• Book Review

    Review of The Most Beautiful Thing

    Tweet Kao Kalia Yang’s The Most Beautiful Thing illustrated by Khoa Le and published by Carolrhoda Books, is the most beautiful book. The illustrations are art worthy. The story like a beautifully stitched quilt layered with meaning and yet, so fitting for a children’s book. What makes this one special is how specific and detailed the story is. The way the author writes about the grandmother makes you feel like you know her, as if she is a real person. Listen to the first sentence: “My grandmother is so old, no one knows how old she is.” Isn’t that a perfect line?…

  • Picture book writer

    Cultural Picture Book Mentor Text

    Tweet I’m working on a picture book about one of my grandmothers. She’s been gone for about 8 years now and I’m starting to forget. Having stories like, Kelly Starling Lyons’ My Hands Tell a Story, however has been helping me pull pieces of my culture and personal history into an actual story. The picture book published by Reycraft and illustrated by Tonya Engel is about a little girl’s relationship with her grandmother told through the story of her hands and every thing it’s been through. It’s such a beautiful story and there are so many layers about generation, hard work,…