Hey, it’s almost Halloween! That calls for a scary story. But not TOO scary. Luckily, I’ve got the perfect book: I Want to be in a Scary Story by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jean Jullien (Candlewick, 2017). Why is it so perfect? Because Little Monster wants to be in exactly that …
I know we have many fans of Jessixa Bagley’s books around here (see this post and this one), so I’m thrilled to have Jessixa and her husband and collaborator Aaron Bagley visit us to chat about their recent book Vincent Comes Home (Roaring Brook Press)—and, well, lots of other good …
Remember the book I’m Bored from a few years ago? You know, the one by Michael Ian Black and Debbie Ridpath Ohi in which a young girl, who is bored, tries to prove to a potato, also bored, that kids are not boring. Despite all her creative efforts—spinning, singing, pretending she’s …
I love lists. They make me feel more organized than I actually am. So I’m going to dive right in with eight things I love about Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal: Alma! Just look at her—that sweet face, those adorable pants. The book’s premise, which …
Sometimes we love a book SO much around here that two of us wind up posting about it (and sometimes one of those two—who normally is very careful to check the archives to avoid such a situation—doesn’t realize she’s writing about a book that’s already been covered till right before …
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A few months ago at a book festival, I was sitting at the signing tables across a large, cavernous room from the stage. Even at this distance, in a jam-packed building known as The Barn, I had no trouble hearing the cascades of laughter coming from the reading area. Who …
Before moving to Chapel Hill six years ago, my family spent ten years in Denver. Although it was easy to leave the long winters behind, it wasn’t so easy to leave good friends, including a wonderful community of writers. One of those writers was Caroline Stutson, a picture book author …
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes certain picture books a pleasure to read aloud. Not to that one book-loving child (who will probably listen to anything), but to a much tougher audience—like, say, the preschoolers who show up at a library or bookstore reading, who may range …
Well, here we are—shockingly—in December. ‘Tis the season to be harried, so for everyone’s benefit (including my own), this post will be short and sweet. In fact, I could probably boil it down to one sentence: Read Bonny Becker’s Bear & Mouse books. Which one? Any will do. But, given …
Ann Whitford Paul is an author, poet, teacher and mentor to many writers (including me). In addition to her acclaimed children’s books, Ann is the author of Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication. Ann’s latest book is If Animals Said I Love You, illustrated by …