Thursday, July 12, 2018

Recap of 2017-2018 School Year: Busy With Books!

The 2017-2018 school year was so incredible, it's taken me months to settle down and write about it! Here we go...

In 2017, I had three hilarious fiction picture books published:

Blobfish Throws a Party (illus. Maggie Caton)


Blobfish went on to win several schools' Battle of the Books competitions, and even caught the attention of Scholastic, who ran a Blobfish giveaway! Happy to report it's selling in the US, Canada, and Australia. Available here.

The Great Pasta Escape
(illus. Javier Joaquin)


The Great Pasta Escape
 won a nomination from the Washington State Childrens' Choice Awards, so it's on the list there. Happy reading! If you're a Washington state teacher or educator and you'd like me to do a Skype author visit with your students, I'd love to (They're FREE!). I'd also be willing to come out there in person—Washington is one state I've not been to yet.

Are We Pears Yet?
(illus. Carin Berger)

In September, Are We Pears Yet? released and it's been really fun to watch some young classrooms act it out. Did you know that my teacher resource page (at mirandapaul.com) has dozens of lessons, activities, and worksheets related to the books? Thanks to the help of Carrie Charley Brown, I was able to get even more resources for educators up on my website over the past year. Enjoy immersing your students in these wonderful extension activities.

UPDATE: Recently, I got the news that Are We Pears Yet? won the Award of Excellence from the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries! I posted about it online at my Facebook page.


As usual, I visited many schools and libraries around the country—and world—over the past year. I even got to go as far as the England, Italy, and United Arab Emirates for the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival. Via Skype, I got to visited students from Canada to Hawaii to Tokyo! (So happy to learn that Water is Water is up for a Sakura Medal in Japan, too. Wow!)

This spring, our family also became a two-author household as my husband's debut picture book released into the world to great acclaim. Check out THE FIELD, by Baptiste Paul and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara.



Later in the spring, my debut co-authored book came out. It's called Adventures to School, and I wrote it with Baptiste. So within the span of a few months, he's got TWO books out. We are certainly busy in this household, but we love making books for kids.


With so much excitement, our family is making plans to take a real camping vacation and a couple of day-trips in July and August. It will be nice to take a little R&R time before we head back out to visit schools in the fall, when my new book releases!

Check out MIA MOVES OUT, a sweet and silly story about a girl finding her place (literally and figuratively) at home. Illustrations by Paige Kaiser. Release date: October 16, 2018.



Looking ahead to next year, I'm already excited. I've got FOUR new picture books coming out.

I AM FARMER - Feb. 1, 2019

NINE MONTHS - April 23, 2019

LITTLE LIBRARIES, BIG HEROES - Fall 2019

THANKU: POEMS OF GRATITUDE - Fall 2019

You can visit my website to learn about them. All four are incredible projects that have been in the making for years and each holds a special place in my heart. I think that teachers, science lovers, and librarians will find them especially relevant for their students as well.

Thanks again for all the support. I probably won't be blogging again this summer. But I do send out a newsletter if you are on my list. If you're not getting my newsletter, please consider it. I post that once per month, as compared to this sorely neglected blog. It's the best way to get news, updates, writing tips, and teacher resources. Here's the link to sign up. 

Happy summer, everyone! See you next school year!

The Paul Family touches hands together in Congo Square (New Orleans).