So, to follow up on Eliza’s last post about appealing anthropomorphic characters, have y’all met Little Jumbo? If not, get your hands on a copy of How to Cheer Up Dad by Fred Koehler (Dial, 2014). What’s so appealing about the little guy? For starters, he’s a bit naughty. Personally, I like …
In two previous posts, I put out the call for everyone’s ‘Favorite Classic Animal Characters’ in picture books, and got two great lists going (to see the results of List 1, go here). Here’s the second list of books I explored: LIST 2: Mouse Books (Henkes) The Gruffalo (Donaldson and Scheffler) …
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 …
This week has been delicious! Not only did I LOVE CAKE! Starring Rabbit, Porcupine, and Moose, my book with Angie Rozelaar debut, but I got to celebrate the occasion with my editor, Jill Davis, and the other fine people at HarperCollins. Naturally, we had CAKE! The entrance: The scene: The …
I’ve spent the last few weeks preparing presentations for the SCBWI Wild Wild Midwest conference this past weekend (which was fantastic, thank you to everyone involved!). I’ve been focussing and dissecting my own work, learning and appreciating what Linda Sue Park went through to write the sparsely worded, but thoroughly well-conceived, YAKS …
Love is a wonderful thing. And if you’re lucky, it lasts for always. Of course, always is a relative term. When Isaac and Monica — characters in John Green’s THE FAULT IN OUR STARS — text each other “Always,” they have no idea how short that time period will be. …
As I’ve no doubt mentioned before, I love historical fiction based on a family story. And Michelle Barker’s A Year of Borrowed Men (Pajama Press), with luminous art by Renné Benoit, had me from the first page. Why? The voice. Told as though we’re hearing it straight from Gerda, Michelle’s …
Liz Wong’s debut picture book, QUACKERS, is 100% charm. It is sweet and funny and very satisfying. I’ve written before about how much I like stories of friendship and this one ranks right up there. It is the tale of Quackers, a cat that lives at a duck pond with a …
I am beyond thrilled to have Jane Dyer with us today to celebrate the arrival of our new book All We Know (HarperCollins). As I write this, though, I’m struggling with which adjectives to use to describe the many books Jane has illustrated—more than fifty of them—since her first was …
Hi everyone! I’m taking a break from my series about classic PB animal characters so that I can share about my new book, TELL ME A TATTOO STORY (written by Alison McGhee, published by Chronicle Books), which just released this week! YAY!! The illustration journey is unique to each book, and I’m …