I’m thrilled to present Lily Williams’ gorgeous cover for our upcoming nonfiction picture book, A Rock Is Born. It’s a wonderful milestone in a journey that spans over 100 million years (from the rock’s perspective), or 6 years (from the book’s perspective).
 
Back in 2019, Emily Feinberg – editor of my debut, Red Rover, and many more of my books since – emailed to say, quite earnestly and intriguingly, “I’ve been thinking about rocks a lot lately.” That tiny seed of an idea was just the start. Over time, it grew and changed and took many forms (much like a rock) and eventually became the book that will land on shelves next summer.
 
It’s been a joy and honor to work with everyone who made this book a reality: Emily, assistant editor Emilia Sowersby, the entire team at Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan, and above all, Lily. I’ve been a mega-fan ever since I read If Sharks Disappeared and the rest of the If Animals Disappeared series, which perfectly encapsulate Lily’s gift for presenting complex scientific ideas in a way that is accessible, responsible, and inspiring for kids. I couldn’t ask for a better illustrator and creative partner in bringing this story about the rock cycle to life.
 
Look for A Rock Is Born on July 29, 2025! And if you're so inclined, pre-order links can be found here.

Heidi Rabinowitz, host of The Book of Life Podcast and librarian extraordinaire, is an indispensable voice in Jewish kidlit, and I'm so proud to participate in her new interview series, Jewish Joy, on Multicultural Kid Blogs. The series will spotlight diverse Jewish creators and shine a light on Jewish life and stories, in a time when we need it most. Read the full interview here!  

With Rosh Hashanah less than a month away, I'll be participating in a wonderful Two New Years program this Sunday at the JCC of Mid-Westchester in Scarsdale, NY. Held in partnership with the local Chinese Westchester community, this fun event will feature Jewish and Chinese food samples, a paper-cutting craft activity, and a book discussion!

Look for registration details here. Hope to see you there!

During the AJL conference in June, I had a fun chat with The Book of Life host Heidi Rabinowitz for a special episode of the podcast. She asked a bunch of authors to talk about our Jewish emotional support books. Listen here for my answer and many others! (Hint: mine involves Chanukah and a certain curious monkey!)

Recently, I had the pleasure of doing an interview with College Commons, a podcast produced by Hebrew Union College. Each year, they does a series of episodes with winners of the National Jewish Book Awards, in conjunction with Jewish Book Council. You can hear me talk about Two New Years, my Chinese-Jewish identity, and hard-hitting food questions here. (For the record, I am proudly Team Gefilte Fish!)

To celebrate tomorrow's release of A Taste of Home, I spent time today recreating the walk around the Lower East Side that the kids take in the book!

The only departure from the story: ending up at Books of Wonder, where illustrator Sibu T.P. and I hope to celebrate with local friends at tomorrow evening's launch event!

Introducing A Taste of Home . . . the audiobook!

Picture books don’t often get the audiobook treatment, but I’m so thankful to Macmillan Audio for choosing to produce this one. The narrator is Fred Berman, the actor and award-winning voice behind hundreds of popular audiobooks. (He also played Timon in The Lion King on Broadway!)

The audiobook comes out on August 20, the same day as the hardcover. Along with illustrator Sibu T.P. and the entire team at Roaring Brook Press, I can't wait for you to hear this story brought to life for listeners!

You can find order links here, and also listen to an excerpt of Fred's wonderful narration here.

Three weeks from today, A Taste of Home, my homage to the cultural neighborhoods of Manhattan's Lower East Side, will be published. I'll be celebrating with a launch event at Books of Wonder . . . alongside the amazing illustrator, Sibu T.P.! 

Please join us for a reading and Q&A on Tuesday, August 20 at 6:00 pm. We'll talk about the road to publication, growing up in New York, and of course, food! Event details can be found here, and a pre-order link is here. 

I'm back from an amazing, invigorating, exhausting week in San Diego, where I had the privilege of attending both the Association of Jewish Libraries and American Library Association annual conferences.

Among the highlights was the thrill of accepting the Sydney Taylor Book Award at AJL for Two New Years, alongside illustrator Lynn Scurfield. It was the culmination of an incredible journey for this book and its creators (additional shoutouts to editors Naomi Kirsten and Feather Flores, and the entire team at Chronicle Books).

My hope is that the accolades it has received will propel Two New Years onto another journey . . . one in which it continues to reach new readers, year after year.

Going to the ALA Annual Conference in San Diego next week? Here's my schedule of appearances. Please stop by and say hello! 

Growing up in the suburbs of New York City, I spent many hours visiting Chinatown with my family. So it was a special treat to sign copies of If Lin Can this past weekend at Yu & Me Books on Mulberry Street! I also got to meet readers and reminisce with New Yorkers about Linsanity.

​Thank you again to Yu & Me for hosting!

I'm feeling grateful for the announcement that A Flame Burns On, a story about finding light in darkness, will shine in 2026.

Thank you to illustrator Carmel Ben-Ami for agreeing to bring another of my stories to life; to editor Rotem Moscovich and the entire team at Knopf/Random House for believing in this book; to Karen Smith for seeing its potential from the start; and to my agent Emily Mitchell, as always.

Thank you to author and educator Stacey Shubitz for inviting me to appear on the Two Writing Teachers blog! I wrote a piece for the Author Spotlight Series about reclaiming childhood magic in the stories you write for children . . . using If Lin Can as an example. I hope you enjoy reading it here!

Yesterday, If Lin Can officially arrived, and we celebrated with a wonderful launch event at Books of Wonder. Thank you so much to everyone who joined us!

I'm so proud of this book, and so grateful to illustrators Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huỳnh Kim Liên, editor Alyssa Pusey, and the team at Charlesbridge Publishing for bringing it to life. I hope this story can find its way to all readers who need it!

P.S. If you couldn't make it to the event but would like a signed copy, you can order from the store here.

Tip-off is two weeks from today!

Join me at Books of Wonder on April 16 for the launch of If Lin Can, illustrated by Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huỳnh Kim Liên and published by Charlesbridge. Looking forward to celebrating basketball-themed children's books, Asian American empowerment, and all things Linsanity!

​Event details and pre-order link here. 

Author Karlin Gray runs the fantastic True Story blog, featuring interviews with creators of biographies for kids. I was honored to answer her questions about If Lin Can. Check out the interview here!

A night to remember.

We celebrated Jewish stories and the power of the written word last night at the presentation of the 73rd National Jewish Book Awards. I was so proud to be among this year's esteemed winners, and to feel so much love for Two New Years. To say I was inspired by my fellow authors would be an understatement.

Thank you Jewish Book Council for inviting me to take part in such a special event, and for all you do to nurture, protect, and amplify Jewish voices in publishing.

May words of light continue to shine, clear and bright, through dark and uncertain times.