Crushes of the Week: June 17-23, 2018

This week's crushes:

1. Masterpiece Robot: And the Ferocious Valerie Knick-Knack by Frank Tra and Rebecca Evans (Tilbury House Publishers, April 2018)
2. The Peace Dragon by Linda Ragsdale and Marco Furlotti (Flowerpot Press, September 2018)
3. The Absolutely, Positively No Princesses Book by Ian Lendler and Deborah Zemke (Creston Books, September 2018)
4. I Am Human: A Book of Empathy by Susan Verde and Peter H. Reynolds (Abrams Books for Young Readers, October 2018)
5. Gorillas Go Bananas by Patrick Wensink and Nate Wragg (HarperCollins, August 2018)

    

TINY, PERFECT THINGS

Tiny, Perfect Things by M. H. Clark and Madeline Kloepper is a tiny, perfect book.

Let's Talk Illustrators #75: Nazli Tahvili

It goes without saying that wordless children's books mean a lot to me. I think it's pretty darn incredible for a book creator to be able to convey an entire story through images, not to mention how they must also work to gear the narration, tone, and emotions toward the reading level of a small child. But, to their credit, children pick up a lot of nuanced moments in wordless books, and it was wonderful talking to Iranian illustrator Nazli Tahvili about how she successfully made Chalk Eagle, the story of a boy and his wild imagination, relatable to children. Enjoy!

THE DRESS AND THE GIRL

The Dress and the Girl by Camille Andros and Julie Morstad is a beautiful picture book about  the power of the memories we tie to the items we love.

Crushes of the Week: June 10-16, 2018

This week's crushes:

1. I Hate Everyone by Naomi Danis and Cinta Arribas (POW!, May 2018)
2. The Crocodile and the Dentist by Taro Gomi (Chronicle Books, August 2018)
3. A Marvelous Mexican Misunderstanding by Evi Triantafyllides and Nefeli Malie (Worldwide Buddies, 2018)
4. Surprise! by Caroline Hadilaksono (Arthur A. Levine Books, September 2018)
5. Can I Touch Your Hair?: Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham, Charles Waters, Sean Qualls, and Selina Alko (Carolrhoda Books, January 2018)

    

NOT MY IDEA

Not My Idea: A Book about Whiteness is the newest book in Anastasia Higginbotham's Ordinary Terrible Things series, and like all of Higginbotham's books, this one hits the nail on the head.

Let's Talk Illustrators #74: Lane Smith & Molly Leach

Lane Smith and Molly Leach have been working together on books for over 26 years. Their first book together was The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, and if that book proves anything it's that these two are meant to create books together. Lane is an author-illustrator and Molly is a book designer, and today I talk to both of them about their newest book A House That Once Was, written by Julie Fogliano. Their banter is fast-paced, hilarious, and insightful, so try to keep up!