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Wired
by Anastasia Suen (Author) and Paul Carrick (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Be smart about power! Are you reading this by lamplight? That lamp is probably powered by electricity! But how does the electricity get to the lamp? You flip the “on” switch, which is connected to a cord that plugs onto an outlet that’s connected to a cable that’s made up of wires that are connected to wires outside that are all full of electrons zooming from a power plant into your house. . . Don’t worry! It only seems complicated.

Dynamic three-dimensional illustrations track electricity from its source at the power plant to its end point in your home. Back matter includes suggested websites and further reading, as well as electricity safety tips and a glossary and index of electrical terms.

I wrote this 53 word poem after seeing miles and miles of transmission towers on a drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The editor wanted more details about each step of the process, so there are prose sidebars as well.

This is another book that I sold and then revised over and over and over again for the editor. And just like Road Work Ahead, the revisions didn’t satisfy the first editor, so I got the book back and sold it to another publisher. The second editor also wanted the book revised, so 12 years passed between the first draft and the publication date! (And now it’s been in print longer than that — so all’s well that ends well.)

It’s #ThrowbackThursday!
Copyright © 2026 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved. (*bookstore affiliate)

Tilt
by Jone Rush MacCulloch (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Ten-year-old Darrah has a word for when her world shifts: tilt. Her parents are getting a divorce. She feels abandoned, and her best friend, Lily, isn’t sympathetic. Once again, Darrah feels rejected. Tilt. Darrah’s mom reminds her that “forgiveness is like climbing a tree.”

One morning, Darrah sees someone hanging in her oak. Enter Jackson, a new boy to the neighborhood. He introduces himself by jumping out of the tree in front of her. He’s exactly the type of friend Darrah is looking for; bold, reliable, and fun.

Darrah and Jackson encourage each other to carry out pranks. They end up in the same fifth-grade class as Lily. Their antics grow increasingly reckless. When Jackson dies unexpectedly, Darrah’s world tilts in huge proportions.

Snippet:

I was lucky enough to read this novel-in-verse while it was still being written. And now I am happy to celebrate this book’s birthday! Here’s the art from the book’s launch last week . . .

Happy #bookbirthday, Jone!!!