As Mike pointed out in his post last week, “how to” picture books offer lots of opportunities for humor. So I thought I’d follow up with another recent example: How to Give Your Cat a Bath in Five Easy Steps, written by Nicola Winstanley and illustrated by John Martz (Tundra, …
Hello again, everyone. Spring is in the air and everywhere I look, people are out walking their dogs. So when I was in the bookstore the other day, and I noticed HOW TO WALK AN ANT (By Cindy Derby). I picked it up and quite quickly knew which book my …
The reason I love writing picture books so much is because of…the PICTURES! Seriously, working with a variety of amazing artists has taught me so much about leaving room for the illustrator’s ideas and feelings about our topic. It’s a true partnership and I treasure each relationship. Sometimes it seems …
I don’t remember where I first saw mention of author-illustrator Evan Turk’s upcoming YOU ARE HOME — An Ode to the National Parks. I only remember how my heart rate picked up when I saw this cover. Actually, I think my family has a slide of my brother and me …
I am a lucky illustrator. Not only is this the second book that I was asked to work on with Linda Sue Park (we did Yaks Yak, Animal Word Pairs), but I got to draw dragons! Gondra’s Birthday was on April 2 and I asked Linda Sue to help me …
I’m a longtime fan of author/illustrator Maryann Cocca-Leffler. Not only does she have a truly cool name, but her books are awesome. So when I heard she had a new release — called GROWING SEASON — coming from Sterling Books in April, I hit the pre-order button so fast I …
You know how sometimes you find a book in which text and art work so beautifully together it gives you a big ‘ol lump in your throat? That’s how I felt when I paged through Hayley Barrett’s BABYMOON, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. (It didn’t hurt that we’d just had a …
I volunteer as a School Reading Partner through my local school district. My job? Reading one-on-one each week with two first graders I’ll call Eva and Nick. Although the program provides reading materials, the selection is limited. So each Friday, I bring in a big bag of books hoping some …
Hello everyone! If you don’t know me, I’m someone who enjoys a good laugh and today’s book, PIG THE WINNER by Aaron Blabey, delivers more than just a chuckle. My wife and I were in a bookstore and I saw this one, read it, and had to buy it, because …
I’m on deadline this week and, like virtually every project I’ve ever done, woefully behind. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is just the way I work. I start slowly and ramp up the speed and productivity the closer the deadline gets. So as a kind of cop out, …