This summer, at NerdCampKansas, I met author Marcie Colleen and, as children’s book people tend to do, formed an instant bond (and wished we didn’t live half a continent from one another). While visiting, I was lucky enough to get a peek at the F&G of her latest picture book, …
Back in September, I led a workshop called “Writing the Rollicking Read-Aloud” at the Carolinas SCBWI conference. To prepare for it, I brought home stacks of recent-ish picture books, trying to figure out which ones to feature in my presentation. Although half the two-hour session focused on writing in rhyme, …
November is here which means it’s the perfect time to grab a blanket, sit by the fire, and cozy up with a good book. I suggest this one—Making a Friend (HarperCollins), written by yours truly and illustrated by Alison Friend. Meet Beaver. He’s good at making lots of things. A …
Today is extremely important. It’s VOTING DAY!! EVERYONE needs to get out and vote. So I’m not going to distract you with a post about the wonderful children’s books you see here. Because you need to go out and VOTE! I’m not …
Hello! It’s been a very busy month for me, but I’m happy to be posting about today’s book, ME AND MY FEAR, by Francesca Sanna. Francesca Sanna is a very talented author illustrator who is the award winning creator of THE JOURNEY, which was even recognized by Amnesty International. I …
Tomorrow is Halloween. So, of course my post topic pondering drew me to the obvious, “Favorite Halloween Picture Books of Yore.” Which then led me to skip down memory lane and remember my favorites. But that all seemed lovely, predictable, and over-done. So, then I began to wonder about what …
What makes you special? If you can answer that question easily, great! But if you’re like many people, you may have to ponder a moment. You may ask yourself questions like: Am I really special? Are the things I like about myself all that noteworthy? Would anyone else think I’m …
I’m excited today to talk about Beth Anderson’s debut picture book, AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET. This one had me at the cover. But when I got a look inside, word nerd me was absolutely bowled over. What struck me about this book—other than the delightful story itself and the lively, detail-packed …
I had different favorite animals at different points my life. I remember being smitten with monkeys when I was quite young, pining for a raccoon (after reading Rascal by Sterling North) when I was little older, and in high school I studied crows and ravens for a couple of years …
Hey, it’s almost Halloween! That calls for a scary story. But not TOO scary. Luckily, I’ve got the perfect book: I Want to be in a Scary Story by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jean Jullien (Candlewick, 2017). Why is it so perfect? Because Little Monster wants to be in exactly that …