Review by Kristi Mahony

If you are looking for a book to help welcome in the fall season, Gather Grateful (Candlewick Press, September 2025) by author Megan Litwin and illustrator Alexandra Finkeldey will be the one you want to read. This lyrical rhyming picture book follows animals and people as they “gather” during the wonderful season of fall. Outside, squirrels gather acorns and seeds, while inside, families gather around a bustling table, demonstrating the lovely connection between how both people and animals come together to prepare and celebrate these autumn months. Unique and striking complimentary colors –with shades of blue accenting the traditional fall oranges –add an additional layer of glowing warmth to the story. With themes of love, gratitude, family, and community, Gather Grateful will blanket you in a coziness perfect for this time of year.
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On Writing:
Here are some ways you can use Gather Grateful as a mentor text for your own writing:

Be true to yourself:
Megan finds joy in magical moments and, through her writing, others are invited into that bliss. Her love of poetry, nature, family, and the joy of fall is so genuine and inviting in this book, it will leave readers wanting to return to it over and over again. Writers are often encouraged to “write what you know”, but when you’re brainstorming manuscript topics, perhaps a good place to start is: write what you love. 

Find a unique hook:
There is a plethora of fantastic fall books out in the marketplace, but Megan chose to do something different and entirely unique that set this book apart. She focused on another aspect of fall: that it brings people and animals (respectively) together. She found the joy of gathering, put it in words, and together with Alexandra brought it to life. If your manuscript is on a topic with lots of competition, find a creative hook to make it stand out.

Leave room for art (and magic):
When I first saw this manuscript as Megan’s critique partner, it was under 120 words and did not contain a single art note. As writers, we almost always have a vision and often think we want that vision to come alive through art. But what if someone – equally as talented in their craft – takes those brilliant words and works their own magic? The gathering of Megan’s carefully chosen words and Alexandra’s confidently selective color palette led to this result – a picture book that is as breathtaking as fall itself. 

To learn more about Megan, visit her website here or connect with her on social media at https://www.instagram.com/meganlitwinbooks/ or https://bsky.app/profile/meganlitwinbooks.bsky.social

​You can learn more about Alexandra Finkeldey here.

Guest review by Kristi Mahoney

​In Bear’s Bicycle, written by Laura Renauld and illustrated by Jennie Poh (Beaming Books, 2021) we are reunited with the lovable cast of characters first introduced by this author/illustrator combo in Porcupine’s Pie (Beaming Books, 2018). In this follow-up book, Bear wants to learn to ride his bike for the upcoming Summer Scoot. After multiple trips to the library to find a how-to guide, Bear discovers that doing everything by the book doesn’t always work out. Bear’s Bicycle is an endearing story about practice, perseverance, and the importance of friendship. Add in Jennie Poh’s whimsical illustrations and you have a book that will leave you feeling as warm and fuzzy as bear himself.   

On Writing:
Laura Renauld’s writing style is delightfully consistent with her original story in this series. It’s filled with things that I personally love in a book and appreciate as a writer: orderly lists, fun-to-say onomatopoeia, distinct voice, and bonus back matter that will delight anyone teetering on whether or not to take on a two-wheeler.
 
And if you happen to fall in love with this woodland cast as fast as I did, you won’t have to wait long to see more of them. Cruise on over and pencil in the release date of the third book in this series, Squirrel’s Sweater (Beaming Books, anticipated September 21st, 2021).

​To learn more about Laura visit here.