Created June 21, 2024 by Tanja Bauerle
As an Arizona Member, do you have any exciting publishing news that you would like to share? Please email your good news to arizona-ara@scbwi.org, by the 1st of the month to be considered for inclusion in that month's bulletin. Success stories that are included in the bulletin will be shared in our news feed by the end of the month.
Congratulations, Katie Evans, on the release of your latest book
The third and final book of my middle-grade Aunt Claire’s Pet Care was released on June 4th! The last book title is MISSION: SAVE THE PUPPIES.
Aunt Claire's Pet Care Series Overview:
Aunt Claire’s Pet Care is a three-book middle-grade series perfect for animal lovers and budding scientists. It is a good fit for fans of Minerva Keen’s Detective Club, Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls, and The Miscalculation of Lightning Girls. Reviewers have also compared it to Spy Kids!
Visit Katie's website to learn more about her and her books.
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Congratulations, Kim Tomsic on your shining Kirkus Review
Kim Tomsic and Mark Parisi's middle-grade book The Truth About 5th Grade will be released on August 27, 2024 (HarperCollins), and the first glowing review just rolled in:
"Lively, fun, and deeply relatable!" —Kirkus Reviews
Here is the full review:
THE TRUTH ABOUT 5TH GRADE
Author: Kim Tomsic & Mark Parisi | Illustrator: Kim Tomsic & Mark Parisi
Fifth grade is full of drama over friendship and crushes.
Charlotte “Charli” Wilson and Alex Andropov have been best friends since preschool. They have long-held traditions, including a secret signal when one of them wants to leave an uncomfortable situation, and they’re fiercely protective of each other’s vulnerabilities: Charli has webbed toes, and Alex still sleeps with his blankie. As they prepare to enter fifth grade, their hormones are ramping up. Charli can’t stop thinking about Henry, who moved here recently from California, while Alex is crushing on the free-spirited Kiara. When Alex lets it spill that Charli likes Henry, she’s furious. Will the two ever make up? Told in diary format, the book alternates between Charli’s and Alex’s perspectives. Both protagonists are well developed, and their personalities come through. Charli’s entries are effusive and peppered with doodles of hearts and flowers, while Alex’s writing is comparatively terse, with comic book–style illustrations. Readers will relate to the characters’ big feelings, from their all-encompassing crushes to the angst of feuding with a BFF. The conflict between Charli and Alex keeps the story moving fast. The book includes plenty of humor, such as a memory of a ladybug flying up Alex’s nose, though some references may go over kids’ heads. The illustrations are appealing and break up the text, making it accessible to reluctant readers. Characters have skin the white of the page; hairstyles imply some diversity.
Lively, fun, and deeply relatable. (Fiction. 7-11)
Learn more about Kim and her books at https://kimtomsic.com/
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Congratulations, Lisa Rowe-Fraustino on the release of your latest book
This middle-grade anthology gathered by the SCBWI contains 52 stories, one for each state plus DC and Puerto Rico. Lisa wrote the Maine story, "The Legend of the Sabattus Well," but the horror reaches all the way to a character in Arizona.
Every state has an urban legend that evokes fear and curiosity in equal parts, and we've chronicled all of these logic-defying horrors here in the Haunted States of America anthology.
Featuring stories from Ellen Hopkins, Rae Rose, Daniel Barlekamp, Aixa Perez- Prado, Paul Lubaczewski, Jan Eldredge, Lisa Rowe-Fraustino, and many more.
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250819413/thehauntedstatesofamerica
Learn more about Lisa and her work at www.lisarowefraustino.com
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Congratulations, Karen S. Robbins, on the release of your latest book.
Shoe Print Art Step Into Drawing Second Edition has been released on Ingram and Amazon. It's written by award-winning author and long time member of the SCBWI, Karen S. Robbins, under her press Hide and Seek Press. The first was written in 2013 and won the Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal Award from IBPA, Runner Up Southern CA Book Festival, 2015, and 2nd Honorable Mention New England Book Festival 2016. The Second Edition just received a Story Monster Approved Winner!
Drawing is therapy and provides a pleasurable activity and relaxes the brain. It's perfectly timed to help children four and older during this mental health crisis.
"A practical guide to easy drawing exercises using a flexible shortcut that can be adapted ad infinitum." ----Kirkus Reviews
Learn more about Karen and her books at www.KarenSRobbinsauthor.com