MY HEART

My Heart by Corinna Luyken is one of the tenderest, most empathetic books I've ever seen.

Let's Talk Illustrators #96: Amy June Bates

Written by Lesléa Newman and illustrated by Amy June Bates, Gittel's Journey took my breath away simply from the cover: it's clear that this is the story of a strong girl coming to America, and as she looks forward hopefully, it's as if she is gently urging readers to open the book and read her tale. Amy was kind enough to chat with me about how she created the illustrations for Lesléa's text, and I'm pleased to share that here. Enjoy!

MY LITTLE series

My Little Forest and My Little Garden are the first two English-edition titles in Katrin Wiehle's adorable new board book series.

 

Let's Talk Illustrators #95: Jessie Sima

Jessie Sima's books are consistently hilarious, well-designed, and full of heart. They evoke a sense of warmth as her characters discover how they fit into the grander scheme of things, and I was thrilled to get a chance to chat with Jessie about her fourth picture book Love, Z. If you thought narwhals and penguins were cute, wait until you meet Z!

LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING

Lift Every Voice and Sing: A Celebration of the African American National Anthem by James Weldon Johnson and Elizabeth Catlett is now available in a in an updated edition with a forward by Ashley Bryan and a fresh new design.

Crushes of the Week: January 13-19, 2019

This week's crushes:

1. The Children and the Whale by Daniel Frost (Little Gestalten, October 2018)
2. Carpenter by Bruna Barros (Gibbs Smith, March 2017)
3. The Origin of Day and Night by Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt and Lenny Lishchenko (Inhabit Media, October 2018)
4. Diana Dances by Luciano Lozano (Annick Press, March 2019)
5. Little Fox in the Snow by Jonathan London and Daniel Miyares (Candlewick, November 2018)
6. Perfect by Max Amato (Scholastic Press, January 2019)

     

Let's Talk Illustrators #94: Elise Peterson

In Brontez Purnell's The Nightlife of Jacuzzi Gaskett Jacuzzi balances "normal" childhood issues like not fitting in at school and wondering if people in galaxies far, far away have it easier than he, with watching his younger brother for hours at a time and coming to grips with hating his mother's boyfriend. Although the story is technically fiction, these are real issues experienced by children every day. Add in Elise Peterson's mixed media collage illustrations, and the entire story suddenly feels like a scrapbook: the story becomes even more grounded in reality because not only is the story relatable, but the illustrations themselves are photos pulled from Elise's own life. It was an honor to chat with Elise about her process for bringing this story to life in a visual way.