Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Traci VW Creations

@tracivw.bsky.social

1.7K followers 1.3K following 1.7K posts

Kidlit author & award winning illustrator, game artist, dog & nature lover. Dragon tamer. Also a picture taker & city gardener. She/her. Supporter of diversity! Rep'd by Samantha Wekstein - @swekstein.bsky.social www.tracivanwagoner.com #PaintPlay for fun

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · Jan 7

Happy New Year! I present the full image of my new avatar, I am a human Artist.

#noai #HumanArtist #KidLitArt #Art #Illustrator #AuthorIllustrator #ChildrensBookIllustrator #GameArtist

Art of a blond girl with her red-brown dog stand in an open window with a balcony and a planter sprouting little white flowers. On the planter are the handwritten words, I am a human Artist.

4 8 110

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

Laurel Snyder @laurelsnyder.bsky.social · 6h

Does anyone know British #kidlit folks who can help me?

I’d like to make a map of children’s book creators who lived/worked in London. Milne & Nesbit & Blake & Streatfield & Travers & Burnett & Barrie &&&…

But someone must have done this before, right? Pass this on and help me find someone?

1 3 5

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

Debbie Ridpath Ohi @debbieohi.com · 6h

Educators! For each #KidLit book I have written and/or illustrated, there's a free Classroom Guide available, created by @marciecolleen.bsky.social (whose highly-acclaimed Teacher's Guides have been recognized by SLJ, PW, & Children's Book Council):

debbieohi.link/Classroom-Gu...

#EduSky

Free Classroom Guides For Educators QR code and collage of book covers

5 10

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

Diana Delosh - illustrator @dtdelosh.bsky.social · 22h

Have a look at my #illustrstions on EVERYDAY #greetingcards #BSNM
www.greetingcarduniverse.com/dianascards

Greeting card with y ink and watercolor illustration of two doves flying. One has rose in its beak. The words: "Just for the 1 Love Birds," are at the bottom of the card. © Diana Ting Delosh

Greeting card with my ink and watercolor illustration of wicker cradle swinging in a willow tree. © Diana Ting Delosh

Greeting card with my ink and watercolor illustration of 5 bear cubs baking. Clockwise from the bottom: Little Bear carries a sack of flour. Big sister bear reads from a cook book while gesturing with a spoon. Bear in the red tee cracks and egg. Bear in yellow pores in the honey. While cub in pink dress stirs the batter. © Diana Ting Delosh

Greeting card with my ink and watercolor illustration of a fox wearing a gingham kerchief and holding a yummy cupcake. © Diana Ting Delosh

3 4

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · 21h

Ugh, just.... ugh.

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

🌻🌻Konabec🌻🌻 @konabec.sheshed.rocks · 1d

No Kings

As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power ...

www.nokings.org

4 120 300

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

P. J. Purtee, AKA Jill (Shields) @pjpurtee.bsky.social · 2d

I SEE YOU SAD BEAR
by Vern Kousky
2023, Roaring Brook Press

A bear. A gloomy day. Friends. A sunny side. Permission.

#PB #picturebooks #childrensbooks #kidsbooks
#kidlit #KidLitCommunity #kidlitillustrators #kidauthors
#kids #teachers #librarians #parents

1 5

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

Katie Slivensky @kslivensky.bsky.social · 18d

Is this how we market books right now? Maybe?

Anyway, a reminder that our adorable geology picture book is out now and is "a must-purchase for nonfiction collections", according to a *starred* review by School Library Journal.

Link: www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Rock...

#KidLit
#EduSky
#STEMEd

Graphic that features a cartoon rock with googly eyes sitting in the middle and staring blankly ahead. Text reads: "It's rough out there. Maybe you need a book about an adorable rock. I Rock: A Geology Tale is a critically acclaimed
silly, thorough, clever jaunt through geology,
written by science educator Katie Slivensky
and illustrated by bestselling illustrator Steph Stilwell.
Now available anywhere books are sold!" Graphic shows the cover of the picture book in the bottom right corner. It features the same rock, but smiling, sitting on a cross section of the ground.

2 24 67

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · 2d

Delightful!

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · 2d

An artist at work carving her new friend, an ice dragon.

And me painting with new brushes in Procreate creating art that makes my heart sing.

#SCBWIArtober2025 #Carve #kidlitart #PaintPlay #dragon #artober #drawingchallenge #artist #art #Procreate

Children's book style art with a blue splatter and drip background and a girl in purple overalls and goggles carving with hammer and chisel an ice dragon.

4 25

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · 2d

Ha! No, ifs, ands, or butts about it!
🌕 Ahooooo!

1 1

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · 2d

Such fun!

1 1

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · 2d

Open your eyes...

#Resist #NoKing

Abstract style art with a silhouette of a large figure wearing a red tie and blond wig about to step off the edge of a cliff with a line of silhouette figures following him with eyes close, the fourth figure on the left edge has paused and opened their eyes.

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

J. Anderson Coats (she/her) @jandersoncoats.bsky.social · 2d

Yes. This. And also, make stuff. Write poems. Paint with watercolors. Scribble stories in your notebook. Make zines, novels, sculptures, screenplays, cartoons, all of it. Make it with your hands and your own human brain. Doesn't matter if it's good or not. It's YOURS.

Boze the Library Owl @sketchesbyboze.bsky.social · 3d

Chatbots and AI slop are going to ruin countless brains. Yours doesn't have to be one of them. Study history. Read poetry. Get acquainted with Bach, Shakespeare, George Eliot. In a time when people are rapidly getting dumber, we need communities devoted to the life of the mind.

1 2 7

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

#DVpit - Diverse Voices Pitch @dvpit.bsky.social · 3d

Halfway into #DVpit 2025 & we've been trending all day!
Not only are we seeing great pitches, but great community!
Special shout out to our board @peterlopez.bsky.social @katchowrites.bsky.social @claribelortega.com
If you have any questions, check out dvpit.carrd.co
#writersky #booksky #artistsky

#DVPit Rules
-#DVpit (Diverse Voices Pitch) is a Bluesky event for marginalized creators that have been historically underrepresented in publishing to pitch their work to agents & editors
-Post your pitch on Bluesky on Wednesday, Oct 8, 2025
between 8AM ET - 8PM ET
-Only post once per hour (6 max pitches per project)
-Must have a polished, query ready manuscript or art portfolio.
-Pitch must include the #DVpit hashtag (illustrators pitching their art must use the #DVArt hashtag)
-A like from an agent = a query request
-A repost from an editor = interest in submission once you've signed with an agent
-A like from an editor = editor who takes unagented submissions
-Please do not like or repost a pitch if you are not an agent or an editor. Support other creators by replying to their pitch or
quote-reposting their pitches
-Visit dvpit.carrd.co for more detailed guidelines.

2 14 89

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

Library Girl @jenniferlagarde.bsky.social · 3d

📢 It’s happening tonight! Join #TLSkyChat at 8pm EST / 5pm PT for our #BannedBooksWeek chat. Let’s stand up for readers’ rights and the power of inclusive stories! questions are posted here 👉 www.tlskychat.com/schedule

#TLSky #Librarians #Skybrarians #EduSky

Slide promoting #TLSkyChat on October 8, 2025. Topic: “Banned Books Week.” Includes reminders to use #TLSkyChat, respond to Q1–Q3, and start replies with A1–A3. Text invites discussion on protecting the freedom to read. Resources at tlskychat.com.

2 4

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · 3d

#Resist
Do NOT back down. He must be stopped!

Art showing a silhouette figure standing up for a littler figure against a big bully in a red tie

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 3d

Stakes are what I see missing most often in elevator pitches and queries. Don't just tell me the plot, help me understand why it matters—especially to the character. #kidlitchat

1 1 8

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · 4d

I had fun with this one! #Candle for #SCBWIArtober2025. There are some fun new brushes to play with in Procreate.

Wh-wha-what is that standing there in the d-d-dark?

#kidlitart #illustration #kidlitartist #childrensbookillustration #drawingchallenge #PaintPlay

In a children's book style of art three kids and a little brown dog stand together in a hallway with only a candle against the dark. Something is standing the dark -- something big. All we can see are long legs and big claws. Eek!

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 4d

Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?

Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚

62 2.8K 7.8K

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · 4d

I'm doing some catch up with #SCBWIArtober2025 with the prompt #Phantom.
This is perhaps not my favorite piece I've done, but I did have fun playing with new brushes in Procreate and interpreting phantom.

#kidlitart #kids #illustration #kidlitartist #illustrator #Halloween #spooky

Children's book style art with three kids running from a phantom whipped up out of the fog with a row of brownstones behind them with jack-o-lanterns on a stoop.

1 12

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

Jess Keating @jesskeatingbooks.bsky.social · 8d

If you or your kids are feeling a sense of 'what good can one person do when times are so tough?', I highly urge you to immerse yourself in some NF stories of those who have created big (and small!) changes through their curiosity.

I've got a few books to start you off!
Hard is not impossible.

Overhead view of three books - Shark Lady, Ocean Speaks, and the Girl Who Built an Ocean, featuring beautiful blue-toned, colourful covers, and the titular woman on each.

1 8 24

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · 7d

Exactly. Sickening.

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · 8d

Thanks a million! It would be fun to illustrate a monster children's book!

Traci VW Creations @tracivw.bsky.social · 8d

Monsters get scared too, even with a #NightLight. But maybe there is something waiting there in the dark. Ooooh!

I'm having a bunch of fun playing with the new Procreate brushes.

#SCBWIArtober2025 #Kidlitart #monster #illustration #PaintPlay

A cute green and hairy monster ducks behind his colorful blanket in bed looking out into the dark textured purple beyond the light of his flower nightlight. Eyes peering out of the dark at the bottom of the bed.

1 2 15

Reposted by Traci VW Creations

Jo Renfro - Peg Gets Plucky coming in March 2025/Kidlit @jorenfro.bsky.social · 8d

#kidlitartpostcard day snuck up on me! I’m Jo and I love creating stories and art that kids of all ages can connect to. My portfolio website is jorenfro.com and I’m rep’d by @swekstein.bsky.social

1 9 51