I’ve just returned from Chicago where I attended both the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) Conference and the American Library Association Annual Conference and Exhibition (ALA)!

At the AJL Conference,  I presented my upcoming book, I WISH THAT YOU KNEW, on a panel called “THE BLESSING OF MEMORY: RECENT PICTURE BOOKS ABOUT JEWISH MOURNING RITUALS,” alongside fellow creators Lesléa Newman, Richard Ho, and Alison Goldberg.

We had a FULL house of attendees and even though
I WISH THAT YOU KNEW is by far the most personal and emotional book I’ve written thus far (it is a tribute to the relationship I got to share with my late grandmother), I managed to hold it together during the presentation… somehow!

At the conference, I also had a chance to celebrate my book
FINDING FORGIVENESS, which was honored as a
2026 Sydney Taylor Picture Book Award Notable!

Here are a few pics….

And after the AJL conference, I was off to ALA, which brings together THOUSANDS of librarians from ALL over the country. What a joy to feel their love of books!

I had an opportunity connect and reconnect with author friends and to sign copies of my books DINOSAUR SURPRISE!, FINDING FORGIVENESS, SOME DAYS I’M THE WIND, and WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW!

Here are a few pics from ALA…

(It was a fabulous time, but I have to admit, once this introvert got home from all this travel and excitement, she immediately collapsed! lol)