Hello friends! Behind the scenes: Society of Experimental Test Pilots banquet at Disney; with fabulous friends at my B&N event; visiting our older son for Parent's Weekend at UC San Diego. First, a huge thank you for all the outpouring of support for This Is How You Know, illustrated by Cornelia Li. It was such a joy to see so many friends at my Barnes & Noble Story Time (center) as well as my LA County Library event where we made oobleck and did other STEAM activities. From the bottom of my...
about 1 month agoĀ ā¢Ā 4 min read
Hello friends! Left to right: With fellow authors Dana Middleton and Nell Cross Beckerman; with young readers at story time at Once Upon a Time Bookstore in support of Science Saturday. As you have undoubtedly heard, my next picture book, This Is How You Know , illustrated by Cornelia Li, is out now from Little, Brown. I just hosted two events and have two more coming up. If you are local, I hope you'll join me. Signing and Storytime at Barnes & Noble - Palmdale at 11:30 a.m. October 4th....
2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 5 min read
Hello friends! Grad dinner 71 stories above LA, dropping off the college freshman, and Barbie exhibit at the Motion Picture Museum I don't know about you, but summer is over at our house. š« We dropped off our college freshman (middle) for his summer bridge program at UC San Diego, where he is taking two engineering classes and meeting tons of people. Plus my high schooler is back in school. All this means I'm back in the office full time, which is a good thing since the launch of my next...
3 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 3 min read
Hello friends and welcome blog followers! From left to right: My new website, a Matisse once looted during WWII, Garden of the Gods w/friends in Colorado Iām thrilled to share that my brand-new website is live at kirstenwlarson.com (Thanks Bookend Creative Studio)! One small hiccup? Thereās no longer a āfollowā button for blog updates. Hereās what Iām doing instead:If you were following the blog, youāre now getting this monthly newsletter. It includes blog roundups, so you wonāt miss a post!...
5 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 4 min read
Hello friends! My high school graduate, date night cooking classes, my beloved office mate Chloe (RIP) Happy summer! āļø Outdoor Office Update Most mornings, youāll find me parked on my sectional outside with coffee and my computerābefore the heat kicks in.āļø I swapped out bulky furniture covers for cushion storage boxes and now there's so much less dust! (Find them here at WayFair.)Sadly, my outdoor officemate Chloe (pictured top right) is no longer with me. Itās a little lonely without her....
6 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
Hello friends! Left to right: Wisconsin school visit, the neighborhood peacock, Del Sur Elementary visit I've been visiting a lot of young readers in these last few weeks of the school year. In late April, I visited six schools in central Wisconsin over two days (probably 1,000 kids total) talking about storytelling and the creative problem solving process. And just last Friday, I saw almost 300 TK-3rd graders at a local school, who asked amazing questions like, "How long does it take to make...
6 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 4 min read
Hello friends! Seeing the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play, volunteering for FIRST robotics with my Dad, visiting the University of California in San Diego. First things first, between Spring Break, our local FIRST robotics tournament, and touring colleges with my senior I've been out of the office A LOT over the past month. But the end is in sight! My senior had made a college decision: He will study engineering at the University of California in San Diego next fall, which means this...
7 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 3 min read
Hello friends! Read Across America, a new journal, out for a hike We are finally having some lovely spring weather here in SoCal! I recently took a five-mile hike to soak up the sun (right). It always improves my mood! I needed the break, as life has been super busy helping my high school senior make decisions about where he'll be attending college next fall. Ack! A new journal (center): I swear by these Paperage lined notebooks, which come with an elastic band, built-in bookmarks, and a...
8 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
Hello friends! PA Bootcamp (l), at Big Sur with Isabella Kung (middle and r) Back from Big Sur! I had a delightful time at Andrea Brown Literary Agency's Big Sur Writers Workshop (which, I learned, is actually held in Monterey). It was my first time on faculty, and it was a joy to help two different groups of five writers as they worked to improve their manuscripts. Registration for next year opens May 10 and scholarships are available. Surviving PA Bootcamp: I went undercover at PA Bootcamp...
9 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 3 min read