Esther Harder

I've decided to bring my picture book reading team (toddler + me) to the blog to do some reviews of our favorite read-alouds.

I've decided to bring my picture book reading team (toddler + me) to the blog to do some reviews of our favorite read-alouds.

You might think that writers are natural content creators, so the social media presence comes naturally. Perhaps it does, but not for me.

I've decided to bring my picture book reading team (toddler + me) to the blog to do some reviews of our favorite read-alouds.

I've decided to bring my picture book reading team (toddler + me) to the blog to do some reviews of our favorite read-alouds.

Beverly Cleary's death got me to thinking about the characters I carry with me, particularly the girls. Ready to meet some of my favorites?

This past week, I ran into the living, breathing person I named my main character of Quarantine Kids after.

One of the most-repeated questions a writer gets is "where did that book idea come from?"

We don't fully know yet how this hug-less year of isolation and loss will impact our bodies and souls, or our communities.

Since my book is about inspiring creative responses to COVID times, creating a socially-distanced book launch fit with my overall theme.

Getting tired of rereading the same stories? Try out some new ways to interact with the books you know so well.

What the admissions counselors don't tell you is that there are limits to responsibility juggling.

What fun to hold and touch the Quarantine Kids picture book in physical form! Check out the book trailer.

Creatives might benefit from adopting the following attitude around technology: approach with some caution, and a lot of positive curiosity.

Are you one of those people who reads a book's copyright pages? Here are the important items you should include in a copyright page.

I discovered that the printer had new requirements that demanded a last-minute decision: increase my page count, or switch to paperback.

From sketches, we moved into full-color page renderings of Quarantine Kids!

My illustrator needed layout details: What were my page dimensions? Did I have templates? I needed to choose a printer sooner than expected!

MFA classes taught me that there is limited, if any collaboration between author and illustrator. This is NOT the case in self-publishing.

With my picture book manuscript in hand, the next thing I needed was, well, the pictures! So off I went to find an illustrator.