All picture books, all the time

Sparky & Spike (+ GIVEAWAY)

My guess is you already know the stars of the book Sparky & Spike: Charles Schulz and the Wildest, Smartest Dog Ever. You don’t think so? Well, maybe these two clues will help: Charlie Brown and Snoopy. This book, written by Barbara Lowell and illustrated by Dan Andreason, takes us to the …

GOLIATH, The Boy Who Was Different + Gondra winners announced!

I couldn’t decide… I was torn between a clever picture book with darling cartoon illustrations. Because I know we have many educators who visit this site and it would be a terrific addition to a classroom project. (Perhaps I’ll do it next month?) But, instead I went for the art. …

1, 2, 3, JUMP! + an interview with author Lisl H. Detlefsen + a giveaway!

Confession: I am not a confident swimmer. As a kid, I had lessons at the Y, but I never quite developed the breathing skills necessary to be more than a minnow. Well, I could save myself. Probably. As I paged through Lisl Detlefsen’s new picture book, 1, 2, 3, JUMP! …

HOW TO GIVE YOUR CAT A BATH by Nicola Winstanley & John Martz

As Mike pointed out in his post last week, “how to” picture books offer lots of opportunities for humor. So I thought I’d follow up with another recent example: How to Give Your Cat a Bath in Five Easy Steps, written by Nicola Winstanley and illustrated by John Martz (Tundra, …

HOW TO WALK AN ANT by Cindy Derby

Hello again, everyone. Spring is in the air and everywhere I look, people are out walking their dogs. So when I was in the bookstore the other day, and I noticed HOW TO WALK AN ANT (By Cindy Derby). I picked it up and quite quickly knew which book my …

What a sport — a visit with illustrator Terry Widener & giveaway!

The reason I love writing picture books so much is because of…the PICTURES! Seriously, working with a variety of amazing artists has taught me so much about leaving room for the illustrator’s ideas and feelings about our topic. It’s a true partnership and I treasure each relationship. Sometimes it seems …

You Are Home, by Evan Turk

I don’t remember where I first saw mention of author-illustrator Evan Turk’s upcoming YOU ARE HOME — An Ode to the National Parks. I only remember how my heart rate picked up when I saw this cover. Actually, I think my family has a slide of my brother and me …

Gondra’s Treasure! Interview with Linda Sue Park (and me) and a GIVEAWAY!

I am a lucky illustrator. Not only is this the second book that I was asked to work on with Linda Sue Park (we did Yaks Yak, Animal Word Pairs), but I got to draw dragons! Gondra’s Birthday was on April 2 and I asked Linda Sue to help me …

Gear up for GROWING SEASON

I’m a longtime fan of author/illustrator Maryann Cocca-Leffler. Not only does she have a truly cool name, but her books are awesome. So when I heard she had a new release — called GROWING SEASON — coming from Sterling Books in April, I hit the pre-order button so fast I …

A visit with debut author Hayley Barrett and BABYMOON

You know how sometimes you find a book in which text and art work so beautifully together it gives you a big ‘ol lump in your throat? That’s how I felt when I paged through Hayley Barrett’s BABYMOON, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. (It didn’t hurt that we’d just had a …