Happy Sunday and welcome to Picture Book Spotlight! Fact: space is awesome. Other fact: you are currently reading this sentence from space. Yes, that's right. We're in space. Everything in the created universe is part of space. You're just sitting there in your adorable chair with your tea or coffee or other beverage if you're reading this at night...you're just sitting there on a rock that's floating in space. As if your anxiety didn't need any help. It's okay. You're not alone. Take a breath...we're space surfing together. All on-brand-Brian-joking aside, this interview is special. And ..read more

Happy Saturday and welcome to Picture Book Spotlight! Here in Kansas City spring has sprung. There are blossoms on trees, rabbits are bounding in meadows...and I'm increasingly desperate for summer break. We just wrapped up our Spring Break and had a lot of fun as a family. One of the things we did was visit a new children's literature museum called The Rabbit Hole. This place is AMAZING. If you're within a drive of Kansas City, I highly recommend giving them a visit. The entire space is dedicated to making kidlit come alive in an interactive, immersive, and unforgettable way. You can go into ..read more

Sometimes it's Wednesday. Sometimes it is not. Sometimes Brian emerges from his dormant cocoon after like six months and posts random Agent Spotlights... Consider me well-rested. Except that I'm not. This father-husband-teacher-author-critiquer-wolf-enthusiast is anything but well-rested. Alas, I have not been blissfully enshrined within my own silk. I have not been awaiting metamorphosis. But I have been busy with some pretty awesome picture book stuff since my last post... Jennifer Mattson and I are on sub with two books--and one is a WOLF BOOK! The Book of Rules was a 2023-2024 Missouri Bu ..read more

Happy Saturday and welcome to Picture Book Spotlight! It is the end of July...how did the time go so fast? Why is time going faster every year? Why is Twitter now just a letter "X!?" WHAT IS THE MEANING OF IT ALL?! These are the somber questions one contemplates when the days get shorter and the death of summer seems imminent. There are random Halloween displays and generic Fall decor in stores. There are teacher-triggering back-to-school commercials popping up on social media and TV. I suddenly want cinnamon. And there are fewer and fewer obnoxious cicadas screaming mindlessly into the ether ..read more

Happy Friday and welcome to Picture Book Spotlight! It's kidlitzombieweek and I'm so pumped to partner with "6 Ladies and a MANuscript" and share my thoughts on revision and more about my second picture book! To get things started, if you haven't heard...check this out: Jenn Harney! I get to share a book with JENN HARNEY and it's going to be published by Little, Brown! BAH! Keeping the theme of having ,zombie books published, my second picture book certainly fits that same ghoulish mold. This is the story behind This is Not a Sleepy Bear Book (Little, Brown, illustrated by Jenn Harney, Fall ..read more

Happy Friday and welcome to Picture Book Spotlight! The brats, dogs, and burgs are on the grill...the birds are singing louder...and Rodgers and Hammerstein songs are playing in your mind. June IS bustin' out all over. If you're like me and find yourself in the northern hemisphere of the globe, drink it up. Drink June up, kidlit fam. And may your tea be iced, sweet, and just a bit minty. Today's Agent Spotlight is with Jen Newens of Martin Literary Management. As fate would have it, Jen IS doing a giveaway with this Spotlight interview--oh, how we love agent giveaways...but don't scroll to th ..read more

Happy Tuesday and welcome to Picture Book Spotlight! Today's Agent Spotlight features Anjanette Barr of Dunham Literary. I'm jazzed to share this interview because I still remember what it felt like to slog through the slushy swamp of the query trenches. It wasn't long ago that I was knee-deep in the mucky muck, racking up 600 rejections. Yes. 600 rejections. Don't have that many? Good. I hope you don't. Ever. Because it sucked. Looking back, there were times querying felt like grabbing a handful of darts and chucking them at the wall, hoping something stuck. But it doesn't have to be that wa ..read more

Happy Wednesday and welcome to Picture Book Spotlight! I'm pumped about this double interview! It's not very often that I get the opportunity to spotlight an author and illustrator team but today I DO! I had so much fun hearing from this powerhouse collaboration (hashtag dream team) and I'm confident you're going to love it as well. From the first read, Nell Plants a Tree had my curiosity buzzing. It's one of those books that makes you hungry to stop whatever you're doing and go write something innovative and deeply meaningful. Because that's what it is. As soon as I finished the book, I emai ..read more

Happy Monday and welcome to Picture Book Spotlight! Today's episode: Characters with agency, humor, and querying Adria Goetz! I'm happy to share the first of many Agent Spotlights of 2023. In addition to spotlighting great picture books and their creators, I like to illuminate agents who represent picture book creators. Agent Spotlights can provide insight into what agents are thinking and give updates and quotes to use as connection points for those actively slogging through the query trenches. A crucial part of the opening of any query is to provide that specific human connection that says ..read more

Happy Tuesday and welcome to Picture Book Spotlight! Today's episode: penguins and moms and comedy, oh my! If you tuned in to my first interview with Chris Haughton you probably know I'm a bit of a fan... I love his deep, saturation and color palates, the fact that you can flip any page or see the cover and go...oh, that's Chris Haughton. Beyond his artistic skill, he has something unique as a storyteller. Through highly accessible stories, endearing characters up to all kinds of mischief, and timeless themes, his books never fail to deliver. Simply put, there's way more than meets the eye ab ..read more