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Kat Zhang

@katzhangwriter

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Rep'd by Alyssa Jennette. Author of Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Picture Books!

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Rainy, colder weather is definitely giving us Ohio autumn vibes. Check out our selection of fall, spooky, and Halloween books. We are open Sundays 12-5pm.

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SAVE for your next library trip! 📚

💬 Comment AUGUST for the full list to the books from both Parts of this “What We’re Reading in This Month” series. No need to wait!

If you are wondering what to read to your LIttles this month, I’ve got you! Check out what we’re reading this month…but really you can read them anytime.

👀 This is PART 2 of my what we’re reading this month collection for August. Check out my Reels for PART 1!

National Tell a Joke Day (8/16) -
✨ Unfunny Bunny, Kenan Thompson + Bryan Tucker + Tony Neal (Feiwel & Friends)

World Never Give Up Day (8/18) -
✨ After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again, Dan Santat (Roaring Brook Press)
✨ The Most Magnificent Thing, Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press)
✨ The Wobblysaurus, Rachel Bright + Chris Chatterton (Hachette)

National Bao Day (8/22) -
✨ Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao, Kat Zhang + Charlene Chua (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

World Rock Paper Scissors Day (8/27) -
✨ The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Drew Daywalt + Adam Rex (Storytide)

International Bat Night (8/29) -
✨ Amara and the Bats, Emma Reynolds (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

Beach Day (8/30) -
✨ Beach Hair, Ashley Woodfolk + Nina Mata (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
✨ Hot Dog, Doug Salati (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
✨ I Will Swim Next Time, Emily Joof + Matilda Ruta (Floris Books)

#KidsBookstagram #RaisingReaders #BackToSchool #AugustReads #BookRecs

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Back to School Books!

We go back to school in two weeks and here are some books we recommend for this time of year:

❓When do you go back to school?

All Are Welcome Here, by Alexandra Penfold | Suzanne Kaufman - a modern classic of the back to school genre, featuring a diverse school community & the repeating phrase "all are welcome here"

Oliver and His Alligator, by Paul Schmid - Oliver is very nervous about the first day of school, so naturally he brings along an alligator

Be Kind, by Pat Zietlow Miller | Jen Hill - a thoughtful book featuring a girl who notices her classmate's sadness and thinks of how she can help her

Your Name Is a Song, by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow | Luisa Uribe - a girl is embarrassed when her new classmates can't pronounce her name, until her mom teaches her the beautiful musicality of a variety of names

Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome, by Kat Zhang | Charlene Chua - Amy figures out how to welcome a new classmate who doesn't speak English

Yuna's Cardboard Castles, by Marie Tang | Jieting Chen - a beautiful book about how children can overcome language barriers

The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh, by Supriya Kelkar | Alea Marley - Harpreet loves to show his moods through his colorful patkas, but when he has to move to a new city and school, it takes a new friend to help him reach past his sadness

Just Ask! by Sonia Sotomayor | Rafael López - a book that introduces children to classmates who have physical differences, such as dyslexia, asthma, autism, deafness, or Down Syndrome, with a theme/analogy of a garden

You Can Sit with Me, by Rachel Tawil Kenyon | Tatiana Kamshilina - with the repeating phrase, "you can sit with me," the book walks through situations that might make kids feel sad or lonely while illustrating how to be a good friend

Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes - Chrysanthemum loves her special name, until she gets to school and is made fun of for it - luckily a teacher is there to open her classmates' eyes to the beauty of "different" names

Danbi Leads the School Parade, by Anna Kim - Danbi is nervous to start school in a new place, where she doesn't speak the language, but figures out how to connect with her classmates an

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A new library alphabet! Did I spend way more time working on this today than I intended to? Yes, yes I did. But it brought me joy.

When we took posters off the walls for the library to be painted this summer, we lost a letter from the old alphabet set behind a permanent bookshelf. So instead of buying one somewhere, I decided to make one myself with the characters I wanted to include.

I still have 2 1/2 weeks until we're back to work, but at least this is one less thing I'll have on my lengthy to-do list!

#LibraryLife #SchoolLibrary #ElementaryLibrary #SchoolLibrarian

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Tuesday Booklist | Literacy is Legacy 📚

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

This week, we shared one of our guiding principles:

Reading doesn’t begin when a child learns to read. It begins when someone chooses to read with them.

For our youngest readers, that simple act can shape a lifetime.

Long before children read independently, they are building language, curiosity, confidence, and connection through the stories shared with them. Every page turned together helps create the foundation for learning, imagination, and a lifelong love of reading.

This week’s Booklist celebrates stories that encourage kindness, perseverance, creativity, family, and community while reminding us that every lifelong reader begins with someone willing to share a story.

Recommended Reads (Ages 0–5 | Read Aloud & Early Learning):

📖 Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao — Kat Zhang
🏅 Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Title

📖 The Magical Yet — Angela DiTerlizzi
✨ Growth Mindset • Confidence • Perseverance

📖 Have You Filled a Bucket Today? — Carol McCloud
🏅 Mom’s Choice Award

📖 The Old Truck — Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey
🏅 New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book

📖 A House for Every Bird — Megan Maynor
✨ Kindness • Community • Creativity

Through our BIG Books Instead of Guns initiative, we strive to ensure every young person has access to the books, stories, and opportunities that help shape brighter futures.

Start early. Start together. Start here.

#ChristopherWallaceMemorialFoundation
#CWMF
#BIGBooksInsteadOfGuns
#LiteracyMatters
#CWMFBooklist

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Watching our children find their people is one of the sweetest parts of parenting.

And watching them feel left out, lonely, or struggle with friendships? That hurts our hearts in a way that's hard to explain.

Most of us spend a lot of time thinking about helping our children find good friends.

But we also have an opportunity to help them be good friends.

Stories are one of our favourite ways to do that.

In honour of International Friendship Day, our MAR Jr. Reviewer team have put together a collection of about friendship for ages 5–18. These stories explore kindness, belonging, welcoming new friends, navigating differences, repairing relationships, and standing up for one another.

📚 We'd love to know...
What's a children's or YA book that has helped your child think differently about friendship?

Share it in the comments as we're always looking to grow our reading lists!

For more book recommendations, and details on these reads, head to our blog. Link in bio.

And if you have a young reader who loves books, we'd love to have them join MAR Jr. Reviewers. Their recommendations help us discover more diverse stories for families across Canada, one book at a time.

#InternationalFriendshipDay #MARJrReviewers #DiverseBooks #ChildrensBooks #Belonging #RepresentationMatters #ReadingTogether #RaisingReaders #MAR

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My ALA haul was flawless this year! I got all the books I am most excited for this year! Some of them are titles I adore and have read but do not own, and some are new to me. I am looking forward to adding some to my collection and my new schools collection! I love spreading the book joy to the kiddos! 💜💜💜

Which of these have you read? Which would you like to read?

#schoollibrarian #blacklibrarian #picturebooks #kidslit #childrensliterature

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Hi! I am Charlene Chua. I’m the illustrator of over 30 books for children.

I’ve won a ALA Stonewall award, & worked with publishers including Simon & Schuster, Penguin, Macmillan, Candlewick, Abrams + more.

Interested in new picture books, chapter book, board book, early reader graphic novels

ALSO interested in non-book projects!

✨Pls help share/repost this post!✨

Portfolio: CharleneChua.com (link in bio)
Agent: Tracy Marchini Literary

#PortfolioDay #kidlit #kidlitart #bookillustrator

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This week’s haul 📚 Asian representation @vancouverpubliclibrary

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Thank you so much to Indigos Stoney Creek for having me over last Saturday!

I had a lovely time reading HUG? and giving out stickers to the kids! Also - there are signed copies of HUG? and THE PINK PAJAMAS at the store now!

#books #kidlit #HamOnt @indigo @indigostoneycreek Photo of Charlene Chua holding a copy of Hug? at a reading for kids at Indigos bookstore

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📚❤️Discover three captivating stories from Asia, including two delightful food tales—one celebrating the art of ramen and the other exploring the joy of dumplings—alongside a third story that reveals powerful perspectives on culture and identity.

📘Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao -✍@katzhangwriter 🎨@charlenedraws 📚@simonkids
Amy loves to make bao with her family. But it takes skill to make the bao taste and look delicious. And her bao keep coming out all wrong.

📕Ramen for Everyone - ✍@ediblewords 🎨@shihopate
📚@simonandschuster @simonkidsuk @simonkids
Hiro aspires to make a bowl of ramen as delicious as his dad’s—and runs into some surprises on his first attempt!

📗Aya Has Never Seen A Bear - 📚@greystonekidsbooks @pubspotlight
A marvelous story about Aya, a young girl whose grandfather lives a traditional life in the mountains of northern China.

🌸 Follow, like, save and share with others who would ❤️ this.
#aanhpiheritagemonth #aapi #aapiheritagemonth#AmyWu #Ramen

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🏀The same grit and perseverance we celebrate in these books was on display in last night’s game. A reminder that determination can make all the difference and that EVERY second counts. So give it all you got!

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