I am a huge fan of Bao Phi’s work. His debut picture book, A Different Pond, won the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association Award, a Caldecott Honor for illustrator Thi Bui’s amazing artwork, as well as many other accolades. It was also a mentor text for my own picture book, …
Remember Mary? Nice, huh? I especially love the part about “well-paced couplets that read effortlessly.” Writing a rhymer is a big challenge. It’s hard to make those couplets read effortlessly, but that is always one of my primary writing-a-rhymer goals. On top of telling a real-deal story, the rhythm has …
Owl T. Fencepost just wants quiet. So he writes a letter to B. Squirrel at the bookshop asking for various (funny) ‘how to’ books to make his world a more peaceful place. But the bookshop is out of each of Owl’s requests and so B. Squirrel begins to send him …
Wondering about my use of the word magic? Well, any book that instantly silences two little boys, 6 and 4, who then pore over every page as I read aloud, repeatedly insisting that I stop to let them study the details of EVERY spread, is magic to me. The gist …
A dozen years ago, my neighborhood improved vastly when the town stretched a footbridge across the nearby marsh and built Windsor Castle Park, which includes miles of woodland and riverside trails. I love finding mushrooms along the trail. They seem to come in hundreds of colors. I was drawn to …
Here in NYC, I am soaking up the last few weeks of summer vacation. It’s hard to think about the frenetic energy of school during the laziest August days. But one thing I look forward to as September looms is imagining all of the glorious books I will enjoy with …
I wish I’d picked up a copy of AMAH FARAWAY by Margaret Chiu Greanias and illustrated by Tracy Subisak before I presented to bilingual and ESL educators a couple of weeks ago. This book explores the feeling of living in and between two cultures in a heartfelt but fun and …
While bugs made a couple of cameos in my previous post on Look and Listen, they are the total stars of Hustle Bustle Bugs, written by Catherine Bailey and illustrated by Lauren Eldridge. Lucky for us, Catherine stopped by to chat about this cutie creepy crawly book. TS: Hi, Catherine. …
From the author/illustrator of Pokko and the Drum is Matthew Forsythe’s latest book, Mina. I read it and was smitten with the beautiful, subtle color palette. And when I went to pull photos for my post, I was amused to bump into a few reviews from individuals who didn’t adore …
Today’s post is about two words that often confuse authors, both new and veteran — marketing and promotion. And, there’s a reason those words confuse people. Because they are, in fact, confusing. They generate so many questions: What should the publisher do? What should the author do? When should it …