If someone asked you to name the first astronaut that popped into your head, you might say, “Neil Armstrong.” Or, “Buzz Aldrin.” Or, maybe, “Sally Ride” or “Mae Jemison.” You probably wouldn’t say “Alan Bean.” But after you read Dean Robbins’ newest picture book — THE ASTRONAUT WHO PAINTED THE …
I’m a sucker for a dog book. And cute, colorful illustrations. And out-of-the-box stories that offer new twists on familiar tropes. No wonder I’m drawn to Elise Broach and Eric Barclay’s 2018 book, MY PET WANTS A PET, which has all that and more. The familiar: Kid wants a pet, …
Nugget & Fang the SEA-quel is finally here! It’s called Nugget & Fang Go to School. When Fang the shark is invited by his friends to attend Mini Minnows Elementary, he thinks it’s a great idea! But then his first day of school arrives . . . and suddenly, he’s not …
If you haven’t read The Stuff of Stars, you must! I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK! Seriously, it is mind boggling how Marion Dane Bauer so beautifully and accurately explained the Big Bang theory with sparse, lyrical text. But she did! Of course, if anyone could, it would be the incomparable …
Happy June everyone! Today I’m doing a post about the Scott Magoon’s latest book, Linus The Little Yellow Pencil. Linus is a story about a relationship between a pencil and the eraser at it’s end. While we may be filled with ideas and inspiration, our inner voice can squish it …
I have been waiting for this book. It was about 3 or so years ago and I was visiting with my editor, Jennifer Greene at Clarion. I saw a little bit of Lottie & Walter on her desk. I squealed when I saw Anna’s gorgeously recognizable style. Jennifer told me …
I could not be happier to bring you a chat with debut author Cathy Ballou Mealey. Cathy’s a long-time subscriber to PBB, so I’ve been counting down the weeks until I could post about WHEN A TREE GROWS! First, a look at her delightful book: From the publisher: “When Moose …
I’ve mentioned multiple times here how I am a sucker for fun or interesting or awkward friendship stories. Croc & Turtle! by Mike Wohnoutka (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2019) fits into one or more of those categories. Big, lovable Croc believes he is very good in a number of skills. And …
As a writer and a reader, I’m often drawn to books that give a new twist to old songs, and we’ve featured quite a few here at PBB. In addition to two of my own (Rock-a-Bye Romp and Over the River & Through the Wood), there’s Twinkle, Twinkle Little Car, …
So I have the privilege of hanging out with some pretty amazing folks on a fairly regular basis via Skype. There’s a few of us who having been doing it for nearly 10 years now, and it’s sort of like a virtual office of (mostly) illustrators. We talk off on …