One of the ways I've been handling being on lockdown during the COVID pandemic is by going outside at least once per day. Most days, around work and distance learning hours, my family and I kick around a ball or garden in our backyard, take long nature walks around our (mostly rural) village, and keep busy teaching the youngest of us to ride a bike. I am lucky to be smack dab in the middle of nature, but my mind and my heart go out to those who don't have such access to the o

Welp, I had grand plans of posting a new picture book review more than once per week. But alas! Homeschooling, freelance editing, children's book writing, cooking, cleaning (and gardening!), eating and sleeping have taken up most of my time. I made this bread...and then ate almost all of it My little hyper-local community (I live on a dead-end street called a "close" in a semi-rural English village) has been actively bolstering each other during the pandemic. Non-quarantining

Hi, everyone! Happy what-day-is-it? As I mentioned here last week, I placed an order to my local independent bookstore, in order to: a) stock up on picture books before I wasn't able to leave the house for long (which, now in the UK, we're not) b) support my local indie bookshop, many of which are going to be struggling to survive at the moment c) support picture book authors and illustrators whose books are publishing in these "wild & uncertain times" Some books from my orde

Happy almost Valentine's Day, #kidlit lovers! Whether you celebrate this "holiday" or not, I want to tell you about something I really love: Photo by Aung Soe Min on Unsplash Self-publishing projects! Yes, I have worked in "traditional" children's book publishing for 15 years. Yes, I love working with big publishers like Scholastic, Disney, NatGeo Kids, and Bloomsbury. And double-yes, I love working with writers and illustrators who seek to publish traditionally. But there is

A lot of discussion goes on in the #kidlit world about the all-important Query Letter. Do editors and agents even read them? How do I format one? Should I mention that I follow this editor on Twitter? Do I say how much I like the other books on their list? How personal/not-personal should I get? I can only speak for myself as a children's book editor, of course, but I have to say: when I acquire a book for a publishing house, I don't read most of the query letter. I jump stra

I am touched and a little overwhelmed. Last Friday, Tara Lazar featured my blog "Alli Brydon Recycles" for Day 25 of Storystorm (which you can read more about here). In this blog post, I spoke about taking your own old picture book ideas and turning them into something new. As a result, a huge number of new readers subscribed to my blog. Thank you, and welcome! It's freaking freezing out here, amirite? I hope you took away something valuable from that post, enjoyed my silly r

Oh my, friends! What a summer it has been so far. We're hitting the beach. We're spending time with friends and family. We're doing math exercises. We're eating too much ice cream (is that even a thing?). We're going to museums. I'm writing up a storm. And we're READING READING READING! The kidlit librarians and I are on a first-name basis. There are some amazing and hilarious picture books that I wanted to share with you. Our current favorite: The silly language alone is gua

NB: my intention as an editor is never to be mean. But I do strive to be tough. My author clients come to me for answers they can't get from their peers or critique groups; they rely on me for a professional opinion. And business is tough—yes, even the children's book business. I should say, especially the children's book business. As a children's book writer, you've got some of the toughest critics out there! My two tough critics, each in his own way. My intention as an edit

Your eyes flutter open as the sun's orange rays peek through the slats between the window's blinds. Man, it's too early to be awake, your brain tells your sleepy body. You breathe deep. Wiggle your toes and fingers. Creak-crack go the joints. A tiny thought floats into your mind like a speck of dust and lingers. And it lingers. The thought, like most do, grows larger and takes up more space in your brain, sending electric currents down through your body and firing up your arm

#kidlitbot mascot and logo created by children's book illustrator Mike Ciccotello The hilarious and talented children's book author, Tara Lazar, was so kind to feature me on her blog this week! And what am I guest blogging about over there, you ask? Something I dreamed up called #Kidlitbot, a weekly children's book writing prompt that I started on Twitter. #Kidlitbot is an idea generator for authors, illustrators, and author-illustrators to use as a springboard to write the f