Vanessa Brantley Newton’s newest picture book, Mary Had a Little Glam, written by Tammi Sauer, has been receiving lots of great attention! The rhyming picture book tells the story of glamorous little girl Mary, who helps all the children in her school learn about glamour, fashion, and fun. The picture book has been praised by reading blog Mile High Reading and featured on the site Picture Book Builders.

Picture Book Builders ran a feature on Tammi Sauer and Vanessa, in which Vanessa  and Tammi discuss their inspiration for the story and the importance of diverse books, and included some of Vanessa’s adorable sketches for the picture book. They also ran a giveaway for a free copy of Mary. Check it out here!

Mile High Reading praised Mary in their review of it on their site. They were impressed by the book’s rhymes and wrote that “Vanessa Brantley Newton’s delightful, multicultural illustrations pair well with the fun rhyming text written by Sauer.” Read the full review here.

Mary Had a Little Glam can be ordered online here.

Illustrator Michael Slack‘s latest work is the picture book Pirasaurs!, which tells the tale of a crew of pirates that are also dinosaurs, and their tiniest new recruit. Pirasuars! doesn’t come out until August 29th, but until then you can listen to his interview on the podcast All the Wonders, in which he discusses his inspirations, art, and how he comes up with his characters. Plus, look out for the pirasaurs to commandeer popular book blogs leading up to the book release. They’ll be featured in specially created gifs on selected blogs.

Preorder Pirasaurs! here.

Picture book author/illustrator Elise Gravel‘s upcoming picture book, The Cranky Ballerina, is attracting lots of positive reviews and attention. Recently, Elise was interviewed by picture book themed website, Picture Book Builders. Elise discusses her own experiences with ballet, the inspirations behind The Cranky Ballerina and it’s characters, and how she chooses the trademark bright, fun colors in her illustrations. You can check out the full interview for yourself here!

The Cranky Ballerina can be pre-ordered online here. It will be released August 9th!

Elise Gravel‘s forthcoming picture book/comic book, The Great Antonio, is a semi-biographical story of the famous Montreal strongman, Antonio. Kirkus praised The Great Antonio for it’s mixture of fact and fancy, Elise’s characteristic simple, fun illustrations, and the tall-tale effect of the story. They call The Great Antonio “A tribute as heartfelt as it is joyous and a fitting way to remember this larger-than-life performer,” and gave it a starred review.

You can read the full review on Kirkus’s site here.  The Great Antonio will be released this upcoming October, and you can pre-order it here.

Pantagraph wrote a review of Gene Barretta’s historical picture book, Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare, which compares all the intriguing similarities between the two famous presidents, including their fights for civil rights. Pantagraph praises Gene’s presentation of historical facts, writing that “Gene Barretta shows kids how history can be a weird and wonderful thing,” and they add that he “allow[s] his illustrations to bring the smiles here.”

You can read Pantagraph’s full review here. Lincoln and Kennedy can be ordered online here.

The spring 2016 edition of The Dragon Lode highlighted new poetry books, and one of the books they reviewed was Poems in the Attic, written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Liz Zunon. The Dragon Lode praised, of course, the poems in the book, and the way they highlight connections between families, memories, and places, particularly for a family that moves frequently. They called Poems in the Attic, “A fine tribute to…how poetry can be a comfort and an outlet.”

You can order Poems in the Attic online here.

Constance Lombardo, author of the illustrated middle grade novel series, Mr. Puffball, will be visiting the Bank Street Bookstore in New York on Wednesday, August 3rd. Constance and fellow middle grade author Molly Burnham will be speaking about their books. The talk will be at 4 pm. If you’re in the area, make sure to stop by and see them!

You can find more details about the event here.

Quill and Quire wrote a wonderful review for Elise Gravel‘s upcoming picture book, The Cranky Ballerina, coming out August 9th. Quill and Quire complimented Elise’s “fun, expressive illustrations,” humor, and the valuable life lessons about kindness and failure. They write that “By following Ada’s story, [readers will] also learn that sometimes failing at one thing just means they might end up being exceptionally good at something they haven’t tried yet.”

You can read the full review here and pre-order The Cranky Ballerina here.

The upcoming picture book, Mary Had a Little Glam, written by Tammi Sauer and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton, received a starred review from Kirkus. Mary Had a Little Glam is the fun, rhyming story of a fashionable little girl who transforms her drab fairy tale classmates into young fashionistas. Kirkus praised the positive story and smooth rhymes, and wrote that, “Brantley-Newton’s bright, fun-filled illustrations teem with energy and life.” Kirkus particularly pointed out the diversity in the story. “Whether by happenstance or by design, this delightful picture book positively answers the call for more books about children of color.” You can read Kirkus’s full review on their site.

Mary Had a Little Glam comes out August 2nd. Pre-order it here!

Boston Public Schools released lists of recommended summer reading for the summer of 2016. Poems in the Attic, written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Liz Zunon, was included on the reading list for grades 3-5. Poems in the Attic tells of a young girl’s connection to her family through generations of poems. Congrats, Liz and Nikki!

You can find the full list of recommended summer reading here under 2016 Summer Reading Lists. You can order Poems in the Attic online here.