Green Toys Inc!

I’m so excited to announce a very special holiday collaboration with @greentoysinc! We've teamed up to give away FOUR prize packages, featuring three Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site favorites and a Green Toys® truck set.

I love Green Toys® because each adorable, rugged truck is created from 100% recycled materials. Each product is made in the USA, promotes environmental awareness to tomorrow's consumers, and is built to last! I can't think of a better pairing for the rough-and-tumble Construction Site gang!

To enter:

1. FOLLOW my account and @greentoysinc

2. TAG two friends in the comments by December 8th.

We'll select FOUR WINNERS by 11:59 PM EST on Dec. 8th. US Only Please!

Thank you Nina Laden

Thank you to my dear friend, Nina Laden, for joining me on this installment of #BookshelfBlindspots, in celebration of #nationalpicturebookmonth .

For a chance to win all of the titles that I talk about this week, please comment below, and I’ll see you on Wednesday and Friday at noon to share more titles!

Congratulations to @sunshineanddaisies1 for winning last week’s books!

Lastly (and I forgot to mention this; SORRY KRISTEN! 🤦🏻‍♀️) a brand new holiday giveaway opportunity with @greentoysinc is starting today!!! Stay tuned!!!

Perfect Time to Snuggle and Read

Sending you warm wishes as the air grows cooler. 🍂🍁What a perfect time of year to spend evenings snuggled up in cozy pajamas with warm blankets, reading to your little ones. ❤️ I have some wonderful fall-themed recommendations; please check out (and comment on!) this past week’s “Bookshelf Blindspots” reels for a chance to win all of the beautiful titles I discuss.

Cat Trial

A few months ago, we partnered with Caterpillar to create an amazing “commercial,” to highlight Caterpillar’s stellar service capabilities! Search “Cat Trial 13” on YouTube to check it out!

Join us Monday, November 6th 12PM Loren Long will join me at 12:00PM for a reading!

Exciting news! This Monday, November 6th I'll be joined by my friend and superstar author @thelorenlong for a very special Instagram Live Story Time at 12 PM Central (1 PM Eastern, 10 AM Pacific). Join us as we read Little Tree to celebrate #nationalpicturebookmonth. Don't forget to set a reminder to tune in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 12 Central for more book picks, special events, and giveaways all month long!

#bookshelfblindspots #kidlit #picturebooks #childrensbooks #picturebookstagram

#childrensbookswelove #preschoolbooks #kidsbookstagram #childrensbookauthor #picturebookauthor #goodnightgoodnightconstructionsite #kidsbooks #childrenslit #picturebooksaremyjam #picturebookmonth

Mustache Baby by Bridget Theos and He Came with the Couch by David Slonim

All during the month of November #nationalpicturebookmonth , I will be going LIVE on Monday, Wednesday and Friday AT NOON and sharing some books that I adore — in a feed I’m calling #bookshelfblindspots — featuring books that are just not getting the attention they deserve!

If you are following me and COMMENT on the video, you are entered for a chance to win all three books that I discuss this week: #witchhazel by @mollyidle , #mustachebaby by @bridgetheos and @joyjoyang and #hecamewiththecouch by @davidmichaelslonim1

I hope you love these titles as much as I do. ❤️📚 I’d be thrilled if you’d consider showing these books a little love by purchasing them. 😊 (I have no personal financial incentive here, I promise!)

#picturebooks

Witch Hazel

To celebrate National Picture Book Month, I hope you’ll join me for my LIVE “Bookshelf Blindspots” videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at noon CST, where I’ll introduce you to a picture book that I LOVE — because it’s creative, beautiful, meaningful, funny… or any/all of the above. 😊 These will be books that are flying under the radar — either bc they are backlist and have been “forgotten” about or never really (imo!) have gotten the recognition they deserve.

I hope you love them as much as I do! 📚 ❤️

Comment and follow me! We are choosing one person each week to receive ALL of the books I discuss that week (and I just might enclose one of mine as well. 😉)

Instagram Live at 12PM every Mon, Wed and Fri of Every week of Novmember!

November is Picture Book Month, and this year, I've set a goal to shine a light on the books I'm calling “Bookshelf Blindspots!” From the quiet hidden gems that I think have been overlooked or under appreciated, to the backlist beauties that slipped your mind, I'll be spending November celebrating these terrific books (and maybe giving you some ideas for those holiday lists, too).

So join me when I go live on Instagram, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 12PM CST all month long, when I'll share a Bookshelf Blindspot pick. At the end of each week, I'll choose one lucky follower who comments on the video to win the books I discussed (US Only Please).

AND: If you have suggestions for a book you’d like me to feature, please let me know in the comments!

Chines Lantern Flowers

I ran around the yard cutting flowers before last night’s first hard frost. These are the final blooms of the year (plus a few orange roses from the grocery store!). It’s a bit of a hodgepodge, but I didn’t want to leave anything pretty behind. It’s summer’s last kiss goodbye, and this summer girl is already counting the days until spring. 😢

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For those of you who inquired, the Chinese lantern flowers and “pumpkins on a stick” are both from seeds, and then dried. I grow them for fall floral arrangements and decorating.

#midwestgardens #gardening #gardeningmom #flowers #flowergardens #goodbyesummer #fall #autumn #winteriscomjng #october #summergirl

Agility Wonder!

In case you need a break from the serious stuff: Our puppy is nine months old. What she lacks in her ability to aim 🤦🏻‍♀️, she makes up for with agility and enthusiasm. 😂

Hispanic Heritage Month

he book tour put me a little behind on recommending some of my favorite picture books and middle-grade reads for Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month...but here they are! If you haven't shared these wonderful stories with your children or students, I hope you'll explore some of these unforgettable stories.

Picture Books:
Green Is A Chile Pepper
All The Way To Havana
Carmela Full of Wishes
Be Bold! Be Brave!
Dreamers
Alma — And How She Got Her Name

Middle Grade Books:
Merci Suarez Changes Gears
Each Tiny Spark
Esperanza Rising

Let Freedom Read

Over the past two weeks on tour, I've been visiting elementary schools to read my books for the kids. It's not lost on me that these readings--among my absolutely favorite things to do--have happened during banned books week. When we read to kids, we open their minds to new experiences, validate their feelings, build connections, and introduce new ways to look at the world. When books are kept out of their hands with bans, children's worlds get just a little bit smaller.

People are always surprised to learn that some of our most cherished children's stories have been, at some point, banned or challenged. I've rounded up a few of my all time favorite, and most surprising, banned books for kids.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh was banned in several states for encouraging bad behavior.

Where the Wild Things are by Maurice Sendak has been banned and challenged as being too dark.

Drum Dream Girl and Voice of Freedom have been banned and challenged for representing diverse perspecives.

The Bridge to Terabithia is one of the most frequently banned and challenged books in the United States for its alleged use of inappropriate language, religion and themes about death.

I hope you'll introduce the kids in your life to these if they haven't discovered them already. To learn more about #bannedbooksweek and #letfreedomreadday (that's today) visit bannedbooksweek.org.

Thanks to @watchungbooksellers for creating this great banned books display for young readers to discover.

Amazon's Pick of the Month!

I'm so excited to share that CONSTRUCTION SITE: TAKING FLIGHT has been selected as an Amazon Editor's Pick for Children 3-5. If you haven't had the chance I hope you'll check it out, and pop by sherririnker.com to see all of my remaining tour dates!