Teacher-librarian and author-illustrator Travis Jonker revealed Ruthie Rose's Big Idea's cover yesterday. CLICK HERE to read an interview with Holly Hatam and me. Thank you, Travis!  Candlewick's Description:  From the New York Times bestselling John Schu comes a celebration of poetry and possibilities that follows a child who sparks to life a special space in her school for exploring ideas of all kinds. Ruthie Rose wakes up with an idea. A big, bright, beautiful idea. An idea so great! An idea so grand! Ruthie Rose can’t wait to share it with her idea-loving librarian, her art ..read more

Happy, happy Thursday from New Jersey! Elly Swartz stopped by to share Same Page's cover. This is our sixth cover reveal together! Yay! I wrote the words in purple, and she wrote the words in black. Congratulations, Elly!  Jen Bricking’s cover illustration and Katrina Damkoehler’s cover design for Same Page are spectacularly warm, beautiful, and filled with emotion. Every detail from the girls’ expressions to the books, the blue notes tucked into the pages, Bess’s Jewish star necklace, and of course, Barnaby the dog – are integral parts of the story. And the yellow caution tape h ..read more

Hello, Maria Marianayagam! Welcome to Watch. Connect. Read.! What ran through your heart the first time you saw Jyotirmayee Patra’s cover illustration and Chris Kwon’s cover design for No Purchase Necessary? Maria: I thought, WOW, this is stunning, and oh my goodness, there’s Ajay! I didn’t have a detailed vision of what Ajay would like—just a sense of who he was—but when I saw him, I couldn’t imagine him any other way. I love that he’s standing there with this backpack that’s stuffed full, hiding a chocolate bar behind him and that the banner says, “What would you do if you stole a mill ..read more

Happy, happy Thursday! I'm SUPER HAPPY Supriya Kelkar stopped by to finish my sentences! We discussed the world-famous Kohinoor diamond, art, activities, Anderson's Bookshop, and more! I wrote the words in purple, and Supriya wrote the words in black. Thank you, Supriya!  And Yet You Shine: The Kohinoor Diamond, Colonization, and Resistance is the story of the world-famous Kohinoor diamond, stolen from South Asia during British colonization but it is also our story. This diamond was sought after around the world. It passed hands several times across ancient India, South Asia, entering ..read more

Happy, happy Wednesday! I'm grateful Dan Gemeinhart stopped by Watch. Connect. Read. (The last time he was here was on February 12, 2022). We discussed ShinYeon Moon's art, fictional characters, The Giving Tree, picture books, and more. I wrote the words in purple, and Dan wrote the words in black. Thank you, Dan!  Once Upon a Friend tells the story of a young reader, and their favorite beloved book character. As the reader in the story grows up, they can always look to the character for joy, friendship, and comfort. This story is an ode to how powerful books and stories have been thr ..read more

Happy, happy Tuesday! I'm celebrating Insha'Allah, No, Maybe So's book birthday with Rhonda Roumani and Nadia Roumani! We discussed Oliva Aserr's illustrations, picture books, story, writing, and more! I wrote the words in purple, Rhonda wrote the words in black, and Nadia wrote the words in green. Thank you, Rhonda and Nadia!  Insha'Allah, No, Maybe So tells the story of a girl named Rania who is taking her mother to task about a word that has baffled so many young Muslim and Arab kids around the world. Technically, the word insha’Allah means God willing. But religious and non-religi ..read more

Happy, happy Monday! Angela Dominguez stopped by to share the cover for Gabby Torres Gets a Billion Followers and to finish my sentences. I wrote the words in purple, and she wrote the words in black. Thank you, Angela!  Gabby Torres Gets a Billion Followers’ cover was a real collaboration with my publisher, Roaring Brook. I always tell kids during my school visits that no book is made alone, and this cover is a perfect example! Molly Johanson, the designer, suggested a few comps reminiscent of those (amazing) Andrew Clements covers by Brian Selznick. It took a few sketches and ..read more

Happy, happy Wednesday! I'm thrilled Dean Robbins and Matt Tavares stopped by to finish my sentences. We discussed The Shape of Things: How Mapmakers Picture Our World's cover, Dean Robbins' manuscript, maps, back matter, and more. I wrote the words in purple, Matt wrote the words in black, and Dean wrote the words in green. Thank you, Matt and Dean!  The Shape of Things: How Mapmakers Picture Our World’s cover was a lot of fun to create. This book covers thousands of years of history and so many different kinds of maps and mapmakers. So it was a bit tricky to decide what should go on ..read more

Happy, happy Wednesday! I'm grateful Charlotte Gunnufson stopped by Watch. Connect. Read. to share Dream Submarine's book trailer and to finish my sentences. I wrote the words in purple, and she wrote the words in black. Congratulations, Charlotte!  Dream Submarine’s book trailer invites young readers to climb aboard and explore the wonders of the world’s oceans! The video is meant to convey the sweet, serene yet giddy sense of adventure kids will experience when they read the story. I hope Dream Submarine will pique kids’ curiosity about the fascinating ocean animals they’ll meet on t ..read more

Happy, happy Wednesday! I'm thrilled Alicia D. Williams returned to Watch. Connect. Read to finish my sentences. We discussed Mid-Air, poetry, Genesis Begins Again, and more. I wrote the words in purple, and she wrote the words in black. Thank you, Alicia!  Daniel Egnéus cover illustration for Mid-Air is fire. I love the color scheme and that Daniel captures Isaiah on his skateboard flying midair. Isaiah is free and light and embodies the feeling I want him to have about himself. Yes, the cover is dynamic! Mid-Air tells the story of three best buds, Isaiah, Drew, and Darius. Friends ..read more