September 30 – National Pet Tricks Day

About the Holiday

National Pet Tricks Day was established in 2020 by professional dog trainer Joe Nutkins of Ardleigh, Essex, in the UK. Nutkins loves connecting with dogs and other animals by spending time with them teaching them tricks. Nutkins has enjoyed success and and even a bit of celebrity—appearing on Britain’s Got Talent in 2029 and 2023—with her expertly trained pets, including dogs, cats, hamsters, parrots, and even ducks and chickens. To celebrate today, why not begin spending some encouraging and fun one-on-one time each day to teach your pet a special art. And, of course, don’t forget the treats!

Thank you to Flamingo Books for sending me a copy of this book for review!

Henry Is an Artist

By Justin Worsley

Many dogs know tricks, but Henry has a calling. “Henry is an artist.” Each day when he goes for a walk, Henry admires the street art he passes, “but sculpture is his real passion.” Henry is no stranger to the creative impulse, every day producing a new, unique sculpture of his own. Even though Henry “is proud of his work,” it is not universally embraced. In fact, its public impact is fleeting and usually trashed.

One day, however, in a moment of distraction, Henry’s creation is left behind. Left behind, but not disregarded. “Someone has fallen in love with his artwork.” The tiny bug flies off to “tell all their friends.” The news travels fast, and soon “Henry’s sculpture is a sensation!”

Henry’s sculpture is so valued, in fact, that the bugs carefully transport it to a place of honor. Henry is invited to view its new home: “the grand lobby of the Bug Hotel!” He’s hailed as a celebrity, and returns home a very happy pup, indeed.

Funny, thought-provoking, and an ode to all the unsung creatives among us, Justin Worsley’s story makes readers laugh while encouraging them to find inspiration in the most unlikely places.

Worsley’s delightfully smart and inventive illustrations endear Henry to kids as he walks through the park admiring the public sculptures and trying to install his own. Henry’s facial expressions as he interacts with his owner, the reactions of other dogs, and the appreciative reception of an observant toddler and bug community all add depth to the story.

Henry Is an Artist would be a fun and often-requested addition to home, classroom, and public libraries. Its short sentences make it a perfect choice for new and beginning readers to read or grow with on their own.

Ages 4 – 8

Flamingo Books, 2025 | ISBN 978-0593695043

About the Author/Illustrator

Justin Worsley is an illustrator, author, and toy designer. After nearly thirty years of designing toys, he decided it was time for a change and followed his long-held dream of becoming a children’s book illustrator and graduated from Cambridge School of Art in 2023. When he’s not working, he’s usually riding his bike or walking his dog, Percy.

National Pet Tricks Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-paw-print-magnet-smaller

Paw Print Magnet

Your pet’s paw print makes a cute magnet for your fridge or locker to give you a paw…I mean hand… holding those important messages and pictures. Here’s how to do this easy craft with your dog or cat.

Supplies

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1/4 cup water
Cookie cutter (optional)
Bowl
Wax paper
Strong multi-surface glue or hot glue gun
Strong magnet, available at craft stores
Paint (optional)

Directions

Mix the flour and salt in the bowl
Slowly add the water and mix the dough, kneading it until it is smooth and soft. Add more water if necessary.
Roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick
Place the dough on the wax paper
Carefully press your pet’s paw into the dough.
Place the cookie cutter over the print and cut out
Bake the paw print at 250 degrees for 1 to 2 hours depending on thickness of dough
If desired, paint the print, the background, or both
Attach the magnet with the glue
Display your magnet

You can purchase Henry Is an Artist from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (discounted books and support for your local independent bookstore)

Picture Book Review

August 29 – Happiness Happens Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Happiness Happens Month reminds us that happiness doesn’t have to be something we plan for or spend money on. In fact paying attention to those little moments during each day, going on spontaneous outings with friends or family, or taking time to do a favorite activity may be all you need to feel happier every day! With summer coming to a close and school starting again, it’s a great time to reflect on the fun you’ve had over the past months and all the memories that are about to be made as another year of activities, education, new friendships, and excitement unfolds. Happiness really does come to you if you look for it and let it happen!

An Abundance of Light: a Story of Matisse in Morocco

By Lauren Stringer

As Paris endured a cold and rainy season, Henri Matisse suffered. How could he paint light and colors when he was surrounded by gray? His friend Albert Marquet suggested he visit Tangier, Morocco, “where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea.” There, he said, “the sunlight was abundant!” Henri packed up all of his supplies and made the trip. But it seemed Henri had brought the rainy weather with him. He tried to paint colorful irises and a basket of oranges and lemons, but he still felt gloomy and trapped.

Then one night while Henri slept, the rain stopped. In the morning he woke to ” . . . an abundance of light. A luminous light. A dazzling light.” Henri took his sketchbook and hurried into town, where color shimmered from the pink mosque to the vibrant Grand Socco market to the Casbah gateway to old Medina. Everywhere he looked he saw the vividness of life. Brightly patterned rugs and painted pottery reminded him of the art his grandparents and mother created in their drab town. “Henri felt a glimmer in the cloudy and dark.”

Henri found a large garden to paint in and began painting the lavender branches, green acanthus, blue periwinkles and “pink-tomato sky” he saw. Despite his “bright and bold” colors, he still felt something cloudy and dark. Then one day, following the music of fiddles, flutes, and drums that filled the air. Henri found a cafe, “where men in long robes gazed at goldfish in round bowls.” Henri was mesmerized by the reds and golds of the fish as well.

When Henri left the cafe, “he saw an abundance of shadows.” In fact, the dark shadows accentuated the light. Finally, he understood that light and color and dark could work together. In his new paintings he surrounded his colorful subjects with colorful shadows. He interpreted light itself into brilliant color. And in a painting completed from his hotel window, Henri painted shadows of such a dark blue that he realized “he could paint light and color, even in the dark.” At home when Henri displayed his paintings in a gallery in Paris, they were a sensation. Now, whenever the skies turned gloomy and rainy, Henri remembered the abundance of light in Morocco and painted.

Back matter includes a short biography about Henri Matisse’s childhood, a discussion of Matisse and his time in Tangier, and a note from the Lauren Stringer about her trip to Tangier that inspired her story. She also includes an illustrated glossary of terms found in the book.

Celebrated author, picture book illustrator, and painter Lauren Stringer immerses young children in a particular time in Henri Matisse’s life and reveals how he overcame obstacles to create some of this best-known paintings. His struggles and search for enlightenment are simply and honestly portrayed, lending to his eureka moment deep joy and surprise. The enthusiastic reception for these paintings, Matisse’s newly discovered ability to find light and color even during dark days, and the lessons his artistic parents demonstrated are all reminders that light shines from within.

Stringer’s striking pastel, charcoal, gouache, and digital media illustrations entice readers to join Henri Matisse on his journeys both internal and artistic. Her realistic depictions of Matisse’s circle of famous friends, and the sights of Tangier will entice readers to learn more. As Henri breaks out of his artist’s block, Stringer portrays him with a sprightliness of step, a perceptive eye, and a deft touch with the brush. Readers will be especially fascinated by the side-by-side models and paintings that reveal how Matisse transposed reality to canvas.

An Abundance of Light is a must addition to school and public libraries collections and is highly recommended for art-loving and artistic children. The book would also make an impactful resource for art classrooms and creative projects.

Ages 4 – 8

Beach Lane Books, 2025 | ISBN 978-1534493629

About the Author/Illustrator

Lauren Stringer has illustrated many celebrated picture books, including Deer Dancer by Mary Lyn Ray; The Princess and Her Panther by Wendy Orr; Scarecrow and Snow, both written by Cynthia Rylant; as well as her own Winter Is the Warmest Season, When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky, The Dark Was Done, and An Abundance of Light. She lives with her family in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Visit her at LaurenStringer.com.

Happiness Happens Month Activity

CPB - Happiness typography

Happiness Is… Game

Happiness is all around you! Grab one or more friends to play a game that reveals what things make you happy.

Like the “Geography” game: the first player names something that makes them happy, the next player must think of something that starts with the last letter of the word the previous player said. The game continues with each player continuing the pattern. Players drop out as they cannot think of a word. The last player left is the winner.

You can purchase An Abundance of Light from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (discounted books and support for your local independent bookstore)

Picture Book Review

July 1 – National Watercolor Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Today, I’m celebrating World Watercolor Month with a biography of a woman artist born in 1861 who not only worked in watercolors but brought the delicately blended beauty of the art form to the solid medium of glass as the creator of iconic Tiffany designs. World Watercolor Month was begun in 2016 by Charlie O’Shields, the creator of Doodlewash®, host of the Sketching Stuff podcast, and founder of a social artist movement dedicated to promoting and connecting watercolor artists from all over the world. The holiday also raises awareness of the global importance of art and creativity. Everyone from amateurs to professionals are welcome to participate—and if you’ve never painted with watercolors before, now’s a great time to try! If you’d like prompts to inspire your work and other ways to enjoy the month and take your love of watercolor painting into next month and beyond, visit Doodlewash.

Thank you to Peachtree and Barbara Fisch of Blue Slip Media for sending me a copy of this book for review!

Making Light Bloom: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Lamps

Written by Sandra Nickel | Illustrated by Julie Paschkis

As a young girl, Clara Driscoll grew up surrounded by glorious gardens blooming with morning glories, apple blossoms, and wildflowers and shimmering with the dragon flies they attracted. Clara often sketched the gardens, and when she grew older, she enrolled in art school, hoping to turn her talent for drawing into a job that could help her financially struggling family. After graduation, Clara moved to New York City and took a job working for glassmaker Louis C. Tiffany.

Clara’s task was to choose and cut pieces of glass for the craftsmen to join together with metal ridges to make beautiful stained glass windows. She used her creative eye to “‘paint’ robes, halos, and great wings of angels” with “dappled and streaked, shaded and shimmering” glass. It didn’t take long for Louis to recognize Clara’s talent, and soon she was overseeing her own group of women known as Tiffany Girls. Missing her gardens back home, Clara had the idea to make a lamp from the delicate glass that would bring the beauty of a garden inside.

She and the Tiffany Girls cut small pieces of glass to make butterfly wings, and then “together with the craftsmen, she formed the butterfly wings into a lampshade.” Once the kerosene wick was lit, “light bloomed as never before.” Next, Clara wanted to bring the brilliance of dragonflies to her new creation. But cutting and forming the glass into the intricate wings of a dragonfly was time consuming, and one of the managers said that “she could never make another.”

That, however, was before Louis Tiffany saw the lamp and asked Clara “to make another to display at the World’s Fair in Paris.” At the fair, Clara’s lamp won the bronze medal. The lamp’s success “astounded” Louis. He put Clara and the Tiffany Girls in charge of making lamps and windows representing the beauty of natural landscapes.

Feeling shut out, the craftsmen announced a strike unless Louis fired the women. But Louis knew the value of Clara’s imagination and work, so he compromised with the men: Clara’s workshop would not get bigger, but “Clara would be in charge of lamp-making from that day forward.”

Elated, Clara began creating new designs inspired by the gardens she’d sketched at home as well as nature she found within the city, all informed by her meticulous research. In the basement storage room, she searched for pieces of glass that were just the right hues to bring to life each petal, flower, leaf, and stem. In one astonishing design, she recreated wisteria with 2,000 tiny petals.

While Clara’s work was recognized inside the studio, because her lamps were only known as “Tiffany lamps,” no one else knew they were Clara’s creation. It was only after both Louis and Clara passed away and Clara’s letters to her sisters were discovered that people learned the truth about how Clara made light bloom “throughout the world.”

Back matter includes an Author’s Note that goes into more detail about Clara’s letters home, Louis C. Tiffany’s reaction to her initial idea, and Clara’s long, intricate process for designing each lamp; a list of museums where you can see Tiffany Lamps; and the names of two archives where Clara’s letters can be read; a bibliography; and dates and quotes for references found in the book.

Sandra Nickel’s fascinating and eye-opening story about Clara Driscoll, one of the world’s most innovative artists, is both inspirational and uplifting. Nickel’s heartfelt, straightforward storytelling about Clara’s early years allows readers to see how youthful experiences and interests can influence their later endeavors—creative and otherwise. Nickel also emphasizes Clara’s remarkable vision for ways to expand the use of stained glass in the 1890s as well as her advocacy for herself and her ideas, making her an excellent role model for all children. And while Clara was not recognized for her work during her lifetime, art lovers can be grateful that Louis C. Tiffany knew brilliance when he saw it and valued her contributions—another aspect of Clara’s story to celebrate.

Julie Paschkis’s dazzling, folk-style illustrations bring the intricate and delicate beauty of stained glass to the page, telling Clara’s story visually in a way similar to the windows she often worked on. Taking kids into the Tiffany studio, Paschkis demonstrates how Clara, the Tiffany Girls, and the craftsmen chose, cut, and pieced together to create complex scenes that glow with life still today. Paschkis faithfully recreates Clara’s iconic dragonfly lamp, an image that will wow kids.

A vibrant biography of a visionary artist, Making Light Bloom: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Lamps is an inspiring book to share with creatives of all types at home, in the classroom, and for art and crafts programs. The book is a must addition to any library collection.

Ages 7 – 10

Peachtree, 2025 | ISBN 978-1682636091

About the Author

Sandra Nickel is an award-winning author of picture books and has two new books out this Spring: Seven, A Most Remarkable Pigeon, an uplifting tale that celebrates differences, and Making Light Bloom, Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Lamps, in which Sandra continues her mission to celebrate extraordinary individuals who have been nearly forgotten by history. She is honored to be the winner of a Christopher Award, the winner of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Crystal Kite Award, a finalist for the Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction for Younger Readers, a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection honoree, and a Charlotte Huck Award Recommended author. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults and has presented workshops on writing for children and young adults throughout the United States and Europe. Visit her at sandranickel.com. You’ll also find her on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X.

About the Illustrator

Julie Paschkis is an award-winning illustrator of more than 25 books for children. A graduate of Cornell University and the School for American Craftsmen at Rochester Institute of Technology, she taught art to grade school children for a number of years before turning her full attention to painting, textile design, and creating illustrations for her books. Visit her at juliepaschkis.com to see more of her work and download whimsical and nature-inspired coloring pages for kids and adults. You’ll also find her on Facebook.

World Watercolor Month Activity

Tiffany Window Coloring Page

Create your own brilliant vision with this Tiffany Window Coloring Page!

You can purchase Making Light Bloom: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Lamps from these booksellers.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

March 5 – It’s International Ideas Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

This month we celebrate something that you can’t see or hold but which is real all the same. What is it? An idea! Ideas are amazing things. Sometimes seemingly conjured up out of thin air; sometimes borne out of necessity; and sometimes the “Eureka!” result of long, hard work, ideas fuel our arts, sciences, education, and home life. So today, write down those ideas you have while driving or commuting to work, while in the shower, when you’re daydreaming, or just as you turn off the light to go to sleep. You never know what they might become!

Write Here, Write Now

Written by Rebecca Gardyn Levington | Illustrated by Andrea Boatta

Opening the book, readers are met by a child who looks right at them and makes a very astute observation: “You’re a writer. Did you know?” And before the reader can think “Who, me? nah!” the boy has whisked them off for a trip through the amazing world of writing, offering “Here’s a tip for how to start. / Think of things that spark your heart. / Dreams and wishes, people, places—ANYTHING your mind embraces.”

But there can be so many niggling questions that can make the idea of writing intimidating! Like where should I write? What should I write with? What if I like to draw or just tell my stories? The narrator puts all these doubts to rest with the simplest of answers: write wherever and however is best for you! The narrator even addresses the fear that what you write has to be perfect with the encouraging advice to “Scribble fast, or take it slow. / Play with words and let them flow.”

But, a would-be writer might think, is there a type of writing that’s better than others? Nope, the narrator assures. All writing is good writing. “Write a poem, play, or song / Write a note to right a wrong. / Write a joke, a script, a speech. Can’t decide? Write one of each.”

So are there any rules to writing? Maybe just this one: to “let imagination lead!” The narrator leaves young writers with one more note of encouragement, reminding them that their writing is as unique as they are, and that their words or pictures or voice will find a place to flourish.

Following her story, Rebecca Gardyn Levington offers advice and encouragement to young writers in answers to those six proverbial writerly questions: Who? What? Where? Why? When? and How?

Rebecca Gardyn Levington’s enthusiastic ode to the wonders of writing is sure to spark any child to embrace their own personal method of creative expression. Her perfectly flowing, uplifting verses melt away any doubt or hesitance about putting pencil to paper or fingers to keyboard. Levington gives children freedom, inspiration, and encouragment. In short, she makes writing fun!

Andrea Boatta’s vivid, soft-hued illustrations sparkle with imagination and the flow of ideas as diverse children happily engage in writing wherever they are and whenever inspiration strikes. Children, whether new to writing or more experienced will find themselves right at home in Boatta’s dynamic imagery. Readers will also like following the little golden star that eagerly guides them from spread to spread.

Write Here, Write Now is a joyful celebration of imagination and writing as well as a lively read aloud that kids will want to hear again and again. The book is highly recommended for classrooms, homeschoolers, school and public libraries, and family bookshelves.

Ages 5 – 8

Capstone Publishing, 2025 | ISBN 978-1684469611

About the Author

Rebecca Gardyn Levington is a children’s book author, poet, and journalist with a particular penchant for penning both playful and poignant picture books and poems—primarily in rhyme. She is the author of BRAINSTORM!, WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW, and many other incredible picture books. Rebecca’s award-winning poems and articles have appeared in numerous anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. She lives in New Jersey with her family. Visit her at rebeccagardynlevington.com.

About the Illustrator

Andrea Boatta was born in a seaside town in southern Italy and grew up around vibrant colors and nature. After graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts, she came to love illustration and animation and continued her post-graduate studies at the National School of Cinema. Today she works in Naples, Italy, as a freelance illustrator and concept and background artist in the world of animation. You can follow Andrea on Instagram.

International Ideas Month Activity

CPB - Fairy Tale box

Treasure Box of Imagination

Writers often collect bits of imagination, wisps of dreams, snatches of memory, and treasures found along the way to use in their writing. With this craft, kids can make a treasure box to jot down and save ideas and tidbits to spark their own writing, drawing, and other creative endeavors.

Supplies

1 small wooden box, available at craft stores
Acrylic craft paint – I used gold
Craft gems
Paint brush
Hot glue gun or strong glue

Directions

Paint your wooden box
After the paint dries, decorate your Treasure Box of Imagination with gems

You can purchase Write Here, Write Now at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (to support your local independent bookstore.

Picture Book Review

February 11 – National Inventors’ Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Today’s holiday was established in 1983 and is celebrated on February 11 to honor the birthday of Thomas Edison. The day recognizes the spirit of inventors who look at life a little differently, let their imagination fly, and create a new . . . something! While we often think of inventions that change the world on a day like today, simple ideas implemented at home also make a big impact—or just lead to lots of fun. If you and/or your kids enjoy being creative, today’s the day to tinker around with your ideas.

Thanks to Eerdman’s Books for Young Readers for sharing a digital copy of The Quiet One with me!

The Quiet One

By Yiting Lee

In her noisy classroom, Milly was the quiet one. She wasn’t exactly sure why she didn’t join in with her talkative classmates or why she especially dreaded Show and Tell, which was coming up on Friday. She most liked hanging out in her “secret place”—a shed filled with all sorts of things people didn’t need anymore or had forgotten. Milly was happy in her own company and liked to entertain herself by transforming other people’s old junk into amazing inventions like a running wheel for the shed’s mice and a working train from unused roller skates.

Then Milly found a broken cleaning robot. Getting out her toolbox, two caster wheels, and other supplies, Milly went to work. When she was finished and rebooted the robot, she was astonished to discover that it could talk—”Hi, I’m Arnold,” it said. Milly told Arnold her name. All afternoon Milly and Arnold worked to turn Milly’s secret place into a playground. Then as Milly explained what she wanted to build next, she “realized it was the first time she ever really enjoyed talking.”

Milly was still nervous about Show and Tell, but Arnold told her he would go with her and she could talk about him. On Friday, under the gaze of her classmates who seemed to loom above her, Milly froze. Arnold came to the rescue. He introduced himself and began: “Milly made me out of . . . of . . .”. He stopped, not knowing what came next. But Milly found her voice and finished the story, becoming more passionate about her subject as she went along. In fact, “she was so caught up in the moment that she forgot all about her fear.” Her classmates thought Milly was amazing, and Milly, later playing with her new friends on the playground she and Arnold had built, “was happy that she had been heard.”

Yiting Lee’s story offers reassurance to quiet, introspective children as well as to those who feel anxious when talking in or to a group. Through Milly’s experience, such children may feel encouraged to talk about a special skill, experience, or talent or to share the “stage” with a supportive friend who can help them overcome their fear. Lee also reminds readers that—as a favorite teacher of mine liked to say—”still waters run deep”, and that beneath a quiet exterior often bubbles unique perspectives, creativity, and loyal friendship.

Lee’s charming, cartoon illustrations contrast how Milly shrinks in her raucous classroom with how she comes alive in the junk shed—for her, a lab full of exploration, inspiration, and energy. Readers will enjoy stopping to look over all the images of Milly’s inventions and be inspired to create a few themselves.

A fast-paced, multilayered and inspiring story to spark confidence, foster understanding, and build connections among kids of all talents, The Quiet One offers a valuable resource for classrooms and school libraries and is a heartening choice for home and library collections.

Ages 4 – 8

Eerdman’s Books for Young Readers, 2025 | ISBN 978-0802856418

About the Author/illustrator

Yiting Lee was once the quiet one in class, much like Milly. She followed her love of art to earn her MA in children’s book illustration at the University of Cambridge. Originally from Taiwan, Yiting currently lives in Surrey, England, where she has illustrated books like What’s the Rush? (Princeton Architectural) and Little Dinosaurs, Big Feelings (Magic Cat). Follow her on Instagram @yitinglee_art and visit her website at yitinglee.com.

National Inventors’ Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-inventor's-box

Inventor’s Box

For young inventors or tinkerers, having bits and pieces of this and that as well as some tools to work with all stored in one place encourages creative thinking. Filling the drawers of a tool case, a tool box, or a tackle box with items like springs, brads, wheels, hinges, plastic piping, pieces of wood, glue, tape, and simple tools can spark a child’s imagination. Take your child along to the craft or hardware store and choose items together!

You can purchase The Quiet One at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (to support your local independent bookstore)

Picture Book Review

February 7 – National Send a Card to a Friend Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Today’s holiday is all about reaching out to a friend or family member with cheerful wishes or a reminder about how much they mean to you. Sure, texting is more immediate, but the sentiments get lost amid long scrolls of typed conversations, shared pictures, and links sent. A card or a letter is more permanent and easy to enjoy again and again without all the dizzying swiping, swiping, swiping to retrieve the message that meant so much to you. Sending cards is such a wonderful way for kids, especially, to keep in touch with friends, cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. Today, encourage your children to share their feelings in a card or letter and get today’s book to read and inspire creative communication whenever your kids are missing a loved one.

Thanks to Tara Knudson for sharing a copy of Paper Wishes with me!

Paper Wishes

Written by Tara Knudson | Illustrated by Kirsti Beautyman

A child wistfully flies a paper airplane through their room, wishing they could fly, sail, take a train or drive to visit their grandparents and “bring a gift by hand.” Spying a piece of red paper on their desk, the child has an idea: Even though you’re far away, there’s one thing I can do. / Fold and crease . . . and fold again. / I made my gift for you!” With a few deft folds and tucks, the child creates an origami heart for their grandmother and grandfather.

Image copyright Kirstie Beautyman, 2024, text copyright Tara Knudson, 2024. Courtesy of Picture Window Books.

The child places the heart in an envelope and places it in the corner mailbox, sending “it on its way.” And then the waiting begins. Each day, they wonder “Is it on a truck? / Is it on a plane? / Is it on a boat? / Is it on a train?” and hope that their gift arrives safely. The child wishes they could see their grandparents’ reactions when they open the gift, and . . . through technology, the child and their grandparents get to share their smiles.

Easy-to-follow, illustrated instructions on how to make an origami heart follow the story.

Image copyright Kirstie Beautyman, 2024, text copyright Tara Knudson, 2024. Courtesy of Picture Window Books.

Tara Knudson’s touching and uplifting story will be treasured by children who miss seeing family members or friends and want to share stories, smiles, and love with them. Knudson’s lively rhymes and easy-flowing rhythms will captivate even the youngest children. Kids will enjoy reading along with the recurring phrasing and evocative vocabulary. Children who are eager gift-makers will love the inspiration in both the story and the included origami craft.

Kirsti Beautyman takes readers over a towering city, across choppy seas, winding past cacti in a sandy desert all the way to colorful townhouses on a shady street in a plane, boat, train, and truck cleverly drawn to mimic origami creations. Readers will immediately empathize with the child, whose expressions show a yearning to see grandparents again, happiness when close to them, pride in the gift they’ve made, and hopeful waiting to hear from family. Young readers are also reassured that family members or friends who are far away are thinking about and missing them too.

A tender, heartfelt, and inspiring read aloud that children will want to hear again and again, Paper Wishes would be an exceptional addition to home, library, and classroom collections.

Ages 4 – 8

Picture Window Books, Capstone Press, 2024 | ISBN 978-1684466184

About the Author

Tara Knudson is the author of multiple picture books, including Christmas Cookie Day, Fun Fall Day, and Valentine’s Day Treats. Tara is a former teacher who has been writing poetry since she was a young girl growing up in Chicago.

About the Illustrator

Kirsti Beautyman is an author and illustrator from the North East of England. After studying at Edinburgh College of Art and graduating in 2016, Kirsti turned her hand to illustrating children’s books and partook in the Picture Hooks Mentorship scheme in 2017. At the end of the scheme, Kirsti exhibited alongside her Mentor in the National Gallery of Scotland and was named “Picture Hooks Illustrator Of The Year”. Since then, she has continued to build on her career as a children’s book illustrator, and works from her studio, nestled away on the outskirts of Newcastle. Kirsti predominantly uses a culmination of digital, dry and wet media to create her illustrations… and is prone to leaving a vibrant jumbled mess in her wake.

National Send a Card to a Friend Day Activity

Paper Wishes Craft

Kids can make their own origami heart to give with the instructions in this Paper Wishes Instruction Sheet.

You can purchase Paper Wishes at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (to support your local independent bookstore)

Picture Book Review

November 1 – National Author’s Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Today’s holiday was instituted in 1928 by Nellie Verne Burt McPherson, president of the Bement, Illinois Women’s Club. An avid reader, she established Author’s Day to thank writer Irving Bacheller—author of 31 novels and founder of the first modern newspaper syndicate—who sent her an autographed story in response to her fan letter. The day was officially recognized in 1949 by the United States Department of Commerce. McPherson’s granddaughter, Sue Cole, promoted the holiday after Nellie’s death in 1968. To celebrate, people are encouraged to write a note of appreciation to their favorite author.

Thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers and Barbara Fisch of Blue Slip Press for sharing a copy of As Edward Imagined with me for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own.

As Edward Imagined: A Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts

Written by Matthew Burgess | Illustrated by Marc Majewski

Edward Gorey’s artistic life began early—very early—and built on itself, bit-by-bit, experience-by-experience just like a play, and so it is fitting that Matthew Burgess’s biography is divided into three acts. In Act One readers meet Edward Gorey as a precocious preschooler, creating his first drawing at a year and a half and learning to read at three and a half.

As a voracious reader, he devoured books from his father’s library, including Dracula before he was six. It didn’t take long before he was writing and illustrating his own stories. One was “titled ‘Hand of Doom,’ in which a skeleton’s fingers crept from page to page.” But Edward didn’t consign his “delightfully peculiar” personality to the page, “he [dared] to live the life he imagined.”

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-as-edward-imagined-fathers-library

Image copyright Marc Majewski, 2024, text copyright Matthew Burgess, 2024. Courtesy of Knopf Books for Young Readers.

In Act Two, Edward has graduated from college and is living in New York, where he took the subway to attend nearly every performance of the New York City Ballet, dressed in his singular look: a fur coat, tennis shoes, and “plenty of clinking rings.” While working as a book illustrator, he also wrote, illustrated, and published his own stories, and little by little people began to take notice of “his stylish drawings, his outlandish poetry, and his deliciously sinister sense of humor.”

This popularity earned him an invitation to design the costumes and sets for a Broadway production of that classic he had read long ago—Dracula. The play was a smash, and Edward was nominated for Tony awards. Eschewing the limelight, however, Edward watched the ceremony and his own win from the comfort of his home and surrounded by his six beloved cats.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-as-edward-imagined-city

Image copyright Marc Majewski, 2024, text copyright Matthew Burgess, 2024. Courtesy of Knopf Books for Young Readers.

His success on Broadway brings readers to Act Three, and his purchase of an old captain’s house on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, drew, wrote, and collected. “Teddy bears, sea stones, skeletons of all sizes and shapes, and books by the thousands” became his companions and his inspirations. He also worked with local actors to bring his original plays to theaters. Here, Edward was happy living “his life precisely as he wished.” For readers today, he lives on in his one-of-a-kind characters and inimitable stories.

Back matter includes an Author’s Note, a Bibliography, a photograph of Edward Gorey and one of his cats, and a Chronology of his life that fleshes out experiences from his childhood, during which he once owned a baby alligator, to his higher education and military service to his publishing career and animations for PBS’s Mystery! series to his time living on Cape Cod.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-as-edward-imagined-mr-earbrass

Image copyright Marc Majewski, 2024, text copyright Matthew Burgess, 2024. Courtesy of Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Matthew Burgess’s charming storytelling highlights the quirky ingenuity of Edward Gorey’s stories, plays, and illustrations. Cleverly divided into three acts, his biography emphasizes how Edward remained true to himself throughout his life, finding jobs that complimented his skills and pastimes that fed his imagination. Inspirational and celebrating the individual, Burgess’s breezy and uplifting text will engage children and encourage them to listen to and stay true to their own unique voice.

Marc Majewski’s enchanting and atmospheric illustrations will captivate readers with their combination of realism and whimsy that give them a tour through Edward Gorey’s childhood home, New York City haunts, Dracula sets, and Cape Cod comfort. Kids and adults alike will enjoy dawdling over each page to discover the themes of and influences on Edward’s life as well as his eccentric decor and characters and, of course, to point out all the cats.

A fabulous introduction to a truly unique talent and individual, As Edward Imagined: A Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts will not only fascinate kids but also spark their creativity and an appreciation for the happiness that comes from following their own path. The book would be an often-asked-for favorite on home bookshelves and for public libraries and offers many applications for school libraries and creative arts programs. Pair with readings of Edward Gorey’s books to acquaint young readers with his endearing characters.

Ages 4 – 8

Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2024 | ISBN 978-1984893802

About the Author

Matthew Burgess is the author of Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. Cummings, and The Unbudgeable Curmudgeon. He has been a poet-in-residence in New York City elementary schools through the Teachers & Writers Collaborative since 2001. His work has appeared in various magazines and journals, and he recently received an award from the Fund for Poetry. He teaches creative writing and composition at Brooklyn College and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit Matthew at matthewjohnburgess.com.

About the Illustrator

Marc Majewski is a French author-illustrator based in Berlin. After obtaining a degree in literature and arts, he studied illustration and painting for two years. His picture books include, Does Earth Feel?, and Butterfly Child. Visit Marc at marc-majewski.com.

National Author’s Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-the-doubtful-guest-cover

**Watch The Doubtful Guest by Edward Gorey**

To celebrate today’s holiday listen to this reading of Edward Gorey’s The Doubtful Guest, a short, eccentric and slightly eerie tale of an uninvited guest. Then check out your local library for more books by Edward Gorey.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-as-edward-imagined-cover

You can purchase As Edward Imagined: A Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (to support your local independent bookstore)

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