Spring

Book Launch and More

Maddie and Mabel Make a Friend launched on May 6th. What does a release day look like? Well…I took a half day off of school (the first time I have ever taken off any time on a launch day) and travelled down to Boston and Beacon Hill Books with fellow children’s author and my good friend Carrie Kruck on the first stop on our friendship tour. We both had books launching this spring and both were about friendship. In our brains, this meant we should do a mini-book tour together and so the Friendship Tour (now it’s uppercase) was born.

Nothing like two friends from New Hampshire navigating the streets of Boston!

If you haven’t been to Beacon Hill Books, I highly recommend it. It’s the sweetest little bookstore complete with a train and a secret door and it feels like it’s been there for centuries, even though it’s not that old! We had the loveliest host with event coordinator and book buyer Lexi and the kids that showed up. We made flowers and pretended to grow and shared our books. It was the perfect way to celebrate a book birthday! (Yes! Did you know that the day a book comes out is called a book birthday? I think that means they should always be celebrated with cake!)

Seeing a whole wall of our books was pretty magical.

books!

Growing with our new friends.

There is nothing like sharing your book with readers in a bookstore. Truly.

When there is a secret door into the children’s room, you go through it. That’s a rule.

Happy author.

Thank you Beacon Hill Books for such a wonderful afternoon.

The next stop on our Friendship Tour was my local bookstore, Gibson’s Bookstore. I am so lucky to have such an incredible indie bookstore in my town. This time Carrie and I wore t-shirts so you knew which Kari was what Carrie. As always, Gibson’s was the best!

I am a very animated reader….

I also got to do a virtual workshop for SCBWI Metro New York on early readers and literacy and writing. I’m glad I did not know how many people were in attendance until after it was over! I love sharing about books and kids if anyone is ever looking for a presenter.

Launching a book and wrapping up the school year has been a hectic and wild ride. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Other News

• My next book was announced in PW. Keep your eyes out for Night Prints next summer. (2026) This is a companion book to Whose Prints? Summer 2026 can’t come fast enough.

• I will be at ALA in June signing books. I cannot wait to be back at this amazing American Library Association event.

• I am working on summer signings and story times! Looking forward to connecting with more readers.

One Last Shot

We have two more weeks left of school. This is my coffee cup at the end of the day. I forgot to drink it. So close to summer…

Links:

My website

Link to my books and book recommendations on Bookshop.org.