Here’s a quick poll. Are you ready? Did you read THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, John Green’s blockbuster novel about two cancer-stricken teenagers who fall in love? And, if so, did you cry? Full disclosure. I adored the book, but I did not shed a tear. I seem to be …
So you’re reading a picture book to your kiddos or perusing the new pb shelf at the library or paging through new releases at the bookstore, and you’re blithely going along – yes, oh cute, uh-huh – when you come to a line that grabs you by the glottis. Whoa, …
Last week I had a book launch party for my first authored picture book, BUNNIES!!! I have illustrated a handful of books by other authors. Some of them have gone on to win awards. A couple, after six or seven years, continues to sell extremely well. I never had a …
As Jennifer Black Reinhardt put it so well in this post, books take so darn long to make that you’ve got to celebrate them when they’re finally finished. So to celebrate the publication of Little Baby Buttercup (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin), I asked the book’s oh-so-talented illustrator, You Byun, to answer …
The book that I felt inspired to write about isn’t exactly considered a picture-book — yet it’s a story told entirely in pictures, so what book could warrant the title more? Shaun Tan’s ‘The Arrival’, is the story of a man who leaves his family and country in search of a better …
Hi! I’m excited to be joining the merry band of picture book writers and illustrators on Picture Book Builders. Writing nonfiction is my thing, so I’ll be chatting about inspiring nonfiction picture books in my posts. And here we go! Last week I was excited to find the new picture …
Last month, a new writer emailed to thank me for a blog post that I had written back in 2010. Well! I had to go back in time and revisit this post for myself. I realized that the information is worth sharing again. The topic? Word Choice When writing picture …
I just read, “And Two Boys Booed” by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Sophie Blackall, published by Margaret Ferguson Books. I really enjoyed the repetitive story, narrated by the young boy who is waiting his turn to perform at the class talent show. The repetition builds and builds just …
I read a lot of picture books. And so many of them are good in so many ways. Nice, tight, writing. A clever idea. Commercial appeal. Funny, quotable lines. Characters you wish were your friends. All those things are necessary. Good, even. But I’ve come to see that what elevates …
This is a story-behind-the-story post, but it’s also for those of you who are waffling over attending a writing conference in 2015. Consider this your sign. Why? Because wondrous things happen at conferences, specifically SCBWI conferences. Just ask my friend Sarvinder Naberhaus, who submitted a stack of poems for an editorial …