Not only is April National Poetry Month, but this year actually marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of National Poetry Month! To help students, teachers, and parents celebrate, the New York City Department of Education put together a list of recommended books of poetry for students. Included are Poems in the Attic, written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Liz Zunon, and Edgar Allan Poe’s Pies: Math Puzzlers in Classic Poems, written by J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by Michael Slack.

You can find out more about National Poetry Month on the DOE’s site.

This Saturday, Marilyn Sadler, author of Charlie Piechart, will be participating in the Ohioana Book Festival, a book festival that celebrates Ohio authors. The book festival will be held at the Sheraton Columbus Hotel in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, April 23rd. Marilyn will be participating in the Writing and Publishing for Young Readers panel from 2:00-2:30 pm. If you’re in the area this Saturday, she would love to see you!

For more information, you can visit the Ohioana Book Festival site here.

The Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) has announced their Choices 2016 list. The CCBC’S Choices list is a selection of the best children’s books of 2015 as made by a board of librarians. Liz Zunon and Vanessa Brantley Newton both have picture books that made the list. Congratulations, Liz and Vanessa!

In the Contemporary People, Places, and Events category:

• One Plastic Bag:Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia, written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Liz Zunon

In Poetry:

• Poems in the Attic, written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Liz Zunon

In Picture Books for School Age Children

• My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay, written by Cari Best and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton

Read more about the CCBC Choices 2016 list and find a full list of winners here.

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In exciting news, K.G. Campbell‘s charming 2012 picture book, Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters, has been adapted into a children’s musical! Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters tells the story of Lester, whose cousin won’t stop knitting him embarrassing sweaters. Lester was adapted for the stage by Aly Renee Amidei, who loves to knit herself and was inspired by K.G.’s illustrations. She also designed the costumes, based on the signature dreadful sweaters, and helped write the lyrics. The play is running until April 24th in the Lifeline Theatre in Chicago. You can learn more about the play at the Lifeline Theatre’s website here and find Publisher’s Weekly review here.

Before checking the play out, don’t forget to check out the original!

Sarah Dillard’s Mouse Scouts was reviewed in Sunday’s issue of The New York Times.  For the full length article, click here.

Don’t Call Me Grandma, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon, received high praise in a review from The School Library Journal. The SLJ praised the picture’s book sparse storytelling and portrayal of a complicated great-grandmother and writes that, “Elizabeth Zunon has been a force to reckon with.” They call the book as a whole, “Sharp and smart.”

You can read the full article here and purchase a copy of Don’t Call Me Grandma here.

Beach Baby by Kate Merritt is now available for purchase. Beach Baby is part of the Indestructibles series which makes books designed so babies can chew on them, droll on them, or spill on them without the book being ruined. This latest addition tells the story of baby’s day at the beach, and is built to withstand the beach too! You can order this adorable book online here.

Fluffy Strikes Back, the first volume in Ashley Spires‘s new series, P.U.R.S.T. Adventures, is now out! This hilarious graphic novel tells the adventure of Sergeant Fluffy of P.U.R.S.T., a coalition of cats and pets working together to protect the planet from aliens, aka bugs. When Fluffy discovers that P.U.R.S.T. headquarters has been taken over by bugs, he leaps into action to protect his comrades and his planets. Fluffy Strikes Back is a spin-off of Ashley’s popular Binky Adventure Series and Kirkus Reviews calls it, “a must for Binky’s legions of faithful feline fans.” You can order a copy online here.

In more exciting news for Ashley, her picture book Small Saul was chosen as this year’s pick for the TD Grade One Book Giveaway. This charitable Canadian program gives one book to every grade one student in the country to help foster literacy, and this year Ashley’s book was chosen. As part of the program, Ashley will be going on a tour to visit students in schools and libraries across Canada. You can read more about the program here. Congratulations, Ashley!

Michael Slack will be making appearances at several events this April! On April 1st, he’ll be at Diesel, A Bookstore in Larkspur, California, doing a bedtime reading for a kid’s pajama party at 6 pm. There will be cookies and ice cream and a chance to get a book signed. You can find more details on Diesel’s website.

April 16th, Michael will be participating in Palo Alto’s Children’s Book Festival from 1-4 pm. He’ll talk about his books and how he comes up with his ideas and autograph books. For location and times, check out this link.

April 23rd, you can find Michael at the Children’s Fairyland Turn the Page Children’s Book Festival in Oakland, California. The festival runs from 10am-4pm. A schedule of events, including a list of other author/illustrators who will appear at the event, is at this link (scroll down to the 23rd for the Festival).

If you’re in the area and have time for any or all of these events, make sure to drop by and say hi!

Elise Gravel‘s latest book, I Want A Monster!, is now available for purchase! I Want A Monster! tells the story of a little girl who longs for a monster as a pet and her process of finding and learning to care for her monster. The School Library Journal calls it, “A fun, spirited read-aloud for storytime or classroom use.” A French version, Je Veux Un Monstre, has also been released.

You can order I Want A Monster! online here.