Five cities in six days. That’s how things rolled on my first book tour this October. I flew into a city, slept, woke up and visited two or three schools. Then I’d go the airport, fly to the next city, sleep and visit more schools. I traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin; …
Okay, everybody, repeat after me: She sells sea shells at the seashore. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Tongue warmed up? Then you’re ready for Emily Jenkins’ newest book, A Greyhound, A Groundhog, illustrated by …
So . . . it’s mid-January, the holidays are behind us, and there’s a long stretch of winter ahead. Which might make some of us a little grumpy. If you find yourself feeling a tad down in the dumps, take a look at Claire Messer’s Grumpy Pants (Albert Whitman, 2016) for …
Every year over the holidays my Mom-in-Law picks picture books to gift from a wishlist, and I love that feeling of starting a new year with a new stack of books. Among them this year are: Shakespeare’s ROMEO & JULIET, retold by Anthea Bell and illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger. The annual …
Happy New Year! We’re glad to see you back at Picture Book Builders as we kick off 2017! I wish all of you a wonderful year filled with great stories, friendships, and an extra dose of kindness. I thought it would be fun to start this brand new year with first-time …
Let’s go way, way, way, way, WAY back to 2005. Eleven years ago, one of my all time favorite picture books debuted. I Ain’t Gonna Pain No More!, written by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by David Catrow, is picture book gold. Oh, people, there are many reasons why I love …
I’m going to have to really watch autocorrect for this post. It keeps switching it to “wonderful” which it actually is! I know it’s winter. I know it’s cold. I know I should be doing a post about snow and ice and staying snuggly. It’s a little bit about winter…? …
The last in a 4 part series featuring editors that run their own imprints. If you write picture books with a historical bent, it’s important that you get to know Carolyn Yoder’s work. Carolyn P. Yoder is the senior editor of Calkins Creek Books, the U.S. history imprint of Boyds Mills …
A few weeks back, while giving a talk at Austin’s Writing Barn, Chronicle’s Ariel Richardson held up this little charmer by author/illustrator Claudia Rueda: Ariel didn’t have to show many pages before I was hooked. By the time I got my hands on the book an hour later, my expectations were awfully …
The third in a four-part series interviewing editors that run their own imprints. Allyn Johnston began her children’s book career as a marketing assistant at Clarion Books and then spent 22 years at Harcourt Children’s Books in San Diego, where she started as an editorial assistant and ended up as Editor-in-Chief. She …