Memorial Day weekend may not be the official start of summer, but it sure brings on summery thoughts—about, say, swimming pools, sandy beaches, and—for some of us—lazy days with lots of books. Take Nick, for instance, the title character in Curtis Manley’s book The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to …
I’m checking in from this dreamy place – Scotch Hill Farm in upstate New York. Last November, I had a magical email arrive in my inbox, informing me that I was receiving the Sendak Fellowship award, which meant a paid illustrator’s retreat for a month on Maurice Sendak’s former property. …
Last weekend I had the privilege of meeting many talented young writers who’d created their own picture books, and other types of books, at the 43rd Annual Illinois Young Authors Conference (Yes, the 43rd!) This fantastic event celebrated exceptional writers in grades Kindergarten through 8th who’d won writing contests at their schools. (Each …
Meet Shorty & Clem! Shorty is a really short dinosaur. A shortysaurus, to be exact. Clem is a blue quail. A quail is some kind of bird. While Clem is out, a package arrives at the door with his name on it. Shorty gets super excited and finds the box irresistible. …
To be read as though you have the worst cold ever: Bob, Not Bob! written by Liz Garton Scanlon & Audrey Vernick is illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators, Matthew Cordell. The premise is that poor Little Louie has the worst cold ever. “Today, Little Louie’s nose was clogged. …
I think every picture book author has a mental list of picture books he or she loves SO MUCH that the writer wishes he or she had written them. My personal “why-couldn’t-I-have-written-that” list has five books on it.* And one of them is Carolyn Crimi’s BORIS AND BELLA, an absolutely …
I appreciate a good metaphor. I really appreciate an entire book full of them. But I lurrrrve a quirkily illustrated book full of them that makes me smile as I page through AND makes my heart go all melty at the end. Oh, and it rhymes, too! No wonder …
The Neuroticism of Accomplishment (#16 in a series) In the picture book world, for those unfamiliar, authors and illustrators are given the opportunity to have a look-see at what their soon-to-be, real-life book will look like. It is an assemblage of pages called an F&G, which stands for folded and …
I occasionally teach a workshop on “Writing the Rollicking Read-Aloud,” so I’m always on the lookout for books to add to my resource list. I’m happy to share with you the latest addition to that list : WHOOPS! by Suzi Moore and illustrated by Russell Ayto (Templar/Candlewick, 2016). It starts …