I’ve wrestled with my fair share of picture book manuscripts. A “brilliant” idea at 9 a.m. that falls apart by noon. That wonderful first sentence that pops up while making coffee, only to fade to confusion an hour later in the shower. An entire book theme that carries through perfectly, …
After a recent stay in the hospital a friend brought me dinner and a book. The dinner was tailored to my current gastro-intestinal needs, and the book seemed tailored to my current life and heart needs. The book, THE RABBIT LISTENED, by Cori Doerrfeld, is quiet and powerful. It is …
Before moving to Chapel Hill six years ago, my family spent ten years in Denver. Although it was easy to leave the long winters behind, it wasn’t so easy to leave good friends, including a wonderful community of writers. One of those writers was Caroline Stutson, a picture book author …
Do you ever get that feeling when you look at a book’s cover and read the title, that once you open it up, you’ll be in for a treat? That was the case for me with Petra, by Marianna Coppo. My record on this blog shows that I’ve experienced it …
One week from today, March 6, ASTRONAUT ANNIE releases. After writing nonfiction for 20 years, this is my first fiction picture book. So it’s thrilling to see Annie launch into the world! It’s also fun to share my interest/background in space with readers. (Back in my engineering days I worked …
People, listen up. Are you ready for a little joyride? Good! I have the book for you: Let me toot Kate Dopirak and Mary Peterson’s horn and let you know what Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist had to say about Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Car: “Bedroom garages outfitted with this little …
If you’ve been watching Olympic figure skating, you know that skaters get judged on technical merit and artistic interpretation. And, as they’re skating, colored squares appear in the corner of the screen to show how well they executed the program’s required elements. A green box means the side-by-side triple axels …
If you’re longtime followers here, you may recognize this little story, because I’ve probably talked about it before. But I can remember the lightbulb moment (more like lightning!), as a little kindergartener, sitting in my small green chair, when I suddenly comprehended that letters could be put together to form …
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes certain picture books a pleasure to read aloud. Not to that one book-loving child (who will probably listen to anything), but to a much tougher audience—like, say, the preschoolers who show up at a library or bookstore reading, who may range …