Jane Sutton's Blog

Recently, I had the honor of participating in author and friend Ellen Melissa Cohen’s launch of The Case of the Nasty Notes: A Ben and Blue Mystery. It’s the second book in her Ben and Blue Mystery series and is as entertaining and compelling as the first, Searching for Lucky #3002. As her “in conversation” partner, I got to ask Ellen questions about how she came up with the important themes in this book, including non-traditional families, keeping secrets, and bullying. I asked how she managed to write in the voice of a 10 year old boy and how her career as a psychiatrist influenced her writing.Our conversation flowed freely, and we had fun!

With Doreen Buchinski, Ellen Cohen, and Josh Funk

The well-attended event took place in the cozy new event space of the wonderful independent book store, Ten Trees Books,  in downtown Natick, MA.Ellen Cohen was a student of mine in a Writing Children’s Books community education class I taught in Lexington, MA. It was lovely to have two other former students in attendance— Doreen Buchinski, illustrator of our re-issued version of Me and the Weirdos, and Josh Funk, author of  the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series and many other books.I’m looking forward to more Ben and Blue books!

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Roll out the red carpet for ZAYDE BABYSITS BEFORE PASSOVER……because it won this cool award: Thank you to PJ Library for this honor, thank you to Kar-Ben Publishing for bringing the story into the world, and thank you to Kate Chappell for her charming illustrations!I’m kvelling!

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I was sooooo pleased to open an email and learn that ZAYDE BABYSITS BEFORE PASSOVER  was selected by PJ Library for their 2026 line-up!PJ Library is a wonderful non-profit organization that sends families FREE Jewish-themed books EVERY month.My own grandchildren have received dozens.It warms my heart to know that tens of thousands of children around the world will be reading my story about Ruthie’s day with Zayde, filled with unexpected behavior by Zayde, silliness and love.

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Independent Bookstore Weekend in Lexington, MA was windy, chilly, and damp. But the weather didn’t stop Maxima Book Center from holding outdoor readings by local authors, including moi!Under a blowing canopy, I read my picture book WHAT’S UP WITH THIS CHICKEN? (while Al held up the pictures) to an enthusiastic group of children and adults.

What can be better than giggles from the audience as my chicken puppet interrupts my intro? Those 3 in the front row? My grandchildren!

Thank you, Maxima Book Center, for inviting me to participate in this fun event!

I was glad Al and I wore warm coats!

 

 

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I’m excited to be part of Independent Bookstore Weekend (IBW)…this very weekend!We’re lucky in Lexington, MA to have a great independent bookstore called Maxima Book Center, located in the center of town, near where the first shots of the American Revolution rang out on April 19, 1775.Here are the deets for when I’ll share one or perhaps two of my picture books:Sunday, April 27, 20251 PMMaxima Book Center1717 Mass. Ave. Lexington, MA 02420(781) 457-6185 

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Fellow author Alison Goldberg and I had fun sharing our books and related crafts at Newtonville Books. Thank you to Mary at Newtonville Books for the warm welcome!

A highlight: I introduced ZAYDE BABYSITS BEFORE PASSOVER by saying that the grandfather in the book, Zayde, does lots of silly things.

“I am never silly,” I said.

“You’re always silly,” piped up my granddaughter. “You’re being silly right now!”

Al, my husband, and I getting ready to read and share the pictures

Alison Goldberg with her picture book 18 FLOWERS FOR GRANDMA and me with ZAYDE BABYSITS BEFORE PASSOVER

                   Fun at the crafts table with art inspired by 18 Flowers for Grandma

                                    Finished artwork!

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Excited for this story time featuring ZAYDE BABYSITS BEFORE PASSOVER!Reading and crafts!Saturday, April 1911 AMTen Trees Books22 Main St.Natick, MA

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Recently, I was honored to be interviewed by journalist Nina Livingstone for the online publication Jewish Boston. She asked me questions about my picture books ZAYDE BABYSITS BEFORE PASSOVER and PAULIE’S PASSOVER PREDICAMENT, the humor in my writing, my stories’ subtle plugs for empathy, and more.

Here are some excepts from the article:“Zayde Babysits Before Passover weaves humor, tradition and heartwarming lessons into a story that delights both kids and adults.”Livingstone attended my book launch at Belmont Books and had this to say:“Then Sutton began to read and the hissing of the cappuccino machines went silent. It took mere minutes before it was clear Sutton had entranced her audience—to the point when asked to respond in unison, everyone yelled out ‘Oy!’in all the right places.”Entire Article

At book launch, I’m smiling at my oldest grandchild snuggling with the youngest in the audience

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I’m excited about this event with moi and my talented writing colleague, Alison Goldberg! Here are the details:Sunday, April 6th
11 AM
Newtonville Books                                                                               
Newton’s Independent Bookstore since 1998
10 Langley Rd, Newton, MA 02459-1972
617-244-6619
I will read ZAYDE BABYSITS BEFORE PASSOVER, and Alison Goldberg will read her charming picture book 18 FLOWERS FOR GRANDMA
We’ll both have crafts related to our books!

 

 

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It’s always a joy to be interviewed by Kathy Carroll of Celebrate Picture Books. She never fails to give a detailed description of each book, including photos, and asks fun questions to answer. So when she invited me to talk about my latest picture book, ZAYDE BABYSITS BEFORE PASSOVER, I was all in!Here’s the full link: https://celebratepicturebooks.com/tag/zayde-babysits-before-passover-childrens-book-review/

Two Pages from the book prompting the questions “Who’s babysitting for whom?”

Some of my favorite quotes from the post:“…Zayde and Ruthie’s playful antics and will have kids giggling from page to page.”“A madcap and joyful story for families to share at Passover and whenever grandparents and grandkids get together, Zayde Babysits before Passover would make a wonderful gift and addition to home bookshelves as well as a delightful choice for school and public libraries.”Thank you, Kathy!

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