Resources

The Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children recognizes fiction that has the “potential to transform children’s lives by inviting compassion, imagination, and wonder.” I am truly honored that Big Bear and Little Fish has been named a Charlotte Huck Award Recommended Book. For all the wonderful books selected for this award, click HERE.

KidLit TV premiered the trailer for Big Bear and Little Fish on August 30, 2020. You can see the premiere HERE.

The Big Bear and Little Fish trailer is HERE.

If you are looking for a truly excellent in-depth review of Big Bear and Little Fish, take a look at this one by Celebrate Picture Books. It also includes a friendship activity, which is nature-themed.

“An endearing and thought-provoking story that boosts self-confidence while promoting friendship, empathy, and new perspectives, Big Bear and Little Fish will become a quick favorite on home bookshelves, a go-to book for classrooms, and a must for school and public library collections.”

TeachingBooks has organized fantastic resources for Big Bear and Little Fish, including an author interview, an illustrator page for Il Sung Na, and more. Click HERE to connect to these fabulous resources.

For a 20 second video celebrating friendships and including some of our favorite children’s book friends, click HERE.

My Storytime Corner has put together a beautiful list of Best Picture Books of 2022 and included Big Bear and Little Fish. You can find the entire list HERE.

“BIG BEAR AND LITTLE FISH is a make your heart swell, give you all the warm feelings kind of book. . . . Nickel’s writing is pulsing with simple wisdom and is perfectly paired with Il Sung Na’s lovely rich, layered illustrations. A read aloud story with fantastic layers couched in a simple, sweet story.”

Mr. Schu premiered The Breaking Through the Clouds Book Trailer on January 19, 2022. You can read our interview HERE and see the Book Trailer HERE.

Cloud-a-Day Live, the weekly broadcast of the Cloud Appreciation Society, invited me to talk about Joanne Simpson and Breaking Through the Clouds. You can find the full broadcast HERE. Our discussion begins at 12:53 minutes.

Breaking Through the Clouds was named a 2023 Children’s Favorite by the Children’s Book Council. You may find all of the Children’s Favorites HERE.

Breaking Through the Clouds has been listed on the ALA’s Rise Booklist for 2023. You may find all of Rise’s recommended books HERE.

A Mighty Girl has curated a fabulous Science Is For Girls: 30 New Children’s Books About Girls and Women in Science. Breaking Through the Clouds and 29 other important books are listed. You can find the full list HERE. For Women’s History Month, A Mighty Girl also put together a list of New Mighty Girl Books for 2022. I’m delighted that Breaking Through the Clouds was included. “This exuberant picture book is a celebration of a scientific trailblazer who was determined to be the first woman in her field.” You can find all of the New Mighty Girl Books for 2022 HERE.

TeachingBooks has organized fantastic resources for Breaking Through the Clouds, including an author interview, an illustrator page for Helena Perez Garcia, and more. Click HERE to connect to these fabulous resources.

The Stuff Between the Stars was awarded a Crystal Kite Award, which recognizes excellence in the field of children’s literature. You can see all of the exceptional 2021 award winners HERE.

Join Aimee Sicuro and me at The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for its Online Story Hour. I read The Stuff Between the Stars, we talk about Vera Rubin, and Aimee demonstrates how to paint the most beautiful galaxy. You can watch HERE.

The Stuff Between the Stars is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. You can view all of JLG’s curated selections HERE.

Vermont College of Fine Arts interviewed me as part of its Alumnx Success Series. I talk about The Stuff Between the Stars, the importance of writing about historical female figures, and what we can learn by looking at the stars in the way Vera Rubin did. The interview is HERE.

The Stuff Between the Stars was named a Best Children’s Book of 2021 by Air and Space Magazine. You can find all of the wonderful aviation and space-themed books chosen by Air and Space HERE.

The Stuff Between the Stars was named a Best STEM Book for K-12 for 2022 by The National Science Teaching Association and the Children’s Book Council. You can find all of the NSTA’s recommended STEM books HERE.

The Stuff Between the Stars was named a Mighty Girl 2021 Book of the Year. You can find all the showcased picture books starring girls and women HERE. A Mighty Girl has also curated a fabulous Science Is For Girls: 30 New Children’s Books About Girls and Women in Science. The Stuff Between the Stars and 29 other important books are listed. You can find the full list HERE.

The Stuff Between the Stars has been listed on the Rise Booklist for 2022. You can find all of Rise’s recommended books, as well as its Top Ten, HERE.

The Stuff Between the Stars Book Trailer is HERE!

In Celebration of Women’s History Month, Publishers Weekly featured Laurie Wallmark and me. We talk about science, curiosity, and the importance of picture books about women in STEM. Look for our ‘In Conversation’ in Children’s Bookshelf on March 16, 2021.

Shepherd.com features Best Book Lists created by authors to help readers discover great books. It invited me to create a list of Best Children’s Books about Astronomy inspired by The Stuff Between the Stars. You can find my list HERE.

Abrams Kids headlined The Stuff Between the Stars in its Spring-Summer Online Nonfiction Preview. You can view it and the rest of the Abrams wonderful nonfiction lineup here.

TeachingBooks has organized fantastic resources for The Stuff Between the Stars, including the book trailer, an author interview, an illustrator page for Aimée Sicuro, and more. Click HERE to connect to these fabulous resources.

Ggumsum has acquired Korean rights for The Stuff Between the Stars. A link to the Korean language version will be coming as soon as it is available.

Nacho’s Nachos was awarded a Christopher Award, which recognizes works affirming the highest values of the human spirit. You can access resources created by TeachingBooks for all winners since 2001 HERE.

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ Golden Kite Awards recognize excellence in children’s literature. Nacho’s Nachos was named one of five finalists for Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers. You can see all of the exceptional 2021 finalists HERE.

Publishers Weekly has listed Nacho’s Nachos on its Booklist for 2020–2022 STEM/STEAM Biographies for Young Readers. You can find the full listing of all these inspiring biographies HERE.

Nacho’s Nachos was named a Best Children’s Book of the Year by the Bank Street College of Education. You can find all of the titles chosen by the Bank Street Children’s Book Committee as “the best of the best published in 2020” HERE.

Nacho’s Nachos was named a Best Picture Book of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews. You can find all of Kirkus’s Best Picture-Book Biographies of 2020  HERE.

Nacho’s Nachos was named a Best Book for Kids of 2020 by the New York Public Library. You can find all of its Best Books HERE.

Nacho’s Nachos was named a Best Book of 2020 by the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature. You can find all of the Center’s Best Books HERE.

Nacho’s Nachos was named an Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Award Honoree by the California Reading Association. You can find all of the titles chosen by the Eureka! Committee HERE.

The Nacho’s Nachos Book Trailer is here!

Lee and Low Books has created a fourteen-page Teacher’s Guide, which includes Before and After Reading recommendations, as well as Interdisciplinary Activities.

To discover more about nachos and Nacho’s Nachos, listen to Food Non-Fiction’s Podcast, Ignacio Nicknamed Nacho.

Vermont College of Fine Arts interviewed me as part of its Alumnx Success Series. Among other things, I talk about the importance of Nacho’s Nachos being named a finalist for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award. The interview is HERE.

TeachingBooks has created several original resources for Nacho’s Nachos, including a Meet-the-Author Recording, an illustrator page for Oliver Dominguez and a Virtual Book Tour blog. Click HERE to connect to these fabulous resources.

For an article highlighting some of 2020’s “must-add choices for your collections” take a look at Latinx Luminaries: Picture book biographies featuring Latinx superstars | Great Books by Shelley M. Diaz in School Library Journal (July 27, 2020).