One of the things I love most about writing picture books is watching the illustrations develop from the sketches to the final art. I don’t always get to see this evolution, but I appreciate those editors who include me in the process. Even better is when I get to meet the artist behind the work. […]
I have two new picture books out this month, published a week apart. Editors typically frown upon such proximity—better to have one book at a time in front of reviewers, bookstore buyers, and shoppers, the thinking goes—but, as an author, I have little say in the matter. In fact, a quick look at the origins […]
One of the things I love about picture books is that they can say so much without actually “saying” anything. Take One Family, for instance, written by George Shannon and illustrated by Blanca Gomez. Ostensibly a counting book, it celebrates humanity in all its diversity and families in all sorts of configurations—a powerful message of […]
Meet Kim Smith–and OVER THE RIVER & THROUGH THE WOOD Giveaway!
I really admire artistic talent (since I have so little myself), so it’s always fascinating to me to see how an illustrator’s artwork evolves over the course of creating a book. Kim Smith, illustrator of Over the River and Through the Wood, gives us a peek into her artistic process in my latest PictureBookBuilders post. […]
When I think of non-fiction books with a distinctive voice, I think of Jonah Winter. I’ve admired his biographies for years, and so looked forward to reading his latest. It isn’t easy to take a complicated (and sometimes ugly) subject like the history of voting rights in the United States and turn it into a […]
Manuscript feeling a bit stale? Need a fresh take on the ordinary? How about trying some role reversal? You’ll find some great examples of picture books that successfully switch things up—including I’m My Own Dog by David Ezra Stein—in this PictureBookBuilders post.
The SCBWI Carolinas chapter has another fabulous conference coming up September 25-27, 2015. Registration info is here. I’ll be leading a Picture Book Intensive on Friday morning (note: registration is in addition to the conference). Here’s the description: Working with Limits—and Limitless Choices Picture books have certain structural restrictions. Yet, within those constraints, writers […]
Not sure how I missed Anna Dewdney’s bestselling Llama Llama series, but I’m happy I finally discovered it (while searching my library for books about raising llamas, which wasn’t so fruitful). I share my thoughts about why these books are so successful—and what picture book writers can learn from them—over at PictureBookBuilders.
I’ve been a fan of Zach OHora’s books ever since spotting one at the library a few years ago. He talks about his process and gives us a behind-the-scenes peek at his latest book—My Cousin Momo—over at PictureBookBuilders. Stop by for a chance to win a copy!
Karen Beaumont, one of my favorite picture book authors, has a new book out. I talk about Wild About Us and some other favorites–e.g., I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More and No Sleep for the Sheep–over at PictureBookBuilders. What is it that makes Karen’s so dang fun to read aloud? I offer a few thoughts […]