In a starred review, Horn Book says this about Breaking to the Beat! (Lee & Low) by Linda J. Acevedo, illustrated by Frank Morrison: “This LUSCIOUSLY ILLUSTRATED picture book, with Morrison’s signature images of characters with elongated arms and legs, effectively captures Manolo’s initial hesitancy and later verve, bravado, and dizzyingly bodacious moves. A WONDERFUL story of an important artistic form that, like jazz, emerged from Black and Brown communities.” The book has also received starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus. Get the book here
Teaching for Change is promoting When the Schools Shut Down (HarperCollins) by Yolanda Gladden, Dr. Tamara Pizzoli, Illustrated by Keisha Morris in their Social Justice Books project. They’ll be featuring it in their Civil Rights Teaching: Desegregation, Education, and Black History booklists, as well as in the Biographies section on their Bookshop.org vendor shop.
Several Painted Words artists were recently honored by being chosen to the 2023 CBC Teachers Favorite Awards-Book List. They are: Because of You, John Lewis (Scholastic) by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown Standing in Need of Prayer(Crown) by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison Our World is a Family, (Sourcebooks) by Jennifer Jacskon and Miry Whitehill, illustrated by Nomar Perez Not Enough Lollipops (Knopf) by Megan Maynor, illustrated by Micah Player Iveliz Explains it All (Random House) by Andrea Beatriz Arango, illustrated by Alyssa Bermudez Beatrice Bly’s Rules for Spies 2: Mystery Goo (Pixel + Ink) by Sue Fliess, illustrated by Beth Mills Congratulations everyone! See the full list here
Booklist has named All Aboard the School Train (Scholastic) by Glenda Armand, illustrated by Keisha Morris to its list for Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth 2023. See the full list here Get the book here
In a review of The Planet We Call Home (Philomel) by Aimee Isaac, illustrated by Jaime Kim, Publishers Weekly says “Kim’s illustrations employ watercolor, crayons, and digital tools to create soft, light-infused scenes of the natural world.” Read the full review here Get the book here
Picture Book Builders, a blog created by childrens’ book authors about creating picture books has a great conversation with Pat Zietlow Miller, co-author with e. E. Charlton-Trujillo of A Girl Can Build Anything (Viking) with illustrator Keisha Morris. In the conversation, Keisha talks about how the art was created to echo the theme of the book. See the conversation here Get the book here
