There’s a classic poem by Wallace Stevens titled “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” It is an austere, imagist poem, and highly influential in […]
Puffins!
Puffins! is a new (2026) nonfiction picture book. Written by Maria Gianferrari and illustrated by Maris Wicks, it is both fun and informative. In fact, […]
The Paper Boat
The Paper Boat: A Refugee Story is another picture book by Thao Lam, this one from 2020. A few days ago I reviewed The Line […]
Anne and her Tower of Giraffes
Now that’s a book title! Okay, let me start again, more formally. Karlin Gray’s 2022 nonfiction picture book Anne and her Tower of Giraffes: The […]
The Tower of Life
Chana Stiefal’s 2022 picture book The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt her Town in Stories and Photographs is brave and ambitious. It tells […]
Look at my Book
The subtitle of Loreen Leedy’s 2004 picture book Look at my Book: How Kids Can Write and Illustrate Terrific Books makes it sound like it […]
little big books: Illustrations for children’s picture books
I can’t say enough good about little big books: Illustrations for children’s picture books. This 2012 book edited by Robert Klanten and Hendrik Hellige is […]
Giraffe Math
Stephen R. Swinburne’s 2023 picture book Giraffe Math includes good scientific facts for kids interested in giraffes (or nature/science more generally). Some of those facts […]
How Did That Get in my Lunchbox?
Chris Butterworth’s 2011 picture book How Did That Get in my Lunchbox? The Story of Food is a good and useful overview answer to that […]
Black Diamond Kings
Charles R. Smith Jr.’s 2025 picture book Black Diamond Kings is a multi-faceted pleasure. For a lifelong baseball fan like myself, the book was a […]