I Do Not Like Yolanda By Zoey Abbott Behold the power of a great cover— a mysterious title + a side-eyed glance = is what made me pick up this winner of a picture book. Bianca loves to write letters. On the front end pages we see some of Bianca’s illustrated …
People learn in different ways. Some, by reading words. Others, by listening to or watching people explain things. And others, by looking at graphs, charts or pictures. I’ve always learned best by reading. In eighth grade, I even taught myself to do a cartwheel and the splits by reading a …
What better time of year for a simple-yet-brilliant book that features kindness and multi-species inclusion and making room for everybody? Fortunately, I’ve got just the title. It’s Jean Reidy’s GROUP HUG, illustrated by Joey Chou. This STARRED review from Kirkus says it better than I could: “This sweetly endearing charmer, …
It’s that time again. 🙂 I hereby give you my list of 22 Picture Books I’m Looking Forward to in ’22! I’m very much looking forward to these books in 2022 as well. 🙂 Still anxiously awaiting covers on these…. The Underpants (Scholastic Press, Summer 2022) Mary Had a Little …
I am thrilled that author Meeg Pincus is here to fill us in on the making of COUGAR CROSSING: How Hollywood’s Celebrity Cougar Helped Build a Bridge for City Wildlife. With mesmerizing illustrations by Alexander Vidal, this inspiring picture book features the cougar that crossed 16 lanes of traffic to …
The start of the holiday season has me thinking a lot about home and homecomings. How it feels to leave home, how it feels to return, and especially how it feels when circumstances prevent you from going home or seeing loved ones. So I revisited one of my favorite picture …
It seems only fitting, on a day that we’re all lolling about, recovering from food overload, to check out a soon-to-be-published book by professional lollers (and callers!) WALRUS SONG, by (coincidentally?) Janet Lawler, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering, will splash into the world on December 7th, published by Candlewick Press. …
I read this story and was moved by the way James Yang describes a little boy, Isamu, who sees the world a bit differently than other people. He notices the quiet world of nature and deeply appreciates the shapes and textures of rocks, grasses, bamboo. I thought about how this …
Every time Bruce Hale’s newsletter arrives in my inbox (you can sign up on his site’s contact page), I am reminded anew that the man is one of our business’s top writing workhorses. He’s such a pro––and also a world-class example of a writer who thinks and works OUTSIDE THE …
I have an extensive background in graphic design, having had and run a studio for a couple of decades. So, I believe that I have a pretty good understanding of the actual print process and mechanics of designing and sending a book to a printer. All fine and good and …