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!"

I find it so intriguing that we’re finding creative ways to continue to do old-fashioned journalism and storytelling with twenty-first-century technology. Take a peak at The Atavist, a new boutique publishing house that is producing nonfiction pieces specifically for digital, mobile reading devices. The works cross a variety of disciplines, and as digital creations, they […]Read more "Throwback to Modernity"

Who wants to win FREE books? In honor of the launch of The Best Cats Ever series we are giving away a library bound set of all eight books! All you need to do to enter is post a “purr-fect” picture of your favorite cat on our Lerner Publications Facebook page by Friday, February 25 […]Read more "Purr-fect Picture Contest"