Illustrator Dawn Lo and I are thrilled to announce that One Tiny Bubble has won the 2023 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for Canada! In case you’re not familiar with it, this is a peer-selected award, voted on by members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. You can check out all the winners here, but let me just say that One Tiny Bubble was selected from a stellar list of finalists! Thanks so much to the SCBWI members who voted and to the SCBWI staff for implementing the award.
I have to mention that this isn’t the first time a book of mine has been honoured with this award. My middle-grade novel Bog won the 2015 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award for Canada. It’s an honour to be recognized once again!
“In this thoughtful story that deals with serious topics but is lightened by humor, Krossing expertly navigates what it’s like to be young and unsure of yourself…. A moving tale of learning to accept yourself, flaws and all.”
It’s coming in July 2023 from Charlesbridge Publishing with a gorgeous cover by Markia Jenai. Available for pre-order now.
I’m thrilled that One Tiny Bubble received second place in the Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design – Children’s Category. A huge congrats to designer Alisa Baldwin and the Owlkids Publishing team! Dawn Lo’s wonderful illustrations gave them so much to work with. You can read the list of winners here.
My heart is full of gratitude for two wonderful blurbs for my upcoming middle-grade novel Monster vs. Boy. Thank you to William Alexander and Linda Urban. You supported this fledgling idea and it grew wings … er … claws.
Coming July 11 with gorgeous cover art by Markia Jenai! Wonderfully edited and designed by the team at Charlesbridge Publishing! And I am forever grateful to my agent Ginger Knowlton for her support and insights!
It’s cover reveal day! I’m thrilled to share Markia Jenia‘s cover art for my upcoming middle-grade novel Monster vs. Boy! Markia has perfectly captured the characters and mood of this story, and I can’t wait to share this book with you. It’ll be published by Charlesbridge Publishing in July 2023, and it’s available for pre-sale now!
Will you laugh if I tell you that Monster vs. Boy feels like it’s autobiographical? I have sometimes felt like the monster in the closet, and I’ve also been terrified that a monster might be living in my closet. Here’s an intro to the book:
No one in the ramshackle house knew that a monster—who was smaller than a bear cub—lived in Dawz’s bedroom closet. She called herself Mim.
Dawz wants to practice Recipes of Extreme Greatness for the Bakers’ Brawl competition and forget about his mom, who left him and his sister, Jayla, years ago. He does not want to see a monster that no one else can see.
Mim wants to explore her closet’s nooks and crannies, and listen to stories through the door. She does not want to share her space with the horrible boy outside the closet.
When Mim leaves Dawz’s closet for the first time, the two learn they’re connected in ways neither can explain. While Mim searches the wide world for a friend, Dawz searches for a way to get rid of her so that he can be normal. Can the two find a way to break their connection without losing who they are?
This moving middle-grade novel is about found family, facing our fears, and mental health. It asks the question: What if the monsters that haunt us aren’t monsters at all?
