It’s mid-August and I am ignoring all the back to school ads urging me to buy notebooks in bulk, and the social media photos of friends’ children decked out in first day smiles and shiny, oversized backpacks. School doesn’t start until after Labor Day here and I am still deep …
Oh, people. Who doesn’t enjoy a day at the playground with a good friend? You Go First, written by Ariel Bernstein and illustrated by Marc Rosenthal, stars two good friends, Cat and Duck, who discover a brand new slide on the playground. Duck can’t wait to try it out. And …
Charming and unexpected, Most Marshmallows, by Rowboat Watkins, is a sweetly delicious delight. Its superpower is its brilliantly executed absurdity. “Most marshmallows don’t grow on trees, or come from storks, or even Mars.” The story continues to list things that most marshmallows really do do, which are ordinary tasks and …
The apartment is quiet, the tea bag is steeping, and you’ve just opened the cover of a shiny new book, or maybe a tattered old favorite. Ahhhh. You curl up with your book and your tea and disappear into the pages. Or you don’t. The intercom buzzes, the phone rings, …
As soon as I saw Janet Nolan’s new book, Get Ready For School (Albert Whitman), I knew it would be the perfect book to feature in a late-July post. This is an ideal book to share with kiddos on the cusp of that all-important (and more than a little intimidating) …
Hi Everyone! I can’t tell you how thrilled am to be here sharing my very first blog post as the newest member of Picture Book Builders! I have been a fan of this blog (not to mention a fan of ALL its members and their incredible books) for YEARS so …
Hello, Picture Book Builders people! If you have ever attended one of my presentations at a school or conference, you have probably heard me say, “Celebrate the weird stuff in life. It’s good material for stories.” Sometimes I even post about it online. Evidence. Imagine my joy when Abi Cushman …
“But hate has a way of bringing out heroes.” That is my favorite quote from Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust, written by Elisa Boxer and beautifully illustrated by Amy June Bates. I love non-fiction picture books and appreciate how difficult they are …
Something different today, audience participation required. (Well, not required. But very sincerely appreciated.) Each summer, as we’ve been doing for many years, my friend Linda Skeers and I co-host a summer picture book writing retreat/workshop. Each summer, we raid our personal bookshelves and lug hundreds of picture books to the …
Under the Blanket Sky is the debut picture book of Tim Fischer, a self-taught portrait and landscape artist. It is a quiet and simple book. It is filled with huge, fully-executed illustrations (which made me pick it up initially.) The text is spare. The story is simple. A boy makes …