las vegas

SCBWI Crystal Kite Award Finalist!

| Bonnie Kelso

What a pleasant surprise to find out that Nudi Gill: Poison Powerhouse of the Sea is a finalist for the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Crystal Kite Award!

The Crystal Kite Awards are chosen by other children’s book writers, illustrators, and translators, making them the only peer-given awards in publishing for young readers. But even if you aren’t a children’s book professional, you can still vote for your favorites by creating a free account at www.SCBWI.org.

You can vote for any and all regions, too! Nudi Gill can be found as part of the Southwest Division, because that’s where I live. This is a super cool award, because if you win, you might be selected to present at the SCBWI Summer Conference in August. Also, you get really neat silver stickers to put to the front of your book.

Final voting is until June 20th, so hop on over there and help a sea slug out! You might even discover a few cool books you want to read for yourself or give to a young reader, library, or school.

Best wishes,

Bonnie

Bonnie Kelso writes and illustrates books for children and adults that encourage individualism and brave self-expression. She facilitates art workshops for her local community and beyond. Her debut picture book, NUDI GILL, released April 4, 2023. SEA SMILES, the first of a three-part series, released February 20, 2024. Coming soon: WONDER OF THE WOODS and QUAIL TRAIL, releasing this fall. A lover of nature and travel, she often wanders about outside with her family whenever an excellent opportunity to do so presents itself.

Reading With Your Kids (Podcast)

| Bonnie Kelso

Hey, guess what? I was a guest on another podcast! I can’t help myself, podcasts are so much fun. This one is a more mainstream kidlit podcast called Reading With Your Kids, hosted by Jed Doherty.

Jed, or Jedlie, is a hoot to talk with. In addition to being a podcaster and dedicated advocate for children’s literature, he is a real magician! Our discussion begins about halfway through the episode. We talk about my new picture book, Sea Smiles, the horrors of a wolffish’s mouth, and mysterious ocean saviors. I hope you will take the time to listen in!

See you on the radio!

Bonnie

Bonnie Kelso writes and illustrates books for children and adults that encourage individualism and brave self-expression. She facilitates art workshops for her local community and beyond. Her debut picture book, NUDI GILL, released April 4, 2023. SEA SMILES, the first of a three-part series, released February 20, 2024. Coming soon: WONDER OF THE WOODS and QUAIL TRAIL, releasing this fall. A lover of nature and travel, she often wanders about outside with her family whenever an excellent opportunity to do so presents itself.

Fostering Curiosity and Creativity (Podcast)

| Bonnie Kelso

Hey, guess what? I was a guest on a podcast! And, not just any podcast, but a podcast called Parenting In the Digital Age, hosted by Jamie Buttigieg, the creator of Skill Samurai, a coding, math and STEM academy. (www.skillsamurai.com.au) That’s a dot au, which means they’re in Australia, one of my favorite countries to dive off of. The only thing that would have made this discussion better, is if I could have gone to Sydney in person to have it.

Jamie and I discussed my debut picture book, Nudi Gill: Poison Powerhouse of the Sea, as well as how to add extra value to teachers’ curriculums through sharing picture books, and ways to foster curiosity and creativity in children. We also discuss the joys of teaching, how artificial intelligence is affecting the children’s book industry, the importance of remembering your childhood dreams, and the joy of collaborative art-making.

I hope you’ll take the time to check it out. Jamie has had a wide range of guests that have provided incredible insights regarding parenting in the digital age. So, be sure to listen in to some other episodes. One of my favorites was with Sharna Dawson – From Classroom to Career: Guiding Your Teen’s Journey. Probably because my oldest son is starting high school next year. Yikes! How did that happen?

See you on the radio!

Bonnie

Bonnie Kelso writes and illustrates books for children and adults that encourage individualism and brave self-expression. She facilitates art workshops for her local community and beyond. Her debut picture book, NUDI GILL, released April 4, 2023. SEA SMILES, the first of a three-part series, released February 20, 2024. Coming soon: WONDER OF THE WOODS and QUAIL TRAIL, releasing this fall. A lover of nature and travel, she often wanders about outside with her family whenever an excellent opportunity to do so presents itself.

OPen Books, open Minds 2024 (SLJ & LJ)

| Bonnie Kelso

I have exciting news! I’m going to be on an author panel on Thursday, May 2nd for the School Library Journal and Library Journal virtual event, “Open Books, Open Minds.” The event is free and anyone who registers may attend, although the target audience is educators and librarians.

I’ll be discussing why I write for young people with fabulous authors, Vera Ahiyya, Jarrett Lerner, Rashin Kheiriyeh, and Kaz Windness. I love the dynamics when creatives get together and talk about the things they love most, so I’m really looking forward to this. We will be speaking from 9:55am PT / 12:55pm ET – 10:40am PT / 1:40pm ET.

There will be lots of other great speakers during the event including Kate Messner, Dan Santat, and Minh Lê. Children’s book publishers will be in attendance as well, including Gnome Road. I hope to represent them well.

Hoping you discover wonderful new books to read,

Bonnie

Bonnie Kelso writes and illustrates books for children and adults that encourage individualism and brave self-expression. She facilitates art workshops for her local community and beyond. Her debut picture book, NUDI GILL, released April 4, 2023. SEA SMILES, the first of a three-part series, released February 20, 2024. Coming soon: WONDER OF THE WOODS and QUAIL TRAIL, releasing this fall. A lover of nature and travel, she often wanders about outside with her family whenever an excellent opportunity to do so presents itself.

Chalk It Down! Las Vegas Arts District

| Bonnie Kelso

This Sunday from 11am – 4pm is the first Las Vegas Arts District “Chalk It Down” Chalk Art Festival! I get to be one of the artists, so stop by and say, hi! I’ll be drawing a scene from my new book, Sea Smiles, a picture book all about losing a tooth and sea animals with weird teeth. Music, food, art… what more could you ask for? Hope to see you there!

Chalk with ya later,

Bonnie

Bonnie Kelso writes and illustrates books for children and adults that encourage individualism and brave self-expression. She facilitates art workshops for her local community and beyond. Her debut picture book, NUDI GILL, released April 4, 2023. SEA SMILES, the first of a three-part series, released February 20, 2024. A lover of nature and travel, she often wanders about outside with her family whenever an excellent opportunity to do so presents itself.

Dexter, The Stand-Up Dog!

| Bonnie Kelso

I am soooo excited to announce that I’ve made a new book deal with Gnome Road Publishing! Fall 2025, Dexter, The Stand-Up Dog will be releasing. You may have met Dexter through the internet, or seen him on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He is a beautiful Brittany Spaniel who lost a leg in a car accident. He taught himself how to walk on his two hind legs. Since then, he has been delighting people all over the world with his story of patience, perseverance, and paw-sitivity!

To learn more about Dexter, check out his Instagram account @DexterDogOuray. Dexter’s owner, Kentee Pasek, and I have written the most adorable picture book and now I am starting to create the final art. I can’t wait to share some sneak peeks with you all. Go, Dexter, Gooooooo!

Bonnie

Bonnie Kelso writes and illustrates books for children and adults that encourage individualism and brave self-expression. She facilitates art workshops for her local community and beyond. Her debut picture book, NUDI GILL, released April 4, 2023. SEA SMILES, the first of a three-part series, released February 20, 2024. A lover of nature and travel, she often wanders about outside with her family whenever an excellent opportunity to do so presents itself.

SEA SMILES Book REVIEW

| Bonnie Kelso

Since the launch of SEA SMILES, my second book, I’ve been receiving some pretty great attention. I can’t tell you everything right now, but here is a stellar review from The Children’s Book Review.

“Using marine animal science to explore the common anxiety of losing your first baby tooth, Sea Smiles is an enjoyable exploration of the diversity of the animal kingdom when it comes to teeth. 

When a little girl bites down on an apple and loses a tooth, it takes all the learning and knowledge her friend Wolffish can muster to help her feel better. Luckily, Wolffish knows all about teeth. He tells the little girl about his own teeth, which are great for catching live prey, and about the fleshy spines penguins have instead of teeth and the giant spiked tooth that is the Narwhal’s horn. She learns that some teeth in the sea can inject venom, that the crabeater seal has 32 spiral-shaped teeth (but does not actually use them to eat crab), and that sharks can produce up to 20,000 teeth in a lifetime.

After learning all those crazy, cool, diverse tooth facts, she doesn’t feel sad about her tooth anymore! 

Just like the protagonist, readers will find themselves distracted from their tooth troubles as they hear about the strange tooth-related experiences some other animals have. Alongside dozens of interesting tooth facts, humorous dialogue and wordplay keep the reading light and fun while reminding readers that looking different from others is okay. Bright cartoon-style artwork adds to the fun, interactive mood of the book. 

Sea Smiles is the perfect distraction from tooth troubles—and fascinating for any reader interested in marine animals or tooth biology.” 

—Dr. Jen Harrison, The Children’s Book Review

Whaaaa? Someone gets me! ❤️ Thanks, Dr. Harrison!

Oh, wolffish! You are always a winner in my book.

Keep an eye out for some new Giphys coming for Sea Smiles, including the one above. I’ve hit the big time with Giphy since my “Woo-hoo!” landed over 37 million views. GO NUDI GILL, GOOOOOO!!!! Here it is in case you ever want to use it in a text message after sinking your teeth into your favorite taco.

More exciting news to come soon, but until then…

May you find some time (and allergy meds) to get out in that beautiful spring weather!

Bonnie

Bonnie Kelso writes and illustrates books for children and adults that encourage individualism and brave self-expression. She facilitates art workshops for her local community and beyond. Her debut picture book, NUDI GILL, released April 4, 2023. SEA SMILES, the first of a three-part series, released February 20, 2024. A lover of nature and travel, she often wanders about outside with her family whenever an excellent opportunity to do so presents itself.

Authors & Artists Fair – Las Vegas!

| Bonnie Kelso

When you live in Las Vegas it’s perfectly natural to see some aerial acrobatics at your local library. We’re so lucky! This Saturday, I will be displaying my art and books to visitors to the Clark County Library. The event runs from 11am to 4pm and there will be presentations for writers and readers, a film premiere, and… you guessed it, a Circus Arts Mini Showcase featuring aerial acrobatics! What more could one ask for? Oh, you want it to be free? Well, you’re in luck! It’s 100% FREE! Once again proving that Las Vegas libraries ROCK!!!

Full event information: https://events.thelibrarydistrict.org/event/9591577

I will be signing copies of Nudi Gill: Poison Powerhouse of the Sea and In a Cave (written by the talented Heather Kinser) from 12:24pm to 2:15pm just outside the theater. I hope to see you there!

The only thing that ROCKS! more than libraries is you.

Bonnie

Bonnie Kelso writes and illustrates books for children and adults that encourage individualism and brave self-expression. She facilitates art workshops for her local community and beyond. Her debut picture book, NUDI GILL, released April 4, 2023. A lover of nature and travel, she often wanders about outside with her family whenever an excellent opportunity to do so presents itself.

Creating Desert Marigolds

| Bonnie Kelso

desert marigoldYou can’t walk a few feet without seeing one around my neighborhood right now. Their cheerful little heads atop long thin stems bobbing joyfully like little yellow flags in the breeze. They seem to shout out to everyone who passes by, “Hey! Look at me! Wheee!” They are wild and their lives may be short, but together they have the capacity to brighten this dry desert landscape. Their very existence proves that even under the harshest of environments, there is beautiful bubbling life, just waiting for the perfect conditions in which to burst forth. Continue reading →