It’s my great honor to introduce Listen, Wonder, Ask (Tilbury House Publishers, September 17, 2024) and the gifted author/illustrator team of Elly Berke and Luciana Navarro Powell to our Writers’ Rumpus audience in my first post of 2026.
Category: Illustrating
Growing the Creepy: How Aaron Reynolds’s Jasper Rabbit’s Creepy Tales! Grows With Young Readers
A look at how Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown grow their beloved Creepy picture books into early chapter books — and why spooky stories work year-round for young readers.
New in Picture Books: Hello, Tobi! by Andrea Cáceres
Hello, Tobi (Candlewick, 2025), by Author/Illustrator Andrea Cáceres had me at hello. Literally. The cover is a playful invitation, with an illustration of Cáceres’s 15-year-old
INTERVIEW WITH #KIDLIT #RHYMING #PICTUREBOOK AUTHOR CHRISTINA SHAWN AND ILLUSTRATOR SHAHRZAD MAYDANI ABOUT PICTURE BOOK AND THEN CAME YOU
By Danna Zeiger Christina has been a long-time beloved critique partner and friend. We have journeyed through the wild path of publishing together, and I
Where Are the Women? Interview With Author-Illustrator Janice Hechter…And a Giveaway!
“An inspiring true story of female empowerment.” -KIRKUS REVIEWS
Meet the talented Michelle Lin, #kidlit author/illustrator.
CAROL GORDON EKSTER: I met Michelle Lin at Kindling Words East this past February. She was one of those kind lovely humans who stands out.
Climbing Onward with Junko Tabei…and Leveled Nonfiction!
I’m a nerdy but lovable nonfiction writer. More lovable than nerdy, ok? As such, I’m constantly on the lookout for a mind-blowing, heart-hugging real-life story,
A Warbler’s Journey: A Picture Book by Noted Naturalist Scott Weidensaul
“No one who reads this can remain unmoved by this tiny bird’s tenacity; this is sure to create avid new bird-watchers.” – Kirkus Imagine a
Bibsy Cross Might Be Too Much for Some, But She’s Everything to Me!
This past November, something kind of amazing and once-in-a-blue-moon happened. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) had its annual conference in my home
Helping Writers and Readers Cope
The themes in picture books are intended to assist children in dealing with the world around them, and authors benefit in the same way. These
2025 Caldecott Contender: The Yellow Bus by Loren Long
School buses have been an inspiration for lots of picture books over the years. Just peruse any children’s library and you’ll find stories about nervous
Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall Are Back At It…With STELLA & MARIGOLD!
One of the great highlights of my summer, besides attending a fantastic writing retreat in the green mountains of Vermont, was receiving an advanced reader copy of Stella & Marigold from Chronicle Books (thank you from the bottom of my book-loving heart, Chronicle). It’s the first book in a brand-new early reader series for children 6-9 years old, by the magical author-illustrator duo Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall.
World of Books 13: Spain
Here are two picture books by different author-illustrators from Spain that encourage individuality and whose characters are insects and other arthropods. Coincidentally, among the protagonists
December Picture Book Opportunities
Online events, classes, and contests for picture book writers and illustrators for December, 2024
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