Reading Wednesdays

What are you reading? This week, I’ve hauled a big stack of #libraryloot to the studio!

Bizzie Mizz Lizzie, by David Shannon
Beware the Monster, by Michaël Escoffier and Amandine Piu
Bug in a Vacuum, by Melanie Watt
That’s What Dinosaurs Do, by Jory John and Pete Oswald
Dragons Rules, Princesses Drool, by Courtney Pippin Mathur
Pandamonia, by Chris Owen and Chris Nixon
Gator Dad, Brian Lies
What Kind of Car Does a T-Rex Drive?, by Mark Lee and Brian Biggs
Billy Bloo Is Stuck in Goo, by Jennifer Hamburg and Ross Burach
The Snurtch, by Sean Ferrell and Charles Santoso
Bonkers, by Cath Jones and Chris Jevons
All the Wild Wonders, by Wendy Cooling and Piet Grobler
Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein, by Linda Bailey and Júlia Sardà
Where is my Balloon?, by Ariel Bernstein and Scott Magoon
Gloria’s Big Problem, by Sarah Stiles Bright and Mike Deas

Reading Wednesdays

Another big stack of #libraryloot I’ve been hauled to the studio! I’m reading for research. I support #FReadom (pushing back against book banning).

Fallingwater: The Building of Frank Lloyd Wright's Masterpiece, by Marc Harshman, Anna Egan Smucker, and LeUyen Pham
Sunday Funday in Koreatown, by Aram Kim
Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party, by James Dean and Kimberly Dean
Aliens Love DinoPants, by Claire Freedman and Ben Cortisones
The Fox on the Swing, by Evelina Daciutè and Aušra Kiudulaite
Eraser, by Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant
Brave Girl, by Michelle Markel and Melissa Sweet
XO, OX, by Adam Rex and Scott Campbell
The Knight Who Said “NO!”, by Lucy Rowland and Kate Hindley
Have You Seen my Trumpet? by Michaël Escoffier and Kris Di Giacomo
Keat’s Neighborhood: An Ezra Jack Keats Treasury, by Ezra Jack Keats
The Whatifs, by Emily Kilgore and Zoe Perisco
A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin, by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet
Sleep Tight, Charlie, by Michaël Escoffier and Kris Di Giacomo

Reading Wednesdays

I’m reading for research. Look at the #libraryloot I’ve been hauling to the studio!

One Trick Pony, by Nathan Hale

Look Out, Leonard, by Jessie James and Tamara Anegon

Mr Brown’s Bad Day, by Lou Peacock and Alison Friend

I Will Not Eat You, by Adam Lehraupt and Scott Magoon

Dinosaurs Don’t Have Bedtimes! Timothy Knapman and Nikki Dyson

Dogosaurus Rex, by Anna Staniszewski and Kevin Hawkes

My Big Dumb Invisible Dragon, Angie Lucas and Brigitta Sif

Got To Get To Bear’s! by Brian Lies

That’s Not a Hippopotamus! By Juliette MacIver and Sarah Davis

If Kids Ruled The World, by Linda Bailey and David Huyck

Begin With A Bee, by Liza Ketchum, Jacqueline Briggs Martin, Phyllis Root, and Claudia McGehee

November Drury Lane Books Newsletter

From the newsletter, WINTER AT DRURY LANE BOOKS, Garnd Marais, MN
Vol 24, November 2018

"GRACE'S RECOMMENDATION
The Mukluk Ball — Katherine Johnson, illus. Alicia Schwab
3-year-old Grace loves dancing with her stuffed bear; he even has his own tutu. So this wintery Northwoods picture book of a Bear preparing for a Mukluk Ball was an instant hit. Bear learns to polka, tango, and chachacha...and then just has to figure out how to wake up from hibernation to attend the Ball!"

I love Indie's and this recommendation made my day! Grace is a girl after my own heart. I began dancing in the living room around 3-years-old. My parents bought a cassette tape of the Chieftains (Irish folk music) and when I heard that I couldn't stop myself. I had to cut a rug. Mind you, our living room was wall-to-wall shag carpeting. And if I shuffled my feet fast enough and touched the lamp...ZAP!–I could do static electricity experiments, as well! Keep on dancing, Grace!

Writing and Illustrating Books on Craft


Over the years, after going to countless SCBWI Children's Books Writing and Illustrating Conferences and Workshops, I have assembled this large list of books on craft. Please share with me your favorite books on craft in the comments. Check out my blog post: Paths to Publication on the different ways to get your book produced for readers.

Writing Craft

A Kick in the Head, by Paul B. Janeczko

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott

Characters and Viewpoint, by Orson Scott Card

Crafting Stories for Children, Nancy Lamb

Picture Writing, Anatasia Suen

What’s Your Story: A Young Person’s Guide to Writing Fiction, Marion Dane Bauer

Writing it Right, by Sandy Asher

Writing Picture Books, by Ann Whitford Paul

Illustration Craft

Cartoon Animation, by Preston Blair

Children’s Picturebooks–The Art of Visual Storytelling, by M. Salisbury and M. Styles

Comic and Sequential Art, by Will Eisner

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards

Drawn to Life, by Walt Stanchfield

Expressive Anatomy for Comics and Narrative, by Will Eisner

Film Directing—Shot by Shot, by Stephen D. Katz

Illustrating Children’s Books, by Martin Salisbury

Picture Book Primer, by Denise I. Matulka

Picture This! by Molly Bang

Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Feature Shorts, by Nancy Beiman

The Art of Animal Character Design, by David Colman

Writing with Pictures, by Uri Shulewitz

Author and Illustrator Platform and Social Media

Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market

Create Your Writer Platform, by Chuck Sambuchino

Get Known Before the Book Deal, by Christina Katz
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