Frank the Seven-Legged Spider, written and illustrated by Michaele Razi. Perhaps it’s the interminable winter? The staggering cold? Remaining housebound for fear of slipping on the ice?I have been quite cranky lately. But finding this little gem absolutely made me smile and, quite FRANK-ly, I needed that. The first line …
I found this darling character story quite refreshing in the shadow of so many ‘deep-meaning’ picture books which I’ve read recently. The story is about little Argyle Fox who goes out to play on a windy day. Unfortunately for Argyle, his choices don’t work successfully in the wind. Building a …
If you are here, then we must have Picture Book Love in common. Somehow PBL was genetically passed down through my family and every Christmas from the time I was tiny, until present day, included the gifting of beautiful books. Instead of writing about a particular book today I want …
Geraldine is a spunky “drama queen” of a giraffe. On the very first page, the only line on the page is given to us by Geraldine, “I’m moving.” She says draped like a deflated balloon over a stool. Obviously Geraldine is unhappy about a move. Geraldine is even more …
Tomorrow is Halloween. So, of course my post topic pondering drew me to the obvious, “Favorite Halloween Picture Books of Yore.” Which then led me to skip down memory lane and remember my favorites. But that all seemed lovely, predictable, and over-done. So, then I began to wonder about what …
Many: the Diversity of Life on Earth, written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Emily Sutton is full of many wonderful things. I am obsessed with Emily Sutton’s illustrations. They carry me back to my beloved Golden Books with their gentle palettes and decorative layouts. A combo of Mary Blair …
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 …