Happy holidays! If you’re reading this post, you’re probably a bookish sort of person. And, if you’re a bookish sort of person, you probably read a lot of books this year. And, because the end of a calendar year can cause some people — bookish or not — to become …
One of my favorite things is when I stumble across a picture book I haven’t heard much about and it ends up being practically perfect. (And it also goes well with a book I already know about.) The book: PIECE BY PIECE: ERNESTINE’S GIFT FOR PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT is written by …
Small people can feel big emotions. But, they might not have the skills or life experiences to know how to deal with them. That’s part of the reason Tamara Ellis Smith and Nancy Whitesides created GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT, a picture book about loss that releases Oct. 24 from Chronicle …
Hey, everyone! We’re about to head into the fourth quarter of 2023, which got me thinking about which picture books I’ve read this year that I’ve loved the most. Before I get going, here are some useful disclaimers: In an effort to overcome some of these obstacles, please share your …
Ten years ago this month, my first picture book was published. I sold SOPHIE’S SQUASH to Schwartz & Wade Books (now Anne Schwartz Books) after four years of persistent picture book writing and submitting on my part and 126 rejections on a wide variety of manuscripts. But, after all that, …
Andrea Wang was thinking about perfect picture book pairings recently. And, great minds must think alike, because I was doing the same thing. For people who adore picture books, that’s common, I think. We read a book, love it, and then our minds say, “Oooo! That would go really well …
When we last left kindergartener Lupe Lopez at Hector P. Garcia Elementary School, she was living her best life. In LUPE LOPEZ: ROCK STAR RULES (Candlewick, 2022), Lupe had mastered the rules of kindergarten and kept her rock star persona intact, all while starting a band with her friends Ana …
As a lifelong Wisconsinite, I grew up surrounded by information about the dairy industry. In my state, fourth-graders spend a lot of time learning about cow breeds and how milk can become butter and cheese. I was a full-grown adult before I realized that kids in other states don’t learn …
I’m happy to welcome illustrator Keisha Morris to the blog today. Keisha created the art for A GIRL CAN BUILD ANYTHING, written by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo and me, which joined the world on April 18. When e.E. and I were writing the book, we thought it would be super-cool if the …
People who have hung out with me for any period of time have probably heard me talk about picture books I want to hug. These are books I love so much, I just have to hug them and re-read them, and then go off and attempt to write something even …