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 …
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 …
Oh, people. Are you loving that book cover as much as I’m loving that book cover? Are you craving a chance to know a little bit more about There’s a Giraffe in my Soup? Well, it’s your lucky day. I’m soup-er happy to welcome Ross Burach to Picture Book Builders. …
Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine written by Gloria Whelan (in hilarious rhyming text) and illustrated (fantastically) by Nancy Carpenter. Look at this cover??? Absolutely LOVED it! So much so that I was almost afraid to open it and be disappointed. And then, the end pages…
The summer before my freshman year of high school, I decided I wanted to be a sportswriter. I devoured the sports section of my local newspaper, The Oshkosh Northwestern, and the sports section of The Milwaukee Sentinel. I also read Sports Illustrated magazine and books by Frank Deford, the sportswriting king …
Maybe it’s because my own kids had glow-in-the-dark space stickers (that, honestly, I think impressed me more than them). Maybe it’s because I like penguins. (Who doesn’t?) Wait. I think the real reason I’m loving Ella and Penguin Stick Together, by debut author Megan Maynor (with darling illustrations by Rosaline …
At a bookstore this week I stumbled across the rerelease of a book I remember as a child, TIME FOR SPRING, by Crockett Johnson. A title that is particularly fitting for this time of year, and Johnson is a particular favorite of mine. Most everyone loves his books like HAROLD’S PURPLE CRAYON, …