In April of 2020 a remarkable picture book was released into the world. Inspired by the author’s childhood experience, the story follows the life cycle
Author: Joyce Audy Zarins
A member of SCBWI, the Writer’s Rumpus, and NEST, Joyce is the author of five books for young readers and illustrator of twenty. She is currently working on new YA, MG and a non-fiction PB. Sculpture is her other passion. Life is a creative experience.
¡Oye, niños! Lucky Diaz’s Paletero Man
Latin Grammy award winner Lucky Diaz’s Paletero Man has boogied from a finger-snapping song into a delectable picture book with a dramatic twist. Just as in the
Five Page Layout Tips
All picture book author-illustrators need to consider how your story and images fit together. Even when the narrative is not told in actual words, it
Picture Book Toolbox
There is a surprising range of tools available for you when constructing a memorable, even classic, picture book. Some are obvious: You will want the
How to Tell a Story in 87 Words: My Red Hat by Rachel Stubbs
Note: Candlewick Press sent me a review copy of this book. There is an art to writing a picture book. Rachel Stubbs paints and writes.
Reviews: Two Books that Inspire Hope
One book shows the edge habitat between a brown author growing up and the natural world that inspires her. The other is about four friends,
2020 Codas: Gifts and a Review
As 2020 ended, three picture books were given to me and I also read Gary Paulsen’s unusual memoir of his early years, written for 8
Reimagining a classic: The Great Gatsby as a graphic novel
To transform a preeminent and beloved literary work into a graphic novel for young adults is a challenge for the brave. K. Woodman-Maynard’s adaptation of
Character Created Worlds: Carrie Armstrong-Ellis
The personality of a picture book evolves from the characters in your story. You, the illustrator decide whether they are cute animals, realistic children, or
Illustrating Picture Books: Book Reviews
This is a review of three books which together will help you build your illustrations. Molly Bang’s Picture This: How Pictures Work illuminates the core principles of
Technical pitfalls of self-publishing: what they don’t tell you.
Self-publishing through a platform that is set up to print and sell your children’s books online would be fabulous, if not for one huge drawback.
Three rules: being brutal enough when revising.
Our stories are often long in gestation and as personal to us as if they were born of our flesh and blood. If you want
The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep: Voices From the Donner Party by Allan Wolf
When George Donner posted an ad on March 18, 1846 in a Springfield, Illinois newspaper under the title Westward, Ho! for Oregon and California,
The Children’s Book Industry vs. the Pandemic
Publishers, agents, authors, and illustrators now heroically face an invisible foe. However, creative people have powerful solutions and wise workarounds to battle this hazard. The
WRITERS' RUMPUS 