Blog: #kidlit Book of the Day - Page 2 of 1471

Road Work Ahead
by Anastasia Suen (Author) and Jannie Ho (Illustrator)

Booktalk: When a family sets out on a trip to Grandma’s, their journey proves to be more like a visit to a construction site. Sidewalks are being poured, streetlights repaired, roads resurfaced. The noise of jackhammers, whistles, and horns fills the air.

When my oldest was a toddler, he loved to look at all of the machines working along the road. I took photos and placed them in a tiny photo album for him. Then I wrote a small poem about it.

The small poem in Road Work Ahead is only 90 words long, but it took 15 years to become a picture book! Why did it take so long?

During the 15 years that this small poem waited to turn into a picture book, it was sold to a publisher #1 and soon afterwards, they were bought by publisher #2. But publisher #2 didn’t like the poem. Many revisions later, publisher #2 decided they wouldn’t publish it.

Why did the book sell to publisher #3 ten years later? I added 10 words to the original 80 word poem that the first publisher liked. Two years later, the art was completed. After 15 years, the road work was finally done! Now it’s available as an e-book.

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

CONGRATULATIONS, Nancy!!!!!

A Teddy Bear for Emily-and President Roosevelt, Too
by Nancy Churnin (Author) and Bethany Stancliffe (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Discover the true story of Jewish immigrants who played a key role in the creation of the beloved teddy bear, connecting their humble Brooklyn candy shop to the President of the United States.

Rose Katz and Morris Michtom grew up in Russia during a period of persecution against Jewish people. Hoping to find kindness and opportunity in another country, they emigrated to the United States, where they got married and opened a candy shop. In 1902, they read a newspaper article about President Theodore Roosevelt sparing a bear on a hunting trip. To the delight of their daughter, Emily, the Michtoms created a small, stuffed version of the animal and named it Teddy’s Bear. Before long, this cuddly symbol of one man’s act of compassion became a beloved toy that continues to delight children all over the world.

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