Happy New Year! We’re glad to see you back at Picture Book Builders as we kick off 2017! I wish all of you a wonderful year filled with great stories, friendships, and an extra dose of kindness. I thought it would be fun to start this brand new year with first-time …
Let’s go way, way, way, way, WAY back to 2005. Eleven years ago, one of my all time favorite picture books debuted. I Ain’t Gonna Pain No More!, written by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by David Catrow, is picture book gold. Oh, people, there are many reasons why I love …
I’m going to have to really watch autocorrect for this post. It keeps switching it to “wonderful” which it actually is! I know it’s winter. I know it’s cold. I know I should be doing a post about snow and ice and staying snuggly. It’s a little bit about winter…? …
The last in a 4 part series featuring editors that run their own imprints. If you write picture books with a historical bent, it’s important that you get to know Carolyn Yoder’s work. Carolyn P. Yoder is the senior editor of Calkins Creek Books, the U.S. history imprint of Boyds Mills …
A few weeks back, while giving a talk at Austin’s Writing Barn, Chronicle’s Ariel Richardson held up this little charmer by author/illustrator Claudia Rueda: Ariel didn’t have to show many pages before I was hooked. By the time I got my hands on the book an hour later, my expectations were awfully …
The third in a four-part series interviewing editors that run their own imprints. Allyn Johnston began her children’s book career as a marketing assistant at Clarion Books and then spent 22 years at Harcourt Children’s Books in San Diego, where she started as an editorial assistant and ended up as Editor-in-Chief. She …
Well, folks, it’s almost December. Can you believe it? Since this is my last post of the year, I thought I’d start by congratulating everyone who accomplished everything you set out to do this year, perfectly and effortlessly, exactly as you envisioned. Bravo! (You can leave now.) This post is for …
With the chilly seasons arriving, there are only three things on my mind; cozy, cozy, and cozy. I guess, if you want to get all technical, that’s only one thing (but just so you know, being technical is not very cozy). Here are a few things that are cozy: Cups of tea. Pillows. Knitting. Tiny villages. …
If you stop by Picture Book Builders occasionally, it’s no secret that I adore picture book biographies, and also love science. Recently, I discovered a new picture book I can’t wait to share — WHOOSH! LONNIE JOHNSON’S SUPER-SOAKING STREAM OF INVENTIONS (by Chris Barton, illustrated by Don Tate.)
I have attended the Annual SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles nine times. One of the very best parts to come out of those wonderful experiences is that I met Kate Dopirak. Kate = joy. Joy, I tell you! Right away, Kate and I became friends. Together, we commiserate, we …