Children’s Books
Welcome to the Children’s Book section!
We hope you have a fun and interactive experience with our authors. Each author provided their background, ways to connect on social media and a virtual reading of their featured book.
If you’re interested in buying a book, links are below each author. You can also see a full list on Inkwood’s website.
Laurie Wallmark
Award-winning author Laurie Wallmark writes picture book biographies of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). Her books have earned multiple starred trade reviews, been chosen as Junior Library Guild Selections, and received awards such as Outstanding Science Trade Book, Crystal Kite Award, Cook Prize Honor, and Parents’ Choice Gold Medal. Laurie has an MFA in Writing from VCFA and frequently presents at schools as well as national professional conferences (NSTA, NCTE, ALA, TLA, etc.). She is a former software engineer and computer science professor. You can find Laurie on the Web at www.lauriewallmark.com and @lauriewallmark.
Connect with Laurie
www.lauriewallmark.com
www.facebook.com/lauriewallmarkauthor
www.twitter.com/lauriewallmark
Featured Book: Numbers in Motion: Sophie Kowalevski, Queen of Mathematics
Artie Bennett
Hold your horses! I’m children’s author Artie Bennett and I’ve been champing at the bit to tell you about my spanking-new picture-book biography, THE TRUE STORY OF ZIPPY CHIPPY: THE LITTLE HORSE THAT COULDN'T. This is the humorous, inspirational, heartwarming story of a racehorse descended from the greatest horses to ever run, including Man o’ War, who wants nothing more than to follow in their hoofbeats. But there’s only one problem: Zippy Chippy isn’t terribly good at it. Narrowly avoiding the glue factory, the horse is acquired in a swap by Felix Monserrate, a horse trainer from Puerto Rico, who believes he can turn Zippy’s fortunes around. And when Felix’s small daughter, Marisa, develops a fast friendship with the unpredictable, mischievous horse, Zippy’s fortunes do turn around, though not necessarily on the racetrack. The fabled racehorse Zippy Chippy is still alive today, at 29-plus years old, living in comfort and dignity at a retirement facility for aging racehorses in upstate New York. He ran 100 races but lost every single one yet, in the process, became a folk hero, just like his legendary ancestors.
The book is beautifully illustrated by Dave Szalay, who captures the soul of a steed. Zippy teaches us to never give up on our dreams, even when their fulfillment may be most elusive. With its powerful message of hope and determination, and its healing dose of humor, it could well be the perfect storybook for our times. As you can see, THE TRUE STORY OF ZIPPY CHIPPY is a horse of a different color for me. I know Zippy’s story will fill you with joy and laughter. And it will touch your heart, just as it did mine.
Connect with Artie
www.artiebennett.com
www.facebook.com/artie.bennett.1
www.twitter.com/ArtieBennett
Featured Book: The True Story of Zippy Chippy:
The Little Horse That Couldn't
Dianne K. Salerni
Dianne K. Salerni is the author of ELEANOR, ALICE, & THE ROOSEVELT GHOSTS, a mystery set in an alternate American history where ghosts are real and categorized into 3 types: Friendlies, Unawares, and Vengefuls. Young Eleanor Roosevelt and her rambunctious cousin Alice (daughter of Theodore Roosevelt) match wits with a ghost that may have been dangerously mis-disagnosed. Salerni is also the author of the popular EIGHTH DAY series, which follows the adventures of Jax Aubrey, an unhappy orphan who discovers a secret day hidden between Wednesday and Thursday with ties to Arthurian legend.
Connect with Dianne
www.diannesalerni.com
www.facebook.com/DianneKSalerni
www.twitter.com/diannesalerni
Dianne’s Pinterest
Featured Book: Eleanor, Alice, and the Roosevelt Ghosts
Buy Dianne’s Books
Eleanor, Alice, & the Roosevelt Ghosts
Darlene Beck Jacobson
Darlene Beck Jacobson is a retired teacher and speech therapist who has loved writing since she was a girl. She is also a lover of history and can often be found mining dusty closets in search of skeletons from her past. She enjoys adding these bits of her ancestry to stories such as her award-winning middle grade historical novel WHEELS OF CHANGE (Creston 2014) selected as a Notable Social Studies Trade Book in 2015. Her most recent novel, WISHES, DARES, & HOW TO STAND UP TO A BULLY (Creston 2020) is an historical novel in verse set in 1964 involving bullying and a fish who grants wishes.
Darlene lives and writes her stories in New Jersey with her family and a house full of dust bunnies. She’s caught many fish, but has never asked one to grant her a wish. She’s a firm believer in wishes coming true, so she tries to be careful what she wishes for.
Connect with Darlene
www.DarleneBeckJacobson.com
www.twitter.com/dbeckjacobson
Featured Book:
Wishes, Dares, & How to Stand Up to a Bully
Buy Darlene’s Books
Wishes, Dares, and How to Stand Up to a Bully
Nancy Viau
NANCY VIAU is the award-winning author of the following picture books: Today Is a Beach Day!, First Snow (2019 Independent Publisher Book Award), City Street Beat, Storm Song, Look What I Can Do! and Pruett and Soo (2021). Her middle-grade novels include Just One Thing! (2016 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year), Beauty and Bernice (2018 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Finalist), Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head (updated for 2019!), and Something Is Bugging Samantha Hansen. Watch her video where she explains why Samantha becomes passionate about the insect world and how she uses her strong voice to save the bees in her community.
Connect with Nancy
www.NancyViau.com
www.facebook.com/nancy.viau.39
www.instagram.com/nancyviau1
www.twitter.com/NancyViau1
Featured Book:
Something Is Bugging Samantha Hansen
Paula Garcia Taveras
Local author Paula Garcia Taveras illustrates the values of love and sacrifice in a thrilling search for the truth with her delightful children’s book, “Phoenix the Brave Bird”.
With an evil sweeping through the woods destroying all that was beautiful and good, Phoenix’s hope was the only clue when he set off for the unknown to seek for help in restoring peace. That hope, the magical power of love and friendship, helps Phoenix find who he was looking for and although the solution seems to be simple, the degree of conviction inside of him, has the final word.
In an interview with “The Cherry Hill Sun”, Taveras states, “My goal is to contribute to children’s literature with a book that not only keeps them entertained while reading it, they also can learn a positive message and implement it over the course of their lives.
Featured Book:
Phoenix the Brave Bird
Buy Paula’s Books
Phoenix the Brave Bird
J. Donnini
This Halloween season venture into a world of mystery and magic with Patches and the Spirit Bunnies’ full soundscape video book!
On a farm, lives a vicious, stray cat who hunts the local bunnies day in and day out. The bunnies, being much too small to fight back, use the strength of their words and their clever minds. This story is a modern fable about the transformative power of empathy.
Other books by author J. Donnini include Fireflies and Echo, two books celebrating the curiosity of nature, and Ruby Lee, a funny, cautionary tale about video games. Upcoming releases include ONE, about the interconnection between people and nature, due out Christmas 2020, and Great Uncle Ollie, an exciting sea adventure where a boy learns about resilience and empowerment from his eccentric, world traveling uncle, due out in 2021. Visit my website below to sign up for upcoming books, news, and giveaways.
Connect with J Donnini
www.jdonninibooks.com
www.facebook.com/JDonninibooks
www.instagram.com/jdonninibooks
www.twitter.com/JDonninibooks
Featured Book: Patches and the Spirit Bunnies
Amanda Rowe
If There Never Was a You is about making children feel loved and reminding them that the world would be missing something important if they had never been born. It was written by Amanda Rowe and features stunning illustrations by Olga Skomorokhova. Amanda Rowe is a freelance writer, an academic administrator, an amateur chef, a travel enthusiast, a blogger, and a book hoarder. If There Never Was a You is her first children’s book.
Connect with Amanda
www.amandarowewrites.com
www.facebook.com/amandarowewrites
www.instagram.com/amandarowewrites
Featured Book: If There Never Was a You
Buy Amanda’s Book
If There Never Was a You
Donna McDine
Take a spell-bounding ride into the stories of award-winning children's author, Donna McDine. Be prepared for the adrenaline rush of escaping via the Underground Railroad, the slip of the ice beneath your skates, the harsh reality of the Royal Navy Press Gangs, the discovery of whale poachers at the beach, experience the first day of kindergarten nervousness or follow the journey of a rescued dog in finding his forever home. The roller coaster action in each escapade will transport the reader into a specific time period. One never knows where they will end up, past or present. So come on in for a front row seat in Donna's writing world.
Connect with Donna
www.donnamcdine.com
www.facebook.com/DonnaMcDineAuthor
www.instagram.com/donna.mcdine
Featured Book: Deb and Deb Off They Go -
Kindergarten First Day Jitters
Angela Joy
Red is a rainbow color.
Green sits next to blue.
Yellow, orange, violet, indigo, they are rainbow colors, too, but
my color is black…and there’s no BLACK in rainbows.
A child reflects on the meaning of being Black in this moving and powerful anthem about a people, a culture, a history, and a legacy. Stunningly illustrated by Caldecott Honree and Coretta Scott King Award winner Ekua Holmes, Black Is a Rainbow Color is a sweeping celebration told through debut author Angela Joy’s rhythmically captivating and unforgettable words.
Connect with Angela
www.angelajoybooks.com
www.facebook.com/angela.joy.798
www.instagram.com/angelajoybooks
Featured Book: Black Is a Rainbow Color
Buy Angela’s Book
Black Is A Rainbow Color
Colleen
Rowan Kosinski
Promises can be hard to keep, but Maggie McConnell is determined to keep the promise she made to her father before he died. She must win a scholarship to a prestigious art program, but her grief gets in the way as she struggles to find her artistic vision. When Maggie purchases an old tweed coat as inspiration, she never guesses this fur-collared coat will forever change the way she views life and her place in it. The coat awakens her muse, but also something else:Maggie believes its previous owner haunts the coat. But is it a ghost? Or is it all in Maggie's head? And what does the Holocaust have to do with the mystery?
Connect with Colleen
www.colleenrowankosinski.com
www.facebook.com/colleen.kosinski
www.instagram.com/colleenkosinski
Featured Book: A Promise Stitched in Time
Buy Colleen’s Books
A Promise Stitched in Time
Captain Johann Steinke
Come join Captain Johann as he reads to you from his book, "The Greatest Captain in the World"! Captain Johann is a real-life tallship captain with over 15 years experience at sea. His books (which are not about him) are set during the age of sail and feature incredible sailor stories. Giant waves, pirate battles, sea-monsters and more await you. Also, if you enjoy the book, please check out it's sequel entitled, "The Greatest Captain in the World Too" which features a grandma as the captain.
Connect with Captain Johann
www.thegreatestcaptainintheworld.com
Featured Book:
The Greatest Captain in the World
Buy Captain Johann’s Books
The Greatest Captain in the World
Frank Murphy
Frank Murphy's books range from historical easy readers that make learning about history FUN to inspiring picture books that encourage kids (and adults) to be brave and bold and to remember to be true to themselves! Frank is an elementary school teacher and a dad!
Connect with Frank
www.frankmurphybooks.com
www.instagram.com/frankmurphy2009
Featured Book: A Boy like You
Buy Frank’s Books
A Boy Like You
Annette Whipple
Annette Whipple celebrates curiosity and inspires a sense of wonder in young readers while exciting them about science and history. She's the author of eight children's informational books including The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide (Chicago Review Press), Whooo Knew: The Truth about Owls (Reycraft Books), and The Story of the Wright Brothers (Rockridge Press). Annette is a fact-loving, cookie-baking children's nonfiction author living in Pennsylvania. Learn more about Annette at AnnetteWhipple.com.
Connect with Annette
www.annettewhipple.com
www.facebook.com/AnnetteWhippleBooks
www.instagram.com/annettewhipplebooks
www.twitter.com/AnnetteWhipple
Featured Book:
Whooo Knew? The Truth About Owls
Bev Bloesch
"The Teapot" is a charming story about a proud teapot who learns the valuable lesson of humility, grace and a second chance. The darling teapot is so proud of her abilities and ignores her small flaw, only to be faced with an even bigger problem. It's a story about adversity, overcoming setbacks and finding a sense of purpose in all phases of life. This moral, originally created by Hans Christian Anderson, is for all ages and walks of life.
Connect with Bev
www.bevbloesch.com
www.instagram.com/theteapotbook
Featured Book: The Teapot
Buy Bev’s Book
The Teapot
Leslie Connor
Greetings, to my friends at the Collingswood Book Festival! I am Leslie Connor, author of several award-winning novels for middle grade readers. I write contemporary, realistic fiction, meaning, my characters might remind you of your friends and neighbors. I’m all about human nature; I hope readers will relate to characters’ struggles and emotions, quirks and disabilities, and astonishing abilities. My featured book for the festival is A HOME FOR GODDESSES AND DOGS, released in early 2020—just before the quarantine. (Have you ever been more grateful for good books? Not me!) Reviewer and educator Judy Bradbury had this to say about the story: “....holds you in its capable arms, wraps you in goodness...there’s such care in the writing, skill in the rendering of authentic characters, and art in the measured unspooling of their journey…” My previous titles include, WAITING FOR NORMAL, CRUNCH, ALL RISE FOR THE HONORABLE PERRY T. COOK, and THE TRUTH AS TOLD BY MASON BUTTLE. I’m honored to be a National Book Award finalist, a two-time Schneider Family Book Award winner, and a finalist for the E.B. White Read-aloud prize. However, winning the hearts of readers like you means more to me than any of that! With gratitude, Leslie.
Connect with Leslie
www.leslieconnor.com
www.facebook.com/leslie.connor.507
www.instagram.com/heyleslieconnor
Featured Book:
a Home for Goddesses and Dogs
Hallee Adelman
Make mad faces and mash out your mad with author, Hallee Adelman. This special reading of WAY PAST MAD includes a fun cooking demo and dance party for kids and families! WAY PAST MAD is part of the Great Big Feelings Series, which also includes WAY PAST WORRIED, WAY PAST SAD, and WAY PAST JEALOUS. Hallee is also the author of MY QUIET SHIP. Have fun getting past your mad with Hallee!!
Connect with Hallee
www.waypastbooks.com
www.instagram.com/waypastbooks
www.twitter.com/HalleeAdelman
Featured Book: Way Past Mad
Yvonne Ventresca
Yvonne Ventresca is an award-winning author dedicated to writing suspenseful stories that readers can’t put down. Her Crystal-Kite-winning YA debut, Pandemic, continues to be a timely read about surviving a widespread deadly virus. Her second novel, Black Flowers, White Lies explores toxic relationships and won a Gold “IPPY” for best YA fiction. Her latest short story, “The Third Ghost,” won an anthology contest and is now featured in Voyagers: The Third Ghost, a collection for nine to twelve-year-old readers.
Her website, features numerous resources for teen writers. It also provides educator guides for both her novels which can be downloaded for free.
Connect with Yvonne
www.yvonneventresca.com
www.facebook.com/YvonneVentrescaAuthor
www.instagram.com/yvonneventresca
www.twitter.com/YvonneVentresca
www.pinterest.com/yvonneventresca
Featured Book: Pandemic
Timothy Young
Author/Illustrator Timothy Young reads and discusses his latest book, the unusually titled "untitled". This is the hilarious story of two characters who are waiting for their author to get his act together and write them a story. In his video for the Collingswood Book Festival, Timothy Young also demonstrates how he draws his two main characters.
Connect with Timothy
www.creaturesandcharacters.com
www.facebook.com/timothy.young.author
www.instagram.com/timothyyoungauthor
www.timothyyoungauthor.com
Featured Book: untitled
Julie Gonzalez
It's time for Shelby to hibernate, but how can he sleep in the forest? The woodpeckers are rat-tat-tatting, the squirrels are cracka-cracka-crunching--there's too much noise! When Shelby spies the perfect cave, only too late does he realize he's hopped aboard a tour bus bound for the beach.
Coupled with hysterically expressive illustrations by Stephanie Laberis, Julie Gonzalez's lively text and familiar refrain sing as Shelby, after several attempts to snooze in the tropics, finally discovers a clever way to fix his noise problem. This book is a fun read-aloud for younger readers who will recognize the refrain ("How could a bear sleep here?") and the silliness of Shelby's predicament. (Grade level: Preschool-3)
Connect with Julie
www.juliegonzalez.com
www.facebook.com/juliegz123
www.instagram.com/juliegz123
www.twitter.com/JulieGz123
Featured Book: How Could a Bear Sleep Here?
Buy Julie’s Book
How Could a Bear Sleep Here?
Tara F Mozee
Gracie isn't excited about the first day of school in her new class. In fact, she'd rather stay in her old class, with her old friends. Will Ms. Brown's challenge and a surprise new friend change Gracie's mind?
Author, teacher, and mom Tara F. Mozee uses the story of how strong-willed Gracie adjusts to a new classroom to share insightful strategies for helping young students succeed in new situations. In a relatable, engaging follow up to her first book, “Don’t Wash My Hair!", Mrs. Mozee shows how setting goals and focusing on achieving them can help little ones develop confidence for going back to school and making new friends. Learning features: seasons of the year, vocabulary words, pursuing goals, discussion questions.
Connect with Tara
Tara's Website
www.facebook.com/tarafmozee
www.instagram.com/tarafmozee
Featured Book: Gracie’s New Class
Buy Tara’s Books
Gracie’s New Class
Stephanie &
Jed Snyder
Meet Lucy Littlebit, the pint-sized protagonist who knows how to embrace the adventure in things that are ordinary! The fun, relatable board books in our series are great for babies, toddlers, and beginning readers. The fun rhyme-scheme and vibrant images are sure to make your littlebit(s) fall in love with reading. In universal stories of early childhood that are relatable for all families, we portray the uniqueness of a mixed race family and the beauty of a biracial main character. With thick, full-color pages, your littlebit's collection will look like new for years to come. Spice up story time with something new from Littlebit Book Club - a board book series for littlebits and the adults who read to them!
Connect with Stephanie & Jed
www.littlebitbookclub.com
www.facebook.com/LittlebitBookClub
www.instagram.com/littlebitbookclub
www.pinterest.com/LittlebitBookClub
Featured Book: Cruising! A Lucy Littlebit Book
Buy Stepanie & Jed’s Books
Strolling! A Lucy Littlebit Book
David Cundy
In Animals Spell Love, gorgeously written and designed by David Cundy, sixteen critters from the farthest reaches of the animal kingdom help readers of all ages learn how to express the word in sixteen languages from around the globe, from Czech to Amharic to Korean, and even including American Sign Language. Children and adults will delight in the way Cundy shapes the letters into animals, and his brief primers, complete with pronunciation guide for every incarnation, will help readers more fully appreciate, indulge in, and understand the languages of love. David is also author of two books of humorous anagram poems and portraits for young adults and parents – Inappropriate Anagrams and More Inappropriate Anagrams (Hymnself Publishing, Guilford, CT).
Connect with David
www.davidcundyauthor.com
www.godine.com/book/animals-spell-love/
Featured Book: Animals Spell Love
Shenita Agee
Shenita is currently the director of a childcare center and has worked in education for over 20 years. She is a wife and mother of 4 (one of whom has special needs). The Exceptional DJ series and its accompanying blog, My Life with DJ, were inspired by daily life with her son DJ. My Big Brother DJ is the first book in the series with the next set to be released in October.
Connect with Shenita
www.exceptionaldjbooks.com
www.facebook.com/exceptionaldjbooks
www.instagram.com/shenita_mommyblogger
Featured Book: My Big Brother DJ
Buy Shenita’s Book
My Big Brother DJ
Bryon MacWilliams
This short, very moving, historically accurate account portrays the strength of will to survive under the most adverse conditions imaginable. It is a sobering reminder of the capacity of evil in the behavior of many — which sometimes is met by the goodness, and great humanitarian spirit, of the few.”
— Mordecai Paldiel, founder of the Department of the Righteous, Yad Vashem
Bryon MacWilliams has reported widely from the former Soviet Union, including Ukraine. His journalism, essays, poetry and literary translations have appeared in publications big and small. He is author of the memoir, "With Light Steam."
Connect with Bryon
www.facebook.com/haystackgirl
www.twitter.com/bryonmac
Featured Book: The Girl in the Haystack
Christina
Leigh Daly
Henry is no ordinary pig...He is a green zebra-pig! Henry is excited to meet all the animals at his new home, but what will they think of this newcomer to the farm? How will Henry fit in on a farm with ordinary animals, when his stripes make him stand out from the crowd? Henry is so different; it will take a special event for the animals to realize that he is amazing just the way he is! Find out how Henry shows off his unique green stripes and proves being different is awesome in “Henry the Green Zebra-Pig”, a delightful children's picture book from teacher, author, and illustrator Christina Leigh Daly.
Christina is an art educator who loves sharing her passion for art with those around her. In the classroom, she challenges her students to constantly expand their imaginations and tap into their creativity. Christina lives in New Jersey with her husband, daughter and has another baby girl on the way. She hopes her stories will inspire young readers to embrace their differences and always use their imagination. In addition an exciting and new adventure is on it’s way, as the follow-up book “Henry and the New Kid” will be available this fall! Please check out her website and join the mailing list to get updates!
Connect with Christina
www.CLDalyBooks.com
www.facebook.com/CLDalyBooks
www.instagram.com/CLDalybooks
Featured Book: Henry the Green Zebra-Pig
Buy Christina’s Book
Henry the Green Zebra-Pig