Lauri Fortino's Blog, page 9

Congratulations to ALA’s 2023 Youth Media Award Winners! Here Are the Caldecott Winner and Honor Books!

The 2023 Caldecott Medal Winner

Four Caldecott Honor Books

To see the list of all the 2023 Youth Media Award winners or to watch the recorded webcast of the awards ceremony, click HERE. Congratulations to all of the winners!

Polka Dots and Book Design: How a Clever Board Book Was Conceptualized, Featuring Artist Morissa Rubin (+ a Giveaway)

Please welcome graphic designer and author/illustrator Morissa Rubin to Frog on a Blog. I absolutely love her clever new board book Dot, Dot, Polka Dot, which features colorful and fun patterns from around the world. Her eye-catching style is so unique, and the illustrations in this book are super engaging and are sure to delight your little ones as they explore 12 different patterns, from the familiar diamond shapes of argyle to the fish-like triangles of Uroko. I wanted to learn how Dot, D...

“Picture Books for Grieving Families” by Jayne Pillemer

Today is Children’s Grief Awareness Day, which is more than just a day, it’s a movement dedicated to helping support grieving children. (For more information and ways that you can help, click HERE.)

One way that we can all help grieving children is by reading comforting picture books with them, which brings me to today’s guest.

Please welcome Jayne Pillemer to Frog on a Blog! Jayne turned from editing children’s books to writing them! Her touching debut picture book Still Mine, featuring ...

Up Close and Personal With Susanna L. Hill and Betsy Snyder (+ a Giveaway!)

You can alpha-bet that I’m P-U-M-P-E-D to be a stop on the ALPHABEDTIME Blog Tour! As a matter of fact, Frog on a Blog is the final stop of the tour, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome author Susanna Hill and illustrator Betsy Snyder here to wrap things up in a super enjoyable way!

To visit the other blog tour stops, click the image above!

Make sure you read the whole post because there’re lots of goodies to explore, including Susanna and Betsy’s fun, informal interview; an adorable...

Reminder: It’s Never Too Late To Go After Your Dreams

Today’s guest is multi-published illustrator Phyllis Harris. Over the years, Phyllis has illustrated many books for children, but she always dreamed of writing and illustrating her own books. Last year, at age 59, her dream came true with the publication of her beautiful Christmas picture book The Gift Shop Bear. This darling book features a magical holiday story with illustrations to match. Phyllis stopped by to remind us that it’s never too late to go after your dreams. That’s a reminder we co...

Interview Alert: Laura Sassi

I’m thrilled to welcome multi-published children’s book author Laura Sassi back to Frog on a Blog! Laura first appeared here in 2018 when we were a stop on her blog tour for her beautiful picture book Love is Kind, when she introduced us to Little Owl, her story time puppet. Read about how Laura uses puppets to engage young readers HERE. Laura’s returned today to share a bit about herself and her darling new board book Happy Birthday, Christmas Child!: A Counting Nativity Book, which publ...

Understanding Ourselves and Others: 11 Social-Emotional Learning Books for Back-to-School by Lisa Rogers

I’m excited to welcome fellow literacy supporter and animal lover Lisa Rogers to Frog on a Blog today! Lisa is a children’s librarian turned children’s book author and has published several books with several more on the way. It’s no surprise that she loves books and reading and writing “from the shores of a pond outside of Boston, Massachusetts (and sometimes from on the pond itself, where I kayak almost every day in summer).” Lisa stopped by today to share 11 beautiful recent social-emotional ...

Happy Book Birthday to BRAINSTORM! by Rebecca Gardyn Levington!

Title: Brainstorm!

Author: Rebecca Gardyn Levington

Illustrator: Kate Kronreif

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press

Release Date: August 3, 2022

Format: Hardcover

Summary: When it’s time to write in class, one child feels like she has absolutely nothing to say. But suddenly—ker-plink!—one drop, one tiny thought, hits her. Before long, she’s caught in a shower of funny phrases, a whirlwind of adjectives and verbs, and a downpour of huge ideas. BOOM, CRASH! It’s a gigantic brainsto...

Heartwarming Picture Books about Sibling Relationships by Debra Westgate-Silva

I’m happy to welcome children’s book author Debra Westgate-Silva to Frog on a Blog! Debra’s delightful picture book Bethlehem Barn published just last year. She’s worked in public education for many years, as well as in child advocacy and welfare. Debra’s stopped by today with a fabulous list of some of her favorite sibling-themed picture books. I love this list! Let’s hear more from Debra!

Debra Westgate-Silva is a middle child and the mother of twins.  She is the ...

“Finding the Funny” by Jennifer Buchet + PB Critique Giveaway!

I’m thrilled to feature children’s book author Jennifer Buchet on Frog on a Blog today! Her book Little Medusa’s Hair Do-Lemma is just so clever and is gorgeously illustrated by Cassie Chancy. When I spoke with Jennifer about writing a guest post, she suggested sharing how she was able to turn a notorious villain into a funny character, and I absolutely loved that idea. If you’re a picture book writer, you’re sure to find her story illuminating. Be sure to read to the end for information ...