Category: Writerly Things

the first opinion is in!

Kirkus has weighed in on THE TROUBLE WITH GIRAFFES, and they very much understood what we were trying to do. Favorite quotes include: “Mantchev takes inclusion a step further from in her earlier book Strictly No Elephants (2015), demonstrating that removing barriers to physical access can transform a nominal “All are welcome” policy from good…
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June 23, 2025 0

annnnnd the pre-order buttons are LIVE!

So, two surprises… first, we had a title change, and I absolutely adore this one for a number of reasons. Remember the opening line from STRICTLY NO ELEPHANTS? Yup. There it is, right on the cover of the follow-up. Secondly, it appears there will be a BOXED SET with both the Pet Club books in…
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January 28, 2025 0

Another (tiny elephant) milestone

The word from them’s in the know is that the tiny elephant book now has over a quarter of a million copies in print and I am not even sure what to do with that information, to be honest. My first reaction is “holy heck, that is a lot of books.” Which is true. A…
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May 5, 2022 0

Felicidades!

STRICTLY NO ELEPHANTS might have debuted waaaaaay back in 2015, but it’s still finding audiences and connecting with new readers. Most recently, it was published in Spanish for the US market, so the Children’s Book Committee at the Bank Street College of Education just named it one of the best picture books of 2021 for…
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January 18, 2022 0

Lucky Number Seven!

TWISTY-TURNY HOUSE is my seventh picture book published by S&S, so I shall take a moment to reflect on my incredible luck of having landed there in 2013 with the sale of STRICTLY NO ELEPHANTS. The tiny elephant marches on, in numerous languages on a circuitous journey around the globe, spreading the message of “that’s…
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September 14, 2021 0

Happy Book Birthday, The Perfectly Perfect Wish!

So pleased to share my newest picture book with the world! This one is illustrated by the talented Jessica Courtney-Tickle, and tells the story of a young girl who finds a wish in the grass while waiting for the bus to school. “Directly personal and visually dramatic.”—Booklist “Carries a deeper and more important message about…
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February 4, 2020 0