New Super Villains In Training Children's Book Launch with Kailei Pew and Estrela Lourenço and a GIVEAWAY!

Hello, friends!!

Wow, it has been a LONG time since I have written on the blog! Now that I am back from maternity leave, I actually have a lot of really exciting ideas for the blog for both readers and writers! So make sure you are subscribed so you don't miss a thing!

Today I will be very brief! Estrela Lourenço and I are getting ready to launch the newest Scholastic Branches book into the world! Super Villains in Training 1: The Fantastic Freeze Ray is already available now in Scholastic Clubs and Fairs, and will be available anywhere books are sold beginning March 3rd. To celebrate, we are hosting a completely FREE event for schools and libraries! This no strings attached event is designed to get kids excited about books! Reading, illustrating, and sharing stories!

About the Event:

Author Kailei Pew and Illustrator Estrela Lourenço are ready to launch their new book in the Scholastic Branches series, Super Villains in Training!

Students will have the unique opportunity of learning from a published author and illustrator team!

The one hour event will include:

- Read aloud with the author

- Draw along with the illustrator

- FREE BOOK GIVEAWAYS

- Special Guests

- Games

- Q&A

Perfect for classrooms: This is a zoom WEBINAR format, so only the presenters will be on screen, and the chat will be disabled, keeping students safe.

This event is at 1:00 PM Eastern Time, so please check your time zones. A recording will be available to registrants after the event.

1:00 pm Eastern Time

12:00 noon Central Time

11:00 am Mountain Time

10:00 am Pacific Time

Both fun and educational, students will love this experience!

Register for the Super Villains in Training Launch Event HERE

To be honest with you, it feels heavy launching a new book into the world right now. Sometimes I wonder if it's the right thing to do, but every time I question it, I come back to the feeling that we need to bring children joy now more than ever. And what better way to do that than with children's books! So with that in mind, I need your help spreading the word and bringing some book joy into classrooms!

To help me spread the word about this special launch event, I am hosting a big GIVEAWAY!

The winner can choose one of two prizes:

1. Prize Option One: A class set of 20-30 copies of Super Villains In Training 1: The Fantastic Freeze Ray

2. Prize Option Two: A "Mini Writing Mentorship." Authors may choose to work with Kailei over the course of 3 months on either 2 picture book manuscripts or 1 chapter book manuscript, preparing it for query/submission. This will include one zoom call per month plus detailed critique and feedback on multiple rounds of edits.

To Enter:

1. Sign up to attend (or watch the recording of) THIS ZOOM WEBINAR LINK OR send it to a teacher, librarian, author, or illustrator friend. One entry per person you send the link to!

2. Fill out THIS GOOGLE FORM to get your entries!

That's it! Truly simple. Our main goal is to tell as many classrooms about this event as possible!

Want EXTRA BONUS ENTRIES?? There are lots of options! All of these are included in the google form linked above, so you can log bonus entries all in one place!

Bonus Entries:

1. Subscribe to my newsletter HERE (2 bonus entries)

2. Follow me on Instagram HERE (2 bonus entries)

3. Follow Estrela on Instagram HERE (2 bonus entries)

4. Tag Teacher/Librarian/Author/Illustrator Friends on THIS INSTAGRAM POST (1 bonus entry per comment with a tag)

5. Attend the launch event for THE FANTASTIC FREEZE RAY. Register HERE. (10 bonus entries)

6. Request THE FANTASTIC FREEZE RAY from your local library (10 bonus entries per library)

7. Preorder THE FANTASTIC FREEZE RAY anywhere books are sold (10 bonus points per book)

8. Purchase THE FANTASTIC FREEZE RAY from my local indie to be donated to a child who otherwise would not be able to buy a book. Select "Pickup in store" at checkout and type "DONATION" in the instructions or comments box. (10 bonus points per book donation)

   1. Note that I do a LOT of school visits. This is my favorite way to bring book joy to kids! And while I wish I was in a position to donate TONS of books to every school, I simply cannot (authors have to purchase their own books after the first 25 or so free copies). I am personally donating about 50 books total, but I would love help to get even more donations to give to kids who otherwise can't buy books!

Remember to LOG ALL OF YOUR ENTRIES on THIS GOOGLE FORM HERE!

This giveaway runs now through Thursday, February 19th at 11:59 PM Pacific Time

The giveaway is in no way sponsored by Instagram. No purchase necessary to enter.

Good luck to all who enter and thank you for helping me launch Super Villains In Training into the world!

Announcing the 2024 Kids' Choice KidLit Writing Contest Honorable Mentions!

Hello, friends! Thank you so much for your patience waiting for the 2024 Kids' Choice Honorable Mentions. I know it has been a long wait. But I've had good reason! I just launched a brand new book into the world!

Kid-ventors tells the true stories of 35 kids and their amazing inventions! From 6-player chess to the windsurfer, the trampoline to a hollow flashlight, kids have made some incredible things.

And before we talk about the real reason you're here, I just want to take a moment to thank you all for the support you've given me. To be honest, I can only continue offering these extra competitions and community things if I can keep working on books too. So it would mean the world to me if you would please consider supporting in one of these ways:

• Purchase a copy of Kid-ventors

• Request a copy of Kid-ventors at your local library (this is free and only takes a moment! Use ISBN 978-1250836021)

• Leave an honest review on Amazon (You do not have to purchase the book to leave a review)

Thank you so much for considering one of the above options! It really makes such a big difference for me.

And don't forget that you can log bonus entries in my massive giveaway for doing so, now through April 30th!

And finally, don't forget that I have one final virtual launch event! The first "Meet the Inventors" event was an absolute blast! It was so inspiring to hear from real inventors and see where they are now. I would love to get a large group gathered to celebrate these amazing inventors and thank them for their time! Register by clicking the image below!

Register for Meet the Mentors 2 Here

Okay... that's enough self promotion!! Thank you for baring with me and supporting this journey so I can keep doing the fun things too!

So finally, for the reason you all opened this...

 

Announcing the 2024 Kids' Choice Kidlit Writing Challenge Honorable Mentions!

If you missed the winner's announcement, you can see that HERE.

Now, we will announce the honorable mentions! These are the entries who made it on to the middle round of judging. Please remember that if you don't see your name on this list, it does not mean that your story wasn't wonderful. To be honest, almost every story had at least one child choose it as their favorite! So remember that no matter what, your work is needed. Keep working and keep putting your words out there. Real kids read your stories and that is such a happy thing!

And now... take a moment to congratulate the following honorable mentions!

(These are in no particular order).

YA Honorable Mentions

COLD WATER by Jessie Raspbury

MY MOTHER’S GARDEN by Miral Azam Khalil

FROM ANTARCTICA, WITH LOVE by Christine Letizia

CRUSH(ED) by Brenna Jeanneret

THE PRINCE’S HEART by Ali Herbek

JUST A GIRL AND HER DOG by Kelly Kandra Hughes

THE BREAK UP by Lori Keating

DEAR CLAIRE by Sarah Meade

K ISLAND by Jess Freeman

TALISMANS AND TRAITORS by Michelle Kastanek

MG Honorable Mentions

THE COMPLETE CONFESSIONS OF THE EINSTEIN ACADEMY BOTANY CLUB  by Hannah Lorenzo

PICK YOUR BATTLES by PJ Lemer

HAUNTED POND by Suzanne Elson

WENDY & WAGS by Claudia Sloan           

A SLIME-Y SITUATION      by Ashley Sierra        

IS BAKING COOKIES USUALLY SO HARD? by Lilyana Page

GRUMPY CHAIRS by Zahra Raza

THE WITCH OF EYNHALLOW SOUND by Judy Broad

THE PURPLE BIRD by Stacey Bartlett

THE FORGOTTEN HORSE by Kelly Clasen

THE SNOLLYGOSTER CHRONICLES by Carrie Karnes-Fannin

THE DRAGON NEXT DOOR by Nicole Frees

DIMES FROM HEAVEN by Sharon McCarthy

THE WILDNESS IN MELLIE FEYE by Candice Conner

STU AND THE SKETCHY TIME STOPS by Rebecca Chaney

JAREN SILVERWING AND THE FORBIDDEN SPELL by Dor Atkinson

PB Honorable Mentions

 

MAIL ME TO THE MOON by Laura Smetana

RAYLEE’S KERFUFFLE by Mary Lou Mires.   

CARL LEE FLOWER by Delano Brown  

I DON’T LIKE THIS BOOK by Nikki Del Vecchio 

WEIRDOMETER by Chandra Mayer   

ROOTS, ROCKS, TRAILS, TREES by Laureanna Raymond-Duvernell   

KITTEN’S FIRST CHRISTMAS by Maura Lance

PERCY'S PERFECT PLANE by Jeanette Fazzari Jones

WHAT’S FOR DINNER? By Emily Dunckle 

SAIL THE SALTY SEAS WITH PIRATE PICKLE by Jess Burbank        

FIRE DANCE by Donna Rossman   

LATE BLOOMER by Erin Rew                   

MAPLE’S PERFECT PICKLE by Katie Lee Reinert          

THE HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE by Nichole Stratton                                  

FOR NO REASON by Ashley Laffin

WHEN A BEAGLE GETS A BOOK by Beth Janes

20 STEPS TO GET TO THE BEACH by Caitlin T.D. Robinson    

FIVE TWINKLING STARS DANCING ON A CLOUD by Susan Elizabeth Schipper     

BANANAS IN THE BATH by Andi Chitty           

Congratulations to all of these honorable mentions! You will receive an email from me on Monday with details on your prize!

Thank you again to everyone who entered and to all of our wonderful kid judges for making this possible! It was so fun to run this contest for the third year in a row. Remember, you got your words in front of kid readers and that alone is a prize!

Kid-Ventors Launch Giveaway!

Hello, friends!

It's hard to believe that we are just 12 days away from the launch of my first middle grade book, KID-VENTORS! This book tells the true stories of 35 incredible kid inventors. From the popsicle to the trampolines, robots to crowd pleasing games, kids have invented some really amazing things!

My first copies of the book arrived yesterday and I am blown away by the gorgeous cover! Shannon Wright knocked it out of the park.

It was amazing to have the graphic, but to have the physical copy is next level! The spot gloss is soooo fun and it makes it look like a kid's notebook covered in stickers. (Shoutout to L. Whitt for the incredible design).

And now, to celebrate release, it's time to do a MASSIVE giveaway!

Did you see that graphic?? Yes, you read it correctly! I am offering one lucky winner their choice of:

• 3 rounds of critique plus 3 zoom calls to get a manuscript submission ready

• 3-session classroom writing workshop (virtual or in person if Phoenix metro area)

• 20-book Classroom Set of KID-VENTORS

And the ONLY thing you have to do to enter is fill out the Google Form linked below with your name and email address so that I know you are throwing your hat in the ring.

There are BONUS entries that you can log on the form, but none of them are required.

Pick and choose which ones (if any) work for you:

• 5 bonus entries: Share about this contest on social media, in your personal newsletter, with your friends, literally anywhere!
  

• 5 bonus entries: Follow me on Twitter/X

• 5 bonus entries: Follow me on Instagram

• 5 bonus entires: Post on Social Media About KID-VENTORS, including a purchase link of your choice (Can be completed multiple times)

• 10 bonus entries: Sign up for my email newsletter

• 10 bonus entries: (To be completed after 4/23) Leave an honest Goodreads review after reading the book (Note that you can commit to this at any time on the form and I will simply check when the contest closes. So if you fill out the form before on sale date, you can commit to it in advance...just leave the review before the contest closes.)

• 10 bonus entries: (To be completed after 4/23) Leave an honest Amazon review after reading the book (Note that you can commit to this at any time on the form and I will simply check when the contest closes. So if you fill out the form before on sale date, you can commit to it in advance...just leave the review before the contest closes.)

• 15 bonus entries: Ask your local bookstore to carry KID-VENTORS

• 30 bonus entries: Attend one (or both!) of the Meet the Inventors Launch Events (for up to 60 bonus entries)

  • Register for Event 1 Here

  • Register for Event 2 Here

• 30 bonus entries: Request KID-VENTORS from your local library (ISBN: 9781250836021, Publisher: Feiwel and Friends, Author: Kailei Pew, On sale date: April 23, 2024)

• 30 bonus entries: Order a copy of Kid-ventors:

  • Literally, a Bookshop (signed copies plus freebies)

  •  Changing Hands      

  • Barnes & Noble    

  • Indie Bound      

  • Amazon

  • Target    

  • Walmart

That's a LOT of extra chances to win!! Thank you all for helping me spread the word about KID-VENTORS. I truly can't tell you how excited I am to get these stories out into the world. I hope that this giveaway gets you excited as well! Click the button below to go to the form and good luck to all entrants!

The giveaway runs now through April 30th and winner will be announced around May 15th (depending on how many entries I get to log!)

Enter the KID-VENTORS launch giveaway here