elm // em dickson

it’s almost time for my annual cry about a nonexistent musical about groundhogs and i for one cannot wait

question: imagery / iconography ideas to convey the historical fiction genre that aren’t eurocentric?

elf on the shelf has gone way too far

“my elf this” “my elf that” “my elf had three babies” “TRIPLETS?”

ENOUGH!!!!

10 of your books are on my own longlist! i do a six month deep dive into picture books with my fourth graders :)

in absolutely devastating news i have lost my 857 day duolingo streak

for those keeping track: i have now read 114 picture books so far this summer in preparation for my fourth graders’ mock caldecott project

picture book readers: what are your favorite 2025 releases? 👀👀

it’s happened so many times and yes i have Cried

manifesting my future creation of an eclectic kids’ bookstore called the emporium

i think the first time i get tagged as an author in a pride book post i’ll probably cry

Happy pub day to @mlereads.bsky.social and Beyond They/Them! We love this book and hope you do too💘
publishing.andrewsmcmeel.com/book/beyond-...

and a special thank you to @cyngharris.bsky.social for looping me in 💙🔥

thank you to everyone @andrewsmcmeelkids.bsky.social for bringing this book into a world that desperately needs it, even if it doesn’t always want it. thank you to @cameronmukwa.bsky.social for your gorgeous illustrations – this book would not be what it is without you! 🙌🙌

when i worry that i’m not doing enough, i try to remember that queer existence is resistance. existing openly and proudly is important. hard things always are.
well, existing is the easy part. it’s the world that makes it hard.

IT’S MY BOOK BIRTHDAY!!!! 🥳🌈✨

it’s hard to express what it means for this book to be out in the world today. amidst all the attacks on genderdiverse people not just in the states but around the world, this book is a reminder that “nonbinary people have always been here & can be found everywhere.”

📚 🥳 🎂 ATHLETE IS AGENDER with @katherinelocke.bsky.social Nicole Melleby, @sassinsf.com Karina Manta, Isaac Fitzsimons, @mlereads.bsky.social @v-e-tirado.com 📅 5-15-25 @ 7:30p ET Register FREE + pre-order option! 🌈 https://xuyx9zzuvpq.typeform.com/to/IWF6eaWK?typeform-source=www.google.com @lbschool.bsky.social

📚 🥳 🎂 ATHLETE IS AGENDER with @katherinelocke.bsky.social Nicole Melleby, @sassinsf.com Karina Manta, Isaac Fitzsimons, @mlereads.bsky.social @v-e-tirado.com

📅 5-15-25 @ 7:30p ET
Register FREE + pre-order option! 🌈
xuyx9zzuvpq.typeform.com/to/IWF6eaWK?... @lbschool.bsky.social

wait so what does one wear to a launch event. when one is the author. hypothetically

kids these days with their memes. they don’t even know about bredlik

Mentally, we all need to prepare for this to be a typical 5-4 split in SCOTUS.

We also need to remember that when it is, enforcement will be school-district level, and it will be specific to the ruling itself. Anything beyond that will tell you everything you need to know about the school itself.

Pastel pink and blue graphic displaying eight newly released or soon to be released middle grade books containing trans rep. The titles shown are as follows: “Splinter & Ash” by Marieke Nijkamp, “Glitch Girl” by Rainie Oet, “A World Worth Saving” by Kyle Lukeoff, “A Song for You and I” by K. O’Neill, “Ollie in Between” by Jess Callans (April 8th), “Athlete is Agender” by Katherine Locke & Nicole Melleby (May 13th), “Going Overboard” by Caroline Huntoon (May 27th), and “Saber-tooth” by Robin Gow (January 2026). In the upper left-hand and lower right-hand corners are wavy ribbons designed in the colors of the trans flag.

8 newly released or soon to be released middle grade books containing trans rep:

A hand holding up a stack of books in front of blurry bookshelves. The books are, from top to bottom: THE STRANGEWORLDS TRAVEL AGENCY by LD Lapinski VIVI CONWAY AND THE HAUNTED QUEST by Lizzie Huxley-Jones THE OTHERWOODS by Justine Pucella Winans SIR CALLIE AND THE WITCH'S WAR by Esme Symes-Smith THIS IS OUR RAINBOW: 16 STORIES ABOUT HER, HIM, THEM, AND US edited by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby ACCIDENTAL DEMONS by Clare Edge A SONG FOR YOU AND I by K. O'Neill THE OJJA-WOJJA by Magdalene Visaggio and Jenn St-Onge

And the right response to transphobes is *always* to uplift trans voices, as a reminder that we have always been here and we will always be here.

So here's another stack of recommendations of trans and nonbinary writers writing amazing, fantastical, magical stories for kids.

A hand holding up a stack of books in front of blurry bookshelves. The books are, from top to bottom: LIKE A CURSE by Elle McNicoll ONYEKA AND THE ACADEMY OF THE SUN by Tolá Okogwu MIA AND THE LIGHTCASTER by Janelle McCurdy, illustrated by Ana Latese WITCHES OF BROOKLYN by Sophie Escabasse WITCHLINGS by Claribel Ortega THE MARVELLERS by Dhonielle Clayton THE GRIMOIRE OF GRAVE FATES edited by Hanna Alkaf and Margaret Owen

Hey Blueksy, if you're looking for magic books and magic school books that *aren't* horribly exclusionary, let me share some fantastic examples with you. #BookSky 💙📚

damn the mysterious benedict society really does land spectacularly in these days + times

#kidlit hive mind: i need recs for early middle grade fantasy in the vein of legends of lotus island with LESS THAN 200 PAGES

again: LESS THAN 200 pages

help me out??

The R.M.S. Titanic departed on its maiden voyage 113 years ago today. Though life was different back then, the social divisions on board the boat can teach us more about modern life now than ever. This poem is from my latest novel, UNSINKABLE CAYENNE. #kidlit

so excited for this!!! 🥰🌈✨

📚 🥳 🎂 ATHLETE IS AGENDER with @katherinelocke.bsky.social Nicole Melleby, @matokah.bsky.social Karina Manta, Isaac Fitzsimons, @mlereads.bsky.social @v-e-tirado.bsky.social! 📅 5-15-25 @ 7:30p ET Register free + pre-order option! 🌈 https://xuyx9zzuvpq.typeform.com/to/IWF6eaWK?typeform-source=www.google.com @lbschool.bsky.social

📚 🥳 🎂 ATHLETE IS AGENDER with @katherinelocke.bsky.social Nicole Melleby, @matokah.bsky.social Karina Manta, Isaac Fitzsimons, @mlereads.bsky.social @v-e-tirado.bsky.social!

📅 5-15-25 @ 7:30p ET

Register free + pre-order option! 🌈
xuyx9zzuvpq.typeform.com/to/IWF6eaWK?... @lbschool.bsky.social

has anyone written an author letter that goes out with preview copies? i’m just nervous and have no idea what to say!

IMLS represents 0.0046% of the federal budget! Museums employ 726,000 people and generate $50 billion in economic activity. Look at and save your IMLS state by state data to see how your state benefits from IMLS (before it’s taken down).
www.imls.gov/map

I think the transgender kids are the bravest kids right now that we see; they’re as brave as my generation was in breaking down segregation. They’re breaking down—I don’t have the word for it right now—but it’s gender prejudice, and [the idea that] somebody has decided that they can tell you who you are, what your name should be, and how you should look. And those youngsters are saying, “No, I can decide who I am, what my name should be.” Everybody’s mad at me like, You should be a girl because we’ve decided you’re a girl. And they say, “Well, who the hell are you?” I can decide that I’m a boy. And if it makes me happy, what does it mean to you? And I can decide that my name is John. And if you don’t like that my name is Geraldine, why can’t you name yourself? And if the people who know you and love you—or have to talk to you, maybe they don’t even love you but they have to talk to you—you can tell them, “This is my name, and I would like to be referred to in that way.”

The words of Nikki Giovanni for Trans Day of Visibility