Over on a Mountain, the latest book in the ‘Over in’ series is available today. Written by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Jill Dubin, this beautiful book explores an impressive list of animal breeds, mountain ranges, and all seven continents – all in one story.

Previous titles in the series illustrated by Jill Dubin include Over in a River, Over in the Arctic, Over in Australia, and Over in the Forest. Jill and Marianne’s sixth collaboration in the series is already underway.

School Library Journal’s Elizabeth Bird compiled a fantastic list of books for her blog, Fuse 8 Production, to celebrate Black History Month. The “African-American Experience Children’s Literary Reference Guide (2010-2015)” consists of numerous stories from the past 5 years that portray the African-American experience, both historical and contemporary, by some of the most talented authors and illustrators working today. We were delighted to find some Painted Words artists mentioned in the list, including works by Elizabeth Zunon, Frank Morrison, and Vanessa Brantley Newton. See which of our illustrators’ books were mentioned below, and a full list on the Fuse 8 blog here.

The San Francisco Book Review published a review of Little Melba and Her Big Trombone (written by Katheryn Russell-Brown and illustrated by Frank Morrison), and rated the book with 4/5 stars.

“Little Melba and Her Big Trombone will delight every child who carries a rhythm or song in their heart.  The words and illustrations of this picture book biography of musician and song-writer Melba Doretta Liston (1926-1999) practically blast off the page.”

Read the rest of the review here.

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon is available now. This beautiful picture book tells the true story of Isatou Ceesay’s quest to clean up her neighborhood by ridding it of potentially dangerous plastic bags. Isatou and her friends did this by gathering the plastic bags and crocheting them into purses. Not only were these purses useful and beautiful, but they generated an income, and the act of recycling transformed Isatou’s neighborhood into a cleaner, safer place.

Elizabeth Zunon will be signing the book at Open Door Bookstore in Schenectady, NY, on Sunday March 1 from 12-1:30pm.

At the end of March, they will be joined by the star of the story, Isatou Ceesay herself, to visit schools in the Albany, NY, area where they will be creating recycled art projects with students.

Tony Baroni Loves Macaroni, written by Marilyn Sadler and illustrated by Lucie Crovatto, is available now! This charming book is an ode to picky eaters everywhere, but contains a subtle lesson about the importance of a balanced diet.

Find Tony Baroni Loves Macaroni on Amazon or Barnes & Noble today.

The Spider and Head Lice by Elise Gravel are available now. 

The much-anticipated latest books in Elise Gravel’s Disgusting Critters series are finally for sale!

They join other titles The Worm, The Rat, The Slug and The Fly in a fun, informative series all about those nasty little creatures many refer to as disgusting.

Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, illustrated by Frank Morrison and written by Katheryn Russell-Brown, has been chosen as part of the Amelia Bloomer Project. The Amelia Bloomer Project creates a yearly list of the best feminist books for ages 0-18, chosen by the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association.

This inspiring book details the life of ‘little’ Melba Liston, a jazz trombonist who overcomes great adversity to become a global star.

The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) has published a list of Outstanding International Books for grades K-12, and Not My Girl was selected as part of the 2015 list.

Over 3,000 books have been submitted to the USBBY since the list began 10 years ago, and this year only 42 were featured.

Not My Girl was written by Christy and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton with illustrations by Gabrielle Grimard.

More information here.

The Children’s Book Council and National Council for the Social Studies (CBC/NCSS) publishes a list of Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People every year, and Under the Freedom Tree received the honor of being included on this list.

The CBC/NCSS selects books that “emphasize human relations, represent a diversity of groups and are sensitive to a broad range of cultural experiences, present an original theme or a fresh slant on a traditional topic, are easily readable and of high literary quality, and have a pleasing format and, when appropriate, illustrations that enrich the text.”

Under the Freedom Tree was illustrated by London Ladd and written by Susan VanHecke.

View the complete list and more here.

Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, illustrated by Frank Morrison and written by Katheryn Russell-Brown, received the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children.

Established in 1989 for promoting and recognizing excellence in the writing of nonfiction for children, the Orbis Pictus Award recognizes Little Melba as a recommended book for 2015.

The complete list of winners and more information here.