Kate Messner
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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

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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
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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My brand new chapter book series WILDLIFE RESCUE is out today, and I can't imagine a better way to celebrate this book birthday than spending it with these great South Carolina readers! (Amazing cover art is by Jen Bricking!)
Kate Messner sitting on the edge of a school stage with half a dozen elementary school students, two of whom are holding copies of the WILDLIFE RESCUE chapter book series Book covers - WILDLIFE RESCUE HOW TO SAVE AN OTTER has cover art showing two kids walking through brush toward a baby river otter. WILDLIFE RESCUE HOW TO SAVE AN OTTER shows two kids walking toward a very fluffy baby owl in the grass.
October 21, 2025 at 6:12 PM
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Am I too late to call dibs on the Louvre Heist fedora guy for the star of my next mystery?
Police officers outside the Louvre along with a smartly dressed detective with an umbrella and fedora.
October 21, 2025 at 2:41 AM
katemessner.com
Remember when America's political leaders didn't like kings either?
black and white engraving of colonial men using ropes to pull down a statue of King George on a horse from a pedestal
October 18, 2025 at 1:51 PM
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An amazing roundup of 2025 verse novels from @popgoesthereader.bsky.social - including THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES! popgoesthereader.com/42-2025-midd...
Blue sky background with white text reads: "Sometimes people don't know why they're climbing. They only know it's better than hurting standing still." 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.
October 17, 2025 at 5:07 PM
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Eight Nonfiction Books to Check Out for Halloween(Or any time you like your facts with a side order of scariness!) katemessner.com/eight-nonfic...
Book cover HISTORY SMASHERS SALEM WITCH TRIALS by Kate Messner shows Puritan women with brooms surrounded by orange & yellow flames Book cover THE HAUNTED STATES OF AMERICA shows a demon/ghost swirling with smoke Book cover POISON: DEADLY DEEDS, PERILOUS PROFESSIONS, AND MURDEROUS MEDICINES by Sarah Albee has a red background & green title font, with a cartoon skeleton sneaking up on a Middles Ages person at a table Book cover SPOOKY LAKES by GEO RUTHERFORD shows a scuba diver exploring a lake full of skulls and ghostly hands and jellyfish
October 13, 2025 at 2:22 PM
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It's book release day for HISTORY SMASHERS: ANCIENT EGYPT!! With cover art by @dylanmeconis.bsky.social & interior art by @falynnk.bsky.social, it's book 11 in our acclaimed myth-busting series from @randomhousekids.bsky.social! Ask for it at your favorite bookstore or library!
Graphic showing Kate Messner standing in front of the Pyramids of Giza with text that says "How it started..." on the left. On the right side of the graphic is a sarcophagus and the book cover for HISTORY SMASHERS: ANCIENT EGYPT, which is orange and cold, with illustrations of the pyramids, sphinx, and a mummy. Text against a light blue background reads: How it's going... and Available now!
October 7, 2025 at 3:02 PM
katemessner.com
If your readers love HISTORY SMASHERS, I hope you'll join me for a special virtual author visit October 7th - release day for HS ANCIENT EGYPT!

Cover art by @dylanmeconis.bsky.social, int. art by @falynnk.bsky.social & published by @randomhousekids.bsky.social.

us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Cream colored graphic with orange and blue text announcing Kate Messner's virtual author visit for the HISTORY SMASHERS SERIES. HISTORY SMASHERS October 7, 1:00-1:40pm EST Registration: $15 Best for grades 4-8 bit.ly/historysmashers Book cover graphic has white HISTORY SMASHERS ANCIENT EGYPT TEXT with orange background and pyramids and sphinx, along with a mummy in the foreground.
September 17, 2025 at 6:22 PM
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Such a great morning with readers at Fletcher Elementary School! Big thanks to Friends of Fletcher Elementary, who worked with @phoenixbooks.biz to make sure every 4th, 5th, and 6th grader went home with a signed copy of THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES! ❤️
Author Kate Messner with sixteen 6th graders in a classroom, in front of a screen that says THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES Kate Messner sits at a round table in a sunny classroom, signing copies of THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES for elementary school readers as two students look on.
September 17, 2025 at 4:42 PM
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I had a great time with the readers of Northern Adirondack Central School and Keene Central School today! They've been reading THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES & had so many amazing questions!
Kate Messner in a school gym in front of a screen with a marked up manuscript page and the word REVISION Kate Messner with librarian Anne Werley Smallman, both holding copies of THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES, which has cover art showing a middle school boy on a mountaintop with a Bernese mountain dog Kate Messner with librarian Megan Wellford and two middle school girls with a sign that says WELCOME TO KCS, KATE MESSNER
September 16, 2025 at 8:25 PM
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I had such a great day with readers of Fort Ann Central School - and I love that every 4th, 5th, and 6th grader went home with a signed copy of THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES! (A few of the 5th-6th graders stuck around for a photo, shared with permission.)
Author Kate Messner posing in front of a stage with a few dozen 5th-6th graders, all holding copies of THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES, in front of a presentation screen with the book cover, which shows a middle school boy on a mountaintop with a Bernese mountain dog looking up at him.
September 15, 2025 at 12:08 PM
katemessner.com
Still thinking about what Chimamdani Ngozi Adichie said at this weekend's National Book Festival. #Truth
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on stage at the National Book Festival with a quote in white font to the side of her on the graphic: "The banning of books speaks to the power of books. You do not ban a thing that does not have power."
September 8, 2025 at 12:26 PM
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So illustrator @falynnk.bsky.social & I have our first graphic novel coming out in March, and there are YETIS!!

You can pre-order CAMP MONSTER as part of this week's @barnesandnoble.com preorder sale if you'd like! Just use the code PREORDER25 through 9/5. www.barnesandnoble.com/w/camp-monst...
Book cover CAMP MONSTER has bubbly orange font. Book cover art shows a large white and blue yeti with arms raised in celebration and a cast of other monsters - an ogre, vampire, more yetis, goblins, and werewolf - in the background. Text above it says BARNES & NOBLE PREORDER SALE.
September 4, 2025 at 7:18 PM
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Hey, teacher & librarian friends! (And homeschoolers, too!) Want me to Zoom into your classroom or library this fall? I'm hosting a series of $15 virtual author visits this month & next - details are here: katemessner.com/low-cost-vir... Join us!
Author Kate Messner with bookshelves behind her, holding up a copy of THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES, which has yellow title font against a blue sky and shows a middle school boy with an orange backpack standing on a mountain summit with a Bernese mountain dog looking up at him.
September 4, 2025 at 7:03 PM
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If you're sharing THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES with students this fall, consider pairing it with TOWERS FALLING by @jewellparkerrhodes.bsky.social - it's one of my favorite MG novels about the aftermath of 9/11 and the scars that remain, even now.
Book cover THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES has yellow title font against a blue sky. Cover art shows a middle school boy with an orange backpack standing on a mountain summit with a Bernese mountain dog gazing up at him. Book cover TOWERS FALLING by Jewell Parker Rhodes is sky blue and white, with black title font, and shows the reflection of the Twin Towers in NYC with the modern skyline above.
September 1, 2025 at 11:04 PM
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Central Park doggo clearly living his best life this afternoon.
August 28, 2025 at 10:27 PM
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Thank you, Pennsylvania librarians!! I'm always grateful when one of my books lands on a state book award list because it means so many more readers will discover it - and maybe fall in love with reading! ❤️

Congrats to all the creators! Here's the full list: cdn.wildapricot.com/254832/resou...
Purple background with yellow text that reads THANK YOU, PENNSYLVANIA LIBRARIANS and white text that reads KEYSTONE TO READING BOOK AWARD LIST. Book cover OVER AND UNDER THE WETLAND shows a swampy landscape with an alligator in the foreground. A smaller graphic shows nine additional book covers: COURAGE EVERY DAY, GIFTS FROM THE GARBAGE TRUCK, JUST LIKE MILLIE, LADYBUG LAUNCH, MY MAMA IS A WORK OF ART, THE REINDEER REMAINDERS, SMALL THINGS MENDED, TRICKY CHOPSTICKS, AND A VOICE LIKE YOURS
August 27, 2025 at 12:45 PM
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Teachers & librarians! I'm offering a series of low-cost virtual author visits this fall (and by very low-cost, I mean $15, just to cover webinar hosting & ASL interpreting!) All will be recorded, too, and available through the school year. katemessner.com/low-cost-vir...
Author Kate Messner reading aloud from OVER AND UNDER THE CORAL REEF - the open spread of the book shows brightly colored coral and fish with a sea turtle swimming past.
August 26, 2025 at 4:42 PM