a gift to be able to celebrate all together here in Bologna amongst so many friends and colleagues, porticos and Lambrusco! Cheers 🍾🥂to Tundra Books making magic and being recognized by the world for it.

#BCBF25 Bologna Children’s Book Fair BOP Bologna Prize International Publishers Association

The sounds of packing up books. Precious cargo. But will I be able to lift it into the overhead cabin bin?

Bologna Children’s Book Fair #BCBF26 Picture Books Illustrated Children’s Books Books Books Books

In a few days I’ll be heading to Bologna for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and I cannot wait! Like Epcot for book lovers with a head spinning amount of meetings during the day. Parties, dinners and drinks in the eve and if I am lucky gelato strolls down cobblestone streets and long leisurely conversations in glowy piazzas. I can’t wait to tell everyone in the children’s book world all about the exceptional books we have at Stimola Literary Studio! I hope to see you there. A huge thanks to the #BCBF26 queen, Allison Hellegers @allisondhpics for making it all happen.

In a few days I’ll be heading to Bologna for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and I cannot wait! Like Epcot for book lovers with a head spinning amount of meetings during the day. Parties, dinners and drinks in the eve and if I am lucky gelato strolls down cobblestone streets and long leisurely conversations in glowy piazzas. I can’t wait to tell everyone in the children’s book world all about the exceptional books we have at Stimola Literary Studio! I hope to see you there. A huge thanks to the #BCBF26 queen, Allison Hellegers @allisondhpics for making it all happen.

In a few days I’ll be heading to Bologna for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and I cannot wait! Like Epcot for book lovers with a head spinning amount of meetings during the day. Parties, dinners and drinks in the eve and if I am lucky gelato strolls down cobblestone streets and long leisurely conversations in glowy piazzas. I can’t wait to tell everyone in the children’s book world all about the exceptional books we have at Stimola Literary Studio! I hope to see you there. A huge thanks to the #BCBF26 queen, Allison Hellegers @allisondhpics for making it all happen.

In a few days I’ll be heading to Bologna for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and I cannot wait! Like Epcot for book lovers with a head spinning amount of meetings during the day. Parties, dinners and drinks in the eve and if I am lucky gelato strolls down cobblestone streets and long leisurely conversations in glowy piazzas. I can’t wait to tell everyone in the children’s book world all about the exceptional books we have at Stimola Literary Studio! I hope to see you there. A huge thanks to the #BCBF26 queen, Allison Hellegers @allisondhpics for making it all happen.

SERAFINA MAKES WAVES is out in the world today!

Our girl has received a ⭐️Starred review from School library journal and she’s a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

Order from @loftypigeon before our story time there on June 16th for a signed copy and a free sticker sheet and buttons! (link In bio)

Thanks to Horn Book for this awesome review:

“This splashy romp introduces Serafina, an anthropomorphized cat who loathes water. While her friends enjoy the rain, she stays dry inside, throwing a birthday party for her beloved stuffed rabbit, Noodles. Baths? Running faucets? Keep them away. When “the Powers That Be” (who appear to be her parents) announce they have enroll…ed her in swim class, the frustrated feline tries everything to change their minds. Nothing works, and she soon finds herself seething at a packed pool, planning her escape. Then a mishap occurs, and she must jump into the water to save Noodles. Burgess playfully exaggerates Serafina’s anti-aquatic outlook in a clever, read-aloud-ready text. Water doesn’t just leave her annoyed, it makes her feel “gobsmacked” and “flabbergasted.” At times the third-person narrator directly addresses readers, adding immediacy. With her pleasantly amusing pastel-hued digital illustrations, Rosenthal gives Serafina a wide range of humorous facial expressions. The cat’s eyebrows alone convey a multitude of emotions, from contentment to disgust, from panic to bliss. A buoyant conclusion will leave young readers feeling purr-fectly refreshed. Dive in!”

#serafinamakeswaves #serafina #childrensbooks #picturebooks #penguinkids

SERAFINA MAKES WAVES is out in the world today!

Our girl has received a ⭐️Starred review from School library journal and she’s a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

Order from @loftypigeon before our story time there on June 16th for a signed copy and a free sticker sheet and buttons! (link In bio)

Thanks to Horn Book for this awesome review:

“This splashy romp introduces Serafina, an anthropomorphized cat who loathes water. While her friends enjoy the rain, she stays dry inside, throwing a birthday party for her beloved stuffed rabbit, Noodles. Baths? Running faucets? Keep them away. When “the Powers That Be” (who appear to be her parents) announce they have enroll…ed her in swim class, the frustrated feline tries everything to change their minds. Nothing works, and she soon finds herself seething at a packed pool, planning her escape. Then a mishap occurs, and she must jump into the water to save Noodles. Burgess playfully exaggerates Serafina’s anti-aquatic outlook in a clever, read-aloud-ready text. Water doesn’t just leave her annoyed, it makes her feel “gobsmacked” and “flabbergasted.” At times the third-person narrator directly addresses readers, adding immediacy. With her pleasantly amusing pastel-hued digital illustrations, Rosenthal gives Serafina a wide range of humorous facial expressions. The cat’s eyebrows alone convey a multitude of emotions, from contentment to disgust, from panic to bliss. A buoyant conclusion will leave young readers feeling purr-fectly refreshed. Dive in!”

#serafinamakeswaves #serafina #childrensbooks #picturebooks #penguinkids