Stephanie M. Ward's Blog: Notes from a writer with wanderlust

Title: The Last Apple Tree | Author: Claudia Mills | Genre: Middle Grade | Publisher: Holiday House (2025) |  ISBN: 978-0823461882 Publisher’s Book Summary: Twelve-year-old Sonnet’s family has just moved across the country to live with her grandfather after her nana dies. Gramps’s once-impressive apple orchard has been razed for a housing development, with only one heirloom tree left. …

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Title: 101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up (Revised Edition) | Author: Bianca Schulze | Genre: Reference Book | Publisher: Walter Foster Jr. (2025) |  ISBN: 978-0760397763 Publisher’s Book Summary: Discover new books, document your favorites, learn fun facts about books and authors, and develop a lifelong reading habit. 101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up (Revised …

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Title: The Adventures of Faraday Fox | Author: Travis E. Short | Genre: Middle Grade, Fiction | Publisher: Publish Authority | Publication Date: January 2024 | ISBN: 9781954000728 Book Description: The Adventures of Faraday Fox is the story of a domesticated red fox that is released back into the Cherokee National Forest to find happiness. Instead, he encounters perils, danger, and hunger, and he decides …

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Allen and Byte can’t wait for World Space Week! Allen’s got his fancy space boots on and Byte is ready to play catch, alien style. Introduce young readers to outer space with this fun-loving duo during World Space Week, October 4-10th. Over 90 countries are participating with more than 15,000 events around the globe this …

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“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. It is not …

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Title: The Tales of Charlie Wags: London | Author: Sofie Wells & Ali Barclay | Illustrator: Sanna Sjöström | Genre: Picture Book | Publisher: Kendam Press | Publication Date: March 3, 2025 | ISBN: 979-8990005020 Book Description: Charlie Wags is a seemingly ordinary pup. He goes on daily walks, chases squirrels, and scours the kitchen floor for crumbs when no one’s looking. But Charlie has an …

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Title: Why Wolves Matter: A Conservation Success Story | Author: Karen B. Winnick | Illustrator: Karen B. Winnick | Genre: Picture Book, Non-Fiction | Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group | Release Date: February 25, 2025 | ISBN: 979-8886452846 Publisher’s Book Summary: Where did all the wolves go? The birds, the fish, and the beavers? When the top predator was wiped out, …

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I’m honored to learn that Arabella and the Magic Pencil (illustrated by Shaney Hyde and published by EK Books) has been included in the 2025 NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge Booklist. The Challenge encourages children and students to read a set number of books over the year and record their efforts online. Since the Challenge first began …

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Title: Sharing is Caring, Dragon! | Author: Bianca Schulze | Illustrator: Samara Hardy | Genre: Picture Book | Publisher: Clever Publishing  | Release Date: 2024 | ISBN: 978-1956560497 Publisher’s Book Summary: Dragon is on her way to the library to return her borrowed books and check out her favorite book. But when she gets to the bookshelf, she realizes the …

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Title: The After | Author: Joanne Taylor | Genre: Young Adult Fiction | Publisher: Friesen Press | Publication Date: October 2024 | ISBN: 9781038309990 “Taylor’s debut is a taut tale of survival in a post-pandemic world that’s buoyed by an amiable protagonist and a well- developed setting. … A riveting beginning to a promising new series.” – Kirkus Reviews “The After introduces an intrepid teenage heroine as …

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