I'm a big fan of the black and white ink illustrations from the golden age of children's illustration, usually from the 1860s to 1930s. Jessie Wilcox Smith, Arthur Rackham, C.E. Brock, E.H. Shepard, and so many more. While all the stories illustration in black and white are looked on fondly and often considered classics, I don't know if their colourless art would be appreciated in new books.

Obviously the technology for printing books is different and modern publishers have certain aesthetics they want to stand by so colourful images are the go-to, but do you think there is a place available in currents children's illustration for black and white art?

I’m a high schooler working on a children’s book as a passion project so I have something great to put on my application when I’m applying to colleges. I’m having a little struggle with trying to figure out how to publish it and advertise it, any tips? Also will it be great for my college application? I plan on majoring in a writing field

Does anyone recognize this illustration?

Based on my daughter's life. To help give young people the inspiration to follow their dreams and not let bullies win 👊

I'm new to everything. I have experience illustrating but have been finding it difficult to figure out formatting, dimensions, file types, etc (I know I should've looked into this before illustrating anything for the book) but now I have a book that I wrote with my mother and illustrated and was wondering where you think I should be looking to publish it based on the dimensions of the pages. websites and resources for either E-books or physical books are appreciated. I tried to make the pages have a lot of un-essential things surrounding the main drawings and words so that I could crop later if absolutely necessary.

https://preview.redd.it/7jkz82une58e1.png?width=3300&format=png&auto=webp&s=1786a15db07f06fcb3cce348b95702a79d017b5d

https://preview.redd.it/206w7etne58e1.png?width=3300&format=png&auto=webp&s=691b883656a859d42b2bf999a947a8c46810d6b1

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Hello!!

I am a 6th grade social studies teacher and each year students create a “culture person”. This project asks students to share 6 aspects of their own culture. This comes easily for some, but can be a challenge for others.

I am looking for a picture book I can read in class for the students who struggle with identifying their own culture, or feel like they “don’t have a culture”. Something that can show the complexity of culture in a student friendly way.

Thanks!!

I thought people were trying at one point but it's been stuck in development, well, heck for over a decade with not even any cast attached so what gives

I have a student at my school whose family is going through a lot of changes. Dad has moved to another state for a new job and the rest of the family can't afford to move with him yet. We are finding ways to support them but I am particularly hoping to find some preschool level books that would help in this situation. I feel that many of the parent separation or divorce books wouldn't match this situation properly. Any help would be appreciated!

Hi! Toronto Public Library here. 👋

Each year, our children’s librarians hand-pick ten outstanding Canadian picture books that they believe best support reading readiness for kids under five. Here are their top ten picks of 2024—perfect for sharing with the children in your life, inspiring gift ideas, using in your classroom or discovering more books by these talented authors and illustrators. View all the titles online.

Happy reading! 📚

📖 Boozhoo!/Hello! by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley; translated by Mary Ann Corbiere 

Written in both Anishinaabemowin and English, this book introduces young readers to simple vocabulary while vibrant Woodlands-style illustrations captivate readers of all ages.

📖 Bunny Loves Beans by Jane Whittingham

Each spread focuses on an adorable animal eating their favourite food, and a child eating food of the same color. A final spread directed at caregivers shares age-appropriate enrichment activities.

📖 A Garden Called Home by Jessica J. Lee; illustrated by Elaine Chen

A little girl goes to her mother's homeland and develops an appreciation for nature. Returning to Canada she plants a garden that represents both sides of her heritage as Taiwanese plants grow side-by-side with Canadian wildflowers.

📖 Honk honk, beep beep, putter putt! by Rukhsana Khan; illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat

A cheerful, vibrant picture book about a boy joining his father on a rollicking rickshaw delivery through the busy streets of Pakistan.

📖  How to Staycation Like a Snail by Naseem Hrab; illustrated by Kelly Collier

When Snail and Stump take a “near-away” vacation, a group of parachute seeds blows into their neighborhood. As they show the seeds around, Snail and Stump rediscover the magic of their home and see it in a whole new way.

📖 It’s Okay, Just Ask by Monique Leonardo Carlos; illustrated by Salini Perera

Inspired by the author’s own move to Canada from the Philippines, this story follows a child as she navigates fears and wonders in her new home. This gentle narrative encourages children to ask questions, embrace differences and approach new experiences with an open mind.

📖 The Noisy Puddle by Linda Booth Sweeney; illustrated by Miki Sato

Two siblings explore the hidden world of a vernal pool—a temporary wetland that appears in spring and changes with the seasons. Through lively text and detailed cut-paper collages, young readers discover the fascinating creatures and delicate ecosystem within these ever-changing puddles.

📖 One Giant Leap by Thao Lam

An astronaut prepares to explore a new world. Stepping outside, they encounter towering hills, fantastic beasts and a raging storm. In reality, it’s a child’s snowy walk to school, transformed into a thrilling adventure through imagination.

📖 Walking Trees by Marie-Louise Gay

Lily asks for a tree for her birthday, and despite living in a small, dark apartment, she promises to care for it. With her tree, George, in a wagon, they explore the neighborhood, inspiring others to join them and creating a traveling forest through the city.

📖 Why We Dance: A Story of Hope and Healing by Deidre Havrelock; illustrated by Aly McKnight

It’s the day of the Jingle Dress Dance, and a young girl feels nervous about performing in front of her community. As she prepares and hears the drumbeats, her family’s support reminds her why she dances. 

Hello everyone!

I’m thrilled to share some exciting news—I’ve just published my first book on Amazon! (Woohoo!)

I wanted to take a moment to share a bit about my journey writing this book—or maybe even "vent" a little about it.

The past four years have been a whirlwind, especially when it comes to my patience, understanding, and relationship with kids. Funny enough, I’ve never really been a “kid person.” Yet here I am, having written a children’s book!

Here’s the backstory: I’m in a relationship with a wonderful single mom, and I met her child when she was just 5 years old. At the time, I was 28, and kids weren’t on my radar. But I loved her mom and thought, “What’s the harm? She’s just a kid.”

Living with them was an eye-opening experience—and honestly, a tough one. It challenged me in ways I never expected. At one point, I thought I wanted kids of my own, but this journey made me question that!

Despite the challenges, living with them taught me something invaluable: patience.

With her 10th birthday approaching, I realized there were so many life lessons I wanted to share with her—but putting them into words wasn’t always easy. That’s when I had the idea to write a book for her.

I’m really proud of how it turned out. It’s a collection of lessons I hope will resonate with kids like her and others out there. That’s why I decided to publish it—to share these lessons with the world.

Here’s the link if you’d like to check it out. Your support in spreading these life lessons would mean the world to me!

👉 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQWJDC7H

Thank you so much!

Hi everyone! I am a dental hygiene student. I have a 6 and 13 year old. I just published 2 Ebooks and would like to promote them. If anyone would like to take a look at them I will be providing the links here. The 1st is My Milk Teeth and its for younger readers about 4-6. And the 2nd book is My Big Kid Teeth Are Growing! And it's for older readers about 8-10. If anyone knows any other way I can promote them please let me know!

https://www.lulu.com/shop/nashelly-padilla/my-milk-teeth/ebook/product-nvz9qek.html? q=Nashelly+padilla&page=1&pageSize=4

https://www.lulu.com/shop/nashelly-padilla/my-big-kid-teeth-are-growing/ebook/ product-2mqw4dy.html? q=Nashelly+padilla&page=1&pageSize=4

I'm struggling to remember the title of this book. It was fully illustrated, the protagonist was iirc a Clouseau- type detective hired to find a missing bird. This was a puzzle book - each page had a different kind of visual puzzle to solve, you were helping the detective find this missing bird. The illustrations were very post -hippie wacky psychedelic (but for kids). The vibe was very Yellow Submarine.

I'm pretty sure the title was '____ is Missing", the blank being the name of the bird. Might have been an M name.

My child who's 7 is already starting to read fluently. He loves stories and comic books. He really enjoys asterix. I want to get a non-comic book for him to read. We have read Rhune and the haunted school building series (I forgot the name of the series). I started reading to him Percy J. and the Greek Gods, but it was a bit heavy on the romantic aspect of the myths, so I think this is more like for a teen ager/ young adult.

Does anyone has a recommendation?

Ages 6-11 (it’s a little different because it is a chapter book but does have a lot of illustrations).

I’m just not understanding how to get these reviews since with these types of books, I would think people would want to share with their kids to read in a print version. Although I’m sure I can get some adults to read it too (I have some social media presence and a newsletter that relates to the book topic). But again, will they read it if it’s not in print?

I can see maybe ebook and people have iPads or some kind of device like that. I don’t have kids, so I don’t know how likely a parent would be to agree to share with their child if it’s not in print. I can’t afford to mail more than maybe a handful of people copies.

I’m hoping someone can help me remember a children’s book I read as a child in the UK in the 90s/00s. Details below

• Location: UK • Time: 1995-2000 • Format: picture book • Plot: an anthropomorphic elephant goes to a store and buys a bunch of tinned fillings for pies. She then goes home and bakes a bunch of pies - apple, peach, etc. and then she sets them outside her house and other animals come back and take them. And I think she wants to save one for herself, but ends up sharing it with the last animal who comes • Front cover: it was a yellow book, with a square picture in the middle, featuring the elephant either baking or with a trolley with the canned fillings

And confirming it isn’t the book ‘Elephant Pie’ by Hilda Offen, nor ‘Tiny Pie’ by Mark Bailey, they’re the only ones that pop up when I try to search, haha

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Bearing in mind that what I'm reading may not be the best translation. Okay, you know the basic story. Heidi is happy on the mountain with her grandfather, and then her aunt who dropped her off a few years earlier comes back and takes her away, to Frankfurt, to be a companion to Klara, who can't walk (yet). And since Klara's mother has passed on, the housekeeper, one Fraulein Rottenmeier, is the queen bee. She is nasty, and I can't figure out why.

It's what nowadays is called emotional abuse. Heidi gets plenty to eat, she's not beaten or in any danger, but the price of that is, she's supposed to be docile and obedient. And if she does anything out of the ordinary, boy does she hear about it from Fraulein. But it's not like, hijinks ensue. Fraulein does a lot of yelling and threatening, never taking a step back. And some of the things she does and says are so personal, they're way past discipline and into abuse.

First, Fraulein never approved of Heidi's country ways, like her clothing, and specifically her wool shawl. The last thing she does (!) as Heidi is leaving, is to grab the shawl and throw it on the ground. (Herr Sesemann overrules, but what was it to Fraulein, anyway?) And weeks before that, she icily informs Heidi that if reading a particular book makes her cry, well, she'll just have to take the book away, forever. In fact, no crying at all. (Which I daresay is what triggered the sleepwalking.) So she's a witch from her first appearance to her last; no arc to the character.

Of course there is no shortage of kid-hating adults in late 19th century literature. But I understand why life in Dotheboys Hall and Lowood School and below stairs at Miss Minchin's Select Seminary was so harsh. Dickens and Bronte and Burnett were trying to make a point that children shouldn't be treated harshly, servants shouldn't be treated harshly, and children should not be servants, nor beg in the streets.

Whereas Fraulein the Rotten is a servant, as Herr Sesemann reminds her, and she's been told that Heidi is to get the same privileges that Klara has. Oh -- maybe Spyri was making a point about snobbishness? Heidi wasn't being a little lady the way Klara was (because Klara never did anything before Heidi showed up!). So she must be taking her luxurious accommodations for granted: ungrateful brat, and deliberately trying to get on Fraulein's nerves. So double down on the nastiness! Okay, in fairness, she only *threatens* to tie Heidi to her chair, and to make her spend the night in the cellar; she doesn't follow through. And there are sympathetic adults, four of them in fact: the butler, the doctor, Klara's father and her grandmother. But they confine themselves to helping Heidi sneak past Fraulein, and telling her not to let the old bat get to her. I wish Herr Sesemann had said, "She just doesn't understand our ways. She is not a brat, and if you don't stop calling her one...well, housekeepers are ten pfennigs a dozen."

I saw one version of this, probably the Shirley Temple one; I know it was black-and-white. And it showed another side of Fraulein. Same incident, played out differently. So, Frankfurt was a fine city, but all Heidi saw was brick and stone, like a prison. In the book and the movie, she goes outside alone, without telling anyone, because the butler offhandedly told her that if she wanted to see green, her best bet was to climb a church steeple. She does, and then the organ-grinder boy takes her home. But in the book, she gets to the house only a minute or two late for dinner, and Fraulein takes it as simple insubordination.

In the movie I saw, though, we see Fraulein at the house. First she's fuming, then cut to Heidi and the boy, then back to the house, where Fraulein is now in a panic. She's sobbing, to the effect of, "If only the child comes home safe, I'll never yell at her again!" Then, ding-dong, there she is, and Fraulein is about to unleash "Why you little--" "AHEM!" from the butler. "Oh, yes. Thank heavens you're all right, mein schatz." And from then on, she was only mildly annoyed by Heidi and Klara acting like OMG KIDS; no more punishments or tirades.

I was waiting to post this until I finished the book. Fraulein never shows up again. She doesn't get redeemed, the way Grandfather and Peter get redeemed, and she's way over the line past what might be comic relief. I'm less disturbed now that I've read the second half. But man, those scenes were hard to read.

I have completed my first book and I have decided to find a literary agent. Before I do so I was considering getting an editor. However at this point I just can't afford it. Is there other resources I can use or is it okay to send straight to a literary agent?

This is for a picture book. Not sure if it matters or not but I am not self illustrating. I have also done a ton of research and countless self edits.

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi all,

I work at a local music school, and one day I was teaching little ones and happened to pick up this story about farm animals leaving to go to space. I was completely shocked at just how incredible this book was. I’ve tried looking for it since and can’t find it and looked all over online and still haven’t found it.

Here’s all the information I can recall:

1. As said before, an illustrated children’s book about farm animals going into space
2. I’m pretty sure it won an award
3. Fairly certain it came out in the early 2000s
4. The text reads more like poetry
5. The book is cardboard

This is all I can remember, I can try and give more info if you ask me questions. Thank you all!

The Tale of Willow and the Whispers

In a quiet little forest where sunlight danced through the trees, there lived a curious young squirrel named Willow. She was a bright, energetic squirrel who loved to explore, but she often found herself overwhelmed by all the voices and noises of the forest.

1. The Compelling Whispers

One day, as Willow scurried along a mossy path, she heard a soft whisper from the wind.

“Willow! Look at the sparkling stream! Don’t you want to follow it?”

Without thinking, Willow turned and dashed toward the stream. But as soon as she arrived, another whisper came.

“Willow! Look at the berries over there! Don’t you want to taste them?”

She stopped at the stream and turned toward the berry bush, feeling like she had to go. And before she reached the berries, another whisper called, urging her toward a flock of singing birds.

Back and forth she went, chasing one thing after another, until she finally collapsed under an old oak tree, exhausted.

“Why do I feel like I have to do everything the forest asks of me?” she wondered aloud.

2. The Wise Oak

The old oak tree above her rustled its leaves gently.

“Willow, why do you run every time the forest calls?”

Willow blinked and sat up. “Because I feel like I have to! The whispers are so strong—they tell me to go here, to do that. If I don’t follow them, I’ll miss out or let someone down!”

The oak chuckled softly. “Ah, little one, the whispers are just suggestions. They aren’t commands. You don’t have to do anything unless you choose to.”

“But… they’re so loud!” Willow said.

“That’s because you let them be,” the oak replied. “Next time a whisper comes, pause. Take a deep breath. Then ask yourself: ‘Do I want to follow this, or can I let it go?’”

Willow tilted her head. “Let it go? How do I do that?”

“Simply say to yourself, ‘I hear you, but I don’t need to go there right now,’” the oak explained. “And see what happens.”

3. The Experiment

The next day, Willow decided to try the oak’s advice. As she scampered through the forest, a breeze whispered, “Willow! There’s a rainbow above the waterfall!”

Willow’s heart jumped. “A rainbow?” she thought, starting to turn. But then she paused.

She took a deep breath, just like the oak had said. “Do I really want to run to the waterfall, or can I let this one go?”

She waited a moment. The excitement faded, and she realized she was happy right where she was, nibbling on an acorn.

“I’ll let this one go,” she said softly. And the whisper grew quiet.

4. The Power of Choice

Throughout the day, the whispers kept coming:

“Willow! Climb the tallest tree!”

“Willow! Chase the butterfly!”

Each time, Willow paused, took a breath, and asked herself what she wanted. Sometimes she followed the whisper, like when it led her to a patch of wildflowers. Other times, she smiled and said, “Not right now,” and stayed where she was.

She felt lighter, calmer, and more in control.

5. The Lesson of the Whispers

That evening, Willow returned to the old oak tree.

“I did it!” she exclaimed. “I listened to the whispers, but I didn’t let them control me. I chose what to do and what to let go of.”

The oak tree swayed proudly. “And how do you feel now, little one?”

“Peaceful,” Willow said, curling her tail around herself. “The whispers don’t push me around anymore. I can listen, but I get to choose.”

“Exactly,” said the oak. “The whispers are just part of the forest. But you, Willow—you are the one who decides how to dance with them.”

6. The Quiet Joy

From that day on, Willow still heard the whispers of the forest, but she no longer felt pulled in every direction. She learned to pause, to breathe, and to choose. And in that quiet space, she discovered something wonderful: her own voice.

It was softer than the whispers but steady and true, guiding her to the things that truly mattered.

And Willow danced through the forest with a light heart, not because the whispers told her to, but because she chose to.

The End

My daughter is a sensitive kid and tends to assume people are laughing AT her when most of the time it just a general laughing at the situation (eg something spilled, a made a funny noise, etc). I’m not coming up with the right phrasing for this concept to find results on google so hoping this group might have some suggestions on book that help her understand this nuance - books always do a better job explaining things to her than I do lol

im not even sure if this book is real but i remember reading it as a kid and it scared me really bad. the way i remember it was a family of rabits and his mom ran him a bath but it was too hot and his skin melted off. if anyone knows about this can you lmk what its called

Hello!

So I’m illustrating a children’s book, which I have never done before, and so I’m kind of lost right now. Maybe someone here can help me :)

Do I make the illustrations “bigger” than they are going to be in the book? Like spot illustrations. Do I make them in the intended size? Or bigger? I’m using procreate and ask because I know the resolution might suck if I have to size the illustration up/down. But I also don’t really know which size the illustrations are going to be just yet.

Thank you!

We were gifted the Nothing book which I love. I just ordered his book about Coltrane and the one about Peter And The Wolf. I'd love some more recommendations of books centered around art that can be informative. Our little guy is only about 5 months, so we have time. I'm already excited to pique his curiosity into the arts. I'm also learning a lot myself through these books.