Thoughts from my Books

Hooray! GROUP HUG is out today!

Hooray! GROUP HUG is out today from Macmillan/Henry Holt/Godwin Books, Joey Chou and me! Kirkus Reviews calls it “a captivating winner.” Publishers Weekly says it “radiate(s) a sense of unalloyed communal joy.” And School Library Journal calls it an “excellent storytelling experience.” If you’d like a copy for yourself or a young reader in your life, buying options are right here:  IndieBound Barnes &… Read more »

Give Hugs this Holiday Season!

“This sweetly endearing charmer, highlighting kindness, is expressed in jaunty, witty rhymes that read and scan beautifully … Readers will embrace this captivating winner.” – Kirkus STARRED Review – “The economic text has a surfeit of aural pleasures, and Reidy (Truman) strikes a comic tone that never sinks into sentimentality: an overworked beaver is beckoned… Read more »

Introducing my latest picture book – GROUP HUG!

I’m thrilled to introduce you to my latest picture book! Join a forest of friendly animals as one-by-one they learn the contagious happiness that hugs can bring. This delightful picture book encourages kindness and goes to show “that a hugger finds happiness ‘longside the hugged!” Coming 12/14/21 from Macmillan/Henry Holt/Godwin Books ADVANCE PRAISE “This sweetly endearing charmer, highlighting… Read more »

Oh My Stars! It’s a STARRED review for GROUP HUG!

Friends, it’s a good-newsy kind of week, so I apologize for all these braggy-sounding posts, but … oh, my stars! It’s a @Kirkus STARRED review for GROUP HUG from MacKids Books, Joey Chou and me! “Paying it forward with cuddles. Starting with an affectionate slug, a bevy of down-in-the-dumps animals, including a beetle, a mouse, a skunk, a… Read more »

It’s Sea Otter Awareness Week!

Dear Reader, It’s Sea Otter Awareness Week! Let’s spread the word! While researching my book PUP 681: A SEA OTTER RESCUE STORY, I fell in love with sea otters and learned so many fun sea otter facts. Here are a few of my favorites: Sea otters have a pocket of loose skin under their forelegs… Read more »