Whisper Whisper Jesse, Whisper Whisper Josh: A Story About AIDS (1992), written by Eileen Pollack and illustrated by Bruce Gilfoy, is an early picture books that explores a young boy’s experience processing grief after losing his uncle to AIDS. The text-heavy story pairs wordy prose with detailed sketches of a […]
Written by Robbi Anne Packard and illustrated by Lori Ann McElroy, Two Daddies… and Me! rides the wave of self-published children’s books about gay and lesbian parenting that began emerging in earnest post-2000. Like similar titles, Packard’s book seeks to normalize gay parenting and provide gay and lesbian parented families […]
Aida Salazar’s The Moon Within features a beautifully dimensional cast of Latinx characters who are evocatively brought to life through her poetic vignettes. However, at its core the book is a coming-of-age story about 11-year-old Celi Rivera, a shy and sensitive black Puerto Rican Mexican American girl. Celi desires privacy […]
I’m excited to announce I am participating in the Cybils Awards again this year. This time as a Round One Judge in the Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction category! Cybils Awards Mission The Cybils Awards aims to recognize the children’s and young adult authors and illustrators whose books combine the highest […]
I want to to celebrate my one year blogaversary as well as reaching over 4000 blog followers and over 3800 Twitter followers by amplifying new book blogs. I’m creating a new tab on my blog and depending on interest can feature blog posts regularly to help you expand your audience.
Written by Barry Wittenstein and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation, provides a creative take on the nurturing team of Black intellectuals and activists King surrounded himself with as he worked to make meaningful social and economic […]
The Dragon Thief is Zetta Elliott’s follow-up to her middle-grade urban fantasy novel Dragons in a Bag. Elliott’s second installment picks up where the first book in the series left off, taking readers on a fantastical journey through the culturally diverse streets of New York City as children and elders […]
Lindsay Lackey’s All the Impossible Things (2019) swept me away like a discarded paper bag on a windy day. It’s a beautiful story that is skillfully written and carefully paced with brave characters who love each other the best they can. I enjoyed it immensely and think you will as […]
Michael Willhoite’s Daddy’s Roommate was published in 1990 by Alyson Wonderland, the children’s literature imprint of Alyson Books, and was one of its top grossing children’s books of all time. The simply told story is narrated by a young boy about a year after his parents’ divorce. His father has […]
Welcome, Otis!, written and illustrated by Laurie Ingersoll, is a quirky picture book that delivers an important lesson about loving someone with special needs even when it is difficult. Readers are introduced to Otis when a cat named Mouse and a mouse named Moose startle him while on a walk. […]
