Squirrels Scamper, Book four of the Outside Our Window board book series by Mélina Mangal was published on August 26th and is now available.  Ask for it at your favorite bookstore or order it here!

LIbrarians named Art Coulson’s forthcoming picture book All the Stars in the Sky in a list of best books for kids! Read the full Washinton Post article here.

Vanessa Lee Christensen’s two new releases are available for pre-order now at Gloo Books. She also has three new travel board books for babies launching on Kickstarter! 

Vanessa’s new travel series, Baby Go! US, explores the diversity and beauty of the United States while teaching early education concepts like colors, shapes, numbers through the lens of travel. Titles include:

Baby Go! California (Available to back on Kickstarter now)

Baby Go! Texas (Available to back on Kickstarter now)

Baby Go! New York (Available to back on Kickstarter now)

The Junior Library Guild has selected V.T. Bidania’s debut middle grade novel A YEAR WITHOUT HOME as a Gold Standard book! You can preorder it here.

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Rondo Writing Competition -Now accepting submissions 

Calling all writers! The Rondo Writing Competition is open for submissions of original children’s books about Rondo history and culture. They welcome submissions from all African American writers, both youth and adults living in Minnesota.

The winner will receive $1,500 and published copies of the book. Check out their website for more information: Open: Rondo Writing Competition

Deadline: October 1, 2025

*This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Good nature writing invites humans into a deeper relationship with history, futures, land, water, air, and fellow living beings. Sun Yung Shin will lead students through an exploration of several short, lively works by contemporary writers. Participants will also read poems, essays, and possibly fiction that asks them to think and feel ecologically, offering them opportunities to attend to their need to heal collective and individual ruptures. They will write from prompts and spend time sharing their voices. A final share will include feedback that will be both encouraging and constructive toward participants’ writing goals. Sign up here!

Join Shannon Gibney at the Midtown Farmers Market for a story time and book giveaway. Experience her powerful book We Miss You George Floyd as a story stroll! Find out more at www.picturebookparade.com

Jade Amez will be exhibiting at the Printers Row Lit Fest on September 6th and 7th, at the Dakota Festival of Books from September 16th-18th and at the Kansas Book Festival on September 20th.

Mélina Mangal will be reading her latest book at Babycakes Bookstack at the Mill City Farmer's Market on September 13th.  Grab a pastry and pull up a carpet square!

Come out and meet members of the MN BIPOC Kid LIt Creators at the Waite Park Festival. We will have books for sale! Want to know more about the festival? Click here.

We will be at the Walk for Wishes on September 13th from 8:30am - 11:00am at Viking Lake (2685 Vikings Circle , Eagan, MN, 55121). Find out more!

Cristina Oxtra and Art Coulson will be at the Minnesota Children's Book Festival in Red Wing, Minnesota, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 13th. Find out more on the Anderson Center’s website.

Shannon Gibney will be reading her book Sam and the Incredible African American Food Fight, which is about six-year-old Sam, with his Liberian dad and African American mom, who finds a way to bring everyone in his cross-cultural family together at the dinner table. Read With Me MN will give away free signed books to the first five families that show up! 

We will be at the One Woodbury resource fair on September 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Find out more about the collective, check out our books, and grab a sticker! Find out more here.

Trần Thị Minh Phước, Thuba Nguyen, Jade Amez, and Rosemond Sarpong Owens shared their beautiful books at the Landmark Center’s event MAKING IT HOME: From Viêtnam to Minnesota.

Collective members Cristina Oxtra, Karen Kenney, and Sarah Warren shared their books at the Mall of America in partnership with the MOA Community Foundation and Way to Grow. What a big day!

Karen Kenney was a Blue Ribbon Author at the Minnesota State Fair! Young fairgoers celebrated her book Snow Steps with a fitting art craft: summertime snow people!

Dr Artika Tyner’s organization Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute hosted a Back to School Ice Cream Social and shared a very special treat…books!