I love being a picture book author. And, I love talking to other people about what I do. Family. Friends. Students. Teachers. Librarians. Aspiring writers. Bloggers. Journalists. As I talk to these people, there is one question that I get asked in practically every conversation. It is: “Do you get …
Cabbages! Carrots! Cauliflower! IN OUR GARDEN, a new picture book out next week from G.P. Putnam’s Sons, has all those veggies plus a heartwarming story of a student with an idea, a school with a rooftop garden, and plants and people that blossom and bloom. I’m so happy to welcome …
Sometimes, there’s that person in your life who just gets you. Your BFF. Your bestie. Your boo. Maybe they’re someone you’ve known forever. Maybe you’ve only just met. You might love them platonically. Or romantically. They might live close by. Or far away. Eliza Wheeler and I — with some …
I read a lot of picture books in 2021. And, I talked about some of them on this blog. But, as I looked back on the year, I found three books I truly meant to talk about, but did not. So, now seems like a great time to highlight these …
People learn in different ways. Some, by reading words. Others, by listening to or watching people explain things. And others, by looking at graphs, charts or pictures. I’ve always learned best by reading. In eighth grade, I even taught myself to do a cartwheel and the splits by reading a …
When you’re a picture book author, you know all about why you wrote the book you wrote. What inspired it. What you were trying to convey. And then … then … your words go off to an illustrator, and that person brings a whole new level of talent and skill …
This is a follow-up to a post I wrote in August about the importance of picking a structure for your picture book and committing to it. It might be helpful to read that post first, if you haven’t. After my last post about why it’s so very important to consciously …
I’ve read a lot of picture book manuscripts — written by current and aspiring authors — during the past year. Some have been from conference critiques I’ve done, some from contests I’ve helped judge and some from mentorship programs or writing seminars I’ve been part of. And, recently, as I …
When I was in grade school, I hated rope-climbing day in gym class. I was skinny and gawky and uncoordinated, so I’d hang desperately two feet off the ground while my more athletic classmates reached the ceiling with ease. I didn’t think I was strong. In Jen Hill’s and my …
I like picture books. I also like libraries. So, it stands to reason that I’d really like a picture book about a library. And, I do like DEAR LIBRARIAN, a new book by Lydia Sigwarth and Romina Galotta from Farrar Straus Giroux. It’s based on Lydia’s childhood and the time …