A new book, some new blooms!

Thank you to Hollins University for naming On a Summer Night the 2025 Honor Book for the Margaret Wise Brown Prize.

Dahlias are like comfort food in my garden. They help me make believe all is well in the world.

Students sometimes ask what I do if I get writer's block. I don't really think of it that way but when I get stuck or need a break I go into the garden and deadhead.

Happy 10th anniversary!

I get many negative reviews for this book, in which Cinderella marries a young woman farmer. I didn't give the ending a second thought while writing it. Like life, the story just turned out that way.

Progress is possible but never guaranteed.

Glad to have some good news!

The front berm.

Hellebores

And then there are days when the best comfort is the genius of Jane Austen.

Social Security wasn't a given. It grew out of the Triangle fire tragedy, witnessed by Frances Perkins, who became the first woman Cabinet member & worked with FDR to pass protections for workers & the Social Security Act. #womenshistorymonth

For #womenshistorymonth here is a story from 1582, inspired by Emilia Bassano, who began a school for girls and published a book. In my story, Emilia is a spy & writes a play. She thinks about women as leaders. PLOT is a 2025 Oregon Book Award finalist & part of 2025 ALA Rise: A Feminist Project.

Spring planting.

When I was in the 4th grade, I liked reading about history, but most of the stories about women were in those old childhood of famous Americans pseudo-nonfiction books.

I featured some of my work about women in history last year on Instagram. I will do the same this March here.

Evidence looks at a time when Dr. John Snow fought against superstition and misinformation to protect public health. The year was 1854. @kidlitkat.bsky.social

EVIDENCE is an Oregon Book Award finalist! Congrats to all the honorees. Thanks to Literary Arts & my talented editor Katherine Harrison who believed in a nonfiction picture book about public health. @kidlitkat.bsky.social

I'm grateful to Kirkus Reviews for including Evidence! as a best #nonfiction picture book of 2024. What a great list to be part of! @kidlitkat.bsky.social
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...

The dahlias have been put to bed. These are the last. When I am able to garden, the book I'm working on will mostly be done. It's always better to write in winter.

The first woman to serve in a cabinet was Frances Perkins, Sec. of Labor, 1933-45. In 1911, she witnessed the Triangle fire. She worked with FDR to pass laws to protect workers & was key to getting Social Security passed in 1935. Frances served to make life better for others.