It’s that time again! I hereby give you my list of 25 of the MANY Picture Books I’m Looking Forward to in ’25! Annnnnnd I’m extra excited about Mary Had a Little Jam, illustrated by the amazing Vanessa Brantley-Newton, which debuts in March. This is the third book in our …
I had the great good fortune to attend Minh Lê’s author event at my local library last week. Ever since I read Minh and Dan’s first collaboration, the APALA award-winning DRAWN TOGETHER, I’ve admired his ability to tell a story in just a few words. Total number of words in …
I have been fortunate to have created books with many wonderful illustrators: Jeff Berger, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Troy Cummings, Guy Frances, Alison Friend, Goro Fujita, Arthur Howard, Victoria Hutto, Dan Krall, Jeff Mack, Scott Magoon, Dave Mottram, Lynn Munsinger, Mike Reed, Angela Rozelaar, Dan Santat, Bob Shea, Michael Slack, Liz Starin, …
A week ago I attended an outstanding event for book lovers — the National Book Festival in Washington DC. For those of you who’ve never attended this colossal event, here’s a brief fly-on-the-wall summary. But first, let’s start with the Author Gala on the Friday night before the festival. The …
Dan Santat is a master storyteller. I know. I’ve witnessed it first hand…well, through skype. You see, I’ve had the privilege to work (and learn) along side Dan over the past 6 or so years since we first met. And what an incredible privilege that is. I’ve seen him sculpt …
Typically, I like to share books that are new to the scene, but, in case you have never read the oh-so-scrumpious Carnivores, written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Dan Santat, I decided to do a short and sweet post about it. Description from the publisher, Chronicle Books: The lion …
Recurring elements are one of my favorite features in picture books. Picture books are shorter affairs, so the writer has to fit a plot into a tighter-than-normal space. To make the story hang together and feel like a coherent whole, there often are words, phrases or themes that repeat throughout …
A few months ago, two fiction picture books with same title, Are We There Yet?, released in the spring. Since we’re in the middle of the summer vacation season, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at these two books about a long car ride. And to get into …
Last month on 100 Scope Notes, Travis Jonker shared a wonderful post called “The Art of the Picture Book Barcode.” Now I have always loved spotting a well-placed barcode on the back of a picture book. Seeing a collection of that kind of awesomeness? What more could I want?! I thought it would be …
Endpapers are the first pages and the final pages of a picture book. They work much like the curtains at the open and close of a play. While many books’ endpapers are a solid color, others give the reader so much more. For instance, endpapers can create a mood. Number One …