Booklist has given a starred review to Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin Organized the 1963 March on Washington (Little Bee Books) by Michael G. Long, illustrated by Bea Jackson. The review says “the colorful, expressive illustrations align perfectly with the text and help convey the enormity of the 250,000-plus crowd that assembled that day.”
Congratulations Bea!
Unstoppable will be published May 2, 2023. Pre-order it here
Kirkus has given a starred review to Not A Monster (Charlesbridge) by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, illustrated by Laura Gonzalez. The book explores the traits of the axolotl; a water based salamander, the Aztec origin myth about the species, and the way pollution is affecting its natural habitat: the canals of Xochimilco in Mexico City.
Kirkus calls the artwork “sublime and earthy.”
Congratulations Laura!
See the full review here
Not a Monster will be published May 9, 2023. Pre-order it here
Little Rosetta and the Talking Guitar (Doubleday) by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, was featured in the New York Times Book Review in an article by Chris Raschka entitled “Two Picture Books about the Godmother of Rock ‘n Roll”. The article says:
Pinkney Barlow, who illustrates her storytelling with winsome painted-paper collage (cutout shapes layered to create shadows), painstakingly constructed this “talking guitar” from separate pieces: body, neck, sides. Plus strings made of cotton twine. There is no skimping — six strings on a real guitar, six pieces of twine in her palpable art. Pastel colors on light backgrounds throughout convey the atmosphere of warmth that nurtured the soul and goodness of Tharpe’s voice.
Congratulations Charnelle!
Read the full article here
Get the book here
Everything in its Place (DoubleDay) by Pauline David-Sax, illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow has been selected as an Ezra Jack Keats Honors book.
The Award ceremony will be live streamed on April 13 at 1:00 pm ET. Learn more about it here
Get the book here
Stella and the Mystery of the Missing Tooth (Denene Millner Books) by Clothilde Ewing, illustrated by Lynn Gaines, comes out today, March 7, 2023. In this effervescent companion to the picture book Stella Keeps the Sun Up, Stella goes on the hunt to figure out who’s behind her friend’s missing tooth.
Congratulations Lynn!
Get the book here
Rolling Stone Magazine reports that Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography (Little Golden Books) by Wendy Loggia, illustrated by Elisa Chavarri is “starting Swifties young!” The book is already topping Best Seller charts on Amazon, two months before its publication date of May 2, 2023.
Read the full article here
Pre-order the book for your little Swifties here
A Publishers Weekly article titled “Black History Month 2023: Q&As with Picture Book Creators Highlighting Black History features All Aboard the Schooltrain (Scholastic) by Glenda Armand, illustrated by Keisha Morris, Justice Rising: 12 Amazing Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement (Viking) by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Kim Holt and My Red, White, and Blue (Philomel) by Alana Tyson, illustrated by London Ladd.
Read the article here
Little Rosetta and the Talking Guitar (Doubleday) by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow has received its second starred review, this time from BookPage, which says ”
“It’s difficult to convey the intricate charm of Pinkney Barlow’s gleeful cut-paper artwork. Textured and patterned papers create movement and depth, while colorful musical notations and bits of sheet music are incorporated throughout. Perhaps most impressive is the sense of place achieved by both text and art: Readers will truly feel as though they’ve visited Cotton Plant and met many of its animated, expressive denizens, from Pastor Murray, “mender of souls and mender of guitars,” whose shirt is made from blue-lined notebook paper, to Miss Mable, who compliments Tharpe’s “fast finger pickin’” as she hangs her laundry out to dry. ”
Little Rosetta and the Talking Guitar will be published February 28, 2023. Get the book here
Read the full review here
La La La (Candlewick) by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Jaime Kim, is featured in an article on wordless picturebooks in Books Ireland Magazine. The article calls the book “a fascinatingly abstract piece… with bewitching artwork that is beaming with vibrant color throughout.”
Read the full article here
Get the book here
Mr. Schu Reads blog features a cover reveal for I Ship: A Container Ship’s Colossal Journey (Millbrook Press) by Kelly Rice Schmitt, illustrated by Jam Dong. The book will be published October 4, 2023.
Pre-order the book here
See the full blog post here