Maria Powell

@marb1111 There were a few years that I had ten minutes between kid drop off and work. School had started for everyone else, so no one saw the librarian in her minivan, releasing her tears so she wouldn’t let any slip in front of the kids during story time. #cancer

Moms of children with #childhoodcancer, it might be in the shower or out on the patio, but most of us use this to get through just about anything that challenges us on this godforsaken path of saving our children. Pretty effective struggling with survivorship as well. #YouAreSeen

@Kristen_Painter These are the story of a cat sneaking into a school library. THE LIBRARY KITTY is written at a 2nd grade level while THE BOOK CAT is for new readers with those 3 and four letter words they love to read “all by myself.”

Convince me to buy your book by showing me your pet.

@jodywrites4kids That reminds me! A shy kindergartner in a Kansas City sweatshirt was struggling to find a book after story time. I often use what they are wearing to offer suggestions, so I offered EMERGENCY KITTENS saying that I met the author in KC. It worked. She was so excited!

Over the last couple of weeks, I've visited hundreds of students in Missouri and Kansas. I got to share Porcupine Had a Fuzzy Sweater (a 2026-2027 Missouri Show Me Award finalist), Creep, Leap, Crunch! A Food Chain Story (a 2026 Bill Martin Jr. Picture Book Award finalist) and..

@kathryninman9 Introvert. I think it makes the writer part easier, but it absolutely kills the marketing part. If yesterday’s flight hadn’t been three hours (giving the cancer survivor next to me time to observe me & ask if I was a writer), she would have never known I wrote a chemo book.

#writingcommunity Writers—introvert or extrovert? And does it help or hurt when it comes to writing and marketing your work?

@AnnetteWhipple Yes, I anticipate much longer spreadsheets for 2026! More events + another book = more sources of income & expenses. 🙂❤️📚

@MrsPowellsBooks BUT you still have to keep track of every dollar in and every dollar out. Ugh.

Tip: Want to be an author? First become an accountant! Just creating a spreadsheet of my income and expenses is torture. How many days of taxes must I do? AND this is NOT even filing the taxes. My husband will spend hours doing that.

@EmilyHoli13 A rabbi, priest, and a duck walk into a bar… Is the punchline in the picture too? If so, I missed it.

my 9 yo drew this masterpiece—any guesses what it is?! 🦆 #futureillustrator #illustrator

@ElChandler My book takes place at a Children’s hospital.

For writers: where does your book take place?

@HannahWardEdu I think I’m in the 4% club. I’ll finish moving and cataloging over the summer.

How does your home library stack up? In 2023 YouGov surveyed 29,000 Americans to see how many books they have in their homes. The results were disappointing to say the least. - 0 books: 9% (no books AT ALL) - 1–10 books: 20% - 11–25 books: 14% - 26–50 books: 13% - 51–100 books: 12% - 101–200 books: 10% - 201–500 books: 7% - 501–1,000 books: 4% - More than 1,000 books: 3%

@deberelli @HannahWardEdu Bookshelf works well BUT they aren’t searchable by illustrator so I tag my favorites. I cataloged about half before I lost steam.

@HannahWardEdu Has anyone found a cataloging app that they really like? I prefer to find one where I could just scan ISBN’s

@3kingvisions I would use “odd” and “unwise” to describe it rather than rude or wrong. Without warning, I am unlikely to remember a person’s best attributes, as I was when this last happened. If we were close enough that you think I would say nice things, text me or email me so I can.

Is it wrong for someone to use you for a job reference and not tell you?

@markeology Oh, how embarrassing. 😳 You didn’t say “Hey picture book friends,” you weren’t even talking to us and just blurted out like my library students do.

@markeology We know how to scroll past things we don’t understand. And ❤️ them hoping every bit helps your popularity grow. Post whenever and whatever you have the strength to share!

Chronic illness friends: Sorry for turning crypto bro all of a sudden last week. It was kinda thrust upon me (long story) but it actually has been a huge help to my family, and a fun distraction from the confines of my bed. I've spent more time in bed than usual the past week, largely due to overdoing it while delivering a mobility scooter to a woman last week and nearly blacking out while demonstrating how to disassemble it and now I have this strange pain in the back of my neck and a persistent headache that won't quit. I've also been laid up from trying to learn so much about crypto, which I literally knew nothing about at the beginning of last week, and the cognitive exertion is pretty brutal. But I'm still close enough to moderate that I've been able to work sporadically from my bed throughout the day each day, and learn some new skills and make some money along the way that will help pay my daughters tuition at a private school for a couple of years. Hopefully soon I'll make enough to cover her all the way through graduation. I won't have to choose between my supplements and her education. At any rate, sorry if I've flooded your feed lately with stuff you're not interested in. I'll try to be more balanced about what I post going forward.

Hip! Hip! Hooray! Children will learn about goalball! My college kid loves the game but hasn’t been able to recruit enough other college students familiar with the game to play.

@AnnetteWhipple If you find a solution, let me know! What I accomplish during the 3am wake ups (when my brain won’t shut up) seems like it would be better accomplished after work and when I’m fully rested.

I hate insomnia. But...tonight I finished a book and took down some winter decorations my teens had been giving me a hard time about. Usually I just lay in bed and rest, but tonight my brain seemed too wired. I hate insomnia. I've changed behaviors. I have a sleep dr. And yet.

@vickyweberbooks @AnnetteWhipple I intentionally purchase books because of the words in bonus languages. Like the Sofia Martinez books by Jaqueline Jules. My students love it when they can say certain words better than I do!

Can we PLEASE stop telling authors to cut other languages from their books? I’ve talked to multiple authors told to remove the Spanish. 😠 If readers can figure out what a hobbit is or casually drop “valar morghulis,” they can context clue their way through a real lang...

Revive, Renew, Revisit Childhood. a.co/d/0cmx2FLV

World Book Day = a perfect time for a cover reveal. HEROES NEED HELP releases in May. It provides a kid friendly explanation of chemo and encourages readers to support friends while they have treatment. #kidlit #ChildrensBooks #chemo #cancer #library

Excited to add this to my Monet collection! Collecting paintings will never be within my budget, but I can collect Monet books!

@StacySJensen Yes. We absolutely cannot afford every picture book we want so we desperately need our libraries. I have my school library with 14,0000 books and our public library with the library loan system and the digital collections I can access through them.

@MrsPowellsBooks I still need my library too. 😍

The great thing about being a picture book addict is that I have time to read every book I buy. 🙂 A bonus is that they are $20 instead of $30. Plus, they are filled with spectacular artwork! #kidlit #WritingCommunity