Blog: #kidlit Book of the Day

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Bestselling Author Now #kidlit Agent

The Handspun Literary webpage says: “Justina Ireland (she/they) joined Handspun in 2026 as a junior agent. She is also an award winning and New York Times bestselling author of numerous books as well as a writer of both comics and television.”

The agency submissions page also says: “She loves meticulous worldbuilding and complicated characters and is currently looking for well executed speculative fiction in most categories. She is drawn to Middle Grade and Young Adult that asks complicated questions without talking down to a reader.”

Check her author website to see more about her writing.

Copyright © 2026 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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The GiRaft: A Real-Life Giraffe Rescue

The GiRaft: A Real-Life Giraffe Rescue
by Laurel Neme (Author) and Elisa Paganelli (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Poor Asiwa—time is running out! She and seven other rare Nubian giraffes have peacefully lived on a peninsula that juts out into Lake Baringo in Kenya. But now relentless rain and rising floodwaters have turned their home into an island. Food is running out. It’s especially desperate for Asiwa as the water has stranded her away from the other giraffes. She is alone and frightened. If the giraffes aren’t rescued, this endangered breed will be one step closer to extinction.

But how does one transport an almost 20-foot-tall wild animal? With a GiRaft, of course! An alliance of wildlife rangers, conservancies, and local community members work to create a flotational craft specifically to ferry the giraffes to a new home. Will Asiwa and her herd get on board?

Snippet:

The author, Laurel Neme, is one of my former students.
Copyright © 2026 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved. (*bookstore affiliate)