If you’re in Denver, CO on February 19th, you definitely don’t want to miss this exciting event. New York Times best selling illustrator, EG Keller, will be participating in an event where you can join him as he shares a live demonstration of his digital illustration process. The event will take place at BookBar from 6-8PM MST. Click here for more information, and to purchase tickets.

Vanessa Brantley Newton was featured front and center on the first CBC (Children’s Book Council) Diversity newsletter of the year, with a brilliant spotlight interview. In it, she discussed the inspiration behind her recent picture book Grandma’s Purse, as well as her process and what she feels readers should take away from the story. Vanessa highlights the “the joy and preciousness of the grandparent and grandchild relationship” and insists that “grandparents are not just old people,” encouraging young people to cherish their time with their elders as she did with her own grandmother.

You can get your copy of the charming Grandma’s Purse here.

Betsy Snyder‘s charming I Can Dream interactive board book appears on The Children’s Book Review’s Best Board Books of 2018 List. This book offers kids the chance to help a firefighter, astronaut, artist and more to achieve their dreams.

You can view the full list and grab your own copy of I Can Dream here.

Each year, Elizabeth Bird of Fuse8, a School Library Journal blog, puts together 31 Lists of Children’s books from the year that fit into different categories. Elise Gravel‘s The Mushroom Fan Club has made it onto the Oddest Children’s Books of 2018 list. Bird clarifies that “odd” is not a bad thing at all, but rather outside the norm and daring.

You can read the full list of odd children’s books here.

Since its publication in September of 2018, Michael Slack‘s innovative board book, HOUSE, has been garnering praise for its unique, versatile packaging and trendy, minimalist art style. The blog Fab Book Reviews included the title on their Board Book Look post, praising its “clean, simple text and vibrant artwork.” It was included in Better Homes & Gardens magazine on a gift list for “Kids & the Young at Heart.” Most recently, praise for HOUSE can be found in the New York Times, in an article titled “Board Books That Let Toddlers Join the Action.” Here, the reviewer admires the “groovy 1960s look of the cover” and remarks that ” it’s the ideal kind of kid-design, smartly conceived to appeal to and engage little readers.”

You can buy your copy of this neat book set here.

Congratulations to Jaime Kim, whose personal work has been accepted into the Society of Illustrators’ Annual Exhibition 61! The list showcases exemplary artwork from illustrators around the world, chosen from thousands of entries considered by a jury of professionals, which include renowned illustrators, art directors and designers. You can view the full list of the SOI 61 Exhibit here.

Recently released from Candlewick, Isle of You by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Jaime Kim, is a visually stunning story that aims to boost self-esteem in kids. This uplifting story is described in Publishers Weekly as “the picture book equivalent of a guided visualization,” and a “calming sojourn.” Also remarked upon is the incredible world that Kim has created, a “fantasyland bathed in light that gradually shifts from soft yellows and pinks to deep blues and purples.”

You can read the full review here and buy your copy of the book here.