Happy Book Birthday to ALL These Incredible Titles!!

Happy Book Birthday to ALL These Incredible Titles!!

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It’s here, it’s here, it’s here!! My book releases today! Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme, written by me and illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi, edited by Maria Russon, art directed by Amelia Mack, agented by Stephen Barbara and Stephen Barr, publicized by Nathan Siegel and a whole team of other people, and so many other people who were integral to its creation!

But you know what? Book birthdays are great and all. You get to tell people about your upcoming book release parties (Booked in Evanston, Illinois on Saturday, April 5th at 10:30). And you get to mention your cool reviews (including a star in PW and a nice recent review in the Wall Street Journal). Still, they can be a bit lonely.

Happy book birthday to me.

*tweet*

You know what’s more fun?

Celebrating a book birthday with OTHER books having the same book birthdays!!!!

Today, I want to celebrate POP! by talking about all the other cool books that are releasing today. You can see a whole slew of them in this nice Publishers Weekly round-up but even PW can miss some goodies. These are the ones that I really love (as well as a few I’d like to see firsthand because I’m curious about them):

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO…

Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la Papa by Sara Andrea Fajardo, ill. Juana Martinez-Neal

Agricultural scientist Alberto Salas is on the hunt… for potatoes. If he finds them, they could help to feed the world. If he misses them, they might go extinct! A glorious introduction to a little known science told with fun and whimsy. Ach. This is how you do it, people. You take a serious subject and you find the kid-friendly element in it that will make it alluring to them while sneakily teaching them something along the way. Turning the research of Alberto Salas into a game of seek-and-find isn’t hard at all, and Fajardo really knows how to tap into the fun of it all while retaining the serious nature of Salas’s work. Martinez-Neal took a little break and is back better than ever, her art just leaping off the page. And then… there is the backmatter. The glorious glorious backmatter. This is everything an informational picture book should strive to be. Bonus: Simultaneously available in a Spanish edition as well! 

We Are the Wibbly! A Tadpole’s Tail by Sarah Tagholm, ill. Jane McGuinness

“Oh my crikeys!” A tadpole watches the changes in its friends and tries desperately to catch up in this clever encapsulation of the life cycle of a frog.  There is a moment at the beginning of this book when you first encounter author Sarah Tagholm’s odd little words and it catches you off guard. “We are eggs. We are egg friends. We are the Wibbly. We float and we are all very relaxing. It is niceable.” So at that point my brain is asking, “Is this fun or is this twee?” And knowing myself as I do, I suspect that I’m going to fall on the “twee” side of the equation. But then as I read on, I just got into this book. I mean I REALLY got into this book. Because, yes, it is about the life cycle of a frog, but what it’s really about is that kid who’s always just a little behind everyone else. I felt that SO hard. And then I discovered that on top of that, the language that Tagholm is using works amazing well. The book is hilarious, it has some fantastic art that accompanies the text perfectly, AND it acknowledges the fact that frogs get friggin’ eaten all the time. There’s some cursory backmatter, but since this is a straight up fictional picture book with informational content, I’m happy with whatever Tagholm wants to provide. This is great!

The Boy Who Lived in a Shell: Snippets for Wandering Minds by John Himmelman

Hope you like poetry because there is a LOT releasing today! Once there was a boy named Ivo who lived in a giant moon snail shell on a beach. Read the poems he writes on the wall of the shell, in this ribald, witty, and occasional touching collection. Okay, I don’t even know how to predict what John Himmelman is going to do next anymore. When I was first starting out as a children’s librarian he was basically known primarily for picture books like the incredible, fantastic, and never-to-be-forgotten Katie Loves the Kittens. Then he takes some time, pivots, and does that incredible wackadoodle early chapter book series on Albert Hopper. But then I go to his website and apparently the man is also prone to doing YA and middle grade and THEN he apparently noticed that there were a couple slots empty on his bingo card, so he’s come to us with a book of poetry. And not just any poetry either. GOOD poetry. Like, high quality this-is-better-than-90%-of-kids-poetry-out-there poetry. I’m not going to say that every single poem in here is equal in greatness, but you couldn’t say that for Shel Silverstein, for crying out loud. You’ll note the blurb from Chris Harris (My Head Has a Bellyache) on the back. That’s deserved. THIS is the poetry book of 2025 you don’t want to miss.

In the Desert by David Elliott, ill. Gordy Wright

Come to the Sahara! Meet the creatures that make this arid location their home. Clever poetry and eye-catching art combine to make clear the desert’s allure. You know, every year that David Elliott puts out one of these landscape-oriented works of poetry (be it In the Woods, At the Pond, On the Farm, In the Wild, In the Sea, or my personal favorite At the Poles) I try to tamp down my expectations. I tell myself that this new book isn’t going to be as good as the ones that came before… and then I’m proven wrong yet again! Mr. Elliott is just good at what he does. He creates poetry that is short, sweet, to the point, funny, and original. His is the BEST kind of poetry for kids unfamiliar with the form, honestly. Plenty of cool pictures (courtesy this time of one rather Scottish Gordy Wright) and loads of facts worked in there on the sly. There’s also always at least one fact that catches me by surprise. This time: The fact that dung beetles navigate by the stars. Hubba wha?

Words with Wings and Magic Things by Matthew Burgess, ill. Doug Salati

A clever, silly, smart, hilarious, touching, and ultimately magical collection of poems. Dive through the die-cut portals into all new worlds! There’s a lot to really love and admire in this Burgess/Salati collaboration. First up, we don’t see a ton of die-cuts outside of picture books and board books. Salati uses them here to massively great effect. In fact, if I’m going to be honest about it, Salati is on fire with this book! It’s like he won that Caldecott and decided to just start swinging for the moon every chance he got. The die-cut page turns are consistently impressive, and he elevates Burgess’s already dang good poetry to another level with these incredible full-color two-page spreads. The poetry is at its best, to my mind, in the final “Whispers and Well Wishers” section, where it gets strange and sweet and introspective. Still, even the silly poems can be exceedingly clever (I’m particularly fond of the poem “Hair Care” which starts with shampoo and then discusses Shampizzy, Shampower, and Shampunk). A cut above the rest.

And then there are the ones I haven’t had a chance to read yet but can’t wait to. Their descriptions come from their publishers:

Echo by Adam Rex

Everyone always agrees with Junior, including the mysterious voice from across the valley.

“Junior Junior is the greatest in the world!” he shouts.
“Junior Junior is the greatest in the world!” the echo shouts back.

Until one day, a new girl moves in next door. A disagreeable, rude girl who doesn’t think Junior is right all the time. Unable to stand living next door to someone like that, Junior runs to the valley to meet his echo. But when being around someone who agrees with him all the time is less fun than he imagines, Junior must decide if a new friend is worth admitting he was wrong.

I Witnessed: The Lizzie Borden Story by Jeramy Kraatz, ill. Crystal Jayme

Fourteen-year-old Charlie Churchill witnesses a murder at his next-door neighbor’s house and uses what he witnessed to help the police find the murderer, even facing the prime suspect, Lizzie Borden, accused of killing her own father and stepmother.

Monty and the Mushrooms by Dev Petty, ill. Jared Chapman

Everyone knows mushrooms are the loudest creatures in the forest. They’re why worms go underground and birds have wings—to get away from the noise!

Everyone also knows marmots love quiet, especially irritable ones like Monty. All is well until he gets boisterous, cheerful, mushroom neighbors, with their endless mushroom jokes, mushroom poetry, and mushroom songs. What’s a marmot to do?

Rap It Up by Carole Boston Weatherford and Jeffrey Boston Weatherford, ill. Ernel Martinez

Joyful text guides readers through the emotions, literary techniques, structures and motifs that go into the poetry and craft of rap, in a book that invites people to express themselves and let the world hear what they have to say.

Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale From a Little Cave by Drew Beckmeyer

Two cave nubs, Stalactite and Stalagmite, witness the history of the world together, including watching a trilobite, an ichthyostega, a triceratops, a ground sloth and a bat pass through their cave, and eventually grow enough to finally touch.

Whale Eyes by James Robinson, ill. Brian Rea

Told through an experimental mix of intimate anecdotes and interactive visuals, this book immerses readers in James’s point of view, allowing them to see the world through his disabling eye conditions.

Readers will get lost as they chase words. They’ll stare into this book while taking a vision test. They’ll hold it upside down as they practice “pretend-reading”…and they’ll follow an unlikely trail toward discovering the power of words.

With poignant illustrations by Eisner Award–nominated artist Brian Rea, James’s story equips readers of all ages with the tools to confront their discomfort with disability and turn confused, blank stares into powerful connections.

Happy book birthday to one and all!!

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Fin M’Coul, the Giant of Knockmany Hill by Tomie de Paola

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! You know, this year my library decided to reassess our holidays and in the course of things St. Patrick’s Day got booted from the roster. Why? Because, to be perfectly frank, the number of decent St. Patrick’s Day books that come out for kids in a given year is next to none. Smaller than small. For that reason (and because we’ve covered SO MANY of the usual suspects on our podcast already) I decided to turn once again to the classic fable of Finn McCool or Fin M’Coul or however you like to spell it. Episode 307 was the last time we tackled this particular folktale, and that book was Finn MacCoul and his Fearless Wife by Robert Byrd. How will this book differ? Is it better? Worse? The same? Find out!

Listen to the whole show here on Soundcloud or download it through iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, PlayerFM, Audible, Amazon Music, or your preferred method of podcast selection.

Show Notes:

My book is out tomorrow! Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme! Find yourself a copy!

And here is the clown book I couldn’t get my hands on.

I allude to the latest Tomie dePaola book during our podcast. I interviewed its illustrator Barbara McClintock about the book not so long ago. You can read it all here.

This horse man… he’s seen things. Clearly he needs some kind of therapy.

There’s one on the back of the book as well.

I got oddly fond of the tiny leprechauns and fairies in the margins of this book as well.

A drop spindle! Interesting. Any idea how accurate is this, folks? Shouldn’t there be roving going to her fingers? Still, looks pretty good to me overall.

Tonight, the part of Cucullin will be played by… Danny DeVito.

I legitimately love this image of Fin M’Coul running for the high hills as Cucullin knocks the crap out of some random other giant.

Remember the leprechauns? They apparently just chill in the giants’ home all the time.

It’s cool how the cat is hanging out on Fin’s foot. Then again, the cat looks like it’s almost the same size as the sheep. Depth is hard to determine here, though.

Tomie dePaola was such a cool artist. I mean, he’ll just casually put something like this odd (and probably authentic) candleholder in the frame and hope you notice it.

For this plan to work, Oonagh needs to have already had giant baby clothes and a giant cradle just ready and waiting to be used. I love that she did. THAT is a prepared woman!

Again, love how those leprechauns hide from Cucullin under the giant cradle.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Fight Cucullin.

Kate Recommends: The nice clerks at Trader Joe’s

Betsy Recommends: A Real Pain

A Pumphrey Brothers Cover Reveal! Conversation and a Peek at The Old Sleigh

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Well, I couldn’t resist. I’m just having too much fun with these cover reveals and Q&As these days. And when I get the chance to premiere the Pumphrey brothers’ latest picture book? AND it’s a follow up to The Old Truck and The Old Boat? AND it’s got this crazy beautiful gold foil on the cover?

Folks, I’m only human.

Today, it is my delight and honor to give you a sneak peek into THE OLD SLEIGH (on sale 11/4/25). Or, as the publisher likes to describe it:

“On a cold winter’s night of deep snow, an old sleigh delivers needful things—firewood for warmth, joyous rides through the snow, presents for loved ones. But as the town takes these gifts, the sleigh is given less care and lies broken and abandoned—until another snowbound night and a new family give the old sleigh new life and purpose. The Old Sleigh delivers heart, hope, and holiday cheer in a magical companion to The Old Truck and The Old Boat sure to become a newly beloved classic.”

Folks, please put your hands together for Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey!!

Betsy Bird: Jarrett and Jerome! A million thanks for joining us today! And congrats on THE OLD SLEIGH’s imminent release! Just to get down to basics, where did the idea for a sleigh, particularly, come from? 

Jarrett Pumphrey: Betsy! Thanks for having us. Always a pleasure.

Jerome Pumphrey: Yes, thank you! As for where the idea for a sleigh came from, well, it came from Jarrett. He can explain what he was thinking.

Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey

Jarrett: I can remember exactly when I first thought about old sleighs. It was February 15, 2021. Overnight, everything in Central Texas where we live froze. We got more snow than I’ve ever seen in Texas. Texas had become a winter wonderland. But the thing is, Texas didn’t know how to be a winter wonderland. Roads closed. Trees iced up. Power lines came down. It seemed like the whole state was shut down. THE OLD TRUCK had been out for about a year, and we were just about to release THE OLD BOAT. Old trucks and boats were very top of mind. But all the trucks (and boats) in Texas wouldn’t have beaten a sleigh in weather like that. And just like that, I had old sleighs on the brain. But we told ourselves no matter what, our next book would not be an old vehicle book. We didn’t want to become known as those guys who make books about old things. So we sat on it for a holiday season, did a few other projects, and then when we thought maybe it was time, we waited some more just to be sure. Then at a school visit, a kid asked us if we’d thought about making a book about an old bus. A teacher suggested an old train (we got lots of old trains, especially from adults). We even got a couple old rockets, which was interesting. THE OLD SLEIGH was there waiting patiently when we finally accepted what everyone else already seemed to see–we like old stuff. Especially old stuff we connect with personally. I don’t know that we’d have a story about an old sleigh if it weren’t for that freakish Texas winter of 2021.

BB: I love all of that, though I am a little sad you haven’t done an Old Rocket yet. Of course, you’ve a particular feel for old things falling into disrepair and then later given new life. Not simply with THE OLD TRUCK and THE OLD BOAT but also on books you didn’t write like THE LAST STAND (though in that case it’s an old farmer’s market). In the case of TRUCK, BOAT, and SLEIGH I’m reminded of classic children’s book creators like Virginia Lee Burton. When you first wrote THE OLD TRUCK was anyone else’s work on your mind at all? And why do you gravitate towards these tales of redemption? 

Jerome: We both love Virginia Lee Burton’s work so much. Jarrett actually has some of her original artwork framed in the studio. But I think our deep appreciation really came after so many people compared THE OLD TRUCK to THE LITTLE HOUSE, which was beyond flattering. That said, we can’t say her work was on our minds as we were creating. Instead, we were thinking more about capturing the simplicity and wonder that you see in the work of Ezra Jack Keats. We even paid a visual tribute to THE SNOWY DAY with the style of bed in the bedroom scene of THE OLD TRUCK.

More broadly, with all of our books, we try to create the kinds of stories we would have loved as children—stories with images that hopefully feel as charming and enduring as the ones we remember from the books our mom read to us. And the way influences work, I have no doubt that Virginia Lee Burton’s books, along with many other classics, have shaped the way we tell stories.

As for why we’re drawn to these tales of redemption—there’s just something powerful about things that endure. Whether it’s an old truck, boat, sleigh, or even a farmer’s market, there’s meaning in something being cared for, restored, and given a new purpose. I think that reflects how we see the world: objects carry history, and with time, care, and imagination, they can find new life. That idea is at the heart of so many of our stories.

Jarrett: What Jerome said. And I’ll just add that in addition to the classics percolating in the background as we made THE OLD TRUCK, we were also a little obsessed with reading everything we could get our hands on from those who would be our contemporaries. Just four of the many books I remember returning to over and over again: DU IZ TAK? by Carson Ellis, THEY ALL SAW A CAT by Brendan Wenzel, THE LITTLE BARBARIAN by Renato Moriconi, and SAM AND DAVE DIG A HOLE by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen.

BB: Excellent choices, one and all. THE OLD SLEIGH times out well for the holiday season as a wintery but non-denominational choice. I gotta ask it: Do you have any sleigh memories of your own? For that matter, did you happen to do any sleigh-related research for this book? 

Jarrett: The only sleigh memories I have are of our mom, who was trying her best to make the rather hot and humid Texas holidays a little more magical, taking us for wagon rides. A wagon ride kinda counts as a sleigh ride if you go at night and the fairgrounds puts up twinkly lights and somehow keeps all the fake snow from melting away before your turn. It was a little thing. It didn’t take much. The sleigh rides weren’t real but the magic was and those memories of tradition and connection are. That’s what’s stuck around long after the fake snow melted.

Jerome: As for research, we always immerse ourselves in the worlds we create. For THE OLD SLEIGH, that meant looking at historic sleigh designs, studying how people cared for and restored them, and understanding the role sleighs played in winter communities. That research helped us ground the story in something real, even though its heart comes from something more abstract—the way traditions carry meaning across time.

There’s also a lot of firewood cutting happening in this book. This past winter my wife and I spent a lot of time doing land clearing, cutting up firewood and clearing out fallen trees on our property that we moved to about a year ago. We bought a bunch of axes and chainsaws and learned what it takes to make an 8 ft pile of firewood. I’m not at lumberjack level, but I’m counting that as research too.

BB: Well, naturally. And you’ve been perfecting your style for quite some time now. Was there anything you did differently with this title? 

Jerome: We used our same printmaking method that we’ve developed over the years using craft foam stamps, but one thing that may have been different is that for this book, I designed the stamps and Jarret crafted all of them. We separated the roles for efficiency this time.

Jarrett: Hopefully, if you loved THE OLD TRUCK, you’ll love this one too.

BB: One might look at THE OLD SLEIGH and figure you’ve finished your trilogy. Do you envision  more “OLD” books on the horizon, or are you stopping here with this final foray? 

Jerome: For now, we don’t envision another one and a trilogy feels just right. But I don’t think we’d rule it out if inspiration strikes.

Jarrett: Yeah, won’t say never. Who knows, maybe a meteorite lands freakishly close to my house and sends me down a rabbit hole about space and asteroid wrangling and I get old rockets on the brain. Who knows!

BB: Oo! Now you have me hoping for harmless meteorites! Finally, what else do you have coming out these days? What’s next for you after SLEIGH?

Jarrett: Out July 1, we’ve got LINK + HUD: SHARKS AND MINNOWS, the second book in our format-bending chapter book/graphic novel hybrid series about two brothers with active imaginations. And then after THE OLD SLEIGH, we’ve got more LINK + HUD in book 3, plus more picture books!

Jerome: I also have another picture book coming out this year called SO MANY YEARS: A JUNETEENTH STORY, written by Anne Wynter, published by Clarion Books, which will be released on May 6, 2025. For the illustrations I used acrylic paint on wood board which was new for me. Excited for this one to come out!

Jarrett: Jerome won’t gush about his own work, but I certainly will. It’s beautiful. Jerome and Anne have made a gorgeous book!

Awww. See? That’s some sweet brotherly love right there.

Well, you’ve all been very patient so here’s the cover I keep telling you about:

Gigantic thanks to Jerome and Jarrett for taking so much time and care and effort to answer my questions today. As I mentioned before, THE OLD SLEIGH is on sale November 4th. Thanks too to Naomi Duttweiler and the team at Norton Young Readers for helping to put this together. Don’t delay! Pre-order your copy today.

Broken! A Cover Reveal and Conversation with X. Fang

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Earlier this week I posted my Spring Prediction Edition of the Newbery/Caldecott winners of 2026. Faithful readers may recall that I happened to mention that there was a certain X. Fang book that I wanted to include, but since I hadn’t yet revealed its cover, I felt unable to do so.

That ends today.

I will confess to you that on the sly, I shared a PDF of today’s book with some of my children’s librarians. The only accurate way to describe their reactions to it would be to compare them to kittens on catnip. They got the zoomies. They are so excited for this book that when they found out that the publication date is October 14th they fell into a serious funk. Imagine full grown adults whining, “But I want to do a storytime with it nooooow!”

I now wish to make you just as frustrated as they are. But in a way, you will have it worse, because today I’m not only premiering the cover of Broken by X. Fang, I’m in conversation with her as well. Ever since I first laid eyes on Dim Sum Palace, I realized that this was a creator to reckon with. Last year’s We Are Definitely Human only reinforced that sentiment. Today, we are treated to a third masterpiece.

Here’s the publication description, should you be curious:

“When Mei Mei accidentally breaks her ama’s favorite cup, she’s convinced it’s the end of the world. What if Ama is angry? What if she yells? What if she kicks Mei Mei out of her house? Mei Mei can’t face it. But when Mimi, the innocent cat who witnesses her crime, ends up being blamed, the guilt is too much! Mimi’s accusing eyes follow Mei Mei until she just can’t take it anymore, and the truth comes spilling out.

With vibrant and moody cinematic illustrations and pitch-perfect pacing, X. Fang’s newest picture book is filled to the brim with comedic drama and the comforting sweetness of a grandparent’s forgiving hug.”

If picture book characters could get acting nominations ala the Oscars, Mimi the cat would clean up in the Best Supporting Actress category.

And now, a word or two with the creator:

Betsy Bird: Thank you so much for joining me today and for answering some of my questions! Previously the two picture books that you’ve done were DIM SUM PALACE (a fever dream of deliciousness and giant dumplings) and WE ARE DEFINITELY HUMAN (a fish out of water tale involving aliens). BROKEN, in comparison, is a much more realistic tale than its predecessors. Can you give us a little info on its origin story?

X. Fang,
photo credit Peter Brown

X. Fang: Hi, Betsy! Thank you for having me.

A few years ago, I became fascinated with juci, the Chinese art of ceramic repair using tiny staples, and kintsugi, the Japanese art of ceramic repair with lacquer and gold leaf. I love the philosophy of both practices – repairing a broken object but, rather than hiding the cracks, you highlight them because there is beauty in imperfection. And an object’s history is worth celebrating. This got me thinking about my grandparents, who were constantly repairing and mending – not for the sake of an artform – but because they were incredibly frugal (as people who lived through war often are). The result was a home filled with well-used objects that all had a story to tell.

BB: The palpable waves of guilt when Mei Mei realizes that someone else is going to shoulder the blame for her crime are fantastic. It reminded me of some other picture books of guilt and confession. Did you have a specific incident drawn from your own life as you wrote it? 

X. Fang: I have broken many things but have only confessed to breaking a few things. There wasn’t a specific incident that inspired this book, but rather a strong memory of that feeling of guilt. That feeling of guilt is SO STRONG for a young kid because it’s such a new feeling and they must learn to work through it for the first time, too! I was very much drawn to that inner struggle.

BB: And along those lines, Mimi the cat’s stare gives the book a kind of Tell-Tale Heart feeling at one point. Then there’s this little final caveat you include that is VERY cat. So I gotta ask it. Do you own a cat yourself? There was a lot of reality to this critter.

X.Fang: I am a dog person. I don’t have a cat, never owned a cat. In fact, I am mildly allergic to cats. But I find cats fascinating in the same way some people find The Real Housewives fascinating: they are unpredictable and wild and I can’t look away! I also have a lot of friends with cats. My brother has two cats, so I hear about all sorts of cat shenanigans. I don’t think the story would be as believable if Mimi was a dog because dogs are too good. (I say this as my dog Pam is currently stealing food from out of my toddler’s hand.)

BB: Well, good at heart maybe. I’ve never had a chance to ask you and I’ve always wondered. What kind of medium do you work in for your picture books?

X. Fang: I draw everything with graphite pencil on paper. Then I scan it and color it digitally.

BB: Finally, what else are you working on these days? What’s next for you?

X. Fang: I’m currently illustrating a story written by the great Mac Barnett – or should I say, Ambassador Barnett – about a trickster sheep named Tom Nancy. The story is hilarious and I’m finding a lot of inspiration from Grant Wood’s painting for the art. I can’t wait for the world to see it!

Grant Wood + Mac Barnett + trickster sheep? Book doggone sells itself.

Huge thanks to X. Fang for taking the time to answer my questions today. And behold! You get to see a beautiful cover now:

Thanks too to Evan Munday and the team at Penguin Random House Canada. Broken is, as I mentioned, out October 14th so be sure to get your pre-orders in now. Trust me. You won’t want to forget this.

Cover Reveal and Conversation: Caroline Perry Discusses I Am Not Happy in All Its Hilarious Cuteness

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Human beings are complex individuals. Take Caroline Perry, for example. On the one hand, the woman has been instrumental in the Kidlit for Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts, directing a great amount of money to people who need it badly. On the other, she’s a children’s book creator and today, I get to premiere her latest picture book. I’m not going to lie to you either… it’s cute. Like, really really cute.

I Am Not Happy follows the trials and tribulations of a marsupial cursed to look, to human eyes anyway, like it’s happy all the time. Or, as the publisher describes it:

“With its bright eyes, puffy cheeks, and beaming smile, the quokka is clearly the happiest animal on earth. Or is it? This quokka is here to tell you…he is not happy! At least not all the time. Just like everyone else, he can be sulky, or sorry, or sad; but you’d never know from the look on his face! So, what’s a moody marsupial to do when he’s being misunderstood? Teach every other animal from kangaroos to koalas not to judge a critter by its cover!”

But before we get to the winner of a cover, we’re going to talk a little bit to Caroline about her life, her work, and her latest:

Betsy Bird: Caroline! Thank you so much for answering my questions today! And allow me to say that this book of yours? Adorable, hilarious, and utterly relatable. Quokkas are dang cute. Heck, I think Haley & John Rocco had a nonfiction picture book out just last year on them (HELLO, I’M A QUOKKA). But your book was in the works long before that. So where did it come from? What is its origin story? 

Caroline L. Perry

Caroline Perry: I’m delighted to hear that you enjoyed the book, Betsy, and thank you for hosting this cover reveal! The origin story is simple: I’ve been obsessed with Australian animals for as long as I can remember. My husband is a Kiwi who grew up in Oz (a happy coincidence, I swear—though he had me at ‘G’Day’). We spend a lot of time Down Under, always seeking out wildlife sanctuaries, and when I first learned about these smiley, little-known marsupials called quokkas, I was smitten. Then I started thinking—what a burden to be labeled the ‘Happiest Animal on Earth!’ That’s a lot of pressure for anyone, and it made me wonder how a quokka might feel about that expectation. Of course, quokkas are also ridiculously adorable. Last summer, we made the long journey to Rottnest Island/Wadjemup in Western Australia to see them in the wild. When I watched a quokka joey clamber out of its mother’s pouch I was, without question, the happiest human on Earth.

Australia is a magical place, and I will always be mad for its marsupials (and monotremes… I’m currently plotting ways to observe platypuses in the wild).

BB: I know I speak for everyone when I say how much I envy even your plotting. This book is perfect for those kids who are, by now, super clear on facial expressions and emotions, and are ready for something to upset their expectations. An animal that is forced to smile at all times? There are larger implications to teaching kids that there may be more behind a person than their facial features. Did you have any of that in mind when you wrote the book?

Caroline: This is absolutely the humor-coated takeaway I hoped for! How often are kids–and adults–told to ‘cheer up’ when they’re maybe just feeling tired, or pensive, or not overly smiley for whatever reason? How frequently are we judged on our facial expressions and external appearance? People also get labeled— ‘she’s the happy/quiet/moody one’—and often, it’s hard to shake these preconceptions. In this book our mercurial marsupial is, understandably, tired of people assuming that he’s cheerful all the time. He’s here to tell everyone: don’t judge a quokka by its cover! 

BB: Nailing the landing on a funny picture book is an art in and of itself. Did you struggle at all with the ending of I AM NOT HAPPY or did you know precisely where it was going from the start?

Caroline: I had maybe three potential endings in mind when I drafted the manuscript. One of those dropped off during the revision stages but there were still a couple of contenders. The magic moment came when I made a dummy, to perfect the page turns (something that’s so important with humor). Seeing I Am Not Happy! in mini-book form made it clear that this closing spread was ‘the one’, and  Sydney’s art just reinforced that choice. I absolutely love the way she illustrated the ending! 

BB: Let’s talk a little about your illustrator Sydney Hanson. She’s sort of the master of the big-eyed cute. She is also, and I mean this sincerely, the best possible illustrator you could have gotten for this book. Simply put, she understood the assignment. Did you know Sydney prior to working together? How do you feel about her work on this book?

Caroline: I didn’t know Sydney personally but I was definitely a fan of her work–who doesn’t love Escargot? When my brilliant editor Celia Lee brought Syd’s name up in conversation I don’t think she had time to finish her sentence before I blurted out, “OHMYGOSH YES CAN WE SIGN HER RIGHT NOW?” (I promise it sounded more polite in my British accent). Syd really is the perfect fit for this book, we share a similar sense of humor and she completely understood the assignment. She’s been a delight to work with from the initial sketch stage to the gorgeous full-color art and we’re now collaborating on a second book together! I can’t wait for this to be announced. 

BB: I don’t want to conduct this interview without giving you significant props for your work on the Kidlit for Los Angeles Auction, raising money for wildfire relief. Last I heard from you you’d raised $180,000! Tell us a little bit about how you started this initiative and how you managed to get such a wonderful assortment of participants! 

Caroline: This is a long answer, so I apologize in advance (and I’d also like to thank you for helping to spread the word about our auction). I used to live right near one of the worst-impacted areas of LA, and I have a number of friends who lost everything in the fires. For several days my phone chimed nonstop with news of more losses, evacuations, and air quality warnings, and we watched my daughter’s preschool burn on the news. The scale of the tragedy felt immense and absolutely overwhelming, and while I was doing what I could to help people on the ground it didn’t feel as though it was enough. I called my friend and fellow LA-based author Charlotte Offsay to check in with her, and ask if she’d be interested in setting up a fundraiser. She agreed, and we quickly recruited Tara Luebbe and Jocelyn Rish: with a small but mighty team in place Kidlit for Los Angeles was born.

I also reached out to Sydney, who had been evacuated with her young family: at this point she didn’t even know if her home was still standing. It was such a heavy, fraught time but despite everything, Syd insisted on designing our fundraiser logo. Her image–of the California bear going to work for LA– is so perfect, and so meaningful. It made me cry when it landed in my inbox. 

When we began soliciting donations we were honestly blown away by the response. Many of the biggest names in publishing offered incredible items, and thanks to the generosity of our donors and bidders we raised almost $180k for wildfire relief. It was a mammoth undertaking, and a true team effort, but we are so, so grateful. The children’s publishing industry really showed up for LA. 

BB: And now my hardest of the hard hitting questions. Please please please tell me… is that a cane toad accompanying the quokka throughout the story? Please say yes. If it is, then this is the first memorable instance of a cane toad in a picture book in recent memory. 

Caroline: I’m here for the hard questions! Yes, we did indeed envision Quokka’s sidekick as a grumpy (but misunderstood) cane toad. That said, since cane toads are an invasive species in Australia, we like to leave a little room for interpretation… and rest assured, our frowny-faced amphibian is only visiting the island!

BB: Oh, very excellent point. Finally, what else are you working on these days? What else is on your roster? 

Caroline: I’m incredibly fortunate to have three books coming out this year! First up is The Memory Cake, illustrated by Jennifer Bricking, which releases with Holiday House in June. It’s a lyrical, intergenerational story set on the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta (where my extended family still lives). In September there’s Messi’s Magic, a picture book biography of soccer legend Lionel Messi, illustrated by Luciano Lozano, which will be published by Scholastic Press. Last but certainly not least is I Am Not Happy!, which hits shelves on October 7th. I also have two more humorous books in the works with the wonderful team at Simon & Schuster–Nighty Knight, which is a humorous rhyming bedtime book,  illustrated by Scott Magoon, and another exciting funny– as well as an unannounced book slated for ‘27. Lots to look forward to, and I can’t wait to share more!

It’s hard to top that level of enthusiasm, so you know what I’m gonna have to do? Reveal the heck out of this cover. Let’s do it!

Just look at that punim. Who could resist it? Thanks so much to Caroline for engaging in this Q&A. I Am Not Happy comes out October 7th, so you’re just gonna have to be patient and wait for it until then.

Newbery/Caldecott 2026: Spring Prediction Edition

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It’s heeeeere! Everyone’s favorite oh-dear-god-why-are-you-talking-about-2026-when-we’re-barely-surviving-2025 post!

That’s the happy news. The sad news is that I broke my streak. Since 2016 I had correctly predicted at least one Newbery or Caldecott winner in my spring prediction posts. That all came crashing to the ground last year. Behold:

2008 spring predictions: I get one Caldecott right (How I Learned Geography)

2009 spring predictions: I get two Newberys right (The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and The (Mostly) True Adventures of Homer P Figg)

2010 spring predictions: I get one Newbery right (One Crazy Summer)

2011 spring predictions: I get one Newbery right (Inside Out and Back Again)

2012 spring predictions: I get two Newberys right (The One and Only Ivan and Splendors and Glooms), and one Caldecott right (Green).

2013 spring predictions: I get two Newberys right (Doll Bones and One Came Home) and one Caldecott right (Mr. Wuffles).  But pride goeth before the fall.

2014 spring predictions: Zip. Zero. Zilch.

2015 spring predictions: I get two Newberys right (Echo and The War That Saved My Life)

2016 spring predictions: Zero correct, though the commenters do mention two books that would go on to win.

2017 spring predictions: I got one Caldecott right, and that just happened to be the ultimate winner (Wolf In the Snow).

2018 spring predictions: I got one Newbery right (The Book of Boy).

2019 spring predictions: I got two Caldecotts right (Going Down Home With Daddy and Undefeated) and one Newbery right (The New Kid by Jerry Craft).

2020 spring predictions: I got one Caldecott right (Outside In by Deborah Underwood, ill. Cindy Derby) and one Newbery right (Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley).

2021 spring predictions: I got two Caldecotts right (Unspeakable and Watercress) and one Newbery right (Too Bright to See).

2022 spring predictions: I got one Caldecott right (Knight Owl) and one Newbery right (The Last Mapmaker).

2023 spring predictions: I got two Newberys right (The Eyes and the Impossible and Simon Sort of Says).

2024 spring predictions: Nuthin’. Not since 2015 have I done this poorly.

You might try to comfort me by pointing out that I did put the Caldecott winner of 2024 (Chooch Helped) on my fall prediction list, and that would be kind, but it still rankles.

Then I started to wonder… when were the Caldecott and Newbery winners released in 2024? Turns out, a LOT of them were summer and fall. Just look at the Caldecott winners:

  • Chooch Helped: October 8
  • My Daddy Is a Cowboy: July 12
  • Noodles on a Bicycle: August 27
  • Up, Up, Ever Up: September 24
  • Home in a Lunchbox: June 11

That same excuse doesn’t hold up for the Newbery winners (Across So Many Seas came out in February, for crying out loud) but I don’t tend to read as many Newbery contenders in a given year anyway, so I don’t feel quite as bad for missing out on that particular side of things.

That said, I must, I must, I must continue with my predictions! Why? Well, partly because I enjoy them, and partly because it’s just a really efficient way to direct folks to, what I consider to be, some truly fantastic books in a given year.

Consider the following!

2026 Caldecott Predictions

Big Enough by Regina Linke

Nice, right? Now when we predict Caldecott winners, there’s a certain level of surprise that one hopes to attain. And Regina Linke? With this being her first official picture book, she has that surprise element well in hand. Traditional ink and digital painting is what this Taiwanese American author/artist is using to make her illustrations look so very much like Chinese gongbi paintings. It’s hugely distinctive, not really looking like any other picture book out this year. Once you see this title, you can’t help but fall in love with it. The pathos in that ox’s eyes is incredible. The sole fly in the ointment of this book’s chances? A print collection of over 100 illustrated parables from The Oxherd Boy webcomic, The Oxherd Boy: Parables of Love, Compassion, and Community was published in 2024 by Clarkson Potter. If the art from that collection is the same art as you’d find in this book (and there’s no knowing if that’s the case unless you saw both firsthand) then this book will get tripped up on that Caldecott rule that states that in order to be eligible the art cannot have been printed in another book. It will be up to the Caldecott committee to determine where this falls (and I hope it falls in the This Is Completely Eligible category).

The History of We by Nikkolas Smith

Aye, that’s a beauty of a book, is it not? You know, I’ve trumpeted Smith as a Caldecott contender before in the past, but so far my trumpeting has fallen by the wayside. Let’s see if a little nonfiction is something this 2026 Caldecott committee has a yen for. Now for the last two or three years here we’ve seen this incredible array of books that dip into our Neolithic and Prehistoric pasts. Smith’s traveling along these lines, but he’s doing something very interesting. Essentially, he’s humanizing our ancestors and he’s doing it with jaw dropping art. Remember what he did with the book Born on the Water? This is art with a similar energy and joy. Look for it.

Let’s Be Bees by Shawn Harris

Harris here is my only inclusion on today’s Caldecott list that has won before. If you’ll recall, Harris won a Caldecott Honor for Have You Ever Seen a Flower? That book was created in colored pencils. This book? Crayons. You can read my Q&A with Shawn about this title here if you’re curious about it. In the meantime, this is definitely one of those books where I read it once and thought it was perfectly decent… then read it again. And again. And again. And again until I realized how perfect the book is in its simplicity and form. It’s also a book intended for a younger audience (something easy to ignore when it comes to Caldecott Award contenders). Give this a closer look. It’s the rare beauty that doubles as a toddler and preschool storytime readaloud winner!

Our Lake by Angie Kang

Oh my. Well this was a surprise. So I read about five picture books a day during my work week, and that kind of triage leads to all sorts of assumptions about the books I find before me. When I saw the cover of this book it sort of reminded me of Sydney Smith (the way the light plays on the water) while remaining distinctly Angie Kang as well. Then I went and read it and found myself flabbergasted. I’m building it up too much. When you read this, I don’t want you going into it with “award winner” in mind. I want you to go into it the way a kid would. The story is about two brothers preparing to jump into a lake. Their dad, you find out, has died and while the older son is fearless in his jumping, his younger sibling isn’t so sure. Then you get this moment when he finally lets go and… I don’t want to spoil it. Suffice to say, the image of the older brother visible under the water is such a masterpiece of painting that it should probably win a shiny sticker for that alone.

[Note: I wanted to include the newest X. Fang picture book on this list… and then I realized that I’m premiering the cover in two days on this site and it would be unsporting of me to scoop myself like that. Consider this a placeholder then until we get to the summer predictions…

Also, I was quite thrilled at the prospect of including The Interpreter by Olivia Abtahi, illustrated by Monica Arnaldo, on this list today. Then I made the critical error of making sure that Monica lives in the States or, at the very least, was born here. Yeah. No. She is, as we say in the biz, inconveniently Canadian. That book deserves to win All The Things, but will not win Any Of The Things. I am heartbroken.]

2026 Newbery Predictions

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson

I just finished this one, and I guess I have Renée Watson to thank for the fact that as I listened to its audiobook of grief and recovery I found myself silently weeping on the streets of Evanston, Illinois on my way to work. It shouldn’t have surprised me any. This slim, handsome little novella manages to pack a huge punch in a limited number of words. The story focuses on 13-year-old Sage and the fact that her best friend died on her birthday. Sage attends a grief group at school, but the levels of her sadness and guilt are palpable. So much so that it’s particularly noteworthy how well Watson comes to a place of hope by the story’s end (particularly since she packs a double punch hit almost at the finale). Keep your eye on this one.

Bad Badger: A Love Story by Maryrose Wood, ill. Giulia Ghigini

As you will soon see, badgers are the hot animals of 2025. I’ve compared this particular title in the past to Skunk and Badger, tonally anyway, though I’d say that Rose’s book has a shape and feel entirely of its own. It has a slight undercurrent of melancholy at its core, but no one would ever accuse this book of being depressing. It’s a sad and sweet and ultimately hopeful story about making friends with folks that are very different from you, and with whom you may even share a language barrier. It works entirely on its own internal logic, but you are with it every step of the way. Quiet books often have a hard time making themselves present, but this book? Unforgettable.

The Boy Who Lived in a Shell: Snippets for Wandering Minds by John Himmelman

I have this habit of including works of poetry on my Newbery prediction lists. I know, I know. I should just give it up and accept that even though I like poetry, committees as a whole don’t. Not even when the poetry is clever. Not even when the poetry is keen. Not even when you have a book as downright good AND amusing as The Boy Who Lived in a Shell. John Himmelman, buddy, you’ve been holding out on us! Who knew he was so good at verse? Not that I should be surprised. The man excels in surprising readers. You literally never know what he might produce next. A picture book about a dog falling in love with tiny kittens? An early chapter book series about science-minded amphibians? And now you have what I must declare to be my very favorite poetry of 2025 (and there is a LOT of competition in that area, as it happens). It’s sweet and funny and undeniably smart.

The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Audrey Hartman

If you’re hearing buzz about this book, you’re not alone. And good news! The Newbery has a longstanding tradition of awarding medals to undead-fox-based-books (Scary Stories for Young Foxes, anyone?). This book isn’t a horror by any means, though. It follows Clare, an Usher of wandering souls, helping them find the afterlife that suits them best. Along the way, he comes across a badger (see what I was saying about badgers being hot in 2025?) who upends his entire world… possibly for the better. I suspect that I will need to ruminate at length on what precisely this book is doing, but I found it a deeply satisfying affair. Its brevity is only matched by its incredible world-building (which is is short, sweet, and arrives at a clip). I’ve yet to meet anyone who hasn’t thoroughly enjoyed this. A perfect readaloud for a classroom too. You’ll have kids on the edges of their seats.

Will’s Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Was there ever any doubt? And before you claim I’m including this because One Big Open Sky won a Newbery Honor last year (and was also about Black exodusters) I’m going to hand you a great big plate of NOPE. I am including this because I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think it’s incredibly successful in what it does. So let’s pause for a moment and try to sum up what qualities a Newbery winner must possess to win the big award. Personally, I think it’s not individual traits, but a combination. First and foremost, it has to have heart. Not pablum. Not syrup. Not saccharine phrases. Real, legitimate heart that it has earned. Next, it has to take us somewhere where we’ve never been. It needs to have beautiful language. It needs to surprise us, engage us, and make us think, “Dang! That was GOOD!” Most of all, it can’t be a slog. If you keep glancing at the book, trying to determine how many pages you have left, you’re doomed before you even begin. A great Newbery contender needs all these elements in some kind of a unique combination. This book? It may as well be the textbook definition for “Great Newbery Contenders”. It has absolutely everything and it’s a great deal of fun to boot.

And on that note, I’m out! Like I say, it’s early in the year and the likelihood that I’ve selected any of the winners is probably slim. That doesn’t stop us from having fun talking about them, though, right? So what are you enjoying right now? What floats your boat? What do you think has a good strong chance at the gold?