You know its a great day when I get to wear my BRAINSTORM! hat *and my WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW butterfly wings! Thank you to Washington Elementary in W. Caldwell, NJ for inviting me to share my books with your students today. The kids were so attentive and kind and had the BEST questions! (Thanks specifically to the boy in the back who wanted to guess my age and got it on the first try. Yes, indeed, I *am 31! 😂)

And now for somethign a little different…

Most of my children’s poetry, like the majority of my picture books, is geared toward elementary-aged kids and younger, but in the spring I had the opportunity to submit a poem to a Paper Lanterns, fabulous Irish literary journal I recently learned about, which is geared to teens and young adults. I was thrilled when they accepted my poem, “THE SOUND OF YOUR SILENCE” for publication in their Autumn 2025 issue. Please to enjoy…

How wonderful to be invited by Barefoot Books and Reach Out and Read to share WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW and SOME DAYS I’M THE WIND with a group of amazing kids in NYC!  They loved the stories and the coloring pages that Barefoot Books provided, and all went home with signed copies of BOTH books! Thanks also to Literacy in Community and the New York Public Library for coming out to support the event as well. So much fun!

What a beautiful night celebrating Reach Out And Read NY, an organization which encourages early literacy and family bonding by providing books to kids at their pediatric visits! So grateful to Barefoot Books for inviting me to share in this important night. I was also thrilled to get to spend time with friend and fellow creative, Selina Alko (Please check out her amazing books!)

I couldn’t possibly be more thrilled to share the cover of my next picture book, I WISH THAT YOU KNEW, illustrated by the incredible Alyssa Russell and published by Little Bee Books, which will be hitting bookshelves on August 25, 2026!

This book is deeply personal, inspired by the deep friendship and love I shared with my own Grandma Charlotte. It is about a litttle girl taking time to let go of some of her sadness and celebrating the many moments of joy that she shared with her grandmother, as she participates in a Jewish unveiling ceremony on the first yahrzeit, of anniversary, of her passing. This picture book is about honoring those we have lost by remembering the happiness, comfort, and wisdom they brought into our lives. It is about the imprints that the people we love leave upon our hearts long after they are gone.

For more about the story behind the story, please check out this post on author Vivian Kirkfield’s blog.

WOW! What a crazy weekend I just had. Two back-to-back all-day children’s book festival events! Saturday I was at the Morristown Festival of Books, in Morristown, NJ and on Sunday and I was at the Warwick Children’s Book Festival in Warwick, NY. It is always so much fun sharing my books with kids and their families, as well as catching up with fellow writer friends whom I don’t get to see in IRL much (and, of course, meeting new friends too!) It was a fabulous weekend. Here are a few pics….

HOLY MOLY! WHAT A DAY at the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival! It was my first time attending and it was a serious Who’sWho of Kidlit! AMAZEBALLS! Unfortunately, it was WAY too hot to wear my Brainstorm hat this time around (much to the disappointment of everyone, I’m sure! lol). The whole event was run SO well. I already can’t wait for next year. Here are a few pics from the day…

I had a couple new poems come out recently! YAY!