Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat Across America, the next book in Constance Lombardo‘s illustrated middle grade novel series is available for purr-chase as of today! In the latest volume in the aspiring movie star cat’s adventures, Mr. Puffball, El Gato, and his other friends travel across America to promote their newest movie.  Tom Angleberger, New York Times bestselling author of Origami Yoda, calls Mr. Puffball “too crazy to resist!”

Check out the Mr. Puffball book trailer below. Order Mr. Puffball online here.

This Friday (9/23) Sarah Dillard, author and illustrator of the Extraordinary Warren and Mouse Scouts series, will be returning to her hometown of Harvard, MA to participate in one of their Warner Free Lectures. She and two other locally born children’s author/illustrators will join in a discussion about their work and the influence their home had on their books, as well as answering audience questions. There will also be a book signing afterward. Sarah is excited to participate in this lecture series, which she says she remembers from when she was a child herself.

You can find out more details about the lecture here.

This weekend is Speak Like a Pirate weekend at Bel and Bunna’s bookstore in Lafayette, CA, so of course you can find Michael Slack and the Pirasaurs there this weekend (9/17-18). Michael will do a reading and signing of his new picture book, Pirasaurs!, written by Josh Funk and illustrated by Michael. He’ll also do drawings and, obviously, he’ll speak like a pirate. He’ll be at Bel and Bunna’s from 11 am to 2 pm, so be sure to drop by if you’re in the area!

You can read more about the event on Bel and Bunna’s website. Pirasaurs! can be ordered online here.

Linda Bleck‘s newest picture book, What’s in My Train?, has been released and is now available for purchase! This follow up to What’s in My Truck? is a lift-the-flap board book showing all the various surprises contained in a train, from cargo to sleeping passengers. With over thirty flaps to lift and bright, simple illustrations, children are sure to love this book.

You can order What’s in My Train? online here.

Over in the Grasslands, the latest in the Over in the… series, is now available for purchase. This non-fiction picture book, written by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Jill Dubin, educates children about the animals living in a grassland habitat, all set to the tune of “Over in the Meadow.” It also helps to teach the numbers one through ten.

Kirkus wrote a review of the new picture book. They praised the detailed information filling the book and complimented Jill’s paper cut illustrations, writing, “Some brilliant and unusual color choices, along with marvelously textured and patterned papers, make the cut-paper collage illustrations pop.”

You can read Kirkus’s full review here. Over in the Grasslands can be ordered online here.

This upcoming weekend will is the Brooklyn Book Festival in NYC. Two of our illustrators, Liz Zunon (The Legendary Miss Lena Horne) and Il Sung Na (The Opposite Zoo) will be participating in events on Children’s Day, Saturday the 17th.

Il Sung Na will be one of the illustrators featured in the Illustrator Smackdown. Il Sung and several other children’s illustrators will participate in “the year’s most dynamic live action drawing competition.” The event will begin at 3 pm in the New York University Tandon School of Engineering Auditorium, 5 MetroTech Commons.

Liz Zunon will be featured in two events. At 1:30 pm you can find her at the Picture Book Stage at the MetroTech Commons. At 2:30 pm you can join her for Mural Making at the Art Spot, MetroTech Commons.

The Brooklyn Book Festival is sure to be a great event for any book lover. Il Sung and Liz would be happy to see any fans at their events. If you’re in NYC this weekend, be sure to check it out!

You can find out more about the Brooklyn Book Festival here. The full schedule of events for Children’s Day is here.

The picture book Bird, written by Zetta Elliot and illustrated by Shadra Strickland, tells the story of a young African American boy coping with the loss of his grandfather and brother through his art. It was originally published as a hardcover book in 2008, but now it will be reissued as a paperback. It will be available for purchase in March of 2017.

Even more excitingly, Bird’s publisher, Lee and Low, will join forces with the NEA foundation and First Book to help with the Stories for All project. Bird has been selected as one of the titles that will included in this project. The Stories for All Project is a program that seeks to encourage reading in children in need by making diverse books available to educators and schools at little to no cost. A special edition of Bird will also be published for this project.

You can find out more about the Stories for All Project at their site.