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 …
“Sometimes it’s hard being a goldfish. You dream of growing fat and exploring coral reefs. But instead here you are in a bowl. Going round and round in circles. And sometimes it’s hard being a child in the summer in the city. All your friends leave and there’s no one …
Jennifer Thermes has written and illustrated an amazing book. MANHATTAN, Mapping an Island is a BIG book.Both physically and contextually. The size of the book itself is bigger than most (13 1/4 inches by 10 1/4 inches). The page count of the book is longer than most (64 pages, most picture …
Professional Crocodile is a wonderfully wordless picture book that was first published in Italy. I decided to write about it today because it feels so full to me of character and story that I don’t notice that there are no words. Mr. Crocodile wakes up and begins his day. He …
MAYBE TOMORROW? by Charlotte Agell and Ana Ramírez González deals with some very deep, hard, big topics (depression, death, sadness, grief) in such a successfully approachable way. It’s a special combination when a book can be so comfortably relatable to a child and so uplifting to an adult as well. …
I have been waiting for this book. It was about 3 or so years ago and I was visiting with my editor, Jennifer Greene at Clarion. I saw a little bit of Lottie & Walter on her desk. I squealed when I saw Anna’s gorgeously recognizable style. Jennifer told me …
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. …
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 …
The Fox on the Swing written by Evelina Daciūtė and illustrated by Aušra Kiudulaitė is translated into English from Lithuanian. It is quirky, odd, unexpected, and delightful. This book is charming and unique. The text is chatty and clever. The fonts change and morph into the illustrations creating a seamless …
Frank the Seven-Legged Spider, written and illustrated by Michaele Razi. Perhaps it’s the interminable winter? The staggering cold? Remaining housebound for fear of slipping on the ice?I have been quite cranky lately. But finding this little gem absolutely made me smile and, quite FRANK-ly, I needed that. The first line …