Blue Ethel took almost ten years to become a book. Someone asked me if that’s because I put it away for a while to work on other things? No, not really. Ethel was just a little pokey in her journey to find the right ‘owner’. She finally found her person …
Some of my favorite summer memories revolve around the carnival’s annual visit to my little Iowa town. Why? -Freedom! My best buddy Teresa and I headed to the park in a euphoric frenzy, saved quarters burning holes in our pockets. Ride tickets in hand, we’d run flat out between the Octopus, …
How could anyone not stop, pick up, and thumb through a book called Pete With No Pants. I mean curiosity alone would make me wonder 1) WHY is it a book, 2) is this appropriate, and 3) why doesn’t he have any pants, is he too poor to afford them? Were …
Memorial Day weekend may not be the official start of summer, but it sure brings on summery thoughts—about, say, swimming pools, sandy beaches, and—for some of us—lazy days with lots of books. Take Nick, for instance, the title character in Curtis Manley’s book The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to …
I’m checking in from this dreamy place – Scotch Hill Farm in upstate New York. Last November, I had a magical email arrive in my inbox, informing me that I was receiving the Sendak Fellowship award, which meant a paid illustrator’s retreat for a month on Maurice Sendak’s former property. …
Last weekend I had the privilege of meeting many talented young writers who’d created their own picture books, and other types of books, at the 43rd Annual Illinois Young Authors Conference (Yes, the 43rd!) This fantastic event celebrated exceptional writers in grades Kindergarten through 8th who’d won writing contests at their schools. (Each …
Meet Shorty & Clem! Shorty is a really short dinosaur. A shortysaurus, to be exact. Clem is a blue quail. A quail is some kind of bird. While Clem is out, a package arrives at the door with his name on it. Shorty gets super excited and finds the box irresistible. …
To be read as though you have the worst cold ever: Bob, Not Bob! written by Liz Garton Scanlon & Audrey Vernick is illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators, Matthew Cordell. The premise is that poor Little Louie has the worst cold ever. “Today, Little Louie’s nose was clogged. …
I think every picture book author has a mental list of picture books he or she loves SO MUCH that the writer wishes he or she had written them. My personal “why-couldn’t-I-have-written-that” list has five books on it.* And one of them is Carolyn Crimi’s BORIS AND BELLA, an absolutely …
I appreciate a good metaphor. I really appreciate an entire book full of them. But I lurrrrve a quirkily illustrated book full of them that makes me smile as I page through AND makes my heart go all melty at the end. Oh, and it rhymes, too! No wonder …