Crushes of the Week: June 9-15, 2019

This week's crushes:

1. Paws and Edward by Espen Dekko and Mari Kanstad Johnsen (Kids Can Press, May 2019)
2. Side by Side: A Celebration of Dads by Chris Raschka (Phaidon Press, March 2019)
3. A Mouse Called Julian by Joe Todd-Stanton (Flying Eye Books, April 2019)
4. One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller by Kate Read (Peachtree Publishing Company, October 2019)
5. The Evil Princess vs. the Brave Knight (Book 1) by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House Books for Young Readers, August 2019)
6. Fish Everywhere by Britta Teckentrup (Big Picture Press, May 2019)
7. My Footprints by Bao Phi and Basia Tran (Capstone Editions, September 2019)

     

ONE YELLOW RIBBON

I was smitten with Marthe Jocelyn's wordless board book One Yellow Ribbon from the moment I saw it.

Let's Talk Illustrators #110: Stephen Savage

As a huge fan of wordless picture books, I was thrilled to get the chance to talk to Stephen Savage about Sign Off. Stephen has created many creative and funny books for children, including his wordless duo Where’s Walrus? and Where’s Walrus? And Penguin?. It comes as no surprise that Sign Off follows in the same humorous vein as Stephen's other stories, but the life-altering impact of this particular book is clear: you won't see mundane road signs the same way again!

The Children's Book Podcast Round-Up

I've been super busy working on some projects, so I've been remiss in sharing that I've been continuing my podcast interviews on The Children's Book Podcast with Matthew Winner. Every book featured is hugely important to me, so it's basically a dream come true to talk to their creators. You can catch up below!

 

 

First Friday Five: June 2019

Let's Talk Illustrators #109: Gro Dahle and Svein Nyhus

Originally published in Norway as "Sinna Mann" in 2003, Angry Man published here in the United States in March. You can read more about the inception of the book below, but the book was designed to be a tool used by culture centers and therapists to address the topic of domestic violence with their patrons and patients. I had a chance to talk to the wife-husband team behind the book, poet Gro Dahle and artist Svein Nyhus, who generously took time to talk about what is essentially a 16-year-old book by now. You should take a look at all of the foreign language editions here after you read the interview – it's pretty impressive with them all laid out! But for now, here's my conversation with Gro and Svein.

Crushes of the Week: May 26 - June 1, 2019

This week's crushes:

1. Vroom! by Barbara McClintock (Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), July 2019)
2. Welcome Home: Where Nature's Most Creative Creatures Dwell by Lisa Mundorff (Feiwel & Friends, June 2019)
3. Chirri & Chirra, Underground by Kaya Doi and David Boyd (Enchanted Lion Books, June 2019)
4. Night Windows by Aart Jan Venema (Cicada Books, April 2019)
5. The Tallest Tree House by Elly MacKay (Running Press Kids, April 2019)
6. Leyla by Galia Bernstein (Harry N. Abrams, May 2019)
7. Lion and Mouse by Jairo Buitrago, Rafael Yockteng, and Eliza Amado (Groundwood Books, May 2019)

      

Crushes of the Week: May 19-25, 2019

This week's crushes:

1. You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks by Evan Turk (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, June 2019)
2. Community Soup by Alma Fullerton (Pajama Press, January 2019)
3. I Love My Colorful Nails by Alicia Acosta, Luis Amavisca, and Gusti (Nubeocho, April 2019)
4. The Happiest Tree: A Story of Growing Up by Hyeon-Ju Lee (Feiwel & Friends, April 2019)
5. Everyone Walks Away by Eva Lindstrom (Gecko Press, May 2019)
6. Sock Story by Ck Smouha and Eleonora Marton (Cicada Books, April 2019)
7. She Spoke: 14 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World by Kathy MacMillan, Manuela Bernardi, and Kathrin Honesta (Familius, March 2019)