Author: Anastasia Suen

From her studio in Northern California, developmental editor Anastasia Suen reads, writes, and edits books for creators of all ages.
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We All Celebrate!

We All Celebrate!
by Chitra Soundar (Author) and Jenny Bloomfield (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Everyone in the world has something to celebrate. But we don’t all celebrate in the same way everywhere. In this collection of celebrations from around the world, you’ll find well-known festivals, anniversaries and parties as well as less familiar celebrations.

Snippet: To mark the start of the new year, the Maori people of New Zealand celebrate Nga mata o te ariki o Tawhirimatea, which means “the eye of the god of Tawhirimatea” and is shortened to Matariki. It is a time of growth and change. Matariki is the name of the cluster of stars that rise in mid-winter (June/July) and signals the start of a new year.

Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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A Bear Far from Home

A Bear Far from Home
by Susan Fletcher (Author) and Rebecca Green (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Long ago, when kings and queens ruled much of the world, the king of Norway gave the king of England a bear. Imagine a polar bear at ease in her natural arctic world, her only home–until trappers capture her and take her to the king of England. Imagine a polar bear in her lonely new world, stuck in a cage. This small, enclosed space is her only home–until King Henry III decrees that she be brought to the Thames River every day to swim and fish. Imagine now this same polar bear dipping a curious paw in the river water, then leaping in with a joyful splash. And it is here, in this unfamiliar, faraway land, in one small way, that she finds home once again.

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Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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I’ll Believe You When

I’ll Believe You When: Unbelievable Idioms from Around the World
by Susan Schubert (Author) and Raquel Bonita (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: You’ve probably heard the expression “when pigs fly,” but have you heard the Spanish phrase “when frogs grow hair” or the Yoruba saying “when chicken have teeth”? Read these and more in this collection of idioms from around the world.

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Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Joy to the World! (World of Celebrations)

Joy to the World! (World of Celebrations)
by Kate DePalma (Author) and Sophie Fatus (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Explore Christmas traditions from 13 different countries (*Ethiopia *Colombia *Australia *Italy *Serbia *Mexico *India *Iceland *Egypt *Argentina *Philippines *Lebanon *Canada) in this rhyming picture with prose facts in the back of the book.

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Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Snot, Sneezes, and Super-Spreaders

Snot, Sneezes, and Super-Spreaders: Everything You Need to Know About Viruses and How to Stop Them
by Marc ter Horst (Author), Wendy Panders (Illustrator), and Laura Watkinson (Translator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Discover the extraordinary world of viruses, from their creation and transmission to what we can do to stop them, in this science-based resource for kids 8 to 12.

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Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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We the People!

We the People! (Big Ideas that Changed the World #4)
by Don Brown (Author/ Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Explaining the fundamentals of democracy–liberty, equality, and justice for all–in a kid-friendly way, narrator Abigail Adams (wife of Founding Father John Adams) explores the history of democracy–from civilization’s beginnings as hunter-gatherers to the birth of monarchies and vast empires, and from the earliest republics to our present-day government.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Drawing the Vote: A Graphic Novel History for Future Voters

Drawing the Vote: A Graphic Novel History for Future Voters
by Tommy Jenkins (Author) and Kati Lacker (Illustrator),
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Originally published in the lead-up to the 2020 US presidential election, this expanded paperback edition of the history of voting rights in the United States features an additional 32 pages of comics that cover the results of the 2020 presidential election and the factors that shaped it, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the January 6 insurrection.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Vampires

Vampires
by Marysa Storm (Author)

Booktalk: Beginning readers investigate spooky stories about vampires using critical thinking.

Snippet: Today most people agree vampires aren’t real. But long ago, people believed. They didn’t understand disease. The stories explained some sicknesses.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2022 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.