'Phoebe & Digger': A Troublemaking Duo

You can throw a rock and hit a picture book about a new baby sibling. These days, you can even throw a rock and hit a picture book about bullying. Tricia Springstubb’s Phoebe & Digger, illustrated by Jeff Newman and to be released in a little over a week from Candlewick Press, is a book about both things. But I think it rises above your typical new sibling– and bullying fare, and that’s because the writing is good, the illustrations are distinctive (big fan of Jeff Newman here), and there’s a lot of humor and heart in this ...

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Don Brown's Latest Bumps It Up a Notch

Henry and the Cannons is a new picture book I had thought would be released this month, but evidently it was released back in January. I might be a bit slow here; in the hyper-fast, zippy-quick world of publishing, this is hardly breaking news. But I still choose to shine the spotlight on it today, as it’s an excellent piece of nonfiction.

Since it comes from author/illustrator Don Brown, I’m not surprised. He’s brought readers over 20 well-crafted picture books, many of them biographies of lesser-known figures, those who have followed their bliss and lived with ...

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Lullaby for Another, Lullaby for Oneself

“It’s nighttime in Harlem, and beneath a blanket of stars a young man sits down and writes a poem. He is alone. He has no kids of his own. For whom is he writing this lullaby?”

This is a question asked about poet Langston Hughes in Sean Qualls’ latest illustrated title, Lullaby (For a Black Mother). The query appears in the book’s closing note, a way to wrap up the book by providing young readers with essential information about Hughes’ life. To answer the question, it ends with “perhaps he wrote this lullaby as a comfort to the ...

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'Lulu': A Welcome Import from Across the Ocean

If you missed it last year—it would have been hard to, if you follow children’s literature closely, given the handful of starred reviews the book received—Albert Whitman & Company released here in the States Lulu and the Duck in the Park. First published in the UK in 2011, it is one in a series of chapter books about a lovable young girl, named Lulu. “Lulu was famous for animals” is the book’s first sentence, a succinct and zippy-fast way of capturing her personality and her heart’s biggest desire.

The books are written by the talented Hilary ...

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'Knit Your Bit' Vibrantly Depicts WWI

I’ve never tried to write historical fiction, much less tried to squeeze it into the 32-page picture book format, but I can’t imagine it’s easy. In her newest picture book, Knit Your Bit: A World War I Story, illustrated by Steven Guarnaccia, Deborah Hopkinson brings readers “historical fiction inspired by real events” (as explained in her closing author’s note), and it’s good, solid storytelling. It’s accompanied by Guarnaccia’s warm watercolors, which successfully reflect the period clothing and evoke the early 20^th-century American setting.  

To boot, the story gives gender stereotyping a ...

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Catching up with Sergio Ruzzier

I always like to see what author/illustrator Sergio Ruzzier is up to, and to those of you who feel the same, we’re all in luck right now, as he has two new picture books just ’round the bend. Eve Bunting’s Have You Seen My New Blue Socks? comes out in early March, and his own Bear and Bee is also scheduled to be released next month. Both books are immensely appealing to young readers.

Have You Seen My New Blue Socks? marks Ruzzier’s second collaboration with Bunting, the first being 2011’s affectionate Tweak Tweak, and ...

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The Hard-Won Happiness at the Heart of 'My Happy Life'

On the cover of Rose Lagercrantz’s My Happy Life, illustrated by Eva Eriksson, two girls splash in a rain puddle at a school yard, huge grins on their faces and arms around one another. The “i” in “Life” is even dotted with a heart, as a buoyant elementary-aged school child might decorate it. Happy, indeed. They are clearly having a good day, are obviously the best of friends, and the rain isn’t going to bring them down.

But problems lie ahead for these two girls, though not problems they can’t overcome.

My Happy Life is a chapter ...

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What Happens When Doug Unplugs

Screens. The average American child spends a great deal of time in front of them—televisions, computers, phones, iPads, handheld electronic gadgets. In author/illustrator Dan Yaccarino's latest picture book, Doug Unplugged, the average American child is Doug. And Doug is a robot. 

Every morning Doug is plugged in and filled with lots and lots of facts. His parents, who love him very much and "want him to be the smartest robot ever," manage this. "Today you will be learning all about the city," his mom tells him. "Happy downloading," says his dad. With briefcases in hand, they head ...

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Happy 50th, Amelia Bedelia!

It was 50 years ago this year that Peggy Parish brought one of children’s literature’s most memorable characters to life in Amelia Bedelia, illustrated by Austrian émigré Fritz Siebel. Parish, who had spent years teaching, was inspired by her third grade students’ occasional frustrations in learning vocabulary. After sharing and discussing this with her editor, Susan Hirschman, the character Amelia Bedelia was born.

In her debut, it’s Amelia’s first day of work as a house maid for Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, who have left her a list of chores. Given that she follows directions literally, things ...

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Maurice Sendak Reissued

In 1959, HarperCollins released Janice May Udry’s The Moon Jumpers, illustrated by Maurice Sendak. It’s the story of four children (and a black cat) who head outside on a warm summer night, away from the parents, and bask in the magic of a full moon.

I’m a fan of Maurice Sendak’s works, and I’ve always liked this odd tale of lunar revelry and worship. The children dance, barefooted, in the grass and reach up to the sky, even jumping to try to reach the moon. A bit of unsullied child bacchanalia. It’s weird. It ...

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Going Beyond Black History Month

In a column this week, Kirkus’ Children’s & Teen Editor Vicky Smith writes about promising new titles for both children and teens, as publishers anticipate Black History Month, celebrated every February.

Also seeking out new titles for the month-long celebration will be teachers and librarians. I nodded when Vicky wrote, “here’s hoping that the industry does not forget or neglect books by and about African-Americans for the next 11 months.” Hear, hear! I hope educators remember this as well.

You definitely want to head over there for Vicky’s recommended titles. Included there is a mention of Kadir Nelson ...

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Melissa Sweet: Every Book, a New World

It’s been a good time lately to be a fan of illustrator Melissa Sweet.

Last year, Melissa illustrated Susan Hood’s Spike, the Mixed-Up Monster, the story of a hopelessly adorable axolotl salamander, which was recently named a Highly Commended honor book for the 2013 Charlotte Zolotow Award. She also illustrated Alicia Potter’s Mrs. Harkness and the Panda, the fascinating picture book biography of socialite explorer Ruth Harkness, who brought back the first live panda to the United States. It’s a picture book I didn’t cover here at Kirkus or my own blog but that I ...

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'Cheer Up, Mouse!' Hits All the Right Notes

Back in 2012, I was lucky enough to see an early copy of Jed Henry’s Cheer Up, Mouse!. I’ve been smitten with it ever since.

I’ve had to wait all this time to yawp about it, but my patience has paid off—it was finally released this week from Houghton Mifflin.

I highly recommend finding a copy. This is a great book: It tells a simple and appealing tale, and it’s filled with bright, warm art. No tricks up its sleeves. No attempts to break any new ground or get all postmodern in our faces. Just ...

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'My Father's Arms Are a Boat': Unafraid to Be Contemplative, and Sad

Occasionally, I’ll run into someone who will say they avoid sad works of art. “I just altogether skip movies with sad endings” is but one example.

I definitely have days when I choose Mount Carmel over Laura Marling and Raising Arizona over Cast Away. But to avoid any heartbreak whatsoever is something I don’t comprehend. Sometimes the beauty in a more somber work of art can actually make me feel better about the world. The notion that someone thoughtful captured it, assuming they did so with grace and subtlety, can sometimes bring insight as to what it means ...

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The High-Octane, Visual Poetry of Bob Staake

If you follow author/illustrator, designer, and editorial illustrator Bob Staake, whom the Washington Post once described as “one of the most dynamic, original, colorful and humorous cartoonists working today,” then you know he’s a very busy guy. He’s written and/or illustrated over 50 children’s books to-date in his career, and he seems to never slow down.

For this reason, I was unsure if he’d have time to have a brief chat with me here today, but once I saw an early copy of his upcoming picture book, Bluebird (to be released by Schwartz & Wade ...

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Laying the Foundation, Setting up House

At the risk of sounding like comedian Dana Carvey’s Grumpy Old Man character, circa the early ’90s (“In my day, we didn’t have safety standards for toys. We got rusty nails and big bags of broken glass!”), many young people today don’t have a firm grasp of where things come from, how they started or precisely why it is that they work. Whether it’s understanding a piece of fruit’s path from orchard to grocery store or how one’s cellphone works, they’re at a loss.

I’m a 40-year-old who often feels the same ...

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Two Best Bets for January

It’s not 2013 quite yet, but it’s never too early to see what the new year will bring us in the way of picture books. Here are but two titles.

First up is the debut picture book from Jesse Klausmeier, Open This Little Book, illustrated by the great Suzy Lee.

The most helpful thing I can tell you is this: Go find a copy and experience it. The book’s official summary, as it appears on the copyright page? “Die-cut pages open to reveal different animals, each opening a book of a different color and reading about the ...

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A Fundamental Tool: Sheer Courage

I write weekly here about picture books. My role isn’t to wax philosophical about current events or even to give parenting advice. (Perhaps I shouldn’t say this aloud, but I’m largely winging it when it comes to parenting.)

But last Friday’s tragic news out of Connecticut still weighs heavy on my mind, as it does for many. As I wrote at my own site on Sunday, children die every day all over the world in all kinds of horrific and brutal and unfair circumstances, but this, as we all know, hits really close to home in ...

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Santa vs. One Beastly Boy

It’s that precious time of year, filled with gifts wrapped in sparkly bows, dreams of sugar plums, the merry dimples and rosy cheeks of Santa, angels securing their wings with each tinkle of a bell, lip-smacking latkes, and laughs like bowls full of jelly. There’s also more fruitcake than you can possibly stand, but pshaw! It’s still mostly all sweetness and goodwill and good ol’-fashioned gluttony.  And it’s all heartwarming. Yes?

No, thank you. Bradley Bartleby will have none of that. Well, except for the gluttony.

Bradley is the dastardly star of Jonathan Emmett’s ...

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Gifts for the Fairy Tale Lovers in Your Life

The holidays are upon us. They’ve descended like the South’s 13-year May cicadas. (If I’m going to compare the holidays to something, why not conjure up a warm time of year?)

This week I offer up gift-giving ideas of one, and only one, stripe. You get three guesses. Will I be recommending as gift ideas: a) custom luxury yachts, b) Swedish gumboots, or c) books?

In all actuality, I know nothing about yachts, and since I’d rather be barefoot, I’m not exactly an authority on any type of footwear. So, let’s talk books. Specifically ...

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