Let's Talk Illustrators #7: Deborah Freedman

I've made no secret about how much I love Deborah Freedman's latest picture book Shy. In fact, I might be a little TOO excited about it: I've talked about it here on Let's Talk Picture Books, as well as on Instagram, Twitter, and everywhere else people will let me stand on a soap box and rave about it. 

And now I get to share her process with you!!

LOVE IS A TRUCK

Love Is a Truck is the second book in Amy Novesky and Sara Gillingham's "Love Is" series, and it's a true delight to experience it. This is a book for children who love ice cream trucks and fire trucks and flatbed trucks, and children who love riding, organizing, and parading trucks around. But it's also a love story about love itself.

NOW

Antoinette Portis' Now is the perfect reminder to live in the moment. Every page flip hits readers with a wall of color, focused in on a specific moment in time that causes the girl to pause and take notice of her surroundings. It's an unusual message for a children's book, begging readers to slow down and take in every single spread, as well as draw parallels between the things they see in the books and their own favorite things.

Black and White and Read All Over

I recently talked about complementary colors, so it only seems fitting that I talk about the opposite end of the color spectrum: black and white. Generally speaking, black and white are each used to emphasize negative space and spacial relationships. So what happens when black or white occupies the negative and positive space in their respective illustrations? How do we tell where things exist and what their relationships are to each other?

STRIPES THE TIGER

Stripes is a tiger. NOT a cat. So stop trying to get him to purr and chase mice. Tigers don't do that kind of thing. Tigers roar and hunt large prey like dogs. And then one day Stripes comes up with a brilliant idea to switch places with an actual tiger...

#kidlitpicks September Round-Up: 20 Picture Books About Change

A lot changes in September. I mean, as the ancient Greeks will tell you, change is the only constant…but there’s something about September that sparks a bit of reflection—on the tilt of the Earth, the passing of the year, the meanderings of the path of life.

In September, the cadence of family time shifts as a new school year settles in around us. The dinnertime light is altered as we approach the autumnal equinox, and we trade swimsuits for sweaters or vice versa. We might even find that the foods we crave adapt to the harvest. Pumpkin latte, anyone? September calls our attention to traditions and homecomings and gives us reason to both revisit the past and plan for the seasons ahead.

There are no better guides for us in this transitional month than books, of course. After all, change is at the heart of every compelling story. Throughout September, the kidlitpicks book club explored the idea of change. Thanks to Megan from Chickadee Lit for the theme!

BEN

If there was ever a book to make you cry, it's Ben, written and illustrated by Miba and Josh Prigge. Of course, I wouldn't be talking about it here if it wasn't worth the cry. Ben is a picture book/graphic novel crossover that tells the story of an elderly man who finds a wounded bee and decides to nurse it back to health.

Let's Talk Illustrators #6: Carson Ellis

You guys! My favorite new picture book publishes today! Du iz Tak? by Carson Ellis is one of the most fascinating picture books I've had the pleasure of reading (and translating!) in a long time. I was so excited to sit down and chat with Carson about how this miraculous little book went from a seed of an idea to a full-grown picture book. And now I'm excited to share it with all of you!

FUZZY DOODLE

A few weeks ago my friend Summer from Reading Is Our Thing posted about Fuzzy Doodle by Melinda Syzmanik and Donovan Bixley and casually suggested I check it out. And when Summer recommends something, you can be sure it's a good pick. So I went online and searched EVERYWHERE. As it turns out, The Fuzzy Doodle is only available in New Zealand and Australia, and since I'm in the US, I ended up buying it from a shop halfway around the world.

It was so, so worth it.

THE JOURNEY

Francesca Sanna's The Journey is one of the most important books I've read in a long time. It speaks harsh truths about the struggles of refugees and the strength it takes one person to save a family.

Let's Talk Illustrators #5: Júlia Sardà

I did an Instagram post a little while ago when I first got a copy of Kyo Maclear and Júlia Sardà's The Liszts and said that I felt like I had been waiting for this book my whole life. That sentiment hasn't changed one bit in the months that I've had it: the more I read the book the more I grow to love it. It's so beautiful and so quirky that you can't NOT find something to connect with. There's something for everyone in this book.

Júlia Sardà stopped by to talk about her process for creating the illustrations and font for this incredible story, and I'm excited to share her insight with you today!

WHAT CAN I BE?

What Can I Be? by Ann Rand and Ingrid Fiksdahl King explores the power of imagination and the room for potential. It acts like a concept book, providing examples of common concepts--red, square, line--but places the story in exploring how the two "concepts" interact when combined. The "concepts" presented get more abstract as the book progresses, opening up the discussion to much more than what we see on the page.

All the Wonders of DORY FANTASMAGORY

I am particularly proud to present to you All the Wonders of DORY FANTASMAGORY! 

This is the first chapter book we've featured on the site, and we have so much to share! Stop by All the Wonders to listen to an interview with author-illustrator Abby Hanlon, learn how Abby weaves text and illustration together, and see how Dory has touched hearts all around the world!

HOTEL BRUCE

Ryan T Higgins' Hotel Bruce, the long-awaited sequel to Mother Bruce is finally here (almost)! In a week and a half everyone will once again get to enter the hilarious world of Bruce, the grumpiest, most temperamental bear parent there is. And it won't disappoint!

Favorite Red Riding Hood Picture Books

                           

click on a book cover to see more

THE WATER PRINCESS

The Water Princess, written by Susan Verde and illustrated by Peter H Reynolds is the story of a young girl who dreams of bringing clean drinking water to her African village. Every day Princess Gie Gie wakes up before the sun rises and walks miles to get fresh water for drinking and cleaning. No matter how hard she tries, Princess Gie Gie cannot make the water come closer or run clearer, and she dreams of a day when her village will have cool, crystal-clear water of its own.