To say that Jody Jensen Shaffer likes to keep herself busy is an understatement, as you’re about to see. I only met this talented writer a couple of years ago, when she graciously allowed me to hitch a ride from Kansas City to NerdCamp Kansas and back again. Ten minutes …
I can’t imagine that anyone reading this isn’t familiar with the work of creative whirlwind Lita Judge– one of those rare folks equally gifted at both art and storytelling. If you don’t yet know of her, this post is definitely a case where showing is more effective than telling. So …
My friend Ann Ingalls is the perfect example of a writer who thinks outside the box. First of all, in addition to fiction picture books, she writes nonfiction picture books, emergent readers, series nonfiction, and co-authors an early reader series with her pal Sue Gallion. She also has an overall …
When I decided to use my 2021 posts for inspirational chats with picture book authors/illustrators who think OUTSIDE THE BOX, I knew I’d be talking with one of my favorite people in publishing, Alli Brydon. I first met Alli at an Iowa SCBWI conference in … 2012? In 2013 she …
Happy 2021, picture book people! Today’s post marks the first of a year-long series I’m launching called OUTSIDE THE BOX. Each month I’ll chat with an established picture book creator who, for one reason or another, has branched into other formats. Maybe they simply wanted to stretch their creativity in …
When a book makes me laugh out loud a time or two, that’s a book I’m going to love. When I can’t stop giggling/smiling through an entire book that also emits massive doses of that elusive element we call HEART, that’s a keeper—a book I’m adding to my permanent collection. …
Say hello to my crit partner and friend, Norene Paulson. She looks like a happy camper, doesn’t she? That’s because her DEBUT book, BENNY’S TRUE COLORS (Imprint, illustrated by Anne Passchier), flip-flaps out into the world TODAY!!! BENNY’S TRUE COLORS is the story of a sweet, lovable little bat who …
A new picture book — out now! — recently caught my eye and my heart. It’s NO VOICE TOO SMALL – Fourteen Young Americans Making History, edited by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley, who also illustrated the book (Charlesbridge). It’s an uplifting, affecting armful of poetry …
Happy autumn, everybody! I know I’m not alone in embracing this as my favorite time of year. Here in the midwest, it means oven-hot summer days have flown the coop, and we can enjoy more time OUTdoors, savoring and storing in our hearts every iconic (but fleeting) fall image and …
When I saw Sue Lowell Gallion’s new book, OUR WORLD (Phaidon), illustrated by Lisk Feng, I knew I had to share it here. For the youngest readers, OUR WORLD is an easy-to-read, rhyming introduction to Earth’s various features and habitats. But it also works with older kids who want a …