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katemessner.com
Kate Messner
@katemessner.com
9.7K followers 1.3K following 1.2K posts
NYT bestselling author of 70+ books for kids. Educator. Speaker. Adirondack 46er. Passionately curious. Latest book: THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES

www.katemessner.com
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Reposted by Kate Messner
katemessner.com
Authors & illustrators! Want to Zoom into classrooms on 2/4/26 to help celebrate LitWorld's World Read Aloud Day? Here's all the info & a link to sign up! katemessner.com/getting-read...
Green background with red font that reads: World Read Aloud Day: Celebrate Learning. An illustrated panda, sloth, and rabbit are reading books together in a cozy setting below the text.
November 4, 2025 at 9:06 PM
katemessner.com
Holy smokes - thank you, Texas librarians!!! I couldn't be more thrilled that THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES has been named to the 2026-2027 Texas Bluebonnet Award List! And in such incredible company, too - congrats to all of the authors & illustrators!

Here's the full list: txla.org/news/2026-20...
Light blue background with white and blue graphic that reads 2026-2027 TEXAS BLUEBONNET NOMINEE with book cover THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES, showing a middle school boy with an orange backpack standing on a mountain summit with a Bernese mountain dog looking up at him. Below is a graphic showing small thumbnails of 20 books with a red outline of Texas and text in blue "2026-2027 List"
November 9, 2025 at 3:45 PM
katemessner.com
“I didn’t want to say immediately it was me,” he said. “With this photo there is a mystery, so you have to make it last.” ❤️
November 9, 2025 at 3:30 PM
katemessner.com
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
apnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Kate Messner
abluebox.bsky.social
🗣️Perfect for Fans of :
🤯 Myth-busting history
🏺 Ancient civilizations & archaeology
📘 Graphic nonfiction & visual learning

💥 @randomhousekids.bsky.social @katemessner.com #BlueSky #MGLit #NonFictionNovember
History Smashers: Ancient Egypt Kate Messner Random House Books for Young Readers Publisher Spotlight : October 7, 2025 208 pages, Paperback Forget everything you think you know about Ancient Egypt, because Kate Messner is ready to smash the myths, crack open the mysteries and reveal the real stories behind pyramids, pharaohs, mummies and more! In this fun and fast-paced nonfiction, readers explore Ancient Egypt through comics, illustrations and sidebars packed with surprising facts. Instead of dusty textbook history, we get lively storytelling that digs into what archaeologists actually know, what Hollywood exaggerated and what the evidence reveals. It is a perfect way to show that history isn’t boring : It is full of “wait… WHAT?!” moments.
November 8, 2025 at 3:49 AM
katemessner.com
Our new WILDLIFE RESCUE chapter book series is featured on @alwaysinthemiddle.bsky.social this week! gpattridge.com/2025/11/07/h...
HOW TO SAVE AN OTTER
This first book in Kate Messner’s WILDLIFE RESCUE series is a chapter book, but a good one for those emerging middle grade readers who need something with a shorter page count. I often have p…
gpattridge.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Reposted by Kate Messner
writtenbyjp.bsky.social
Masterpiece. Thank you, @katemessner.com . I hope the pizza blanket in the background does not take away from the sincerity I’m trying to relay. My favorite read of the year by far.
November 7, 2025 at 3:52 AM
katemessner.com
Cover reveal! HISTORY SMASHERS: THE SPACE RACE is the latest installment in our myth-busting series. I'm so excited for this one because kids have been requesting it for years. Out in July & available for pre-order now! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/768133...
History Smashers: The Space Race by Kate Messner: 9780593902363 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
Myths! Lies! Failed satellite launches? Head to the launch pad, the History Smashers are busting the biggest misconceptions about the Space-Race, and the facts are blasting off in 10-9-8… On April...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:01 PM
katemessner.com
Authors & illustrators! Want to Zoom into classrooms on 2/4/26 to help celebrate LitWorld's World Read Aloud Day? Here's all the info & a link to sign up! katemessner.com/getting-read...
Green background with red font that reads: World Read Aloud Day: Celebrate Learning. An illustrated panda, sloth, and rabbit are reading books together in a cozy setting below the text.
November 4, 2025 at 9:06 PM
katemessner.com
This is my annual gentle suggestion to please stop teaching kids made-up stories about Thanksgiving and share actual (fascinating!) history instead. In case you need ideas... bookshop.org/p/books/hist...
History Smashers: The Mayflower
Check out History Smashers: The Mayflower - <b>Myths! Lies! Secrets! Smash the stories behind famous moments in history and expose the hidden truth. Perfect for fans of I Survived and Nathan Hale's Ha...
bookshop.org
November 4, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Kate Messner
katemessner.com
MRS. Z'S CLASS is growing!!

Happy book birthday to @mikejungwroteabook.bsky.social & @marthabee.bsky.social whose new books THEO CHANG IS NOT A CAT and THUNDER NELSON DOES THE IMPOSSUMBLE are out today from @littlebrownyr.bsky.social, both illustrated by the inimitable @katfcomix.bsky.social!
Book cover THE KIDS IN MRS. Z'S CLASS: THEO CHANG IS NOT A CAT by Mike Jung has a yellow background with orange and white title graphics and shows an Asian American third grade boy in a green sweatshirt holding a surly wiggly brown and black cat as two other boys look on. Book cover THE KIDS IN MRS. Z'S CLASS: THUNDER NELSON DOES THE IMPOSSUMBLE by Martha Brockenbrought has an orange background with wine-red and white title graphics and shows a third grade girl with wild reddish brown hair and a green tee shirt holding a cardboard box with a baby possum inside as two of her classmates look on.
November 4, 2025 at 11:38 AM
katemessner.com
This makes TEN books for THE KIDS IN MRS. Z'S CLASS - with two more on the way in March! How many have you read so far?
Blue graphic with yellow font reads: "Buy the book and the series. Kids need access to this diverse classroom of students who face everyday crises with their supportive friends, and this gentle read shows the goodness in the world without being overly sappy."--SLJ -- and shows twelve tiny colorful book covers for THE KIDS IN MRS. Z'S CLASS
November 4, 2025 at 11:45 AM
katemessner.com
Happy book birthday, @alexgino.bsky.social! So excitd for this one!
theauthorvillage.bsky.social The Author Village @theauthorvillage.bsky.social · 6d
Congratulations to @alexgino.bsky.social, the author of the groundbreaking middle grade novel, MELISSA on the release of their latest middle grade title, CHRIS MAKES A FRIEND. Happy book birthday and welcome to the world!
November 4, 2025 at 11:38 AM
katemessner.com
MRS. Z'S CLASS is growing!!

Happy book birthday to @mikejungwroteabook.bsky.social & @marthabee.bsky.social whose new books THEO CHANG IS NOT A CAT and THUNDER NELSON DOES THE IMPOSSUMBLE are out today from @littlebrownyr.bsky.social, both illustrated by the inimitable @katfcomix.bsky.social!
Book cover THE KIDS IN MRS. Z'S CLASS: THEO CHANG IS NOT A CAT by Mike Jung has a yellow background with orange and white title graphics and shows an Asian American third grade boy in a green sweatshirt holding a surly wiggly brown and black cat as two other boys look on. Book cover THE KIDS IN MRS. Z'S CLASS: THUNDER NELSON DOES THE IMPOSSUMBLE by Martha Brockenbrought has an orange background with wine-red and white title graphics and shows a third grade girl with wild reddish brown hair and a green tee shirt holding a cardboard box with a baby possum inside as two of her classmates look on.
November 4, 2025 at 11:38 AM
katemessner.com
I've published more books since this feature interview came out a few years ago, but the headline still describes me perfectly. www.mackincommunity.com/2021/01/15/k...
Kate Messner: The Grown-Up Version of “That Kid with a Million Questions”
It only takes a quick glance at Kate Messner’s website to grasp that she’s a prolific, award-winning writer with a wide array of books to her credit. Digging deeper reveals something more: No matter w...
www.mackincommunity.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:56 AM
katemessner.com
My mom call this her "October tree" but I think it's doing a really nice job with November so far, too.
Bright orange-red foliage on a tree with a thick dark trunk, silhouetted against blue sky and sun reflecting on the water with a dock in the foreground.
November 3, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Reposted by Kate Messner
katemessner.com
Authors & illustrators! LitWorld's World Read Aloud Day is Feb. 4th - want to Zoom into schools for read-alouds on that day? Here's the sign-up form: forms.gle/eN4FwA9HB4Fb...

Teachers & librarians! My newsletter will have info soon! Sign up here: katemessner.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...)
World Read Aloud Day 2026 - Call for Author & Illustrator Volunteers
Please fill out this form if you're a traditionally published author or illustrator who would like to volunteer to Zoom with classes to celebrate LitWorld's World Read Aloud Day on Wednesday, February...
forms.gle
November 1, 2025 at 11:12 PM
katemessner.com
Authors & illustrators! LitWorld's World Read Aloud Day is Feb. 4th - want to Zoom into schools for read-alouds on that day? Here's the sign-up form: forms.gle/eN4FwA9HB4Fb...

Teachers & librarians! My newsletter will have info soon! Sign up here: katemessner.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...)
World Read Aloud Day 2026 - Call for Author & Illustrator Volunteers
Please fill out this form if you're a traditionally published author or illustrator who would like to volunteer to Zoom with classes to celebrate LitWorld's World Read Aloud Day on Wednesday, February...
forms.gle
November 1, 2025 at 11:12 PM
katemessner.com
When your agent's dog Poppy dresses in the spirit of your new HISTORY SMASHERS book... (Thanks for the "Sphinxapoo" photo, @literaticat.bsky.social!)
Small fluffy brown dog wearing a necklace and gold and blue headdress, dressed up for Halloween as the Sphinx from Ancient Egypt. Book cover for HISTORY SMASHERS ANCIENT EGYPT by Kate Messner has white title font against an orange and gold background, with illustrations of the Sphinx, pyramids, and a mummy coming out of a gold sarcophagus.
November 1, 2025 at 1:19 AM
katemessner.com
If you read DAVE THE POTTER by Laban Carrick Hill and Bryan Collier with kids, here's a great update to share, from @bostonglobe.com - www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/29/a...
In landmark agreement, the MFA restores enslaved potter’s work to descendants - The Boston Globe
The agreement conferring ownership of two ceramic vessels by David Drake sets “a new standard for ethical restitution.”
www.bostonglobe.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:27 AM
katemessner.com
For my Adirondack 46er folks - a new podcast that's becoming one of my favorites: Women Peaking: Friends Climbing Through Midlife. It's a thoughtful, informative, & sometimes funny look at these hikes and what signing up for them means for us as women, especially. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
womenPEAKING
Society & Culture Podcast · womenPEAKING: Friends Climbing Through Midlife A podcast about women, friendship, hiking the 46 high peaks in the Adirondack mountains of New York, the ups and downs of c...
podcasts.apple.com
October 29, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Reposted by Kate Messner
katemessner.com
A terrific @mainepublic.org piece to pair with THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES. There are a lot of Finns out there...and we could all use a good trail nanny. ❤️ www.mainepublic.org/education-ne...
Screenshot of a Maine Public piece with headline: In Bath, Students Choose a Hike Over Detention. Photo shows a diverse group of eight students ready to hike in a wooded setting. Book cover THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES by New York Times Bestselling author Kate Messner has yellow title font against a blue sky with puffy white clouds and shows a middle school boy with an orange backpack standing on a mountaintop with a Bernese mountain dog gazing up at him.
October 29, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Reposted by Kate Messner
katemessner.com
Just landed after this week's school visits & turned on my phone to learn that THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES has been named one of @publisherswkly.bsky.social's Best Books of 2025! I'm absolutely thrilled and honored to be in such great company - congrats to all of the creators on this year's list!
Fireworks background with BEST BOOKS OF 2025 and PW LOGO with book cover THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES showing a boy on a mountaintop with a Bernese mountain dog looking up at him.
October 24, 2025 at 4:39 PM
katemessner.com
A terrific @mainepublic.org piece to pair with THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES. There are a lot of Finns out there...and we could all use a good trail nanny. ❤️ www.mainepublic.org/education-ne...
Screenshot of a Maine Public piece with headline: In Bath, Students Choose a Hike Over Detention. Photo shows a diverse group of eight students ready to hike in a wooded setting. Book cover THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES by New York Times Bestselling author Kate Messner has yellow title font against a blue sky with puffy white clouds and shows a middle school boy with an orange backpack standing on a mountaintop with a Bernese mountain dog gazing up at him.
October 29, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Reposted by Kate Messner
bookstoreplus.bsky.social
Have you seen @katemessner.com's newest release?! WILDLIFE RESCUE, a chapter book series about a family dedicated to rescuing animals, is out now! Stop in the store or shop our website to get yours today!
October 26, 2025 at 5:42 PM