Kari Lavelle
karilavellewrites.bsky.social
Kari Lavelle
@karilavellewrites.bsky.social
Author of the BUTT OR FACE? series, ODE TO GRAPEFRUIT: HOW JAMES EARL JONES FOUND HIS VOICE (illustrated by Bryan Collier), and WE MOVE THE WORLD (illustrated by @nabihaiderali.bsky.social)
Thank you, @txfreedomread.bsky.social ! I'm hopeful that these school boards will recognize the engagement and educational value of these books.
When the bar for “inappropriate” falls to animal butts, we have really lost the plot.

Tuesday night a Seguin ISD trustee objected to the purchase of Butt or Face: Volume 3 by @karilavellewrites.bsky.social for elementary school libraries.
November 6, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Yay! TOVA’S SWEET SOLUTION (Red Comet Press, 4/21/26) was featured on today’s Indie Kids Book Buzz hosted by @fuse8.bsky.social ! #kidlit
November 6, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
We join PEN America in celebrating a victory for the freedom to read, as a U.S. judge orders banned books returned to military school shelves.

pen.org/press-releas...
A Victory for the Freedom to Read, as Judge Orders Banned Books Returned to Shelves in U.S. Military Schools
A federal judge in the Eastern District Court of Virginia today ordered the Department of Defense to restore all books banned in five schools at U.S. military installations, a ruling PEN America calle...
pen.org
October 24, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
Educators, here’s a free curriculum & discussion guide for Three Blue Hearts!

rhcbteacherslibrarians.com/wp-content/u...
rhcbteacherslibrarians.com
October 24, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
Books like “Butt or Face?” by @karilavellewrites.bsky.social help spark curiosity, laughter, & learning even among relunctant readers.

The majority of Texas parents are not worried about nonfiction books with animal butts, and wish our trustees weren’t either.

Join us:
www.txftrp.org/petition
Sign the Petition: Stop Book Bans in Texas
Join the fight to stop book bans & protect the freedom to read in Texas.
www.txftrp.org
October 24, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
BREAKING!

Delaware officially enacted House Bill 119, the Freedom to Read Act, yesterday.

www.everylibrary.org/win_delaware... via
‪@everylibrary.bsky.social‬
A Win in Delaware! HB119, The Freedom to Read Act, is Now Law
www.everylibrary.org
September 17, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
Comic inspired by (too many) encounters with those who think writing/illustrating children's picture books are a stepping stone to writing/illustrating REAL books. Thanks to Catherine Bailey for the caption! #KidLitChat #LibrarySky #DebbieOhiComics
September 17, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
And how!
Thank you to everyone who's left a review for StanLand. Can't tell you how much it means!

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
September 14, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Thank you for joining today's Zoom, @loritecler.bsky.social and 3rd graders! 🥳
Happy #BookBirthday to BUTT OR FACE? SUPER GROSS BUTTS by @karilavellewrites.bsky.social! 3rd graders had fun at today's virtual celebration, meeting some of the scientists who helped w/the book & guessing if the picture from the book was a butt or a face. #kidlit #TLSky
@sbkslibrary.bsky.social
September 3, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Thank you, @12x12challenge.bsky.social ! Grateful for this community's support! ❤️
🎉 Happy Book Birthday to @karilavellewrites.bsky.social! 🎉

📚 BUTT OR FACE?: SUPER GROSS BUTTS, published by Sourcebooks eXplore, is here!

Find it here: buff.ly/G7Otvfv

#kidlit #12x12PB
September 3, 2025 at 12:56 PM
BUTT OR FACE? SUPER GROSS BUTTS is out today! Thank you to the amazing team BEHIND this book! @sourcebooks.bsky.social 🥳🦫🎉
September 2, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Thank you, @samanthamclark.com ! ✨
After a busy week, yesterday I got to hear wonderful #picturebook authors @coffeycreative.bsky.social @karilavellewrites.bsky.social and @lindsayleslie.bsky.social talking and about the power of critique groups at the @scbwiatx.bsky.social monthly meeting at @bookpeople.com. So good! #scbwi
September 1, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
Excited to donate awesome books by #12x12PB members Kari Lavelle and Chiara Colombi to rural Mississippi libraries through the #SunWriteFun and @ReadertoReader partnership! www.readertoreader.org

Still 6 days to enter the #contest: www.karengreenwald.com/sunwritefun-25

#kidlit #booksky
August 13, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Join me on Sept. 6th at @bookpeople.com ! It's sure to be a hoot!
Are you ready for round three of the hilarious guessing game picture book?

Join Kari Lavelle on September 6th discussing BUTT OR FACE?: SUPER GROSS BUTTS and discover fascinating facts about disgusting animals!

More info + RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/bookpeople...

@karilavellewrites.bsky.social
July 29, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
If you are able, do three kind things today: one for yourself, one for somebody else, and one for the world. We can't make everything better, and we can't yet put an end to this terrible administration and its campaign of unrelenting evil. But we can do small, good things: beauty, grace, connection.
July 8, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
@scbwi.bsky.social members, you have until July 18 to vote for your favorite finalist in your region and all 15 international regions. My own Wings of an Eagle, with Olympian Billy Mills, is a Texas/Oklahoma finalist, as is @karilavellewrites.bsky.social's Ode to a Grapefruit. So many great books!
July 7, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Hey, hey, readers, teachers and librarians! BUTT OR FACE? SUPER GROSS BUTTS (#3 in the series) will be out on 9/2/25! Sourcebooks and I thought it would be fun to celebrate with students on the day of publication via Zoom. Interested in joining me? Read on! 🎉📚💩
#booklaunch #educators
June 24, 2025 at 12:14 AM
This week the Presidential Service Award program was suspended. I’d love to hear one good reason why a program that encourages kids/teenagers to volunteer would be suspended. 🤬
May 30, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
we were raised on these Streets…

#PBS4Life 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
May 3, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
It's MAKING SENSE OF DOG SENSES 1st book birthday today!🥳 This middle grade nonfiction book written by me, illustrated by @razlatif.bsky.social, and published by @owlkids.bsky.social is a fun yet scientific look at how dogs perceive the world.🐕
#kidlit #CanKidLit #edusky #dogs
April 15, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
Does your class or library love THE RABBIT LISTENED? Bring Cori Doerrfeld’s picture books to life in your class or library with this educator guide by @msguerrette.bsky.social filled with discussion questions and activities! #EduSky

📚➡ penguinschoollibrary.com/CoriDoerrfel...
April 9, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Thank you, @bluestemaward.bsky.social ! This is such an honor!
Is it a butt? Is it a face? No, it's Butt or Face? by @karilavellewrites.bsky.social ! The next book on our 2026 list is a hilarious nonfiction romp where readers must guess from close-up photos if it's an animal's butt or it's face. Great for fans of interactive books and animal nonfiction!
April 5, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Today’s book: “Butt or Face?” by Kari Lavelle @karilavellewrites.bsky.social

I mean, it can be kinda hard to tell sometimes…

Get to know some of nature’s lesser-known animals by guessing which end you’re looking at! Some of them are doozies…

#PictureBook #Animals #Butts
March 14, 2025 at 1:31 PM
What an honor! Thank you, @bluestemaward.bsky.social !✨
Big thanks to the dedicated committees and the passionate readers for nominating outstanding books. Excited to announce our 2026 Illinois Bluestem Award List! bit.ly/2026Bluestem... @aisled-org.bsky.social
#BluestemAward #BlueReads
March 14, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Reposted by Kari Lavelle
On sale, 34% off, on Amazon, in honor of #westernmonarchday. Learn about this amazing butterfly’s life cycle in my book #milkweedformonarchs by @beamingbooksmn. Art by Barajas. #monarch #monarchbutterfly #caterpillar #lifecycle #elementaryschool #elementaryschoolteacher #nonfiction #picturebook
February 6, 2025 at 9:38 PM