Down to the Last Detail: MY NAME IS A GIFT

This extra shiny magenta foil on the cover is so beautiful and so perfectly used! What a special way to make the book feel like a gift of its own.

Case(wrap) of the Mondays

We've got a case(wrap) of the Mondays!

Crushes of the Week: October 20-26, 2024

This week's crushes:

1. Griso: The One and Only by Roger Mello and Daniel Hahn (Elsewhere Editions, October 2024)
2. Mabel Wants a Friend by Ariel Bernstein and Marc Rosenthal (Paula Wiseman Books, October 2024)
3. Three City Kitties by Ashley Barron (Owlkids, September 2024)
4. Teeny Tiendas: The Fruit Shop/La Frutería by Lourdes Heuer and Zara González Hoang (Candlewick Press, September 2024)
5. Counting Winter by Nancy White Carlstrom and Claudia McGehee (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, September 2024)
6. The Yowlers by Stacy Lynn Carroll and Molly Ruttan (Nancy Paulsen Books, September 2024)
7. A Field Guide to Autumn: Play and Learn in Nature by Gabby Dawnay and Dorien Brouwers (Thames & Hudson, September 2024)

      

Endpapers for the end of your week!

2024 Undies and Endies Awards: Nominations Open

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Once again I'm joining Travis Jonker and Carter Higgins for The Undies: Case Cover Awards and The Endies: Endpaper Awards!

Rules and nomination form for favorite undies are here.

Rules and nomination form for favorite endies are here.

Nominations close November 15. Good luck!!

Let's Talk Illustrators #307: Santiago Solís Montes de Oca

I am very pleased to showcase my interview with the incredibly talented Santiago Solís Montes de Oca, the illustrator of Montezuma's Tantrum, written by Nuria Gómez Benet and translated by Elisa Amado. This book is graphically stunning and it was such a treat to learn more about how the bold imagery came together. Enjoy learning more!

Case(wrap) of the Mondays

We've got a case(wrap) of the Mondays!

Crushes of the Week: October 13-19, 2024

This week's crushes:

1. The Hawk Shadow by Jan Bourdeau Waboose and Karlene Harvey (Kids Can Press, September 2024)
2. A Pinecone! by Helen Yoon (Candlewick Press, September 2024)
3. Hank Goes Honk by Maudie Powell-Tuck and Duncan Beedie (Tiger Tales, September 2024)
4. Fast Cheetah, Slow Tortoise: Poems of Animal Opposites by Bette Westera and Mies Van Hout, and translated by David Colmer (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, September 2024)
5. I Like Your Chutzpah: And Other Yiddish Words You'll Like by Suzy Ultman (Rise X Penguin Workshop, September 2024)
6. The Mango Monster by Derek Mascarenhas and Meneka Repka (Owlkids, September 2024)
7. Rafa and the Wrong Legs by Ana Sanfelippo (Marble Press, September 2024)

      

Endpapers for the end of your week!

Let's Talk Illustrators #306: Cristina Sitja Rubio

The cover of The Most Beautiful Winter really draws you in, so it's no surprise that I found myself having to askVenezuelan author-illustrator Cristina Sitja Rubio about her process for the whole book. Please enjoy this most beautiful peek at the process for creating a most beautiful book!

Case(wrap) of the Mondays

We've got a case(wrap) of the Mondays!

Crushes of the Week: October 6-12, 2024

This week's crushes:

1. Red Pop: A Pop-Up Board Book by Aurore Petit (Abrams Appleseed, September 2024)
2. Pascal the Very Hungry Penguin by Nishani Reed and Junissa Bianda (Nosy Crow, September 2024)
3. Is This a Tiger? by Elina Ellis (Kids Can Press, September 2024)
4. Wacky Witches and Their Peculiar Familiars by April Suddendorf (NorthSouth Books, September 2024)
5. The Language of Flowers by Shyala Smith and Aaron Asis (Lantana Publishing, September 2024)
6. Dad, I Miss You: A Residential School Story by Nadia Sammurtok and Simji Park (Inhabit Media, September 2024)
7. Eighteen Flowers for Grandma: A Gift of Chai by Alison Goldberg and Jesse White (Red Comet Press, September 2024)
8. Miro / I Look by Gavin Bishop (Gecko Press, August 2024)

       

Endpapers for the end of your week!

Let's Talk Illustrators #305: Sara Lundberg

Meow, meow [clears throat] today we're doing it the cat way with The Cat Way by Swedish author-illustrator Sara Lundberg and translated by B.J. Woodstein. My entire life has pretty much been done the cat way, so this interview felt quite natural to me! I hope you enjoy a peek at how this book and our main character came together.

Case(wrap) of the Mondays

We've got a case(wrap) of the Mondays!

Crushes of the Week: September 29-October 5, 2024

This week's crushes:

1. Genius Ears: A Curious Animal Compendium by Lena Anlauf and Vitali Konstantinov and translated by Marshall Yarbrough (NorthSouth Books, September 2024)
2. Doña Fela's Dream: The Story of Puerto Rico's First Female Mayor by Monica Brown and Rosa Ibarra (Little, Brown Young Readers, September 2024)
3. Challah for Shabbat Tonight by Sara Holly Ackerman and Alona Millgram (Algonquin Young Readers, September 2024)
4. Brown Bears by Nick Crumpton and Colleen Larmour (Candlewick Press, September 2024)
5. Popi's All Souls Song by C. K. Malone and Shelly Swann (Beaming Books, September 2024)
6. The Smell of Wet Dog: And Other Dog Poems and Drawings by Barney Saltzberg (Neal Porter Books, September 2024
7. Emilia's Corte by Juleesa Espinoza and Veronica Castillo (Soaring Kite Books, August 2024)

      

Endpapers for the end of your week!

Down to the Last Detail: D IS FOR DOG

This book is So. Much. Fun. How inviting is the die-cut cover, with three pups peeking out from behind a spot-glossed D? And the barcode is designed and integrated into the book's design, too?! Dream book!

Let's Talk Illustrators #304: Melissa Sweet

Today's interview is a little unconventional because normally I try to time interviews with book publication dates (give or take a few months). This time, though, we're turning back the clock to celebrate a book that turned ten this month. I'm talking to Melissa Sweet about the highly-praised, award-winning 2014 picture book The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus, written by Jen Bryant, and it's such a blast from the past that I'll let Melissa take it from here!