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?…
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Tweet I started out the New Year with symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Long Covid (whichever one you believe in). At the same time, my picture book was finally announced in Publisher’s Weekly. 2024 has birth forth my greatest accomplishment and my lowest point health-wise. It’s a tenuous year-a back and forth switchboard of what’s going to happen next. I am also living in the place I’ve been dreaming of for a decade. So while my biggest unimaginable dreams have come to fruition, a few unexpected life changing setbacks as well. 2020s have really thrown me for a loop!…
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Tweet I just listened to a webinar about how there are a lot of picture books about trees lately. This doesn’t bode well for my own picture book which I’ve been working on for the last few years. But it’s better for the kids and hopefully the planet, so this makes me happy. This is another thing that makes me happy. The Tree and the River by Aaron Becker is a wordless picture book that takes children (and adults) on a journey from a fantastical past to the illusions of a future beyond our imagination. It’s cinematic in its illustrations…
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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,…