I'm just back from a trip to Washington, D.C. and the National Book Festival - what an incredible event! (Third visit for me.) If you haven't ever attended, do put it on your list to one day attend this love fest for BOOKS and AUTHORS! With over 50,000 people in attendance in 2026, I was surrounded by kindred spirits. Here are a few pics from Saturday . . .

(Left) Here I'm at the Florida state booth w/ Florida Humanities Assoc. Director, Patricia Putnam. We had the pleasure of stamping passports from readers of all ages - as they completed their quest to gather stamps from 50 states and 6 territories! Thousands visited the booth, so it was great fun to greet so many readers. (Note our coordinating American stripes--unplanned, but we were clearly thinking alike when we packed our bags.)

The Roadmap to Reading (left) is a big attraction. Here I am (above) working in the afternoon with friend and retired librarian, Diane Johnson. We talked to so many readers of all ages who were curious about Florida, or had visited Florida and wanted to hear about our 2026 book selections. Those who collected all the passport stamps earned a special prize (I won't tell - but something readers and writers would love!) It was great fun!

I had time to attend two terrific programs -- one a Q&A with NF author Lois Romano, author of AN INCONVENIENT WIDOW, the new biography of Mary Todd Lincoln. (Currently reading - such a terrific book.) Later in the day I attended a program about poet Mary Oliver with the director of the new documentary detailing her life and work. That ballroom was "standing room only"! I was floored by the number of poetry fans in attendance! It was good to be with so many others who love reading or writing poetry.

For America250 celebrations, my book about Abraham Lincoln, illustrated by Dave Szalay, was named to the Great Reads from Great Places list--an incredible honor.

Delighted to share the news that my children's picture book about Abraham Lincoln, illustrated by Dave Szalay, and published by Charlesbridge, has been named to the "GREAT READS FROM GREAT PLACES" list by the Library of Congress in coordination with Florida Humanities. I am grateful for this honor!

The National Book Festival, held in Washington, D.C., will feature a booth for each state. My book represents the state of Florida in the list of 50 states and 6 territories. We'll be giving away some freebies at the booth, so stop by on August 22nd! Kids can get their "passport" stamped, talk about Lincoln, and pick up some SWAG. Hope to see you there!

 

​I'm a member of the Rhyme Doctors team and recently wrote a blog post about writing my latest book, BUILD A SANDCASTLE, and the use of poetic devices. You can find that article link here if you would like a deeper dive into the writing process.

It's a new poetry collection from Moonshower, an imprint at Bushel & Peck Books. Twenty-six poets from Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple to Charles Waters and Marilyn Singer cheer, wail and salute the classroom in this silly tribute to school. (Find Eileen's poem at J is for Jump rope!) Calculators and erasers, school buses and pop quizzes, recess and a school vacation countdown―nothing about the school day (or school year) is out of bounds in this poetry collection from today’s best children’s poets.
Backmatter includes explanations of poetry techniques used in the book with specific examples and additional poetry prompts and ideas. So excited to be a part of this celebration of all-things school! 

So proud of these two young writers! They won a poetry contest at their school, and each wrote a fabulous poem about our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln! And they wrote poems in rhyme, as well — that's a huge challenge!

It's wonderful to see superlative teachers like Mrs. Langham challenge students to try something new and s-t-r-e-t-c-h themselves by trying something outside their comfort zone! 

Happy to provide book prizes for these two superb poets. One day I hope I'll purchase books they've written! Congratulations!