I recently saw an announcement about this year’s Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. (Lindgren wrote the Pippi Longstocking stories, and other works.) I knew the work […]
Hey Diddle Diddle
The nursery rhyme “Hey Diddle Diddle” is hundreds of years old. Many sources say two hundred years. Some say four hundred (with possible precursors being […]
Babies on the Bus
Karen Katz’s 2011 picture book Babies on the Bus has a very simple premise: rework the children’s song “The Wheels on the Bus” to include […]
My Dog Mouse
Eva Lindstrom’s My Dog Mouse is lovely, lyrical, and touching. It gives a very real sense of what kids wants, and of dog-person relations. The […]
The Grumpy Ghost Upstairs
Mamiko Shiotani’s The Grumpy Ghost Upstairs was first published in Japan in 2020, and not in English until 2025. It won the Pinpoint Picture Book […]
The Rough Patch
I’m a fan of Brian Lies, and recently got to take part in a webinar with him. If you haven’t read/seen his 2025 book Cat […]
Well, that was interesting!
This evening I attended a webinar sponsored by SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators—the major professional organization for children’s book creators). Titled […]
Ra! Ta! Ma! Cue!
Each year the Alcuin Society gives awards for excellence in in book design to Canadian books. And I’ll admit it: I had never heard about […]
More Thoughts on Make Believe
A few days ago I posted my first thoughts on Mac Barnett‘s book Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children, which came out this week. […]
Earth Rover
Some picture books work well without context. Where the Wild Things Are is a classic example. Small in the City is a contemporary example. Taylor […]