I’m so excited to welcome Maria Gianferrari back to the blog! I’ve been friends with Maria for over a decade and critique partners with her for almost as long. Needless to say, I’m a huge fan of her work and I’m thrilled that she’s joined me today to celebrate the …
Hello, Picture Book Builders people! I’m in a critique group called PBJeebies. The members include Kim Norman, Janee Trasler, Jessica Young, and, well, me. Today, Janee stopped by Picture Book Builders to tell us allll about a recent master class that she participated in and learned a lot from courtesy …
Welcome to Picture Book Builders, author Sarah Nelson. And welcome to the world of readers, A PARK CONNECTS US! Today is publication day for Sarah’s new picture book, illustrated by Ellen Rooney. I love celebrating book birthdays and am so happy that Picture Book Builders gets to toot the party horn today!🎉 …
Cabbages! Carrots! Cauliflower! IN OUR GARDEN, a new picture book out next week from G.P. Putnam’s Sons, has all those veggies plus a heartwarming story of a student with an idea, a school with a rooftop garden, and plants and people that blossom and bloom. I’m so happy to welcome …
I’m excited today to welcome back our own Suzanne Slade (PBB blogger from 2015-2021), who’s here to give us a sneak peek of her upcoming picture book for older readers, the beautifully told, vibrantly illustrated Blast Off!: How Mary Sherman Morgan Fueled America into Space (Calkins Creek, April 12th). Look …
I bought We Give Thanks, by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier, last fall. (It seemed the right time of year for a book about thanks and thought I’d post about it then. Alas.) And because I’m always happy to find a new book from Ruzzier, I didn’t even …
Okay, first of all, NO, ballet does not rhyme with giveaway! Interviewee Renée M. LaTulippe and I have spent a lot of time over the years explaining the reason why two such words do not rhyme. We’ll get to that later in the post. First, let me introduce Renée’s book, …
I love the way bedtime books make the florescent lights and hard linoleum of the classroom feel a little softer and cozier. The children lean closer, their fidgeting slows, and we wrap ourselves in the warm hug of a beautiful book. Of course, THE COT IN THE LIVING ROOM, written …
Huge thanks to all my PBB colleagues and to you, dear readers, for your kind words of congratulations! I can’t believe that it’s been a month since the ALA Youth Media Awards were announced. It feels like yesterday. It also feels like 4 months, not 4 weeks. I guess that’s …
This little sideways book by Corey R. Tabor, published last year by Balzer & Bray … Want to write a simple story? Type out this text to get a feel for it. Sooo much characterization here, yet the text (less than 300 words) is simplicity itself. A little bird named …