I am honored to welcome Melissa Stewart to the blog to share all about how her latest book, Fourteen Monkeys: A Rain Forest Rhyme, came to be. With over 190 published books, Melissa is a master of nonfiction and I am delighted to have her joining us today. Melissa's books have served as mentor texts at the heart of my second-grade nonfiction writing unit for years and I am so excited to get a glimpse into what goes into creating one of her books. Read on to learn all about wh

The Backstory is thrilled to welcome Ana Siqueira and her picture book, BELLA'S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS to the blog today. Ana is here to share the inspiration behind Bella as well as some stellar advice for writers. Welcome to The Backstory and thank you for joining us and sharing the inspiration behind BELLA’S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS. First off, please tell us a little bit about your story. My story or Bella’s story. My story: I was a girl with many disabilities: cerebral palsy when

Today, The Backstory welcomes Kari Lavelle and her picture book, WE MOVE THE WORLD (HarperCollins, 2021) with illustrations by Nabi H. Ali. Kari is here to share the inspiration behind her debut as well as her tips and advice for aspiring authors. Be sure to read to the end for your chance to win your choice of a critique or a signed copy of WE MOVE THE WORLD. Welcome to The Backstory and thank you for joining us and sharing the inspiration behind WE MOVE THE WORLD. First off