The Lerner Blog

Working with Jane Brocket has been a treat. Her book Spiky, Slimy, Smooth: What Is Texture? came out this spring, and we have several more books planned. I first came across her writing and photographs on her blog, yarnstorm. Jane provided a wonderful variety of photographs for Spiky, Slimy, Smooth, and when it came to […]Read more "Evolution of a Cover Design"

What did we do before Twitter, cars, and laser surgery? Somehow early civilizations managed to get along just fine and even excel when it came to communication, transportation, and medicine. In honor of our new Twenty-First Century Books series, we are celebrating Technology in Ancient Cultures Week!All week long we will be posting fascinating facts […]Read more "Technology in Ancient Cultures Contest"

Just a reminder, I’m still taking unlikeable narrators for another few weeks. I’ve gotten a good handful of submissions since I put out my call, and I’ve dipped into a few. I’m disliking what I see—which is kind of the point. And I appreciate all the tips on favorite problematic narrators. Keep ‘em coming. Photo […]Read more "Unlikeable update"

Dictators seem to be making headlines on a daily basis right now. Whether it’s Muammar al-Qaddafi in Libya, Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, or Omar al-Bashir in Sudan, the issues are hard to ignore. But how did these dictators establish power and take control of their populations, including the media, military, and courts? In our Dictatorships […]Read more "Dictatorships and Current Events"

Keep an eye out for the March 1st issue of Kirkus Reviews. The Maltese Mummy, by Trina Robbins and Tyler Page, received an encouraging review. The Maltese Mummy is the second volume of the Chicagoland Detective Agency, a series of graphic novels starring kid sleuths Megan and Raf (and dog sleuth Bradley). These funny, hip, […]Read more "Good Graphic Fun, Says Kirkus Reviews"

Check out Garance Dore’s incredible blog (that’s two live links, one to a New York Times article about Garance Dore herself and the other directly to her blog). Garance captures Paris street fashions through delightful fashion photos, and you can read what text there is in English or in French. She gives you both choices […]Read more "Paris Street Fashion"

Lately, I’ve been seeing references to Weird Al’s picture book, When I Grow Up, all over the place. This weekend, NPR even had an interview with Mr. Yankovic. This interview included a discussion of the delightful illustrations, which are by Wes Hargis. I’m not surprised at positive reactions to the artwork. After all, before he […]Read more "I Know That Artist!"

We have a winner! After looking at dozens of pictures of beautiful cats (it’s a hard job, but somebody has to do it!), the Purr-fect Picture contest board is pleased to announce that Jeanne Kraus and her cat Lil’ Bit are the winners of a new set of books from Elaine Landau’s The Best Cats […]Read more "Purr-fect Picture Contest Winner"

Calling all fans of big hair, individuality, and cuteness! We’re excited to have Big Bouffant, written by Kate Hosford and illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown, out there in the world as one of Carolrhoda’s Spring 2011 picture books. When young Annabelle decides to imitate her grandmother’s bouffant after seeing her classmates’ uniform hairstyles on the first […]Read more "A Big Bouffant Is All I Really Want!"