Most adults still cringe when remembering their middle school years – that bridge between little kid and the know-it-all teen confidence. It is a time when everything is a BIG THING and drama rules the day. New York Times Bestselling Author Terri Libenson still lives inside those intimidating years, tackling the trials of navigating middle school with humor and heart in her popular Emmie & Friends series. Her work has been described as “clever, funny work by a great cartoonist.”
Raised on comics of all kinds, Libenson became a cartoonist and later a graphic novelist. “I always tell kids, teachers, librarians and parents that reading is reading and comics count,” Libenson said.
In Always Anthony from the Emmie & Friends series the super-shy nerd, Leah, is paired with the TPRW (Too Popular For Words) basketball player, Anthony. The two opposites develop an unlikely friendship, which is tested when they witness a bullying event. Leah is triggered from her own past bullying incidents. Anthony is torn. The bullies are his basketball teammates.
This is not the first time Libenson has confronted bullying. She has written about emotional and verbal bullying, but this is the first time she has addressed physical bullying. “Unfortunately, bullying is relatable and tricky for a lot of kids. I try to write universal stories/themes like bullying, shyness, drama-filled dances and create empathetic characters,” Libenson said.
The large ensemble of kids at Lakefront Middle School, which she writes about provides many opportunities to highlight diverse backgrounds and back stories according to Libenson. Always Anthony has special significance to her.
“As a Jewish author, it was meaningful for me because, you may or may not know, Leah, one of the main characters in Always Anthony, is Jewish and sometimes discusses her family traditions. There is an important lesson in the book focusing on teshuvah (Hebrew for “repentance” and “return”), which is central to the story’s theme of bullying and forgiveness,” Libenson said.
Libenson writes and illustrates one book per year. She admits to needing lots of structure and follows a detailed outline to stay on deadline. “I need about a gallon of coffee, a full belly and everything cleared off my desk. I give myself a quota of writing two chapters per day which helps keep me on track–usually,” Libenson laughed. Still, there is plenty of room for side tangents leading to some fun and unexpected side plots.
In addition to New York Times bestselling children’s book author, Libenson is an award-winning cartoonist of the syndicated daily comic strip, The Pajama Diaries, which ran from 2006–2020. The Pajama Diaries launched with King Features and ran in hundreds of newspapers internationally until its retirement. It was nominated four times for Best Newspaper Strip by the National Cartoonists Society and won in 2016. She has also been nominated twice for Cartoonist of the Year and is an award-winning humorous card writer for American Greetings.
Last year, Libenson was a featured guest at the Young Authors Conference, where she amazed and inspired hundreds of students with her creative process, candid stories, and encouragement for budding authors and illustrators. She didn’t just speak to the room—she connected with students in a way that left a lasting impression on teachers and young creatives alike.
Fresh off her Entirely Emmie tour—which took her from Arizona to California, Denver, and all the way to Sydney, Australia—Terri Libenson continues to captivate readers around the globe. Can’t wait for your signed copy? You can order ENTIRELY EMMIE from the Buckeye Book Fair today and bring home the heart, humor, and honesty of middle school life—told the Emmie way.
Terri Libenson is a regular at the Buckeye Book Fair. Her Emmie & Friends series helps parents and kids negotiate the good and the not-so-fun times of middle school reality with a dose of humor and empathy. Whether you have a middle school student at home or harbor a latent fear of your middle school days, the experiences of Emmie & Friends: ENTIRELY EMMIE will strike a chord. We know visits with Terri Libenson at the Buckeye Book Fair make everyone happy. Who knows, if you can’t relate to one of her many current characters, you may see yourself in a new one.
“These days, Emmie doesn’t feel so invisible. At least not around her best friends and her crush, Tyler. Class-clown Joe’s jokes aren’t landing the way they used to. Who doesn’t love a good prank? Apparently not his so-called friends, who don’t even seem to care if he’s around. When their class goes on an end-of-year camping trip, Emmie and Joe find themselves stuck together–and expect the worst. But what happens instead turns out to be entirely unexpected”
In 2022 Terri helped us kick-off the celebration of the 35th Anniversary of Buckeye Book Fair. We teamed up with Wayne County Public Library and hosted a series of author presentations. Check out Terri’s presentation here!
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