As the holidays approach and we close out 2019, The Book Friends Forever look back on the past decade with some of their highs and lows both personally and professionally. They also share some of their goals for the new decade!

*ADDENDUM to the last podcast episode #43: Grace re-visited what she would like to title her memoir and came up with a new one… “Better Than Expected”. Alvina also noted that she would title her memoir, “The Best is Yet to Come” and there’s a funny and unique story as to why!

What’s New With You?

Grace has been really busy with the Eric Carle Museum exhibit called “Now & Then” that she curated with Jarret J. Krosoczka! Once that was up and running, she finally finished up the board books for a project with Charles Bridge Publishing. The books are going to part of a series called “Math is All Around Me” which helps children see that math is found everywhere not just in numbers at school!

While finally submitting that art work, she treated herself to a trip to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to take a peek at the wonderful Kay Nielsen exhibit.

Alvina and the guy she has been dating officially broke up and have decided to go separate ways into 2020. It’s been sad but also a little exciting to start the year fresh and full of opportunity with a blank slate. She’s been busy also trying to get that goal of “Inbox Zero” by the time she goes on vacation! Listen in to determine if you think she cheated or not to reach that goal!

Trips Down Memory Lane…

Grace and Alvina dive into reflection on their lives this past decade. Some of Grace’s highlights: Getting married, having a child, moving to Western MA, and having her books win some major book awards! “Where the Mountain Meets The Moon” won the Newbury Honor Award in 2010. ( She was on the TODAY show with Al Roker!) and A Big Mooncake for Little Star won a Caldecott Honor this past year in 2019. Grace mentions that 2007 was a somber year revolved around the death of her late husband Robert’s passing. However, this decade has been one full of LIVING and was like a re-birth for her in many ways.

Some of the harder or more negative things that happened to her this decade: Adjusting to motherhood and trying to balance mom-life vs. work-life, and of course the 2016 presidential election result.

For Alvina, the biggest highlight of the last decade was marrying Greg. The hardest part of the last decade, was losing Greg. In the midst of all the grieving and mourning, so many other positive things came out of the decade for her: Moving to Brooklyn, buying a condo, having the books she published win many accolades and become New York Times Bestsellers, running a marathon, and taking a sabbatical!

Grace and Alvina discuss some of their goals for this new decade. Alvina wants to continue to try and find a life partner, set-up her condo, and work on balancing herself out in terms of her health, work, family, and social life. Grace wants to create her own definition of what success means and be truly confident and satisfied in that. She would like to create one more picture book in a fade-away style.

What Are We Grateful for?

Grace is taking a trip to Taiwan soon with her family and she is really stressing about how un-prepared she is for it. However, she is grateful for the fact that she can remind herself how lucky she is to be able to take this trip.

Alvina is thankful for all the people in her life that help her, the wonderful co-workers she has, and for HOPE. Hope is something her parents instilled in her and it makes her feel so much better sometimes.

2-Minute Book Review- by Alison Morris:

Alison Morris is a nationally recognized children's book buyer with an infectious enthusiasm for reading and 20 years' experience matching books to readers. As the Senior Director of Title Selection for nonprofit First Book, she oversees the curation of children’s and young adult books on the First Book Marketplace, hand-selecting a diverse range of titles that speak to and address the needs of kids in underserved communities, with a keen eye to inclusion, authenticity, and kid-appeal. She previously served as Senior Editor at Scholastic Book Clubs, Children's Book Buyer for Wellesley Booksmith and The Dartmouth Bookstore, and was the founding blogger of the ShelfTalker children’s book blog for Publishers Weekly. She'll be joining us from her home near Washington, DC where she spends LOTS of time discussing books with her husband, illustrator and graphic novelist Gareth Hinds.