February 18, 2025

Dual-Functioning Books


 

DUAL-FUNCTIONING BOOKS


There are some really cool books out there that go beyond being brick-and-mortar "text and illustration" books. They take things to the next level in that the physical book becomes a key part of the experience and incites its own separate experience. I have dubbed these dual-functioning books because––as the name would suggest––these books serve two functions: To be a book and to be something beyond a book. Check out some examples below!

                             
click on a book cover to see more

February 17, 2025

Case(wrap) of the Mondays

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


February 15, 2025

Crushes of the Week: February 9-15, 2025

This week's crushes:
  1. When Spring Comes by Ekaterina Trukhan (Nosy Crow, February 2025)
  2. Little Lion Girl by Olivia Hope and Fiona Woodcock (Bloomsbury Children's Books, February 2025)
  3. Nearly Exactly Almost Like Me by Jennifer Bradbury and Pearl Auyeung (Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, February 2025)
  4. Dream a Dress, Dream a Poem: Dressmaker and Poet, Myra Viola Wilds by Nancy Johnson James and Diana Ejaita (Abrams Books for Young Readers, January 2025)
  5. One Day: A True Story of Survival in the Holocaust by Michael Rosen and Benjamin Phillips (Candlewick Studio, January 2025)
  6. Soy Sauce! by Laura G. Lee (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, January 2025)
  7. What the Kite Saw by Anne Laurel Carter and Akin Duzakin (Groundwood Books, January 2025)
  8. Cat and Bird by Jo Empson (Child's Play International, October 2024)
       

February 11, 2025

Let's Talk Illustrators #312: Victor Bizar Gómez

It was both a pleasure and an honor getting a chance to talk to Victor Bizar Gómez about his picture book from late last year We Sing from the Heart, written by Mia Wenjen. This powerful book is stunning brought to life by Gómez's illustrations, and I'm so glad I get a chance to share the inner workings of this book with you all today!


February 10, 2025

Case(wrap) of the Mondays

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


February 8, 2025

Crushes of the Week: February 2-8, 2025

This week's crushes:
  1. And She Was Loved: Toni Morrison's Life in Stories by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Daniel Minter (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, January 2025)
  2. Zayde Babysits Before Passover by Jane Sutton and Kate Chappell (Kar-Ben Publishing, January 2025)
  3. Girls on the Rise by Amanda Gorman and Loveis Wise (Viking Books for Young Readers, January 2025)
  4. Ping's Perfect Pot by Helen H. Wu and Zihua Yang (Beaming Books, January 2025)
  5. Saturday Morning at the 'Shop by Keenan Jones and Ken Daley (Beach Lane Books, January 2025)
  6. Willow Takes on the Weather by Rachel Noble and Annabel Tempest (Page Street Kids, January 2025)