I hosted so many wonderful illustrators on my blog and reviewed many perfect picture books in 2014, as well as posting a sprinkling of personal musings. I want to share with you the six most popular posts of the year and thank you all for reading, commenting and participating on Miss Marple’s Musings in 2014! And please come back tomorrow for my New Year’s post!
1. On my fiftieth birthday on March 13th, I shared FIFTY THINGS I HAD LEARNED IN HALF A CENTURY and this garnered the most hits and comments of the year.
2. In February I interviewed author/illustrator, Lori Nichols, with her 2014 debut picture book, MAPLE.
3. In May I interviewed Nancy Armo, whose debut author/illustrator picture book, A FRIEND FOR MOLE, will be published in the fall of 2015.
4. My post on September 1st about diversity in children’s literature, after my summer blog hiatus, surprised me with its popularity.
@VS Conference with writing buddies Cheri Williams and Nathalie MVondo
5. My favorite Perfect Book Review this year according to my readers was THE STORM WHALE, written and illustrated by Benji Davies, whom I am interviewing in February 2015!
6. My penultimate interview of the year with Yuyi Morales was also highly viewed and commented upon both on the blog and on Facebook. 
Yuyi – library hat
In my 20's, with only my guitar and a rucksack, I wandered the continents, immersing myself in the lives of some wonderful people, projects and stories, which changed the way I view my responsibility to others and this earth. Right now I'm a European transplant in the US who writes books for children and young adults. Stories can help us not only navigate our world but can connect us to others, and allow us to inspire and help each other. I believe that equity and empathy should be at the core of our all actions, words, and stories.
I am also a school librarian and I get a kick out of book-matchmaking! And I use the pronouns she/her.
Of course I loved all the interviews, but my favorite was your birthday post! Ein guten Rutsch wuensche ich Dir, liebe Joanna!
Ich danke Dir. My birthday post certainly took the longest to write with many revisions! I actually have a soft spot for my bilingual interviews, and will try and do more next year, so feel free to recommend any German illustrators as I could just about manage that too!
I always love your posts. And, I agree with your readers. But, I really enjoyed your birthday post. Also am partial towards your animal posts.
I love all the cool illustrators you find!! You are pretty awesome Ms Marple! 🙂