We recently had a bat in our house. I was home alone and discovered something with fur on my bathroom vanity. I could tell you that I calmly set down my hair dryer, put on gloves, and removed the bat to the great outdoors. But…
Caldecott medalist Sophie Blackall’s latest picture book, Hello Lighthouse evokes gasps of awe from both it’s gorgeous look and feel, to its beautifully written story and message. Savvy readers of Picture Book Builders will note that Suzanne Slade posted earlier about the book, which you can see here . I wanted to …
There are a lot of wonderful and beautiful picture books about kindness, empathy, generosity, and forgiveness. The special thing about Shelter, by Céline Claire and Qin Leng is this is a seemingly simple story about all of those big, complicated emotions.
Some of you may have heard of the author of the recent book I illustrated? Her name is Katherine Applegate. And, friends, this talented Newbery Medalist is as thoughtful and lovely as the books she writes. What an honor and privilege it has been to be a part of Sometimes …
Here’s a quote from the back flap, “Davide Cali and Serge Bloch have created many books together for a variety of ages,… Although both Davide and Serge have created dozens of books without the other, the ones they create together are special— demonstrating a depth of emotion and an appreciation …
Please Please the Bees, written and illustrated by Gerald Kelley Benedict the bear lives a very sweet life. Every morning the bees leave him three jars of honey on his porch. Benedict’s bear existence revolves around eating and enjoying his honey. It is everything to him. So, when one day …
This post should probably be holiday themed… but it’s not… not really? Well, perhaps it is in the fact that Andrea Zuill’s wonderful picture book, Dance is for Everyone has a beautiful message of inclusion. And kindness. Acceptance and encouragement. Which are all messages I would like to see come …
Here on Picture Book Builders we love to chat about how beautiful books are created. It’s my opinion that one of the under recognized contributors of the ‘team’ is the art director. I have been fortunate enough to work with Senior Art Director/Creative Director, Christine Kettner on three books. She …
Happy Halloween, everyone! I love Halloween. But I was not going to let the date of my post dictate the book I chose. I had two others in mind when I got my hands on How To Make Friends With A Ghost, by Rebecca Green. Right away I was drawn to …