Crushes of the Week: June 23-29, 2019

This week's crushes:

1. The Little Guys by Vera Brosgol (Roaring Brook Press, April 2019)
2. The Secret Lives of Unicorns by Dr. Temisa Seraphini and Sophie Robin (Flying Eye Books, April 2019)
3. The King Who Banned the Dark by Emily Haworth-Booth (Sterling Children's Books, May 2019)
4. Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis (Neal Porter Books, March 2019)
5. Aalfred and Aalbert by Morag Hood (Peachtree Publishing Company, September 2019)
6. Before They Were Authors: Famous Writers as Kids by Elizabeth Haidle (HMH Books for Young Readers, May 2019)
7. Yellow Yellow by Mark Alan Stamaty and Frank Asch (Enfant, May 2019) 
8. Sun by Alison Oliver (Clarion Books, June 2019)

       

Let's Talk Illustrators #112: Daniel Egnéus

I was lucky enough to get a chance to chat with Athens-based illustrator Daniel Egnéus about his illustration process for Lubna and Pebble. I've been a long time fan of Daniel's work since I saw his adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood back in 2011, so it was an extra special treat to talk to Daniel about his work in children's literature, specifically with a text designed to raise awareness of the refugee crisis. I hope you find our conversation insightful and thoughtful. 

INSIDE OUTSIDE

Inside Outside by Anne-Margot Ramstein and Matthias Arégui is a wordless meditation on the concept of "inside" and "outside."

Let's Talk Illustrators #111: Cindy Derby

It was downright delightful getting to know up-and-coming picture book creator Cindy Derby. Cindy released two books in March: her author-illustrator debut How to Walk an Ant, and Climbing Shadows: Poems for Children, written by Shannon Brammer. Cindy's process is fascinating, so let's get right to it! And don't worry: only 3 ants were harmed in the production of this interview.

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 5: 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)