🦃 Happy Thanksgiving from #12x12PB! 🍂 We’re celebrating the season of gratitude with books that warm the heart: 📚 Happy Friendsgiving by @marciecolleen.bsky.social 📚 Two-List Thanksgiving by Christine Whan 📚 You’re the Pumpkin in My Pie by @authorlauragehl.bsky.social See more: buff.ly/vzWA4Fe

🎃👻 Happy Halloween from #12x12PB! 👻🎃 📚 A COSTUME FOR CHARLY @ckwritesbooks.bsky.social 📚 HAPPY OWL-OWEEN @authorlauragehl.bsky.social 📚 LILA AND THE JACK-O-LANTERN Nancy Churnin 📚 THE BOO CREW NEEDS YOU @fangmousbooks.bsky.social More fall reads: buff.ly/iNgLc8S

Board book? Picture book? How do they differ? How do you write a board book? A roundtable full of great advice & examples from @authorlauragehl.bsky.social @nchurnin.bsky.social, Laura Purdie Salas, & Darrin Lunde. Part 2 next week w/Sue Heavenrich! groggorg.blogspot.com/2025/11/writ...

Writing Board Books part I ~ an author's roundtable

by Sue Heavenrich Welcome to the GROG’s roundtable discussion about Board Books. I’ve got four board book authors with me today, so grab you...

groggorg.blogspot.com

Q&A with Laura Gehl about her new children's picture book, ORSON AND THE WORLD'S LOUDEST LIBRARY. tinyurl.com/7k2xyced @authorlauragehl.bsky.social

MY BODY CAN, illustrated by Alexandra Colombo, is a book full of Jewish joy. Over the course of one Jewish year, this book celebrates all the things our bodies can do--from hiking to eating to swimming to laughing (four of my very favorite things). I hope you will check it out!

Elevator on 74th Street is charming tale of friendship bit.ly/4nPDlES #kidlit @simonkids.bsky.social @authorlauragehl.bsky.social

Elevator on 74th Street is charming tale of friendship - www.crackingthecover.com

Follow the comings and goings of an apartment building’s residents through the eyes of its elevator in The Elevator on 74th Street, by Laura Gehl and Yas Imamura.

bit.ly

🎉 Happy Book Birthday to @authorlauragehl.bsky.social! 🎉 📚 THE ELEVATOR ON 74TH STREET, illustrated by Yas Imamura and published by Simon & Schuster, is here! 📖✨ Find it here: buff.ly/Io8UdaM #kidlit #12x12PB

Happy book birthday to The Elevator on 74th Street, about an elevator who decides to play friendship matchmaker! I'm so excited that this book is now out in the world. The illustrations by Yas Imamura are absolutely fabulous. I really love this book and hope you will read and share it!

✨ Celebrating Rosh Hashanah with #12x12PB books! ✨ 📚 KAYLA & KUGEL’S SUPER ROSH HASHANAH @artbyann.bsky.social 📚 MY SHOFAR @artbyann.bsky.social 📚 THE ROSH HASHANAH RECIPE @authorlauragehl.bsky.social More buff.ly/kX6QxPi

🍿📚✨Book Trailer Premiere! @kidlittv.bsky.social is proud to present the #booktrailer for THE ELEVATOR ON 74TH STREET written by our NEW Author Sponsor, @authorlauragehl.bsky.social, and illustrated by @yasimamura.bsky.social. 🎬 Watch here from 7AM ET: www.kidlit.tv/BookTrailerP... #kidlit

My daughter created this adorable book trailer for The Elevator on 74th Street! The book is out September 20.

Thank you to the Center for Children's Books for a wonderful review of THE ELEVATOR ON 74th STREET. As a huge Shel Silverstein fan (who also recognizes that The Giving Tree has some problematic messaging), I was delighted and honored by this comparison. Our book is out 9/20! Pre-order now!

Bucket List Item: Write a picture book that has an ice cream sundae on the cover ✅ I'm SO SO EXCITED to share the cover for the book that Sarah Lynn Baker and I have created. It is a story of summer fun, of grandma love, of being brave, and, of course, ice cream! Available for pre-order now!

Thank you so much to SLJ for a glowing review of THE ELEVATOR ON 74th STREET! The reviewer also noted, "This story will be useful for engaging children in discussions about the effort that it takes to form friendships and would be useful at the start of the school year." I love this idea!

I can't even describe how excited I am about this book that Julia Patton and I get to put out into the world! It is about bunnies who defend their forest from a dastardly new resident not with weapons but with poetry and baked goods. Available for pre-order now!

I guest-blogged for the Association of Library Services to Children about how libraries build community (and how I wrote a book about it). You can check out my post here: www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2025/06...

How Libraries Build Community (and How I Wrote a Book about It)

Libraries offer so much more than books! And each additional element is a way for the library to enhance their ability to build community!

alsc.ala.org

Grateful for two new glowing reviews! Thank you Kirkus and SLJ! DONUT/ROSQUILLA is out now, and THE ELEVATOR ON 74th STREET is available for pre-order. #kidlit

I'm so delighted that DONUT, illustrated by the fabulous Andrea Zuill, is now available in a bilingual board book format!

ORSON AND THE WORLD’S LOUDEST LIBRARY is out today! This book is a love letter to libraries and also to all the kids (and adults!) who crave quiet. ORSON is about the ways that libraries not only connect people to books but also connect book-lovers to one another. I hope you will check it out!

Looking for an eggscellent #Easter art activity for kids? Join #kidlit illustrator @joycewanbooks.bsky.social for Ready Set Draw and learn to draw Peep & Egg from PEEP AND EGG: I’M NOT HATCHING.🐣 buff.ly/3l1nGHM @authorlauragehl.bsky.social

Thank you to Booklist for reviewing ORSON AND THE WORLD'S LOUDEST LIBRARY! Less than a week until this book gets to meet its readers!

Yay, my author copies arrived! Can't wait to share this book with readers in less than two weeks! #KidLit #Library #LibraryLove #Libraries #Librarians

I had so much fun presenting to these 1st graders today as part of York County Libraries' GOAL program. My very favorite idea these kids came up with was a chicken and a teddy bear who are happily living together...until THE CHICKEN RIPS THE TEDDY BEAR'S ARM OFF. Yikes! What a great conflict!

The Blueberry Award celebrates the best nature books for kids, and I'm so delighted that WHO LAID THESE EGGS? is a Blueberry Honor book for 2024. It was a joy to work on this book with illustrator Loris Lora, our editor Meredith Mundy, and the wonderful team at Abrams.

In just a month, ORSON AND THE WORLD'S LOUDEST LIBRARY will be out in the world, and we have an adorable new activity sheet to go with it! ORSON features two imaginary books within the story, and this coloring sheet allows readers to create their own imaginary book! lauragehl.com/free-resourc...

A shout out to @authorlauragehl.bsky.social It was so thrilling to see my book cover on your visual wish list. Laura Gehl is one of the generous mentors participating in PB Rising Stars @pbrisingstars.bsky.social www.pbrisingstars.com/laura

Apply to be Laura Gehl's Picture Book Mentee — PB RISING STARS MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

PB Rising Stars is a FREE picture book mentorship program for aspiring authors, illustrators, and author-illustrators who want to be traditionally published. *Unagented AND Agented creators may apply.

pbrisingstars.com

So honored that WHO LAID THESE EGGS? is the Cybils Award 2024 Board Book Winner! Thank you very much for recognizing our book @cybilsawards.bsky.social!

Cybils Awards@cybilsawards.bsky.social · 2y ago

2024 Board Book Winner Who Laid These Eggs?: A Lift-the-Flap Book (An Animal Traces Book) Laura Gehl, illustrated by Loris Lora Harry N Abrams Nominated by: @achrishelton.bsky.social #kidlit #boardbook #booksky #cybils2024

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! My 14-year-old daughter made this book trailer for my upcoming picture book ORSON AND THE WORLD'S LOUDEST LIBRARY, illustrated by Stephanie Roth Sisson. Hope you enjoy! The book is available for pre-order now and out in April. #KidLit #libraries #library #librarylove

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! My 14-year-old daughter made this book trailer for my upcoming picture book ORSON AND THE WORLD'S LOUDEST LIBRARY, illustrated by Stephanie Roth Sisson. Hope you enjoy! The book is available for pre-order now and out in April. #KidLit #libraries #library #librarylove

Get a sneak peek at ORSON AND THE WORLD'S LOUDEST LIBRARY (out in April!), as well as the twists and turns along the path to this book's publication. Sign up here: www.12x12challenge.com/gehl @12x12challenge.bsky.social