What’s New

• Bulldozer’s Big Rescue, the first book in my new early chapter book series, Bulldozer and Friends, comes out on January 21!  It was edited by the fabulous Christy Ottaviano (right) and illustrated by the wonderful Kelly Murphy, and it was just named an Amazon Best Book of the Month. This story features a shy bulldozer in a human family who is worried about all the usual kid things… making friends, starting school, navigating a complex world.  Early chapter books have always had a special place in my heart. I reviewed some of my favorites here:  https://shepherd.com/best-books/early-readers-with-funny-animal-friendships
• My picture book Bedtime for Little Bulldozer, which first introduced this character, is coming out in paperback, also on January 21. 
• Trouble at School for Marvin and James, the third book in the Masterpiece Adventures series for young readers, is now a One School, One Book selection of the national literacy organization Read to Them! I’ve had so many wonderful school visits based on the One School, One Book program, and I love visiting schools to talk about Masterpiece with readers in grades 3-5 and the Marvin and James books with K-2 students. Please contact me or visit www.readtothem.org for a list of suggested activities for both books; you can find out more about my experience with the One School, One Book program here in their newsletter.
• For the past few years, I’ve loved doing freelance writing and editing for the Scholastic magazines. Look for my stories and plays based on historical figures and events, folk tales, and classic literature in the Storyworks magazine for Grades 4 – 6. 
• My latest novel, Duet, is out in paperback with a brand new, beautiful cover by the gifted Kelly Murphy.
• Above is a picture from ALA with my beloved editor and friend, Christy Ottaviano, holding my mystery, The Wolf Keepers.  You can see a short video of me talking about the book here.  
• I love doing writing workshops with students in elementary school. Since 2018, I’ve also been teaching a creative writing seminar to undergraduates at Yale called “Coming of Age: Writing about Childhood Turning Points.” In addition, I regularly teach a 3-day class, “Creating Picture Books with Humor and Heart,” for adults at the Highlights Foundation in Milanville, Pennsylvania with my friends Emily Jenkins, author of many award-winning picture books, and Sunita Apte, Executive Editor at Reycraft Books.  Highlights is a terrific place to learn the ins-and-outs of writing for children–and to immerse yourself in a creative community surrounded by bucolic farmland and nourished by delicious food.  

What’s Next

I’m working on a new novel called The Book Nobody Could Read.  It’s about a mysterious, real-life manuscript from Renaissance Italy that is written in a language nobody has ever been able to de-code. 

I’m also finishing up a new picture book about a wolverine with an insatiable appetite for all kinds of fun.

What I’m Reading

Picture book: Knight Owl by Christopher Denise. This funny, touching story of a little owl harboring the big dream of becoming a knight is full of sly humor, warm emotion, and satisfying surprises. Denise teams up with the ever-amazing Christy Ottaviano to create a character who is sure to join the ranks of picture book favorites like Frances, Pigeon, and Olivia. A charmer.

Middle Grade: The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. As my books show, I’m a huge fan of mysteries based on real-life events, and this fun, puzzly novel set in England during World War II has it all–engaging characters, a vivid setting, an unbreakable code, and legitimately high stakes. Hats off to these two!

Adult: So many in the past few months… Some highlights:  Leaving by Roxane Robinson, an expertly paced novel that manages to be highly suspenseful without sacrificing its elegant restraint. The Vacationers by Emma Straub, a fun, summery romp that is brimming with insights about marriage and parenthood. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, a literary mystery set in the Adirondacks that is at once a thrilling page-turner and a deeper exploration of the ripple effects of family secrets. Happy reading!