See the Author / See the Illustrator

See the Ghost: Three Stories about Things You Cannot See
Once in a while, a duo creates several books together and they get to know one another. We're curious about how that works. Meet David LaRochelle, author, and Mike Wohnoutka, illustrator, of six books together (so far).

Finding Peace through Reflection, Art, Story, and Higher Ground for Ourselves and Our Children

In this article, we explore finding peace within. How can we shift our hearts and minds towards peace? How can we help the children in our classrooms do the same? What books, both for children and adults, can support our efforts?

Books Set in Bookstores

Bookwanderers
 For many of us, wan­der­ing around inside a book­store is our Hap­py Place. It can also be a place of mys­tery, sur­prise, romance, adven­ture, how-tos, and an oppor­tu­ni­ty to tap into the knowl­edge of the uni­verse. Here then are fif­teen books for chil­dren that are set in bookstores.   Archie Greene and the Magi­cian’s Secret
writ­ten by D.D.
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The Kindness of Teachers

David LaRochelle
I loved first grade. Fifty-one years lat­er, I still have vivid mem­o­ries of my teacher, Miss Fol­lett. She played the piano every day. She read to us from her giant book of poet­ry. She showed us pho­tos of her trips to exot­ic places, like Alas­ka and Hawaii. At Hal­loween we screamed in ter­ror and delight when she hob­bled into our class­room dressed as a witch.… more

Skinny Dip with Loni Niles

Loni Niles
We inter­viewed Loni Niles, K‑12 media spe­cial­ist in the Wade­na-Deer Creek pub­lic schools in west cen­tral Min­neso­ta. She shared her thoughts about books and life. What is your favorite late-night snack? I love popcorn and can eat it any time during the day, even for breakfast! Favorite city to visit? Chicago. Even though we moved from there when I was just a baby, I still take some pride that I was born there! … more

August Shorts

This is NOT a Cat!
Warn­ing: There’s a lot of enthu­si­asm ahead for these books! Where Do Pants Go?
Writ­ten by Rebec­ca Van Slyke, illus­trat­ed by Chris Robertson
Ster­ling Children’s Books, 2016 Well, this is just adorable … and I can already hear house­holds through­out the Eng­lish-speak­ing world chanting: Where do pants go? On your arms? No. On your neck? No. No, no, no. Pants go on your legs, that’s where pants go.”… more

Two for the Show: What Scares You?

Note to read­ers: we are try­ing a new for­mat this month. We want to make our blog more con­ver­sa­tion­al. Let us know what you think. Phyl­lis Root:
What scares you? How do you deal with that fear? And why do so many of us like to scare our­selves sil­ly, as long as we know that every­thing will be all right in the end?… more

A Trip to the Art Museum

Museum ABC
by Vic­ki Palmquist
  Arlo’s Artra­geous Adventure! David LaRochelle
Ster­ling Children’s Books, 2013 When Arlo’s grand­moth­er drags him to the art muse­um, he can’t imag­ine how he’ll be inter­est­ed. Some­thing odd catch­es his eye and he soon real­izes the paint­ings have things to say that sur­prise and delight him — and the read­er. Fun and quirky, with illus­tra­tions that will make you smile and flaps to lift that will reveal nuances in much the same way you dis­cov­er some­thing new in a paint­ing each time you look at it … this is a good choice to pre­pare a child for a trip to the museum.
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Skinny Dip with David LaRochelle

Skinny Dipping
Favorite holiday tradition?  Without a doubt my favorite holiday tradition is carving pumpkins. It has become such a trademark of mine that people start asking in September what I plan to carve for the upcoming Halloween. I’ve learned to jot down possible pumpkin ideas in my sketchbook throughout the year, but it usually comes down to crunch time (the week before Halloween) before I finally decided on the 4-6 pumpkins I carve each year.… more