BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US [STARRED REVIEW!] Author: Mia Wenjen Illustrator: Violeta Encarnación Review Issue Date: November 15, 2025 Online Publish Date: October 10, 2025 Publisher: Red Comet Press Pages: 48 Price (Hardcover): $19.99 Publication Date: March 31, 2026 ISBN (Hardcover): 9781636551920 Section: Children’s Japanese Chinese American author Wenjen and Cuban American artist Encarnación have created a sobering, stupendous reminder of recurring injustice. Wenjen’s reverso…
Today is my book birthday! To celebrate, I’m giving away 5 signed/inscribed copies! To enter, please leave a comment below! Fortune Cookies for Everyone! (Smithsonian): The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Colleen Kong-Savage, published by Red Comet Press Junior Library Guild Gold Selection An investigative…
If you are going to NCTE 2025 in Denver, Colorado, I’d love to meet up with you! I’ll be leading a roundtable and attending an awards luncheon. Roundtable: The Nerdy Book Club: Dreaming of a More Empathetic World—One Book and Reader at Time Venue: Colorado Convention Center Room: Mile High Ballroom 1A/1B Date/Time: November…
Lisa Rogers gave the nicest introduction to the Julia Ward Howe Award for We Sing From the Heart. My award acceptance speech is also here: p.s. Related posts: We Sing From the Heart wins Julia Ward Howe prize for children’s literature! WE SING FROM THE HEART is Carter G. Woodson Book Award Honoree!…
I have made picture book trailers myself in the past, but this is the first time that I have done a voice-over. Usually, I just use the illustrations to create the video, but I realized that the story is too complicated to understand with just a few of the illustrations. I decided to write a…
I don’t always get to meet the illustrators of my picture books, so it’s really a treat when there is an opportunity to hang out. I often get questions about the selection of the illustrator for picture books: Do I get to choose the illustrator for my picture books? Only I am working with an…
I am so excited to introduce Barbed Wire Between Us, the story of my heart. I think that I have worked on this picture book idea forever … or at least for 7 years. It all came together during the pandemic when I watched a Zoom event featuring picture book storytime at a Long Beach,…