Baby Penguins Everywhere!: A Chat with Melissa Guion

I welcome new-to-the-field illustrator MELISSA GUION. She’s here to share some of her bright, gentle watercolors and talk about her debut title, Baby Penguins Everywhere!, a picture book as much for the parents and teachers o...
by David McGee
 

 
 

A Visit with Matthew Cordell to Talk About What is Still My Favorite Picture Book of the Year

An interview with Matthew Cordell, author/illustrator of our kids' lit blogger Jules's favorite book of the year, hello! hello!
by David McGee
 

 

 

A Spotlight on Smaller Publishers

Reviews of three new beautifully illustrated picture books for children, all issued by smaller publishing houses
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Hard Road to Compassion and Inclusion in an Alien World

JULES spotlights two important new books for young readers: SANCTUARY: KIP TIERNAN AND ROSIE'S PLACE, THE NATION'S FIRST SHELTER FOR WOMEN and Young Vo's GIBBERISH, in which a young boy navigates a new language in a new land.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Make Way for Lucky Ducklings & Yu Byun’s ‘Diminutive Paradise’

JULES declares Eva Moore's LUCKY DUCKLINGS, illustrated by NANCY CARPENTER, to be one of 2013's great picture books, and introduces us to DREAM FRIENDS by an impressive debut artist, YOU BYUN.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Marianne Dubuc and the Art of Silence

In her new book The Lion and The Bird, author-illustrator MARIANNE DUBUC invites young readers into her tale by means of 'interrupted silence, not rushing the story, letting it breathe.' JULES explains further.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Gabriella Barouch’s Art of Digital Illustration

Up-and-coming Israeli artist-illustrtor GABRIELLA BAROUCH was last year's 'Artist of the Season' for the Jerusalem Season of Culture. It's one of many honors she's racked up for her all-digital (even sketches) artwork.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Beth Waters Uncovers ‘A Lost Way of Life’

BETH WATERS's CHILD OF ST. KILDA is the product of two years of research into "a lost way of life" on one of the most remote part of the British Isles. JULES has the story behind a most remarkable story.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Shirley Chisholm: ‘Always a Doer’

In SHIRLEY CHISHOLM IS A VERB! author VERONICA CHAMBERS and illustrator RACHELLE BAKER remember the first black woman elected to Congress and the first woman to make a serious bid for the Presidency. JULES has the inside scoop.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Featuring Frank Morrison

Illustrator FRANK MORRISON catches JULES's attention this month with his work in PAT ZEITLOW MILLER's THE QUICKEST KID IN CLARKSVILLE, in which Olympic great WILMA RUDOLPH makes a cameo and the story makes a point.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Bully: A Visit with Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Pictured above is an early image from Caldecott Honor medalist Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s Bully, released in July from Neal Porter/Roaring Brook. A little birdie (named Neal Porter, in fact) told me months ago that Laura created ...
by David McGee
 

 
 

Dadaji’s Paintbrush: A Thing of Beauty

In which JULES hails ‘Dadaji’s Paintbrush,’ an open-hearted and tender intergenerational story of a boy and his grandfather in India, as ‘a thing of beauty’
by David McGee