Please welcome artist and picture book author Bridgitte Rodguez to Frog on a Blog! Bridgitte’s beautiful book A Walk Through the Redwoods, which published last fall from Reycraft Books, is overflowing with lovely imagery in both text and illustrations (by Natalia Bruno). It features an abundance of plant and animal life, as well as tons of factual information. On her website, Bridgitte says, “I write stories intended to create an experience for the reader. I want my readers, be they young or old, to go on a journey.” And that’s exactly what you’ll do as you accompany a girl and her aunt on a ..read more

Title:Hello, Trees Author: Bailey Bezuidenhout Illustrator: Maria Lebedeva Publisher/Year: Kane Miller/2023 (first American edition) Topic/Theme: Trees, seasons, nature, emotions, self-reflection Of Note: Expressive text and illustrations Title: Tree Spirits Author: Louise Wannier Illustrator: April Tatiana Jackson Publisher/Year: True Roses Books/2023 (second edition) Topic/Theme: Trees, emotions, imagination Of Note: Rhyming text, interactive illustrated overlays, and color photographs I love trees of all shapes and sizes, so it’s my pleasure to share today, just in time for Earth Day ..read more

Title: Daddy, Tell Me a Story Author: Kathleen Long Bostrom Illustrator: Ela Smietanka Publisher: WorthyKids Release Date: April 16, 2024 Format: Hardcover Summary: Bedtime is looming, and Sophie wants to hear a story. So she asks her dad—the best storyteller she knows—to tell her one. He’s just started telling a story about a queen and a unicorn when—HOLD ON—this is not the story Sophie had envisioned! She interrupts to request a teeny, tiny change. And then she interrupts again, and again, and again, resulting in an entertaining game of storytelling ping pong as Sophie and Daddy work togeth ..read more

Calling all dog lovers! Happy Dog Therapy Appreciation Day! Please welcome Wendy Goldstein to Frog on a Blog! It’s a real treat to have Wendy here today to talk about her picture book Oscar’s Blue Bandana, which she both wrote and illustrated. The book stars her very own adorable dog Oscar, a Havanese, who is a real-life therapy dog. Wendy and Oscar visit kids at a cancer treatment center in New York City and a home for children and their families who receive care at New York City hospitals. Oscar’s story melts my heart, and I know it will warm yours as well. Let’s hear more from Wendy! Congr ..read more

Title: The Mochi Makers Author:Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson Illustrator:Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane Books Release Date: March 19, 2024 Format: Hardcover and eBook Summary: A girl and her grandmother spend the day making mochi together in this gentle and joyous “storytelling treat” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) celebrating family, tradition, and the memories that matter most. Do you have a children’s picture book coming out soon? I’d love to wish it a Happy Book Birthday here on Frog on a Blog! CLICK for more information ..read more

Title:Miss MacDonald Has A Farm Author: Kalee Gwarjanski Illustrator:Elizabet Vukovic Publisher: Doubleday, Random House Children’s Books Release Date: March 12, 2024 Format: Hardcover Summary: In this female-forward spin on the traditional children’s song “Old MacDonald”, readers can join Miss MacDonald on her vegetable farm and see all the work that goes into growing healthy and delicious produce. With a “weed-weed” here and a “pick-pick” there, young readers can follow Miss MacDonald as she tends to her vegetable farm. It’s a rollicking, rhyming read-aloud that ends in a community feast an ..read more

Please welcome picture book author Leslie Eva Tayloe to Frog on a Blog! When Leslie first reached out to me about her upcoming book Save the Trees, I knew I wanted to hear more because I love trees and I know she does too. And when I learned her story was about invasive vines overtaking trees, which is something that’s happened here in my town, too, I was more than happy to feature an interview with Leslie on my blog. Let’s hear more from Leslie about Save the Trees, which has received a lot of advance praise! (Be sure to read to the end for a chance to win either a 30-minute Zoom book read a ..read more

Please welcome author Laura Roettiger back to Frog on a Blog! Laura’s been here several times. She reviewed a few picture books here in 2018, she wrote a guest post in 2019 about her debut picture book Aliana Reaches for the Moon, and I reviewed her debut that same year. Today, it’s my extreme pleasure to feature an interview with Laura about her brand-new picture book An Accidental Hero: A Mostly True Wombat Story, which just published on February 12th by Eifrig Publishing. This adorable book, told in a “news report” style, stars a loveable and humble little wombat, a creature we don’t often ..read more

Title:Creep, Leap, Crunch: A Food Chain Story Author: Jody Jensen Shaffer Illustrator: Christopher Silas Neal Publisher/Year: Alfred A. Knopf/2023 Favorite Line from the Book: There was a huge forest of grasses and trees that blew in the cool of a blustery breeze. If you’re searching for an action-packed picture book that features animals, nature, educational back matter, and rollicking rhyming text, you’ve found it! Author Jody Jensen Shaffer’s book Creep, Leap, Crunch: A Food Chain Story, has all of that and more. The story, told in a cumulative fashion akin to There Was an Old Lady Who Swa ..read more

Title: Afikoman, Where’d You Go? A Passover Hide-and-Seek Adventure Author: Rebecca Gardyn Levington Illustrator: Noa Kelner Publisher: Penguin Random House/Rocky Pond Books Release Date: February 13, 2024 Format: Hardcover, Kindle Summary: Ask any Jewish child what their favorite part of the Passover seder is and they will undoubtedly say “searching for the afikoman!” This ritual, in which a piece of broken matzah is hidden for the kids to find after the meal, is always a huge hit. AFIKOMAN, WHERE’D YOU GO? brings this Passover tradition to life — literally. It is Where’s Waldo meets The Gin ..read more