9.11.2018: Watch Out for Wolf! and Upcoming Events

Shhh…. Watch out for Wolf!

This little piggy is excited to share the cover for Charles Santoso’s and my 2019 picture book, Watch Out for Wolf!. It’s the story of five anxious but enterprising little pigs who are preparing a very big surprise. It recasts the “This Little Piggy Went to Market” nursery rhyme, weaving in other beloved fables and tales (including the story of The Three Little Pigs) along the way. It’s also a story about friendship, assumptions, and inclusion. I had a lot of fun writing it! And even more fun seeing Charles’s delightful illustrations bring it to life.

The book comes out from Disney-Hyperion on April 16, 2019. The hardcover is available for preorder now wherever you buy books. (You can ask your local bookstore or library to order it, or follow one of the preorder links below. Thank you!)

Charles and I did a fun interview with Mr. Schu about the process of creating the book. If you’d like to read it, please click here. That post also includes a peek at some of the interior spreads.

Here are the links for preordering the book online: Indiebound | B&N | Amazon | BAM | Book Depository (international) | Indigo

Meanwhile, Always Forever Maybe has been out in the world for three months, and in some ways it still doesn’t feel real. If you are one of the people who has bought, borrowed, read, reviewed, discussed, or recommended it, THANK YOU. My favorite part of this YA author life has been interacting with readers (that’s my favorite part of chapter-book and picture-book author life, too). I got to do some amazing bookstore and library events up and down the east coast over the summer, and I’m looking forward to upcoming book festivals and other events in Princeton, Warwick, Chicago, Brooklyn, Miami, and Manhattan this fall. (Three of those events—the Princeton and Warwick Children’s Book Festivals and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Ghouls & Gourds Festival—will include the Anna, Banana books and The Teacher’s Pet in addition to Always Forever Maybe, if you know a younger reader who would like to meet an author and get a signed book.) If I will be in your city or town, I would love to connect. For more details, please visit my events page. It’s going to be a fun and busy fall!

10.9.2017: Always Forever Maybe cover reveal

Ahhhhhhhhh, I'm so excited to show you the cover of my YA debut, Always Forever Maybe, a novel about obsessive teenage love, which will be published by HarperTeen (an imprint of HarperCollins) on June 5, 2018. Here it is:

Isn't it gorgeous? The cover is the work of artist Sean Freeman and designer Erin Fitzsimmons. The B&N Teen Blog hosted the official cover reveal today, and you can follow this link to read the post I wrote for them about the cover creation process.  

To learn more about the book, please visit the official Always Forever Maybe page on my website. If you would like to pre-order a copy of the hardcover or ebook, please ask for it at your local bookstore or follow one of these links: Indiebound | B&N | Amazon | Kindle | iTunes | BAM | Indigo | HarperCollins (Pre-orders can make a huge difference in a book's success, so thank you for your support!) You can also add it to your Goodreads shelf here.

And now, excuse me, but I must return to dancing around the room in celebration. (My book has a cover! This seems almost real!)

7.20.2017: The Recipe for Disaster Cover Reveal

Get ready to make some messes....

Anna and her friends stir up some sweet treats—and a scoop of trouble—in the kitchen in Anna, Banana, and the Recipe for Disaster. This sixth book in the Anna, Banana series isn't out until March 2018, but I'm delighted to share Meg Park's adorable cover art and a peek inside today. 

First, here's the cover!

And here's what it's about:

Anna, Sadie, and Isabel love sharing sweet treats, and they're ready to put their baking skills to the test. The plan? To make the best-ever cookies for the library bake sale! Even Anna's dog, Banana, feels certain the girls can win.

There's only one problem: Monica, Sadie and Isabel's new friend who keeps stirring up trouble. Monica, who might be trying to steal Anna's best friends away from her. Can Anna's special new recipe help win them back, or will an unexpected ingredient turn things from sweet to sour?

Would you like a peek inside? Here's a brief excerpt from Chapter Nine: Take a Bite.

Sadie perked right up. “Do you want to bake with us on Saturday morning?” she asked Monica. 

Say no, say no, say no, say no, I thought. I didn’t want to be mean, but I also didn’t want to bake cookies with her. I barely knew this girl, yet somehow she and my best friends had a secret handshake and inside jokes. I didn’t want to include someone who made me feel so left out.

I knew that friendship, like the bake sale, wasn’t really a competition. But I couldn’t help it: I wanted to win.

—From Anna, Banana, and the Recipe for Disaster

Hooray for cookies and messes! And, as always, for friendship and dogs. If you'd like to pre-order a copy (thank you) or add the book on Goodreads, here are the links: Indiebound | Amazon | B&N | BAM | Goodreads. The hardcover, paperback, and ebook editions will all be released on March 20th.  

Also: When I wrote that first story about a girl and her dog and a fight with a best friend, I never imagined that a few years later, I'd have written six books about that girl, her dog, and her friends, and be about to start writing the seventh. THANK YOU to all the friends and strangers who have read one of my books; bought one of my books; shared it with a kid; spread the word amongst readers, teachers, booksellers, parents, or librarians; come to one of my book events; invited me to visit your library or school; or even just clicked a supportive "like" on a writing-related Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram post. Your support has meant the world.

Chapter One: Batter Up

3.31.2017: Book news! More Bananas

March comes in like a lion, goes out like Bananas....

I'm pleased as punch to get to write two more books in the Anna, Banana series (books seven and eight!). Thank you to all the readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and parents whose support is making this possible. And thanks to illustrator Meg Park, editrix Alexa Pastor, agent Meredith Kaffel Simonoff, designer Laurent Linn, and the whole fabulous team at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. I'm having a lot of fun creating these stories and can't wait to see where the adventures lead next!

Here's the official announcement from Publishers Marketplace:

The first four books in the series will soon be available in Danish as well. Here are the covers for the first two translations, coming from Carlsen publishers in May 2017. Google tells me the titles translate to "Enemies" and "One, Two, Many." Please tell all your friends in Denmark!

There's still time to preorder book five, Anna, Banana, and the Little Lost Kitten, which comes out in hardcover, paperback, and ebook on May 2nd. You can find it online at Amazon, B&N, Indiebound, Target, BAM, and iTunes, or ask for it at your local bookstore or library. Thanks for your support! Here's Rooga reviewing the first typeset pages:

10.11.2016: A Peek Inside The Teacher's Pet

How can one little pet cause such big trouble?

*Gulp*

I'm monstrously excited to share this early peek at my very first picture book, The Teacher's Pet, illustrated by Zachariah OHora and coming from Disney-Hyperion on June 20, 2017.

If you'd like to pre-order a copy (thank you!!), here are the links for B&N and Amazon. You can also request it at your local bookstore or library by telling them the ISBN: 978-1-4847-4364-5. To add the book on Goodreads, please click here.

Here's what the book is about:

On the day the tadpoles hatch, the whole class is amazed—they've never seen their teacher so excited. Mr. Stricter has always wanted a pet, so he tells the students they can keep just one. The class chooses Bruno, the smallest of the bunch. But Bruno doesn't stay small for long. Soon he's grown into a giant, classroom-wrecking creature: He eats desks, farts for show-and-tell, and sneezes slime all over everything! Everyone can see that Bruno is trouble. Everyone except Mr. Stricter.

With their teacher blinded by love for the pet, the students must step up and take matters into their own heroic hands.

I had a lot of fun writing this story, and even more fun seeing Zach's illustrations bring it to life. Here's one of my favorite interior spreads:

The Teacher's Pet, pages 17-18

I can't wait for you to see the whole thing!

F&Gs!

F&Gs!

10.7.2016: Little Lost Kitten Cover Reveal!

Introducing...Anna, Banana, and the Little Lost Kitten.

I'm delighted to share Meg Park's adorable cover art for the fifth book in the Anna, Banana series. Anna, Banana, and the Little Lost Kitten will come meowing into a bookstore or library near you (in hardcover, paperback, and ebook!) on May 2, 2017. 

If you'd like to pre-order a copy, please follow these links for B&N, Amazon, BAM, or iTunes, or ask for it at your local bookstore or library. To add the book on Goodreads, click here. Thanks for your support!

Here's what it's about:

It's Anna's lucky day: She found a stray kitten! But when her dog, Banana, scares the kitten away, it's up to Anna and her friends to find him again.

Catching the kitten is trickier than Anna expects—kittens are easily scared and very sneaky. And even a small kitten can cause big trouble, as Anna and her friends soon discover. They want to help the kitten find a good place to live, but is saving the kitten worth breaking the rules?

In other news: Anna, Banana, and the Big-Mouth Bet (book three) is now available in paperback (click here to find where to buy it). And the first four Anna, Banana hardcovers now come in a beautiful boxed set called Anna, Banana, and Friends: A Four-Book Collection. I love that the boxed set art is the same as the cover for book one, only with Sadie smiling. Here's where to find it: Indiebound | B&N | Amazon | BAM | Target.

Mmm, tasty paperbacks

Anna, Banana hardcover boxed set!

So...what do you think Anna and Banana should dress up as for Halloween?

6.25.2015: Puppy Parade Cover Reveal

Introducing...Anna, Banana, and the Puppy Parade!

I'm tail-waggingly excited to share the cover of Anna, Banana, and the Puppy Parade. This fourth book in the series is the most puppy-ful Anna, Banana book yet—I can't wait for you to see all the a-dog-able illustrations inside. But first, here's the cover:

Here's the flap copy:

Anna can’t wait for the Puppy Parade. She’s certain Banana will win. Soon Banana will be famous—and that means Anna will be famous too!

But when Sadie and Isabel suggest they all enter the parade together, Anna starts feeling a little unsure about sharing her dog—and the spotlight—with her friends.

How can Anna be Best in Show and be a good best friend?

The book comes out on January 19, 2016, but it's available for pre-order now. Here are the links: B&N | Amazon | BAM | iTunes | Indiebound 

To add the book on Goodreads, click here.

Thanks for your support! And big thanks to illustrator Meg Park, art director Laurent Linn, and editrix Kristin Ostby for making all this cuteness happen.

2.11.2015: Big-Mouth Bet Cover Reveal!

Introducing...Anna, Banana, and the Big-Mouth Bet!

I'm delighted to share the cover for Anna, Banana, and the Big-Mouth Bet (S&S, Sept. 2015). This third book in the series was super fun to write, and I love Meg Park's cover art, especially Banana's expression. Big thanks to Meg and to art director Laurent Linn and editrix Kristin Ostby.

AnnaBananaandtheBigMouthBet.jpg

Here's the flap copy:

Anna has a loose tooth! It’s as wiggly as her dog Banana’s tail. But while Anna is poking at her loose tooth, class clown Justin keeps poking fun at Anna and her friends. 

Anna tries to make Justin leave them alone, and gets pulled into a high-stakes bet. If Anna wins, Justin has to play nice; but if Anna loses, she has to do something so jaw-droppingly embarrassing, even Banana can’t believe it.

There’s no wiggling her way out of this one. Anna has to win the bet and stop Justin’s annoying antics…before she gets in even more toothy trouble.

And would you like to read an excerpt? Here's one from Chapter Twelve: The Better Bettor.

I popped out of my seat, turned toward the coat hooks, and slammed straight into Justin. We both froze.

He looked at me with startled eyes for what felt like the longest second in the world. For a moment, I wondered if Justin was as worried about the bet as I was. 

Then he spoke. “Better rush home and practice your dance moves,” he said, “since tomorrow you’ll be performing in the middle of class. Bawk bawk!” 

I glared. “Better practice keeping your mouth shut,” I said, “since soon you won’t be allowed to open it at all.” 

I stormed off without waiting for his comeback. This tooth had to come out now.

Add it on Goodreads here. 

(Pssst, the first two books in the series are now available for pre-order! Here are the links to find Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split, which comes out on May 5: Indiebound | B&N | BAM | iTunes | Amazon | Goodreads. Thank you for your support!)