As August comes to an close, I thought it would be fun to celebrate the last days of summer with a wonderful picture book, GIANT DANCE PARTY by Betsy Bird, illustrated by Brandon Dorman (Greenwillow Books, 2013.) This lovely title is filled with exciting elements children will enjoy such as …
Yesterday (August 1) an inspiring picture book released into the world — SEVEN AND A HALF TONS OF STEEL (published by Peachtree Publishers.) This gorgeous book shares the true story of a powerful event in recent history that is filled with hope. To celebrate this release author, Janet Nolan, kindly agreed …
A few months ago, two fiction picture books with same title, Are We There Yet?, released in the spring. Since we’re in the middle of the summer vacation season, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at these two books about a long car ride. And to get into …
Have you ever parked yourself in front of your computer, determined to write a fabulous, inspiring picture book, but you can’t come up with a single idea? Well, take heart! In Philip C. Stead’s new picture book, IDEAS ARE ALL AROUND, this talented author/illustrator shares the same struggle on his second spread – “I …
Today I’m thrilled to celebrate the success of one of our faithful Picture Book Builders readers, Traci Sorell, who just sold her first picture book! YEA! I first met Traci through our blog when she won a free manuscript critique by me after commenting on my Sept. 8, 2015 post. Every writer’s path to …
Hip, hip, hooray! Beverly Cleary’s 100th birthday is today — April 12, 2016! Well-known author of the timeless chapter books about Ramona, Beezus, Henry, and a brave motorcycle-riding mouse named Ralph, Beverly Cleary is also a picture book author. That’s right, among her many writing credits she’s written six charming picture books …
We’ve all heard the famous saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” But that’s really hard to do! When I see a beautiful picture book cover, I can’t help myself. I have to pick it up and start reading right away. My hunch is you do too! So for this post I’d …
As you may have figured out from my earlier posts, I’m a huge fan of picture book biographies (which is probably why I write them.) This month I’d like to share a picture book biography gem, Muhammad Ali, Champion of the World (2007) by Jonah Winter (illustrated by Francois Roca.) If I …
Today I’m very excited to share Deborah Hopkinson’s latest book, Beatrix Potter & the Unfortunate Tale of a Borrowed Guinea Pig. I’m a big fan of Deborah’s nonfiction work and her new picture book is simply delightful!
If you’re a member of SCBWI (Society of Book Writers and Illustrators) you’ve probably heard about the big Book Launch Party which launched December 1 and features new 2015 children’s book releases. If you haven’t heard about the party, it’s about time you did!