My newest picture book, BEHOLD THE OCTOPUS! released 2 weeks ago from Peachtree Publishing. I’d love to take credit for coming up with the idea for a book about the clever, curious, and colorful octopus, but alas, I didn’t. Tom Gonzalez, the talented illustrator who I’d worked with on COUNTDOWN, …
I’m thrilled to highlight a gorgeous book today, THE PEOPLE’S PAINTER, by Cynthia Levinson with illustrations by Evan Turk. This lovely and important picture book biography shares the story of Jewish artist and activist, Ben Shahn. It released just last month and has earned four starred reviews! As a boy …
Mars fascinates me! It’s Earth’s closest neighbor in the solar system, and we can see Mars faint reddish light with our own eyes. With the recent landing of Perseverance rover, Mars seems to be in the news more than ever. So with great enthusiasm I introduce a new picture book, …
One year ago, everything seemed to change overnight. Suddenly we were hunting down toilet paper, sewing masks, learning to Zoom, and doing “drive by” birthday parties — all because of a microscopic particle called coronavirus. The Covid-19 pandemic also shined a light on a brilliant scientist named June Almeida. Most …
Last month, ALA awarded ME & MAMA, written and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera, a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Honor. I’m so excited to share this lovely title on PBB today! (Fyi – Cozbi also won a Coretta Scott King Honor and Sibert Honor for EXQUISITE this …
Last week I enjoyed Pat Zietlow Miller’s January 15 post celebrating her 22nd book sale. Congrats Pat! The feelings of fear she experienced while attending her first SCBWI conference really resonated with me. As an engineer who didn’t take a single writing class in college and who struggled with writing …
As we close out this *memorable* year, it seems more and more 2020 Best Book lists have appeared in the past few weeks. While we’re all looking forward to a much brighter year ahead, let’s remember lots of good things happened in 2020–including the wonderful picture books on the lists …
It’s December! (How did that happen already?) So it’s time to think about great new holiday books. One that caught my eye is THE HANUKKAH MAGIC OF NATE GADOL, by Arthur A. Levine, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. Arthur A. Levine, successful publisher and children’s book editor for over 30 years, …
Who doesn’t love the Harlem Globetrotters? With their precision shots and hilarious stunts, these phenomenal athletes are admired around the world. But there’s much more to this remarkable team than you might think. My new picture book SWISH! THE SLAM-DUNKING, ALLEY-OOPING, HIGH-FLYING HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS (illustrated by Don Tate), which releases …
Get Ready! There’s a LOT in this one little post.Whether you’re a book creator, teacher, librarian, or reader, you’ll find a gold mine of craft tips from authors and illustrators of inspiring 2020 nonfiction picture books who banded together to form a group called 20truePBs. Plus, we’re doing a huge …