It’s time for another periodic installment of “Picture Books I Want to Hug.”™ These are books I love so much that I simply want to read them. And hug them. And re-read them. And re-hug them. Re-lentlessly. Re-peatedly. Re-ally. The last book that inspired this feeling in me — and …
It’s mid-November! That means I get to feature a holiday book I’ve been looking forward to–Mylisa Larsen and Taia Morley’s Ho Ho Homework (HarperCollins). This one’s bright and festive, and it wasn’t created in the usual way. So I thought it would be fun to just let the author and …
My latest book, BAD DOG, was released earlier this week! If you remember, I talked a bit about it in my series “Idea to Book Deal” back in April 2018 (yes publishing can feel slow sometimes). But it’s finally here, and looking-back never takes as long as the waiting-for-it-to-be-here part! …
Picture books are great travelers. You can toss one in a tote bag and head out to a beach or park. Sleek and lightweight, these beautiful books are easy to take along on car, bus, or plane trips. My picture book Astronaut Annie recently embarked on an out-of-this-world trip — …
Oh, people. Grab your favorite beverage, settle into your coziest chair, and soak up the brilliance of the one and only Frances Gilbert! Not only is Frances a gifted editor and my favorite Canadian, she is an author as well. SHE’S ONE OF US! This, by the way, is what …
There are a lot of counting books in the world. So it seems to me, if you are going to make one it has to be extra special. Which is why I enjoyed One Dark Bird, written by Liz Garton Scanlon, and illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon. To look at the …
Dictionaries are always evolving and changing, of course, as our language does the same. But adding words means removing others to make room. Understandable, right? But when Oxford University Press, back in 2007, removed 40 common nature words from their Oxford Junior Dictionary—words like acorn, bramble, dandelion, kingfisher, pasture, weasel, …
Oh, to be an outlier. To bust the chains that tether us. To eschew the mundane and embrace the wild! The new book by Rebecca Van Slyke, illustrated by Anca Sanda, Lana Lynn Howls at the Moon, explores this scenario. Lana Lynn, a young sheep that wants a little more …
When you read lots of picture books, as we do around here, you can get a little jaded. Some make me laugh. A few make me tear up. But rarely do I feel surprised, as in “Whoa, I didn’t see that coming.” Then I read Small in the City by …
Hello everyone! Today I’m really excited to share POKKO AND THE DRUM, by Matthew Forsythe. I’m a huge fan of Matthew Forsythe’s work, with some of my favorites like MY NAME IS ELIZABETH and THE GOLD LEAF. This book is something special. It has that classic feel of containing all …