Arthur Levine’s new picture book, What a Beautiful Morning, illustrated by Katie Kath, launches on August 8. It is a stellar example of treating a story concerning a serious issue with tenderness and joy. Full disclosure; this review may be biased for a couple of reasons. First of all, I consider Arthur a …
Mother Bruce, by Ryan T. Higgins, is not just another ‘are you my mother’ books. It is an hilarious story, wonderfully illustrated and with a lovely twist. Bruce is a grumpy bear who has a passion and an appetite for eggs. He searches recipes on the internet to find new …
Liz Wong’s debut picture book, QUACKERS, is 100% charm. It is sweet and funny and very satisfying. I’ve written before about how much I like stories of friendship and this one ranks right up there. It is the tale of Quackers, a cat that lives at a duck pond with a …
At a bookstore this week I stumbled across the rerelease of a book I remember as a child, TIME FOR SPRING, by Crockett Johnson. A title that is particularly fitting for this time of year, and Johnson is a particular favorite of mine. Most everyone loves his books like HAROLD’S PURPLE CRAYON, …
My absolute, by far, unquestionably favorite book of last year was the gorgeous and moving BOATS FOR PAPA by Jessixa Bagley. It touched me. It moved me. It made me question, laughingly, why I think I could/should even be in this business. It had a lot of Caldecott buzz, deservedly. …
A DOG WEARING SHOES is a delightful and moving book. Written and illustrated by Sangmi Ko, it is a somehow familiar story to me regarding a dog or two from my youth. When Mini and her mother rescue a dog in traffic wearing shoes, they can’t find it’s owner right away …
This is a completely self-indulgent post. I apologize. I thought initially I’d post about my participation in PiBoIdMo, but Tammi already did a couple weeks ago with a nice tribute to Tara Lazar, the brains behind it. Then I thought I’d post about some favorite winter holiday books. And I …
When I was about 17 or 18 a teacher introduced me to a book of short stories called Elephant Bangs Train. It was a collection of some of the most unusually written short stories, similar in vein to what Richard Brautigan was producing at the time. The author was William …
I have always enjoyed math. All the way back to elementary school. I was that kid who, unbelievably, loved story problems. They were easy and fun for me. Maybe because I am a visual thinker. Maybe I have an inner nerd. I don’t know. When I enrolled in college, I …
Alphabet books are staples in this industry that I often miss. I don’t necessarily gravitate towards them because, whatever their concept, I’m usually certain I’ve seen it before. And few are compelling enough for multiple reads. Some are agonizing in their yawn-inducing lessons about letters. Maybe it is because they are rarely …