ŷ������

What an incredible time I had at my first in person Texas Library Association conference! The weather was beautiful in Fort Worth, and I had such a great time meeting wonderful librarians from all over Texas! I got to sign copies of RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE (at my first in person conference!), I’LL GO AND COME BACK, SEVEN GOLDEN RINGS, and THE SECRET CODE INSIDE YOU! I also got to spend time with my publishing teams at Candlewick, Lee & Low, HarperCollins, and Little Bee Books and catch up with some amazing friends! I was on the panel “We Are Family�� (yes, we played the song!) with fellow authors Emma Otheguy and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich and a nonfiction panel on “Continuing the Curiosity�� with Jennifer Swanson, Laurie Wallmark, and Candace Fleming! I also got to record an interview with The Van Show! I went home exhausted but excited to return next year!

I had such fun launching I’LL GO AND COME BACK in person at two of my favorite local bookstores! On April 10, I had a well-attended in-person launch at , where I talked about the inspiration for the book and read the story! Then on April 23, I headed to , where I read the story and got to hang out with several friends! This book means to much to me, and I’m grateful I got to launch it so beautifully. If you missed these events, you can still order signed copies today!

What an amazing week I had in Greenwich, CT visiting three superlative schools: Greenwich Academy, Sacred Heart Greenwich, and Greenwich Country Day School, where I had breakfast with their Newbery Club, which had selected RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE as their winner, complete with Tiger Claw medal! There was such a love of learning and books at all of these schools, where I got to present to students from Kindergarten through Grade 8! I absolutely loved visiting these schools, and hope to do so again!

I had such a lovely time at the 2022 CAS AuthorFest in Newton! On Tuesday, April 12, I visited Williams, Cabot, and Underwood elementary schools, then returned to Cabot in the afternoon for an awesome book signing where I got to see so many author friends! Then on April 13, I headed to Angier Elementary School, where I received another warm welcome! It was an incredible two days, filled with book love, wonderful schools, and fantastic students!

I loved attending the first annual We Are ALL Readers Book Festival in Rhode Island on April 9, 2022 along with several other incredible authors! In light of the resurgence of book bans across our country, I spoke about the importance of diverse books for everyone and the fact that everyone deserves to see themselves and their experiences reflected in the pages of books. It was an fantastic event full of book lovers, and I can’t wait to return! The organizers did an incredible job!

I’m so honored that the chose Red, White, and Whole as their ADL Book of the Month in April 2022.

The ADL Book of the Month program features books that “teach about bias and prejudice, promote respect for diversity, [and] encourage social action.�� As part of its Book of the Month feature, the ADL’s Education Department created an excellent for teachers and parents, complete with keywords, discussion questions,  and extension activities.

What an incredible time I had in Oxford, MS on March 31 for the Oxford Children’s Book Festival, where I presented about WHERE THREE OCEANS MEET to first graders, and MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM to fifth graders! Huge thanks to the University of Mississippi Center for the Study of Southern Culture, the Oxford Conference for the Book, the Oxford Public Library, the Lafayette Literacy Council, the Oxford Junior Auxiliary, and Square Books Jr for inviting me and buying books for every 1st and 5th grader in the county!The Ford Center was an incredible venue, and I’ve never spoken in front of a screen that big! All the students were so respectful and enthusiastic and asked such great questions!The signing at Square Books Jr was packed and made me feel like a rock star! All the organizers and volunteers were incredibly kind, helpful, and welcoming!! I had time to explore the beautiful town and see William Faulkner’s house!And yes, the food was AMAZING! I can’t wait to return to this beautiful town! I’m truly grateful to have visited!!

Nine years ago, I got an idea for a picture book, a “mirror story�� about a girl and her grandmother and traveling between cultures, and understanding each other despite not speaking the same language.Four years ago today, I sold that book �� my first book, a story about about flying across the world and finding that love makes a home wherever you are.Today, that book releases into the world. It’s straight from my heart to yours. I’LL GO AND COME BACK, gorgeously illustrated by Sara Palacios and published by Candlewick Press, is available NOW!I spent a wonderful day with virtual school visits in the morning, a visit to Silver Unicorn Bookstore in the afternoon, and an evening featuring delicious South Indian food with my dear friend and critique partner, Hayley Barrett, who has been with this story since it was just an idea and a sketch.

I’ve been waiting a long time to announce that my picture book, A VACCINE IS LIKE A MEMORY, illustrated by amazing , will release in 2023 with Little Bee Books! As a doctor, I’m thrilled to share this book about the history and science of vaccines with young readers!

On March 15, I joined the Golden Kite Award finalists and hundreds of other members for the ! Although we couldn’t meet in person, it was wonderful to see so many familiar faces (including Jason Reynolds, who gave an amazing keynote address!) and lovely comments in the chat!

And I’m overwhelmed with joy that ! CUBA IN MY POCKET by my friend won the Honor award, and I am humbled to be in the company of Adrianna and the other finalists �� , , and . The award and honor winners selected charities that SCBWI will donate to on their behalf; I chose to donate to the .

All the finalists learned who had won in real time, so there were some lovely spontaneous moments of laughter and thanks and tears. We had all been asked to prepare speeches ahead of time. or see below for the whole program.

I am so honored that RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE, a book of my heart, received this prestigious award. SCBWI is the reason I met so many friends and critique partners, and without my writer friends, I couldn’t have written a thing.