Crushes of the Week: July 8-14

This week's crushes:

1. Bear's Scare by Jacob Grant (Bloomsbury Children's Books, June 2018)
2. Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, July 2018)
3. This Is a Taco! by Andrew Cangelose and Josh Shipley (Lion Forge, May 2018)
4. Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon by Suzanne Slade and Thomas Gonzalez (Peachtree Publishers, September 2018)
5. What Can a Citizen Do? by Dave Eggers and Shawn Harris (Chronicle Books, September 2018)

    

The Little Book Series

Kanae Soto's board book series plays with images and words that encourage babies to explore the worlds they live in. So far in the series we have Happy Grumpy Loved: A Little Book of Feelings, Hide Seek Sticky Sweet: A Little Book of Opposites, and Wiggle Jump Tickle: A Little Book of Actions, all of which boast fantastic colors, graphics, and concepts.

THESE COLORS ARE BANANAS

These Colors Are Bananas by Tamara Shopsin and Jason Fulford is one of the most innovative color concept books I think I've ever seen, and I'm obsessed with it.

THE SOCKEYE MOTHER

The Sockeye Mother by Hetxw'ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson) and Natasha Donovan is a graphically stunning book about the Gitxsan people of Northwestern British Columbia and the importance of the sockeye salmon to almost every aspect of their lives.

Crushes of the Week: July 1-7

This week's crushes:

1. Sun Dog by Deborah Kerbel and Suzanne del Rizzo (Pajama Press, June 2018)
2. Ebenezer Has a Word for Everything by Chelsea H. Rowe and Frank Dormer (Peachtree Publishers, October 2018)
3. Charlotte's Bones: The Beluga Whale in a Farmer's Field by Erin Rounds and Alison Carver (Tilbury House Publishers, August 2018)
4. Irving Berlin, the Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing by Nancy Churnin and James Rey Sanchez (Creston Books, May 2018)
5. You and Me, Me and You: Brothers by Miguel Tanco (Chronicle Books, November 2018)

    

First Friday 5: Past, Present, & Future

This month I'm highlighting comics that focus on the past, present, and future. Some of these books take us back to the past (like the-beginning-of-time past), some remind us to live in the present with the gifts we have now, and others explore different futures wrought with apocalypses and the unknown. Travel through time with these five comics and explore some exciting new worlds and possibilities!

Let's Talk Illustrators #76: Sophie Blackall

Sophie Blackall has received many accolades over the course of her career so far, including a Caldecott Honor Award, an Ezra Jack Keats Award, and a Blue Ribbon Picture Book Award, but, in my eyes, no book she has created so far holds a candle to her newest book Hello Lighthouse. It makes me to visit every lighthouse along the coast and shout about the book. With impeccable design and a kind story, this book is quite stunning, and I'm glad to share the conversation I had with Sophie about the book here. Ahoy!