From Jill: Hello, readers! Our long-time PBB friend, Suzanne Slade, was kind enough to fill in for me this month to let us know what she’s been up to. I know you’ll all be as happy as I was to hear from her again. Take it away, Suzanne! Did you …
Happy New Year, Picture Book Builder People! It’s my first post of the year and I’m SO excited to share with you an absolutely beautiful book: EMILY SAW A DOOR, by Mel Rosenberg, illustrated by Orit Magia, and published in North America by Random House Studio (It was previously published …
Hi Builders, thanks for welcoming me back! As a quick reintroduction, I’m a veteran picture book author, working mostly in nonfiction. So, in the coming year, you’ll see a lot of posts from me about science, the arts, and real people. I tend to prefer narrative, but can appreciate interesting …
Hello, PBB friends! Just a very quick post to wish you all a happy new year! May it be filled with lots of great picture books! And I hope you won’t mind if I share a giveaway: If you’re a classroom teacher or librarian, you can enter to win a …
Oh, people. There are so many wonderful picture books heading our way in 2026. In honor of the Twelve Days of Christmas, I have included twelve such books right here in this very post (two of of which are written by yours truly).
Recently, I was online looking — not at all compulsively — for news or reviews of my latest picture book ONE CAN BE. I found my book, but I also found a picture book I hadn’t heard of before called ONE CAN written by Lana Button and Eric Walters and …
Hello, readers! Today, a treat for the poetic among us. I first met Dr. Colleen Kelley many years ago at an SCBWI conference. Unlike me (a dabbler, at best), Colleen is a serious student of poetry. We’re currently in a picture book study group together (via Zoom), and if we’re …
Hello Picture Book Builder Fam! I’m very excited to share yet another FANTASTIC poetry collection, TORRIBLE PUNS, written by Tricia Torrible, and illustrated by Robert Dunn. Here’s my review: This poetry collection is HILARIOUS and the concept is absolutely brilliant. Each poem tells a little story that leads the reader …
As 2025 wraps up, I will keep this post short and sweet. After four years of writing for Picture Book Builders, I am stepping away to focus on other work. Thank you for sharing your reading lives with me, and thank you especially to Jill Esbaum for being a wonderful …
December is a month full of lists: to-do lists; wish lists; gift lists; and, of course, book lists of every category and description. So I’m jumping on the listicle bandwagon with six picture books that I read this year and why I think they’re great for this holiday season (as …
