Picture Books about Nature

May 30 – National Water a Flower Day

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About the Holiday

National Water a Flower Day reminds us of the vast diversity of plants and flowers in the world and even in our own backyards, gardens, and communities. The holiday encourages us to show how much we appreciate plants for their sumptuous colors, their fragrant blossoms, their delicious fruits and seeds, and for the unique ways they survive under sometimes challenging conditions. To this end, as the name of the holiday nudges, we should take special time today to make sure all of our plants—both indoor and outdoor—are watered and cared for.

Superpowered Plants: Meet the Smartest, Strongest, Sneakiest Plants

Written by Soledad Romero Mariño | Illustrated by Sonia Pulido

 

From the beginning of time (perhaps even before) plants have been growing, spreading, and evolving to survive and thrive.  To do this, they’ve had to become smart, resilient, and even sneaky—ingenious. Plants and their blooms can last only a day or hundreds of years, quietly coexisting with generations of a family. Among the plants on Earth are some of nature’s craftiest mimics, chemists, thieves, and predators.

In Superpowered Plants, author Soledad Romero Mariño introduces readers to 22 astonishing plants from across the globe, including the African baobab, sacred lotus, spotted spider orchid, titan arum, and whistling thorn as well as more common varieties like dandelions and sunflowers. She identifies 17 superpowers that plants rely on to feed themselves, multiply, cope with extreme conditions, regenerate after fire or other challenges, and protect themselves. Some of these are super speed, super intelligence, super teamwork, super resilience, and super flower. 

Illustration © 2025 by Sonia Pulido, text © 2025 by Soledad Romero Mariño. Courtesy of Phaidon Press.

Working in tandem with illustrator Sonia Pulido, Mariño provides a short description of each plant before outlining its superpowers in clear, easily-digested tidbits presented in color-coded sections, further marked by a recognizable icon. Other information on the left-hand page includes the plant’s scientific name, class, order, and family as well as its size, color, lifespan, habitat, reproduction method, enemies, and special features, along with a fascinating trivia fact. 

To the right—in stunning tarot card-inspired illustrations that would easily be at home in any fine art museum—Pulido captures each plant in full-page, glorious, realistic splendor while stylishly displaying its flower, seed, and fruit and bordering it with representations of its habitat, superpowers, and unique features. 

Illustration © 2025 by Sonia Pulido, text © 2025 by Soledad Romero Mariño. Courtesy of Phaidon Press.

So what are a couple of examples of these astounding plants? Well, take the Whistling Thorn, which is native to the East African savanna. This plant really has the will (and the way) to survive! Not only are its branches covered in prickly spikes, but it teams up with a particular species of ant, offering colonies a home in exchange for aggressive attacks on any herbivore that dares take a nibble. And if that isn’t enough, the whistling thorn has “developed the superspecial skill of communication.” Where many whistling thorns grow in proximity, if one tree is attacked it releases a scent into the air, “alerting other trees in the area to the threat.” These trees “immediately secrete a toxic substance into their leaves, which can be harmful to touch and eat, therefore putting off the predator and keeping the community of trees safe.”

There’s also the Sandbox, native to tropical regions such as the Amazon rain forest, who’s playful name belies its nickname—the dynamite tree. Determined to spread its seeds far and wide, the sandbox produces fruit that, when ripe, explodes with such force “that it can cause injury to anyone standing in its way.” The seeds are propelled at “speeds of 230 feet per second and can cover distances of up to 150 feet.” It’s also best not to attempt to climb the sandbox, as its trunk is covered in “supersharp spikes.” 

Illustration © 2025 by Sonia Pulido, text © 2025 by Soledad Romero Mariño. Courtesy of Phaidon Press.

“Fascinating” hardly begins to describe all the discovery inside Superpowered Plants: Meet the Smartest, Strongest, and Sneakiest Plants. This well-conceived compendium will enthrall readers of all ages and spur a deeper appreciation for the earth’s vegetation—both the unusual and the common, which might just be more cunning than we imagine. Superpowered Plants is a must for all library collections and is highly recommended for home bookshelves, especially for nature lovers.

Ages 7 – 12+ (adults will be equally captivated)

Phaidon Press, 2025 | ISBN 978-1838669515

About the Author

Soledad Romero Mariño is an experienced children’s non-fiction author who specializes in ‘best of’ round-up style books. Her works include Superpowered Animals: Meet The World’s Strongest, Smartest, and Swiftest Creatures (also published by Phaidon), Awesome Accidents: 19 Discoveries that Changed the World, and Famous Robberies: The World’s Most Spectacular Heists.

About the Illustrator

Sonia Pulido’s illustrations have appeared in publications globally, including The New Yorker and The New York Times. In 2020 Pulido won the Spanish National Illustration Award and she is the illustrator of Phaidon’s bestselling What a Shell Can Tell.

National Water a Flower Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-flower-garden-game

Plant a Flower Garden Game

 

With this fun game you and your family and friends can grow gardens inside! Roll the dice to see whose garden will fully blossom first!

Supplies

Directions

Object: The object of the game is for each player to fill their garden or garden rows with flowers. Depending on the ages of the players, the game can be adjusted to fill all of the rows, some or all rows, or just one.           

  1. Print one Game Board for each player
  2. Print one or more sets of Flower Playing Cards for each player, depending on how  (for sturdier playing items, print on card stock)
  3. Cut the flowers into their individual playing cards
  4. Print one Flower Playing Die and assemble it (for a sturdier die, print on card stock)
  5. Color the “dirt” on the Garden Plot with the crayon (optional)
  6. Choose a player to go first
  7. The player rolls the die and then “plants” the flower rolled in a row on the game board
  8. Play moves to the person on the right
  9. Players continue rolling the die and “planting” flowers until each of the number of determined rows have been filled with flowers or one row has been filled with all six flowers.
  10. The first person to “grow” all of their flowers wins!

You can purchase Superpowered Plants: Meet the Smartest, Strongest, Sneakiest Plants from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

April 23 – National Picnic Day

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About the Holiday

It’s said that food always tastes better when eaten outdoors. If you’re having warm early spring weather today, why not test that theory, by packing a basket or cooler and heading out to your favorite outdoor spot! Whether simple or elegant, enjoyed alone or with family or friends, a picnic can be just the respite you need from the routine workweek. The word “picnic” probably gets its origins from the French language, specifically from the word pique-nique: (to pick) + (small thing or trifle). It’s thought that picnics became popular in France after the French Revolution in the mid 1800s and the idea then spread around the world. If you just can’t get away or the weather isn’t cooperating, the month of June hosts National Picnic Day with International Picnic Day celebrated on June 18.

Thank you to Tundra Books for sharing a copy of this book with me!

There Are No Ants in This Book

Written by Rosemary Mosco | Illustrated by Anna Pirolli

 

A child, picnic basket and tote in hand peeks in from the top-left corner of the first page to find a green field just perfect for a picnic. The child is pretty confident they won’t be disturbed by pesky pests purloining food because it says right on the cover that “there are no ants in this book.” But just as the cake is being placed on the blanket, word comes from nearby: “Wrong! There’s one!” Turns out that acorn lying only inches from the picnic cloth is actually the abode of an acorn ant.

Illustration © 2025 by Anna Pirolli, text © 2025 by Rosemary Mosco. Courtesy of Tundra Books.

The child can make an exception for just one ant, but then, out of the clear blue sky, comes “Two!” and “Three!” These two reveal that they are opposites of a sort. Number “two” is “one of the largest ants in the world” and as big as a strawberry. Number “three” is the smallest—”as long as six grains of salt.”

The child is just wrapping their head around this book having “. . . more ants than I was expecting” and figuring “three ants can’t eat my whole picnic, right?” when three more show up, including a honeypot ant that explains, “I fill my big round butt with sweet sugar water . . . in case my family gets hungry” then declares, “I am a walking refrigerator.

Illustration © 2025 by Anna Pirolli, text © 2025 by Rosemary Mosco. Courtesy of Tundra Books.

Kinda freaked out to meet these six interlopers, the child goes into full “ARRRGH!” mode when four more ants drop by. And who can blame them? The book had such promise at the beginning. But now . . . Yeah. Butt! Two of these new ants have positively particular posterior powers! One lives in trees and uses their butt as a kind of nature-made Siri to guide them home, and the other, an acrobat ant, explains “If someone scares me, I stick my butt high up in the air and wave it around.” The third is a clever crafter, and the fourth uses his head (literally) to defend his home.

The child is “shocked.” “Stunned.” Delighted! And invites these ants as well as their “humungous families” to the picnic. But all these tiny pounding feet attract the attention of an anteater. The child, though, does some quick thinking and then points out that the title of the book clearly states, “there are no ants in this book,” which sends the anteater packing. And now? It’s time for the perfect picnic!

Back matter presents realistic illustrations of each of the ten ants found in the book with a bite-sized paragraph revealing what part of the world the ant is native too as well as more about the feature that makes it unique.

Illustration © 2025 by Anna Pirolli, text © 2025 by Rosemary Mosco. Courtesy of Tundra Books.

In her funny and fast-paced tribute to ants, Rosemary Mosco proves that even the smallest creatures have enormous appeal. As each ant makes an appearance to proudly describe its distinct capability or feature, Mosco’s conversational, easy-to-digest writing style makes it simple for kids to remember the prominent details. Kids will also identify with the narrator, who humorously cycles from certainty in the promise of the title to disillusionment to acceptance to all-out appreciation for these tiny critters. 

Vibrant and loaded with personality, Anna Pirolli’s cartoon, graphic-style illustrations use perspective, natural surroundings, and emotive facial expressions to immerse kids in this rollicking educational experience.

If you like a dose of laughter with your science, There Are No Ants in This Book is the ant-idote you’ve been looking for. A perfect addition to any classroom, homeschool, or science educator’s collection, the book will also be an often-asked-for favorite for home story times.

Ages 4 – 8

Tundra Books, 2024 | ISBN 978-1774881163

About the Author

Rosemary Mosco makes books and cartoons that connect people with the natural world. Her nature comics won the National Cartoonist Society’s award for Best Online Short Form Comic and were the subject of an award-winning museum exhibit. She co-wrote the New York Times bestseller The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid, and is the author of the picture books Butterflies Are Pretty . . . Gross! and Flowers Are Pretty . . . Weird! illustrated by Jacob Souva, as well as five other science books. She speaks at birding festivals and looks for cool critters under every rock she can find. Rosemary lives in Massachusetts.

About the Illustrator

Anna Pirolli was born in Genoa and moved to Milan to study illustration at the European Institute of Design. She has worked as a freelance illustrator and art director for companies such as Mondadori, Pearson, Vogue, MTV, Kinder Ferrero, Nickelodeon, Disney and others, following the creative process from concept to creation. She’s also a visiting professor at the Accademia di Brera, where she teaches design applied to the arts. Anna has illustrated the picture books I Hate My Cats: A Love Story by Davide Cali and Anonymouse by Vikki VanSickle, which won the Dilys Evans Founder’s Award at the 2021 Society of Illustrators Original Art Show.

National Picnic Day Activity

A Perfect Day for a Picnic! Maze

 

Can you lead the ants to the picnic in this printable A Perfect Day for a Picnic! maze?

You can purchase There Are No Ants in This Book from these booksellers

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

Picture Book Review

April 16 – National Stress Awareness Month

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About the Holiday

Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992, when it was founded by the Health Resource Network. The holiday aims to help people identify the stress factors in their own life as well as to assess how all members of their family are handling various pressures. The goal is for everyone—either individually or together—to look for ways to manage their feelings while adding positive changes to their life. Talking about pressures with kids and doing simple activities with them can often help lessen the load. Sharing today’s book is a wonderful place to start!

A Cup of Quiet

Written by Nikki Grimes | Illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson

“You ever hear of smiles?” The young narrator’s talking about the two-week “summer camp” she gets to spend with her grandmother every June. In that breathless excitement of children, she reveals the visits give her and her Grandma time to “stitch sock puppets and put on shows, bake Martian Cake that tastes like banana bread and play tea party in the garden with my dolls.” But today, they’re acting out a story—that is until Grandpa’s hammering and loud music become just too much.

Illustration © 2025 by Cathy Ann Johnson, text © 2025 by Nikki Grimes. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Grandma flops into her chair with an “Ugh!” and tells her granddaughter she’s “thirsty for a cup of quiet.” This elicits a giggle and a bit of disbelief, but Grandma’s done with the noise and leads her granddaughter outside to the porch swing. But the city outside their house is just as noisy as Grandpa inside. A trip to the backyard garden is needed. Here, Grandma may be happy, but the narrator is getting fidgety.

Illustration © 2025 by Cathy Ann Johnson, text © 2025 by Nikki Grimes. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Grandma gives her the side-eye and then hands her “an invisible cup” with instructions to “‘walk around the garden and fill this up with any sounds you hear.'” Up for this imaginative challenge, the girl first visits the rose bushes, where a bee is working and “snap[s] up a handful of his buzzing and drop[s] it in the cup.” On the ground below she sees a lizard and “spoon[s] up” the sound of its “scuttling across a dried leaf.” She begins paying more attention to the nature around her and listening harder to fill her cup.

Illustration © 2025 by Cathy Ann Johnson, text © 2025 by Nikki Grimes. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

A sudden thunderclap precipitates a downpour, but before she runs inside with Grandma, the narrator adds the first pings of raindrops on the roof to her nearly full cup. After drying off and changing, it’s finally time to enjoy a long sip from that make-believe cup. Ahhhh! So “‘refreshing!'” Her granddaughter thinks so too. Still, she has an observation: “‘… your quiet is awfully noisy!'” Grandma smiles and says, “‘I know, but Nature’s noise is peaceful, and I love that.'” Her granddaughter agrees—”You ever hear of perfect?”

Illustration © 2025 by Cathy Ann Johnson, text © 2025 by Nikki Grimes. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Nikki Grimes invites readers to join in with a grandmother and granddaughter for a day of “summer camp” where love abounds. The easy banter between the two and affectionate gestures—such as Grandma’s playful tug on her granddaughter’s braid and the jump-into-her-arms hug the girl gives her grandma—immediately envelope both child and adult readers in this pair’s warm relationship. Grimes’ inventive call to interact with nature and find comfort there will have kids carrying their own imaginary cups to fill and spark other creative games and activities no matter where they live. 

Cathy Ann Johnson’s collage-style, mixed-media illustrations sweep readers into the creative and close-knit atmosphere of Grandma’s house during a week-long visit by her granddaughter. The vibrancy of the pair’s connection is shown through the colorful textures of the fabrics they use for crafting. The allure and importance of nature is likewise emphasized through the vivid greens and swirling motion in the grandmother’s back garden as well as the shimmering beauty of the creatures from which the girl collects sounds. The grandmother and granddaughter’s close bond is evident through their hugs, the way they sit close together (even touching hands while sitting in separate garden chairs), and the care Grandma provides after the rainstorm. The grandmother’s expressions are amusing in their honesty, and the look of wonder in the granddaughter’s eyes is inspirational.

Lyrical, playful, and full of love, A Cup of Quiet is a warm hug of a read aloud that adults and kids will love sharing again and again. The book is a must addition to school library, public library, and home collections.

Ages 3 – 7

Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2025 | ISBN 978-1547610730

A Talk with Nikki Grimes

Photo Credit Marchel Hill

New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes was inducted into the Black Authors Hall of Fame in 2023. Her honors include the CSK Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the ALAN Award for significant contributions to young adult literature, the Children’s Literature Legacy Medal, and the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Author of the Coretta Scott King Award-winner Bronx Masquerade, and five Coretta Scott King Author Honors, she won the Printz Honor and Sibert Honor for her memoir Ordinary Hazards. Her latest titles include Garvey’s Choice:The Graphic Novel, a School Library Journal 2023 Best Book; Lullaby for the King, one of Book Riot’s 25 Best Christmas Books of All Time; and A Walk in the Woods, recipient of 8 starred reviews, and 11 Best Book listings for 2023, including the New York Times, NPR, and Smithsonian Magazine. Ms. Grimes lives in Corona, California. You can visit her at nikkigrimes.com.

Today, I’m honored to be talking with Nikki Grimes about the inspiration behind A Cup of Quiet, how she develops her characters, the joys and challenges of writing for multiple age groups, and much more!

A Cup of Quiet is a perfect book for adults and children to share, not only for outside noise but for times when life gets overwhelming.  Tell us about the inspiration for this story and a little about its journey to publication.

There’s a certain quality of quiet in nature that I’ve always found soothing. I need silence for my work because it allows me to concentrate fully when I write. But nature’s quiet is different. It’s rich with sound, but most of it requires you to pay close attention. To pick up the whir of a hummingbird’s wings, you have to be still, and you have to strain to hear it. The stillness that’s required is soothing, and the sounds you become attuned to are a healing balm. I wanted to write a story that celebrated those sounds, and the beauty of that kind of quiet.

In the early stages of the book, I’d go out to my garden and listen carefully, and I’d make mental notes of all that I heard that day. I’d jot everything down until I had a good list of sounds to play with.

My main character lived in the city and didn’t spend much time out in nature there, though she occasionally went to the park. But every summer, she’d travel out of the city for long visits with her grandmother who had a garden, and whose house was surrounded by trees, and greenery.

The story grew from there, and I knew immediately that I wanted Bloomsbury to publish the book, and I also knew intuitively who I wanted to illustrate—namely Cathy Ann Johnson. This teaming has proven to be perfect, all around.

If I had a cup to fill with quiet today, I’d add my cat’s little sleepy, dreamy purrs, the whoosh of cars passing my house, the rustle of squirrels in the trees, and a drop of water from my bubbling teapot. What would you put in your cup of quiet today?

I would put a bee’s buzz, the wind rustling leaves of a tree, the whir of a hummingbird’s wings—all the sounds I chose for A Cup of Quiet. Those are some of the sounds I listen for, and pay attention to, whenever I immerse myself in nature.

Cathy Ann Johnson’s mixed-media illustrations are a wonder of color, motion, humor, and the love between grandmother and granddaughter. What was your first impression when you saw her illustrations? Do you have a favorite spread?  Why is it a favorite?

First, I was over the moon for the grandmother! She had energy, and spunk, and style. I loved her!  And I loved her colors. Then, as I saw the book’s interiors, I was absolutely thrilled! Cathy Ann’s images, and their movements, were as lyrical as my own words. Our partnership on the page was the proverbial match made in heaven. I would be loath to choose a favorite spread.  Each one has its own magic.

A Cup of Quiet starts out “You ever hear of summer camp?”—a disarming introduction to the child narrator that’s so true to the way kids approach conversation. The dialogue in all of your work sings in this way with the kind of honesty, humor, emotion, and depth that makes your characters seem almost physically with the reader.  I’m curious about your process in developing your characters and stories.

My characters begin with a voice. I’ll hear a scrap of dialogue in my head—nothing extensive, just a few lines. The inspiration might come from the catalog of voices I’ve stored in memory over a lifetime of listening to people around me, or it might be the voice of a particular person in my life whose voice is special or one that has simply stayed with me for a long time. Either way, the voice feels familiar. I’ll jot down that scrap of dialogue as reference, then I’ll begin developing a character sketch and that character’s backstory. I never know how much or little of the backstory I’ll use, but that information guides me as I write. To nail the voice, I have to pay close attention. I climb into the character’s skin and look at the world from his or her perspective and write from that place, attuning myself to that character’s age, birth place, geographical region, quirks, fears—all of it guides me as I make decisions about what that character will say, how they’ll respond to various stimuli that shows up in the plot. If I step wrong, the character will bristle and call me out on it, almost audibly. “Do not put those words in my mouth! I would never say that!” or “I don’t speak like that!” It’s kind of eerie, actually. Characters can be very bossy!

You write books for all ages, from picture books to middle-grade to young adult. Can you talk a bit about the joys and challenges of each? What is one message you want readers in each age category to take away from your books? 

Each age format comes with its own set of limitations, constrictions, and also its own range of possibilities. I love mixing it up. Writing for different age groups keeps me on my toes. The picture book gives you very little room to develop character and plot, while, say, a young adult novel gives you so much unlimited space that you run the risk of overwriting, and of getting lost in the weeds of your plot, or tangled in the layers of your story. Being consistent with your tense or bookending your story in a way that is controlled and satisfying and that feels organic, is much more challenging in the long form of middle grade or YA storytelling.

Language choices are tricky, and different with each age group as well. You walk the line between accessibility and sophistication, between simplicity and complexity. The same variance is true of the emotional components appropriate for each age group as well. For those reasons, I think it’s wise to focus on one genre at a time until you work through the quirks of that genre and figure out a process that works for you. Then, by all means, go on and experiment with the next! It’s tough work, but I like that. For me, easy is boring!

As for your question about messages, I don’t write messages. I write stories. And a well-written story offers a number of ideas a reader might take away. It all depends on the particular reader. We bring ourselves to the page, as readers. Our own experiences, personalities, and what we need at a particular point in time, color what we see, what we notice, and what we ultimately take from a story. Of course, as the creator, I have a certain idea, or theme, I intend to weave into my story—and, by the way, it’s hard to know whether or not I’ve always succeeded—but I don’t worry about whether the reader will pick up on the specific note I had in mind. What matters to me is that, somewhere in the many layers of my story, readers find something valuable with which they resonate. Quite often, the things they find come as a surprise to me, but that’s okay. So long as they walk away with something of value to them, that’s all I can ask for.

While I read through your website, your generosity in sharing so much of your life really stood out.  I’m sure young readers and writers would love to know about when you first began writing and how you were recognized for your talent, having your first public reading when you were 13.  Could you share a little of our writing background with us?  What advice would you give to children and young adults who love to write and want to pursue it?

As I reference in my memoir Ordinary Hazards, and elsewhere, I started writing in earnest when I was six years old, and I did so because I would have burst, otherwise. I was so filled with the emotional and mental poison of anger, and pain, and confusion. I was desperate to get my feelings out, somehow. So, I began to pour those feelings onto a page. That’s how my writing began, but as I reached my teens, the idea of possibly pursuing writing as a career took root. I was encouraged by my father, by my sister, by the friends I dared share my poetry with, and later, by a couple of teachers.  At the same time, though, I also had peers who laughed me off the block for daring to dream of such a thing at all. But I decided early on to surround myself with other young people who nurtured dreams and goals of their own. Everyone else, I cut out of my circle. I refused to absorb the negativity of naysayers.

I encourage young people who have a heart for writing to read voraciously, and to read across genres.  Every genre has something to teach you, and the quality of your writing reflects the quality, variety, and breadth of your reading. So read, read, read.  

Next, write, write, write because writing is a muscle. You have to exercise that muscle if you want to become strong. There is no shortcut to excellence. And if you’re not going to pursue excellence, why even bother? Excellence is what your readers deserve. Remember: the world doesn’t need mediocrity, no matter what field you choose to pursue.

In addition to your many awards over the years, you received the Children’s Literature Legacy Award in 2017 and the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. In 2023 you were inducted into the Black Authors Hall of Fame.  What does this recognition mean to you?

Recognition is affirmation, and who doesn’t appreciate that?  But an artist should never be satisfied to sit on their laurels. I use this recognition as fuel to keep pushing forward, to continue to stretch myself as an artist to try genres I’ve never attempted before, to explore forms of poetry I find challenging. Doing so keeps me alive, and grown, and excited about the work I’ve been doing professionally, now, for nearly 50 years. That way, even as I get old, my work never does!

What books of yours can readers look forward to next?

I have a new Dyamonde Daniel chapter book coming out in June.  It’s titled Loser, and it’s about healthy and unhealthy competition, and where to draw the line, especially when you’re competing with your best friend.

I also have a new picture book on the horizon, titled Stronger Than, a collaboration with Choctaw author, Stacy Wells and illustrated by E. B. Lewis, who I’ve worked with before. In this story, a Black Choctaw boy discovers the history of one ancestor who survived the Trail of Tears, and another ancestor who survived the Tulsa Race Massacre. Through their stories, he learns that he comes from stronger stock than he knew, and this knowledge helps him overcome one of his worst fears. I’m excited about both books, for very different reasons.

There are a few more books in production, as well, but it’s too soon to talk about those.

Is there a question I didn’t ask that you wish I had?  What would your answer be?

No. I think I’m about talked-out, for the moment!  This has been fun, though. And I hope you and the young readers in your life enjoy A Cup of Quiet.

Thank you so much, Nikki! It’s been terrific chatting with you! I wish you a wonderful spring and summer of nature’s refreshing quiet.

You can purchase A Cup of Quiet from these booksellers

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

Picture Book Review

April 10 – National Wildlife Week

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About the Holiday

National Wildlife Week, dating back to 1938, is the National Wildlife Federation’s longest-running education program. The celebration was designed to connect budding conservationists of all ages to the awesome wonders of wildlife. Each year, we pick a theme and provide fun educational materials and activities for educators and caregivers to use with kids. This year’s theme is Keep an Eye on the Wild. Conservationists and animal lovers are keeping a lookout for wildlife in the most unexpected places as we learn how we can keep their habitats safe and live in harmony with our incredible wild neighbors. Whether you keep your eyes out for the wildlife living near you with a “critter cam” or by walking around and paying attention to your backyard, neighborhood, and wider area, being aware of the creatures around you can help them survive for generations to come. To learn more about National Wildlife Week and find fun activities aimed at connecting kids with wildlife, visit the National Wildlife Week Kids Page!

Finding Home: Amazing Places Animals Live

Written by Mike Unwin | Illustrated by Jenni Desmond

 

Finding Home begins: “Our planet is home to a mind-boggling number of different animals: at least 6,500 species of mammal, 10,000 species of reptile, 11,000 species of bird, and literally millions of insects. Every single one has its own home.” Just think of it! As your eye sweeps across any vista; as you walk across your yard, local playground, or favorite park, beach, or mountain trail, an untold number of creatures’ homes are within sight or underfoot. We know their names: Den. Nest. Burrow. Taxi (wait, what?). You’ll see, because in their astounding and gorgeous book, Mike Unwin and Jenni Desmond reveal that there is no such thing as a generic animal home.

Illustration © 2025 by Jenni Desmond, text © 2025 by Mike Unwin. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Take “den,” for instance—a polar bear’s snow den. Unwin and Desmond take you right inside this winter home, where a mother polar bear and her two cubs (born here in the cold of January) welcome you. As you squeeze inside, don’t worry about being cold. The polar bear’s “thick fur keeps the temperature 77°F warmer than outside.” 

Next up is “nest.” These are bowls made from twigs, straw, and fluff and, sometimes, found objects like bits of paper or cloth, right? Well, yes—for some birds. But you won’t believe your eyes when you see what appears to be several haystacks lodged within a tree’s branches. This nest, constructed by a whole community of birds smaller than sparrows, can “grow as big as a car, weigh more than a ton, and last 100 years.” Like humans’ apartment buildings, the bird pairs that inhabit this nest look out for each other and help their neighbors. Kids will also be amazed by another type of bird that literally sews leaves together with “plant fiber and spider silk” to create their soft, deep nests.

Illustration © 2025 by Jenni Desmond, text © 2025 by Mike Unwin. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

And how about “burrows?” Yep, Unwin and Desmond showcase a couple of pretty spectacular burrows too. Take the aardvark’s home. You won’t see an aardvark during the day. While the sun is up, they stay below ground, sleeping and tending to their young. It’s only after sunset that these unusual, ant-eating animals (including two-week-old babies) make an appearance topside. This is when they do what they do best: sniff out anthills and termite mounds, dig them up, and have dinner. It takes a hearty meal to satisfy an aardvark: “One aardvark can eat an amazing 50,000 ants and termites in a single night!”

Now, about that “taxi.” Children will be wowed by two, very different types of animals who prefer moving from one area to another by hitching a ride on another creature, from whom they can get food and other necessities of life while helping their hosts as well. Of course, the variety of animal homes don’t stop at these four. Every page transports readers to a different part of the globe to witness creatures of the air, sea, and land living in the home of their choice.

Unwin ends this fascinating travelogue with a map showing different ways some of the animals in the book tend to the environment, protecting it and keeping it growing for themselves and humans. He also includes a caution, reminding readers that “all these habitats . . . fit together like jigsaw pieces to make up planet Earth. And just like a jigsaw needs all its pieces, a healthy planet needs all its animals and their habitats.” Sadly, humans have not been good stewards of Earth’s bounty. “Today, scientists and conservationists are working hard to put things right.” But everyone is needed to make sure our environment is cared for the way we care for our own families. “Only then will planet Earth truly be home, sweet home.”

Illustration © 2025 by Jenni Desmond, text © 2025 by Mike Unwin. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Mike Unwin draws readers in with engaging storytelling that allows kids to easily understand how each animal goes about building their home and why it’s perfect for their lifestyle. Children also learn just as much about the animals as the homes they build, giving them deep and well-rounded knowledge of some of the most unusual birds, fish, mammals, and insects on our planet and how many of them benefit humankind. Unwin’s phrasing, vocabulary and conversational lilt make Finding Home a highly satisfying nonfiction read aloud for younger kids. Independent readers will eagerly dip into the book again and again to meet these intriguing creatures.

With the impact of a museum exhibit, Jenni Desmond’s rich, full-bleed illustrations will take your breath away with their stunning realism and personality. Some animals peek out at the reader, while others busily go about their work oblivious to outside interest. From grassy hillsides to treetop canopies to sunny Africa and the snowy Himalayas, Desmond takes readers on an around the world tour like no other.

Gorgeous, educational, and nature nonfiction at its best, Finding Home: Amazing Places Animals Live is a must for all classroom, school, and public libraries as well as for nature- and animal-loving kids and families.

Ages 5 – 8+

Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2025 | ISBN 978-1547615100

About the Author

Mike Unwin has written more than 30 books for both adults and children, including the Encyclopedia of Birds and Migration. He is also a regular contributor to publications such as BBC Wildlife and RSPB Nature’s Home. In 2013 Mike was voted UK Travel Writer of the Year by the British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow Mike on Instagram @mikeunwin.wildtravel.

About the Illustrator

Jenni Desmond is the illustrator of more than 20 books, including Migration, The Wolves of Yellowstone, and The Blue Whale. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages. In 2016 she was made a Maurice Sendak Fellow and her book The Polar Bear became a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year. When Jenni is not in her studio, you’ll find her cooking, cycling and looking for adventure. Visit her at jennidesmond.com and follow her on Instagram @jennidesmond.

National Wildlife Week Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-shark-fin-craft

Fintastic Shark Fun

 

Sharks are awesome creatures and even feature as a home to another animal in today’s book! Follow the directions below and to make your own shark fin. 

Supplies

  • 2 pieces of 8.5 x 11 gray cardstock paper
  • Ribbon
  • Tape
  • Scissors
  • Pencil

fin outline white

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-shark-fin

Directions

  1. Tape the top of the two pieces of paper together
  2. Fold them back together
  3. Measure an inch up from the bottom of the papers (the un-taped side) and trace a straight line across both papers
  4. Trace a shark fin outline onto your paper. The shark outline should stop an inch above the bottom
  5. Cut out the fin on both pieces of paper. If you should cut through the tape, re-tape the tops together
  6. Fold along the lines of both papers so the folds face towards each other.
  7. Tape the folds so the fin becomes a triangle
  8. Cut two slits parallel to the folded lines
  9. Thread ribbon through slits

You can purchase Finding Home: Amazing Places Animals Live from these booksellers

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

Picture Book Review

April 3 – Find a Rainbow Day

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About the Holiday

As the old proverb goes, “April showers bring May flowers,” but all that rain brings something else—rainbows! The science behind rainbows was first discovered in 1693, when scientists realized that this phenomenon is caused by light from the sun being refracted through raindrops and causing a dazzling show. Today, I wish you a rainy day and happy rainbow hunting! A perfect place to find rainbows every day and in amazing places beyond the sky is in today’s book!

A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World

 

By Matt Forrest Esenwine | Illustrated by Jamey Christoph

 

Rainbows are a universally loved natural phenomenon. The excitement of seeing a rainbow arcing across the sky never goes away no matter how old you get. And a double rainbow? For some people, seeing one of those can be like glimpsing a celebrity. In the 22 poems that make up A Universe of Rainbows, Matt Forrest Esenwine and 19 other poets reveal that you don’t always have to wait for rain to be awed by the brilliance of this spectrum of colors as they abound in nature: on land, in waters, on plants and animals, and even in the depths of space.

Illustration © 2025 by Jamey Christoph, text © 2025 by NIkki Grimes. Courtesy of Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

Nikki Grimes leads off this lyrical odyssey that invites readers to travel around the world and beyond to discover rainbows in many forms. In Grimes’ “Rainbows of Light,” she channels the disappointment of a child facing a rainy day with “. . . No hopscotch. / No soccer. / No softball / no skip rope. . . .” The child “. . . curse[s] the rain” until they “catch the storm’s apology: / sun-drenched strips of color / arch across the sky— / A rainbow! / Oh! My!” 

You might think that rainbows occur in nature only during the day, but Joyce Sidman, reveals otherwise in her intricate and arresting pantoum “Along the Zambezi.” Sidman animates a moonbow, entreating readers to take a moment to look as “This dancer will not leap for long / over the span of Victoria Falls,” where “. . . a full moon crowns the darkened hill” while “. . . Mist swirls up in silver shawls, / bending moonlight’s slanting spill.” 

Illustration © 2025 by Jamey Christoph, text © 2025 by David L. Harrison. Courtesy of Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

Rainbow seekers do not always need to look toward the sky to find the glorious hues of rainbows. In his rhythmic “Reflections on the Pool,” David L. Harrison nimbly combines assonance and consonance to introduce kids to the surprising Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone National Park. Harrison describes how this hot spring—a “miracle of nature . . . / Blessed with bacteria tinted blue”—once appeared as vividly blue, but now, because of human interference, is developing a “rainbow of colors” as other types of bacteria take over. Together the poem and sidebar provide a concrete example of the value of conservation and a gripping entry into further study or research. 

Readers also learn about a uniquely dressed tree, Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s “skirted pinwheel” of a flower, two varieties of birds, and incredible creatures of the sea and land that shimmer and glimmer with the colors of a rainbow. In “Elegant Danger,” Matt Forrest Esenwine exposes the “captivating beauty / with radiant appeal” of the peacock mantis shrimp that has “An appetite of titans. / Attitude of steel.”  into space to float within the Rainbow Nebula with poet Georgia Heard. 

Each poem is accompanied by a short and fascinating side bar offering more information about the natural phenomena that inspired the work.

Back matter includes a list of recommended books and websites where readers can find more information about the rainbows described in each poem as well as a glossary.

Illustration © 2025 by Jamey Christoph, text © 2025 by Janet Wong. Courtesy of Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

For the twenty award-winning writers who’ve contributed to Matt Forrest Esenwine’s debut poetry anthology, unique rainbows occurring in nature have inspired a wide range of contemplation and poetic form. Some are awe-struck, others hold a touch of humor, and still others are conversational. One thing they all have in common is an ability to transport readers to another place or just the right moment to witness one of life’s most astonishing sights. Through each poem, readers learn facts but they also discover how to observe with curiosity, appreciate the miraculous, and commit to preserving our natural wonders. 

Jamey Christoph’s multi-media illustrations mesmerize with brilliant color that tantalizes like a magic spell, slipping through ice crystals, hiding in plain sight, turning pools of water and majestic trees into artists’ palettes, and clothing creatures of the air, sea, and land. You might be tempted to think that these natural phenomenon can’t possibly be so vivid in real life, but take a look (these poems encourage further research) and you’ll find that Christoph’s full-spread images mirror their inspirations. Beautiful and stirring, each page welcomes you to linger awhile.

Encompassing riveting writing by award-winning poets, spellbinding illustrations of natural phenomena, and nearly endless applications for science, writing, and art study and discovery, A Universe of Rainbows: Multicolored Poems for a Multicolored World is a must for school and public library collections as well as for any reader who loves inspired writing and nature.  

Ages 6 – 10

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2025 | ISBN 978-0802855718

About the Author

Matt Forrest Esenwine is a children’s author and poet whose books include The Thing to Remember about Stargazing (Tilbury House), Once Upon Another Time (Beaming), and A Beginner’s Guide to Being Human (Beaming). His work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and featured in numerous anthologies. Also a voiceover actor and commercial copywriter, Matt lives in Warner, New Hampshire, with his family. Visit his website at mattforrest.com.

About the Illustrator

Jamey Christoph has illustrated over twenty books, including The Great Lakes (Knopf), Stonewall (Random House), and Outside My Window (Eerdmans). His books have been named to many best-of-the-year list, including from the CBC and NYPL. Jamey lives in New Hampshire with his husband and their crazy dogs. Visit Jamey’s website at jameychristoph.com and follow him on Instagram @jameychristoph.

National Find a Rainbow Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-rainbow-magnet-craft

Mini Rainbow Magnet

 

If you’re stuck on rainbows, you can make this mini rainbow to stick on your fridge or locker!

Supplies

  • 7 mini popsicle sticks (or cut regular popsicle sticks in half)
  • Paint in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, Indigo, violet (ROYGBIV)
  • Adhesive magnet
  • A little bit of polyfill
  • Paint brush
  • Glue or hot glue gun

Directions

  1. Paint one popsicle stick in each color, let dry
  2. Glue the popsicle sticks together side by side in the ROYGBIV order, let dry
  3. Roll a bit of polyfill into a cloud shape and glue to the top of the row of popsicle sticks
  4. Attach the magnet to the back of the rainbow

You can purchase A Universe of Rainbows from these booksellers

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

Picture Book Review 

April 1 – Reading Is Funny Day

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About the Holiday

Funny stuff abounds on April 1st, so why not share funny books too? Books that elicit giggles are not only entertaining but contribute to a lifelong love of reading and help kids see the world in a new, positive, and even quirky way. To celebrate today, read some laugh-out-loud books with your kids and find new ones to add to your home, classroom, or library shelves. Today’s featured book is a perfect place to start!

Thank you to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for sending me a copy of We Are the Wibbly!: A Tadpole’s Tail for review.

We Are the Wibbly!: A Tadpole’s Tail

Written by Sarah Tagholm | Illustrated by Jane McGuinness

 

A sweet, pink-cheeked frog egg heartily addresses whoever is gazing down upon the frogspawn with a warm welcome: “We are eggs.” Then they add a little: “We are egg friends.”  They become loquacious: “We float and are all very relaxing. It is niceable.” You can feel it, right? Bobbing along within the pond grass? But suddenly confusion reigns. Our little egg watches the other eggs become “longish,” and then—”What! What! What!”—they become longish. And it’s not even a minute later that—”OH MY CRIKEYS!” everyone is “bursting out of the Wibbly” except them. 

Illustration © 2025 by Jane McGuinness, text © 2025 by Sarah Tagholm. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

They try to call the others back, but it’s too late. Despite not wanting to, they break out of the wibbly too only to find that there’s so much more room now and, instead of relaxing, their friends are “water-flying.” They begin waggling their tale the same as everyone else and jet off too, only not as fast. Perhaps harkening back a moment or so to their younger self, they sharply regret the loss of doing relaxing: “We are too OLD for relaxing.” But they don’t have time for such reminiscences since a “hunger-muncher” is on the prowl. The extra impetus speeds up this little tadpole’s water-flying, and they’re happy to feel at last that “we are the same!” 

Always exceedingly alert if but a bit behind, the excitable tadpole suffers and then exults as the group and finally they themselves grow legs and arms. They become smug as they watch the others lose their tails “because now, I am the fasterest and my tail is not doing a shrinking!” They dart away, not realizing that they are also becoming a frog. 

Illustration © 2025 by Jane McGuinness, text © 2025 by Sarah Tagholm. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

When a passing water beetle points the baby frog to “the Up” during their search for their friends, they break the surface of the water only to . . . “OH MY CRIKEYS! The Up is BAD!” . . . come face to face with a “furry danger-monster.” But this intrepid frog musters all their courage to “do a water-flying to get away” and discovers “air-swimming,” much to the astonishment of their friends who are watching nearby. The friends are all so impressed that they want to “do air-swimming” and beg to be taught. Leading the way, our newly minted, rosy-cheeked frog proudly proclaims, “Now we ARE the same! WE ARE FROGS!” 

A factual account of the four steps of the frog life cycle follows the story.

Illustration © 2025 by Jane McGuinness, text © 2025 by Sarah Tagholm. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Who knew kids and frogs have so much in common? Sarah Tagholm, that’s who! As Tagholm taps into the idiosyncrasies of a frog’s metamorphosis, she also reassures human youngsters that everyone grows and develops at their own pace while encouraging them to accept challenges and embrace new experiences. Tagholm’s quirky and playful language bounces and zips from one unexpected development to the next, compressing time into hilarious juxtapositions as the little egg/tadpole/frog tries to keep up. Both kids and adults will laugh out loud at this young hero’s endearing pronouncements and cheer their eventual full assimilation into the group.

Adorable, expressive, and comical, Jane McGuinness’s lovely mixed-media illustrations, punctuated by her dynamic typography, buoyantly captures all the silly fun of Sarah Tagholm’s story while also clearly and empathetically depicting the emotions of the lovable narrator. Readers will have a blast diving into each frothy page to witness the transformation of these little tadpoles along with the snails and other creatures that call the pond home.

A tremendously joyful and rewarding read aloud that will instantly become an often-requested favorite, We Are the Wibbly! A Tadpole’s Tail is combined entertainment and learning at its best and a must for all home, classroom, and library collections. 

Ages 2 – 6

Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2025 | ISBN 978-1547615742

Reading is Funny Day Activity

Hop Along Matching Game

 

Hop along now and help these frogs! Each of these fantastic frogs has a twin, but they’ve gotten separated. Can you spot the identical pairs? Print out the Hop Along Matching Game and draw a line between the pairs.

You can purchase We Are the Wibbly!: A Tadpole’s Tail from these booksellers

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

Picture Book Review

March 24 – Cover Reveal for ARLO

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ARLO

Written by Sophia Gholz | Illustrated by MacKenzie Haley

 

ARLO works on the assembly line like the rest of the robots. But unlike the others, ARLO longs for something different. Then one day, a surprise changes everything. Follow this exciting adventure as ARLO discovers the unknown, learns home is where the metal heart is, and that “something different” can be created in many ways.

Meet Sophia Gholz

Sophia Gholz is an award-winning children’s book author, poet, magic seeker, and avid reader. Sophia enjoys writing fiction with humor and heart. When writing nonfiction, she pulls on her love of science and her strong family background in ecology. Since 2017, Sophia has helped oversee the Henry L. Gholz SEEDS National Field Trip Endowment for The Ecological Society of America, funding ecological field experiences for students. Sophia is the author of The Boy Who Grew a Forest: The True Story of Jadav Payeng, This is Your World: The Story of Bob Ross, Bug on the Rug, A History of Toilet Paper (And Other Potty Tools), Bear at the Fair, and more. When she’s not writing from her home base in Florida, you can find Sophia reading, visiting schools, or exploring the great outdoors with her family. For more, visit Sophia at: www.sophiagholz.com.

Hi Sophia, I’m so excited to be sharing the cover for your adorable book! Just look at that face! ARLO melts your heart! I’m also happy to be talking to you about how ARLO came to be and so much more. I can’t wait to get started!

Robots are both timeless and timely—and, of course, always kid-favorites!  What was the inspiration behind ARLO?

ARLO actually began as a writing exercise a decade ago, in May of 2014. At the time, the buzzword in the picture book world was “character,” and agents and editors were hungry for “character-driven pictures books.”

Now, I know authors aren’t supposed to write for the market. Instead, you write the story that suits you and hope it fits into the market. However, at that time I was still fresh to the world of picture book writing. I wasn’t agented or published. I was still learning how to craft a story and hadn’t studied much on character building. So, I took the buzzword of the day and decided I wanted to explore that idea. In doing so, I created a metal bot that longed to swim, but couldn’t because—as the line when in my original manuscript said—“His boots sink like bricks, his gears rust, and oil and water don’t mix.”

Similar to the ARLO of today, this original bot worked on a factory assembly line and longed for something different. But unlike ARLO, that original bot had eight arms (like an octopus) and because he loved water, I called him Robotopus. It took me over a decade, 60+ drafts, and so many different variations to finally find ARLO at the heart of this story. And that is exactly why you don’t write for the market and instead write for yourself. It wasn’t until I let go of what I thought this story needed to be and allowed it to become what it was naturally that it clicked.

Growing up, did you have a favorite robot character in books, TV, or movies? What was it about that robot that you liked best?

I’ve always been a huge techy/sci-fi and fantasy fan! One of my favorite childhood movies was called Flight of the Navigator. I loved that film as a kid and it definitely sparked my interest in out-of-this-world robots at a young age. Flash forward, my daughter was on a competitive robotics team in school and that continued to fuel my love. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout out Disney’s WALL-E here. That little bot stole my heart from the get-go! In fact, I pitched ARLO’s story as “WALL-E meets The Wizard of Oz.”

Can you talk a little about the journey of this book from idea to publication?

Some books pour out in final form within a matter of hours. Other books take years. ARLO was one of the latter. The first draft was written in May of 2014. I’m one of those writers who likes to save all of their drafts as I revise in case I need to pull something from or revert back to a previous version of a story. So, it’s pretty easy for me to look back now and see exactly how this story changed and shifted over the years.

From the first draft, I fell in love with my little robot. I knew from the start he worked in an industrial factory, but needed nature and longed for something different. In those first drafts, my robot wanted to swim and he used his factory skills for building a suit to help him achieve that goal. That original story actually won an SCBWI Rising Kite Award in 2017. Still, I knew it was missing something. Like my little bot, the story longed for something more. I just couldn’t figure out what that was.

I eventually shelved this manuscript as I focused on other projects. But my bot lived on in my mind. Over the course of ten years, while I was in between other projects, I’d pull this manuscript out of the drawer and completely rework it again and again. Robotopus became Robbie, then Robotika, who morphed into Zigbee, then Ozzy, and ARO, who finally led me to ARLO.

It wasn’t until I let go of the idea of swimming (which I held onto for SOOOO long) and allowed ARLO to tell me what he wanted instead of me telling him, that his story finally poured out in late 2019. But in 2019, two things happened simultaneously: 1) my first book (a nonfiction book titled The Boy Who Grew a Forest) was released and 2) the pandemic struck. As a result, ARLO was shelved again, and it would be another two years before his story would be sent to editors for consideration.

When Sarah Rockett at Sleeping Bear Press made an offer, I jumped on it. I didn’t want the manuscript going anywhere else. Sleeping Bear makes such beautiful books and I knew Sarah really understood this character and the heart of ARLO’s journey.

Tell me about the first time you saw MacKenzie’s cover for ARLO.

I have loved MacKenzie’s art since I first saw it in The Scariest Kitten in the World. I was ecstatic when my editor, suggested MacKenzie as the artist to bring ARLO’s story to life. As soon as her name was floated, I couldn’t think of a better artist for this book.

When I first saw her cover sketch, I squealed in delight. I had no idea what to expect and Mackenzie completely nailed it. I mean, she really knew how to bring ARLO’s personality out and how to capture our little bot’s heart. I cannot wait for readers to immerse themselves in MacKezie’s art and ARLO’s world!

Since your first book The Boy Who Grew a Forest: The True Story of Jadev Payeng was published in 2019, you’ve written about a beloved artist, a famous paleontologist, a bug in a rug, a hangry bear, and even the evolution of toilet paper. These books have been recognized with multiple state and national awards. What do these honors mean to you?

When I began writing, I set out to complete one book. That was my only goal. I was a hopeful writer who wanted to know if I was even capable of crafting or sharing a story I loved. The fact that some of those stories actually became books that have been received in the way they have, is far beyond my wildest dreams. To say I am incredibly grateful, would be a vast understatement.

To this day, each time I sit at my desk, I question again if I’m capable. As an artist, you hope other people will love your art the way you do but that is far from guaranteed. I completely panic every time I release a new book. No matter how much time passes from that first story, I’m still just that girl, sitting behind a keyboard, hoping to complete a manuscript and praying someone out there might like it.

The last time we chatted, you were just getting started as a published author. Your career has really taken off since then. What do like best about being a children’s author? What have you found to be the most surprising?

I’m thankful you’ve been on this journey with me since the start! It feels so good to be back on the blog with you now.

As an author, there is nothing more gratifying than having a reader connect with your story or your character in some way. I absolutely love hearing from readers or seeing the spark in their eyes when I visit them in schools or events. Honestly, there’s nothing better than that.

The most surprising has been navigating book bans and political controversy. When I heard A History of Toilet Paper had been banned in some circles or when I got word from PEN America that Bug on the Rug had been flagged in Florida a while back, I was floored. I’m over here just trying to share stories I love. Call me naïve, but I had no idea how much people might pick them apart in search of negativity.

From the pictures of school, bookstores, and workshop appearances on your website, it’s clear you and the kids have a blast when you visit. Can you talk a little about what you do during a school visit? 

I love visiting schools and hosting author events. This past year, unfortunately, I had to cancel most of my appearances as my daughter went through some very scary health issues. Thankfully, we are on the other side of that now and I’m looking forward to reconnecting with everyone!

I’m not an educator by nature (shout out to all the amazing teachers out there!!!) and don’t know much about school curriculums. So, for me, I love to talk with people about the art of storytelling and finding inspiration in everyday life. One of my favorite things to do is work with an audience to create a story in real time during a visit.

What are you hoping kids will take away from this book?

ARLO is ultimately about finding yourself, learning to embrace differences, and stepping outside of your comfort zone. I hope readers of all ages will find inspiration in ARLO’s adventure.

When can readers look forward to seeing ARLO on bookstore shelves? Do you have tour or other plans you’d like to share?

 ARLO will be released August 1st, 2025 and is available now for preorder anywhere books are sold! Keep an eye out on my website for upcoming events and signings: sophiagholz.com.

Thanks, Sophia, for sharing so much about your journey with ARLO and your inspirations! It’s obvious that ARLO is very well loved!

Meet MacKenzie Haley

MacKenzie Haley is an award-winning illustrator born, raised, and living in Louisville, Kentucky with her two cats, Booger and Abby. She is the illustrator of Dolly Parton’s Billy the Kid series, as well as A Book for Bear, and The Scariest Kitten in the World. When she’s not drawing or playing with her cats, she can be found spending time with her friends and family, and learning what’s currently “cool” from her twelve-year-old niece, and eight-year-old nephew. To learn more about MacKenzie and view adorable “bits and bobs,” comics, and more, visit her at mackenziehaley.com. 

Hi Haley! I just fell in love with ARLO the moment I saw him, so I’m thrilled to get to talk to you about how you brought ARLO to life and all the considerations that go into creating illustrations for a picture book. I’ve also gotta know about the kitties you’ve fostered, but let’s start with ARLO.

What drew you to this project?

When I first got the ARLO manuscript, I immediately appreciated the idea of this little robot having the very human experience of daily mundanity. No matter how much we love our day job, our family, our friends, sometimes the day-to-day gets hard and we lose ourselves in that daily grind. The fact that ARLO is literally swept away into a whole new world, specifically into nature, was a reminder that as humans we can get stuck in our day-to-day existence, and begin to take things for granted, to let ourselves get run down. It reminded me that we need to go outside and appreciate the natural world around us. Take time to breathe and experience nature. When we do that, we bring some of that back into our daily lives, and it can change our daily experiences for the better, just like it does for ARLO.

Can you describe your process in creating and choosing this endearing cover image?

To start with, I’ve had good and not-so-good experiences in the past creating covers. I guess every illustrator has! In my earlier years I had publishers shut down my ideas for the cover and want me to just create their vision. When that would happen, the end result was usually not something I was happy with, or that I felt served the book very well. In more recent years I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some wonderful publishers and art directors who value my input and let me explore ideas and take the lead.

Creating the cover for ARLO was a really great example of the collaboration between myself and the publisher/art director/editor. Looking back, I can see I started the cover a bit more guarded than I realized. I can get too attached to my ideas, and sometimes feel like I’m losing my voice in how an image turns out when someone asks me to make certain changes that I’m not sure about at first.

Working with Sleeping Bear Press taught me that there is a good balance to be struck between having an idea you really like, and leaving room for creative feedback and space for positive changes. Not to be so precious with my ideas or images, so that when suggestions are made with a good team, I can step back and really hear what they are saying and work that into the cover vision. For example, I initially kept making ARLO too small in the cover sketches I was creating. So Jennifer took the time to talk with me on the phone and explain what they were looking for, and we were able to come up with an image that really showcases the main character, while hinting at the world he discovers in the story. I learned a lot throughout this process, and I’m really grateful for their endless patience with me.

Did you always want to be a children’s illustrator? How did your career begin?

Growing up, money was really tight. There was a time when my mom and dad didn’t buy themselves any new clothes for two years, but they made sure that I always had a full bookcase and a constantly growing little library of my own. I treasured those books and carry that love of books with me today. Each book was a little world I could explore and get lost in.

That being said, growing up I never realized you could make a living creating art. There was no one in my family’s sphere who did that, and I just didn’t know it was a possibility. I kept making art as I grew up though, and learned that there were jobs as artists. I got my BFA with an emphasis in illustration from The University of Dayton in 2002. While I always loved children’s books, I had no idea how to get into that field, so I cast my net wide and tried to get any and all illustration freelance jobs I could. I had a day job this whole time because my freelance income wasn’t paying my bills.

Around 2005 or 2006 I realized I needed to focus on one aspect of illustration. I had no idea how difficult the children’s book market was to break into, so I naively chose that, haha! I’ve heard it said that you don’t know what you can’t do if no one ever tells you. So I worked on my portfolio, submitted to agents, got rejected, worked on my portfolio some more, submitted again, and got rejected. I kept doing this, improving each round, until I finally got an agent in 2017. I was able to quit my day job in 2018 and have been illustrating children’s books full time ever since then!

What have you found to be the most rewarding aspect of being a children’s illustrator?

Seeing a book completed at the very end is such an incredible feeling and makes all the hard work worth every minute. To know that the author and I created this brand new thing where nothing existed before is an amazing feeling. The other most rewarding thing is hearing from parents or kids themselves about how much a book means to them, how much they like a book or what kind of impact it’s had on them. I remember being little and how important books were to me, how much I cherished them. I feel honored that I am able to be a part of children’s lives like that.

When you are given a manuscript for a picture book, what are your first considerations and how do you go about creating a detailed world for the story?

When I first get a manuscript, I read through it a number of times without trying to make any decisions, to just absorb the story. When I first started illustrating books, I didn’t really know what I was doing or have any kind of plan. That’s changed throughout the years, learning what works best for me and seeing what helps me create the best books I can.

For ARLO, I took a more holistic approach, considering characters, color palettes, emotional tones and shifts. The first thing a publisher usually wants are sketches for the main characters. This was the case with ARLO, but for this story I took it further. I listed all of the characters, distilled the main message of the story, and noted what the characters were feeling and when, along with the major emotional shifts in the book. The robots are characters in this story, but I also considered the two worlds or environments as characters as well—the factory and nature. I wanted a color shift to occur throughout the book. The factory was created using almost exclusively neutral colors, with a pop of bright blue here and there, hinting at the natural world ARLO would explore later (the bird he follows in the story is bright blue).

Illustration © 2025 by MacKenzie Haley, text © 2025 by Sophia Gholz. Courtesy of Sleeping Bear Press.

The shift from neutrals in the factory to an explosion of bright, bold colors in nature was really important. The neutrals portray the mundanity of ARLO’s daily life in the beginning of the story, and at the end when he has learned from his adventure, he brings the brightness from nature into the factory, and we see neutrals and bright colors together, indicating in a visual way how ARLO’s and the robots’ daily lives are more fulfilling and happy now. Colors carry such emotional weight, and my hope is that the reader feels this as they progress through the story.

Illustration © 2025 by MacKenzie Haley, text © 2025 by Sophia Gholz. Courtesy of Sleeping Bear Press.

What was your favorite part of creating ARLO’s world?

My favorite part was creating ARLO himself. I had so much fun playing with basic shapes and forms and fun little details, such as the little compartments he has and what tools would pop out of them. But I also loved creating the outside world almost as much as ARLO. To make the flowers, I scanned in hand-painted swatches of watercolor, collaged shapes from them digitally in photoshop, and then drew on top of those shapes. I got to explore a lot and try several different things to see what worked best and what I was happiest with. It was a really fun process! I think the watercolor texture is a good contrast to the sleek metallics of the factory world.

Your bio on your website reveals that you’ve fostered around twelve cats and are a cat mom to two. How did you begin fostering cats? Your illustrations of cats are so adorable and true to cats’ goofy and sweet personalities. Do you use your own cats as inspiration? Will readers be meeting any kitties in ARLO?

I fostered my first kitties 13 or 14 years ago. At the time Louisville Metro’s animal shelter system had a really high kill rate. I didn’t have much money to donate, and they said the next best thing was to foster. They have food banks to cover that cost, and local vets who spay/neuter the cats for free, and take care of deworming, fleas, etc. I walked into the shelter that first day, having one cat at home, thinking to myself “okay, you get to foster one cat.” I ended up walking out of there with a huge crate holding a mom cat and her five one-day-old kittens. I obviously didn’t stick to my plan! I had asked them what their most immediate or urgent case was, expecting maybe a difficult or older cat. When they introduced me to mom cat and her kittens though, I couldn’t say no. I’m a sucker for kitties!

I definitely use my own cats for inspiration. The kitten in The Scariest Kitten in the World is basically my white cat, Booger. She’s so goofy and playful. She was one of the kittens in that first foster group I had, so I’ve known her since she was one day old. She would crawl up on my lap while I was working on an illustration and fall asleep, while the other kittens were playing with each other. I fell in love immediately. I think the situation is more that I’m her human, rather than that she is my cat. I adore her. There aren’t any kitties in ARLO. I should have tried to sneak one in! But there are some woodland creatures the readers will see along the way!

What would you like readers to take with them from your illustrations for ARLO?

I think I would like them to take away the idea of what an amazing wonder nature is, what a gift we have right in front of us, and what it can add to all of our lives. Just being outside for even five minutes a day, breathing in fresh air, feeling the sun on your skin, it all makes such a huge difference. I think it’s something humans crave and need to be whole and happy.

Thank you so much, MacKenzie, for this wonderful, in-depth look at your career in illustration and your process in creating ARLO’s world! I’m so looking forward to August 1, when readers everywhere will be able to bring ARLO home with them.

If you’re as eager to read ARLO as I am, you can preorder the book at these booksellers and from Sleeping Bear Press. ARLO will be released on August 1.

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

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