Spring Fling Kidlit SURPRISE!

Hi Spring Fling Kidlit Participants,

In true kidlit fashion, Ciara and I have a last-minute surprise for you! Our deliberations have been intense, and we just couldn’t stop at 19 prizes.

Lucky for us, the amazingly generous Ellen Leventhal stepped up and is offering a picture book critique. Please make sure to show her all the love by following and sharing on social media and of course reviewing her books!

Ellen’s Bio

Ellen Leventhal is an educator and writer in Houston, TX. Her writing usually contains universal themes to which children can relate–even if the thoughts occasionally come from talking cows or lambs.  She can’t remember a time when she wasn’t writing in some capacity. Ellen is the co-author of Don’t Eat the Bluebonnets and the author of Lola Can’t Leap.  She has been published in magazines and newspapers as well as in short story and poetry anthologies. Her latest book, A Flood of Kindness releases Spring, 2021. Ellen’s best days are when she can interact directly with the students and spread her love of literacy and kindness. To find out more about Ellen’s books and writing projects, please go to www.Ellenleventhal.com 

Twitter: @EllenLwrites

Instagram: @EllenL411 

Facebook: Ellen Leventhal, Writer

Spring Fling Questions

• What is your favorite thing about spring? 

I love everything about spring except for the allergies! Here in Texas, one thing I especially love is the appearance of wildflowers—especially bluebonnets blanketing fields and pastures.  

•  Spring is full of surprises bursting forth, what’s something you’ve found surprising about the publishing industry?

There are so many surprises in the publishing industry! I think people are still surprised to hear how long it can take to get something published even after it is acquired. One nice surprise I found is that it is often a collaborative effort among, author, illustrator, editor, and marketing teams.

• Can you tell us a bit about your books?

I have so much fun reading and doing school visits with my books, Don’t Eat the Bluebonnets (co-authored by Ellen Rothberg, illustrated by Joel Cook) and Lola Can’t Leap (illustrated by Noelle Shawa) I am super excited about my upcoming book, A Flood of Kindness scheduled for release in 2021. The book is very personal to me because, although it is fiction, it is based on an actual event in my life. I hope that the book will give hope to children going through difficult situations.

And, Spring Fling Kidlit Participants, I think you know what this means: WINNERS will be announced TOMORROW! Watch Ciara’s blog for it!

Thank you all again for sharing all your wonderful stories and having so much fun with us on Twitter! I hope you all made amazing connections and will continue to support our now 21 donors (I’m giving a critique too!–and, yep, you all know me too well; I couldn’t help myself 🙂 )

Sincerely,

Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez