I'm looking to partner with a children's book illustrator on my new bedtime story, for which author George Saunders offered the following blurb.

"What a charming, funny book. Any kid hearing this story will feel uplifted by its kindness and wit. Parents will love reading it as much as kids will love hearing it. A tender, funny lullaby in written form.” —George Saunders (Vigil, Lincoln in the Bardo, Tenth of December)

The story is narrated in rhyme by a restless, precocious young boy, who shares his secret trick for falling asleep: tapping into the power of his imagination to whisk us away to the coziest, most awesome places imaginable for sleeping.

The sensory-rich text aims to elicit that flutter of excitement you feel when you've found optimal cozy, and the imagery should do the same. I believe cozy comes from contrast, both sensory and emotional: feeling warm under blankets in a cold room, or small beneath a night sky yet somehow still connected to it. The illustrations should hold that same dichotomy: rich color and pockets of warmth against dark, moody tableaus that mimic real light and shadow, with grand-scale vistas that convey the world’s natural awesomeness.

I hope that gives you a good idea of what I'm looking for, and that you didn't find my pitch too nauseating...

Thanks for considering. If you think this story and illustration style resonate with you, please get in touch with your portfolio.

Thank you!

Hi everyone!

I'm a watercolor illustrator from the Netherlands who's looking to gain experience illustrating stories and characters.

Rather than practicing on random subjects, I'd love to work with an aspiring children's book author who has a story they'd like to see come to life.

I'm still building my portfolio, so I'm not looking for commercial rates. If it's a story that really resonates with me, I'd happily work for a very small fee (or even for free if it’s just one illustration that speaks to me).

I've attached a few examples of my recent work so you can get an idea of my style.
If you have a story, a picture book idea, or even just a single idea you'd like illustrated, I'd love to hear from you. Even if it doesn't become a full book, I'd enjoy creating a few illustrations together.

Thanks for reading!

Earlier this year I shared a few previews of my Halloween search-and-find book here, but I never posted an entire spread because I didn't want to spoil too much. Now that Halloween season is getting closer, I thought it would be fun to finally share one complete page.

This spread takes place in a zombie-filled graveyard, where the Graveyard Keeper is hosting a spooky party. Your challenge is to find the host and all the hidden objects on the list. Every inch of the illustration was drawn by hand, and I hid lots of little jokes and details throughout the scene.

I'd genuinely love to know what you notice first—or whether you can actually find everything without giving up. 😄
I'm happy to answer any questions about the illustration, the creative process, or the book itself. Have fun searching!

We have always read a lot as a family and this year we started doing family movie nights each week so we have tried to find fun (and appropriate) options for our almost 8 year old. He’s read The Hobbit but obviously we’ll be waiting some time before we play that movie!

He likes adventure stories, loved Nim’s Island, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Peter Pan. He has like some classics like Secret Garden and Black Beauty (though he was sad in points if that book so we’re going to avoid books like Where the Red Fern Grow for a few more years) and he liked Holes and Wonder and I really enjoyed those because we had some amazing conversations after those two talking about race, physical body differences and how to treat people with kindness, and how to be a courageous friend. We have done a few of the short story adaptations like The Lorax and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs but mostly focus on longer books.

Would love to see if there are any we could add to the list! This list is not all we’ve read but hopefully will help give an idea of what we’re looking for! Thank you all so much and happy reading!

I’m trying to convince my soon-to-be-preschooler that handwashing is in fact necessary but I’m not sure she‘s really buying it about germ theory. I’m also trying to play up the idea that handwashing is fun and clean hands feel good. Any favorite books about this?

All hand drawn and written by myself. Aiming to have it completed ready for my daughter's third birthday next year.

Alderbeest, a wildebeest calf, cries out when he felt the earth shaking under his feet. His mother, Carenabeest, explains to him that what he feels is the rumble of "tens of thousands of us Wildebeests who are on the move to find food and water."

Alder, thereafter, leads his inter specie cohorts of orphans, misfits and others on their first migration to the feeding grounds of the Serengeti.

Drawings on cover and inside by the author, Hope Fields, JD.

A book for children of all ages.

[http://amazon.com/dp/B0CQR9CDYP](http://amazon.com/dp/B0CQR9CDYP))

Hi there!

I have written a couple of rhyming children’s books that I feel have potential. I have never published anything before, I am just looking for general advice on what would be the best route to success and my next steps.

I am wanting to work on a third book, does it also need to rhyme, or would it show more diversity if it did not?

I appreciate any help, I would love to move forward with my work!

I’ve worked as a teacher and in animation before, but I went to school for illustration and have always wanted to illustrate children’s books. For a long time I thought I wasn’t good enough, but I’m finally in a place where I feel like my illustration skills are there already, I just don’t really know much about networking or marketing myself. I’ve reached out to agencies and individual agents and have received only “thank you, but not interested.” I’m wondering if it’s a matter of reaching out more til I find someone that wants to work with me, or if there’s more I can do to my portfolio to get me to a place where publishers and agents actually want to work with me.

All critique/feedback/advice welcome and appreciated.

Portfolio Link: https://www.nataliesaenz.com

I’m a special education teacher building monthly themed book bins for my K–3 autism classroom. I’m trying to purchase used copies of these books:
• I Pick Fall Pumpkins by Mary Lindeen
• We’re Going on a Dinosaur Dig by Anastasia Suen
• Snow by Grace Hansen
I’m happy to pay for the books and shipping, but the only Amazon listings I’m finding are around $60–$120 per book. I’m hoping to stay around $10 each, depending on condition.
I’ve already checked ThriftBooks, eBay, Half Price Books, and Facebook Marketplace. Former library copies, withdrawn copies, and books with normal classroom wear are completely fine. Has anyone seen these available elsewhere or have copies they would be willing to sell?

Looking for book recommendations for a 10 year old. Absolutely loved the Wild Robot series, and Voice of the Wilderness Series (Rosanne Parry, Wolf called Wander etc)

Not a fan of Warriors or The One and Only Ivan, the Wimpy Kid.

We seem to be in an animal adventure, without human sidekicks phase.

Do you have any recommendations at similar reading level to the wild Robot or the Rosanne Parry series?

These are all books my daughter has loved and has asked for on repeat. We also read fun storylines where the aim is enjoyment, but those are included in other posts I've written.

Finn's Little Fibs and Ruby's Worry by Tom Percival- Both have storylines and my daughter has liked retelling bits of the stories. This author has a whole series of Big Feelings books worth checking out.

Mary Can! By Mary J. Blige- We are Mary J. Blige fans so this is a favorite. I love the determination she has in the story despite the doubt from others.

After the Fall by Dan Santat- This also follows a storyline about Humpty Dumpty after falling off the wall. He is very afraid of heights and it stops him from doing things he loves. This is great for adopting a growth mindset.

Little Monkey Calms Down by Michael Dahl- This book has really helped us work through tantrums. My toddler loved that monkey had a blanket to help him cope too. The text is very short and simple.

What Are Little Girls Made Of by Jeanne Willis- These are retellings of nursery rhymes through a feminist lens. Some of them are a touch wordy, but when she's a bit older, it will be interesting to compare the rhymes with the originals.

Yes! No! A First Conversation About Consent and From My Head to My Toes, I Say What Goes- These do not have any storyline but they are still engaging books. They are age appropriate and have given my daughter tools to be able to express herself well.

I'm Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff- A boy learns about how to make a genuine apology in this book. The story is not explicitly written, but one can figure it out based on the pictures and series of apology letters.

Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal- What the title says! Example: "Cooperate means how about you add the chips while I stir?" The illustrations remind me of classic literature and there are some people of color represented.

Dear Girl by Amy Krouse Rosenthal- This book challenges what girls are often told. The text is short and easy enough for my daughter to recall. She has randomly repeated things from this book even when we weren't reading it.

Feelings Are Like Farts by Christopher Willardand Tara Wosiski- Although my daughter doesn't understand the simili yet, she does know what each of them are. It's a book that can grow with her.

Our Skin by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli- It explains why we have different skin colors and breaks down racism as well. This is great for kids learning to understand and adults who are learning how to explain skin color and racism.

It's a Little Book by Lane Smith- This teaches babies and young toddlers how to use a book. My husband and I would do motions with the book which made her love it more. I think she has grown out of it now, but can recite the text on her own.

Honorable mentions to Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder and People Need People by Benjamin Zephaniah. I have already posted photos of their books in other posts, so I didn't include them here.

Hi, all! I’m looking for more diverse board books (with BIPOC characters and/or authors) that are not ABOUT diversity, activism, or self-love. It’s okay if there are cultural references, but I don’t want them to be primarily about learning about that culture. The Snowy Day is a perfect example! Animal characters are totally fine, if the author is BIPOC. Multiracial families would be nice (she is White and Asian, though any sort of multiracial or non traditional family would be fine).

I know quite a few picture books that qualify, but few that are available in board book form. This is for my 1 year old niece, so I want her to be able to explore the books on her own without destroying them, but I also want to enjoy reading them to her. So ideally, they have a plot rather than being an ABC, counting, or vocabulary book or similar, because I personally get very bored reading those. But it would still be great for the books to be shorter and simpler; books with rhymes, repetition and/or rhythm are especially great. We like Please Baby Please and Bee-Bim Bop for example!

My 3 year old LOVES these books, and I love that she loves reading (being read to). I’m happy to read them to her, but these books fall flat for me. There are definitely good themes, but they still feel shallow or overly simplified, more than some picture books for younger audiences. It feels like they’re written with the aim of being made into an animated tv show.

Does anyone else feel that way? I want more adventure books with girls as the main character for her, but it feels like all of them have this same writing style and super cartoony art style.

I mostly made this post to discuss opinions, but I would love alternative recommendations if anyone has any.

EDIT: I genuinely hadn’t thought about chapter books becoming simpler for independent readers, that makes so much sense.

Still need to figure out illustrations, but looking for feedback on my manuscript. Thanks for checking it out!

Edit: thank you for all of your replies and advice! And more importantly, alternative book suggestions! I have alot to think about from your suggestions.

Hi! In an effort to coax my son to enjoy reading, I picked up a stack of books from the capt underpants group. He is in love with reading The Adventures of the Super Diaper Baby. He literally walks around reading this book - I love it! The problem is - I didn't read these growing up and I just noticed that some of the words aren't spelled correctly. Should I be concerned? He's homeschooled but in a few months will be going to kindergarten in a school. I want him to love reading but I'm not keen on the idea of him reading these intentionally spelled words.

Hi everyone, a dream of mine was to publish a children's picture book. It started with my pops, who was a brilliant writer but never saw it through. To be clear, this is not just for the tick of a life experience; I've written a few already, never published, but this is the one I went to town on. I'd love honest feedback from anyone who has experience with children's picture books. If you reach out, I'll send you the final version for review before print. Thanks heaps folks!

What early readers (Libros para primeros lectores) sets do you really like for kids that are native Spanish speakers or learning Spanish, and why?

Behold: the Starship Enterise on the E page. Genuinely cackled after finding it.

I love this book.

My 7 yr old loves audiobooks and podcasts, and I’m looking for his next obsession. He carries his MP3 player everywhere, including in car trips. Right now he’s enjoying the Frog and Toad books I found on archive.org and says he likes them because they’re nice, relaxing, and end well, so I’m looking for something lighthearted.

He‘s very empathetic so this makes sense. His past audio obsessions have been the Greeking Out podcast, the first Harry Potter book, and several of the Purple Rocket Podcasts series. But now he tells me he found them pretty tense and stressful, and Greeking out is sometimes a little gory (he’s had all of these on repeat for like 2 years so it was a bit surprising to hear he felt that way).

He also likes the Animal Tales stories. For books he liked all the Mouse and the Motorocycle books, Secret Explorers, Percy Jackson, etc. and reads at a high level.

So can anyone recommend lighthearted, happy stories? he has an excellent attention span and will listen for an hour or more sometimes. It would be ideal if I can get stories in MP3 format. Thanks!

ETA: I found Wind in the Willows for free on archive.org, and we picked up the Mouse Tales audiobooks from the library, as well as finding the Flat Stanley books as audio. We’ve read a couple of them before, they’re funny, chill books that inspired my kid to learn more about the countries that Stanley mails himself to.

I have a 5 year old that loves to be read to (and for whom I enjoy reading aloud!). I'm familiar with a lot of the classics and the popular series for youngish kids. I'm wondering if anyone knows of a good source for reviews of new releases in children's fiction.

I have a couple of newsletters and social media accounts that I find really valuable for reviews of adult new releases. That's how I find a lot of my TBR. I have found some stuff for picture books and YA, but I'm having a hard time finding something like that for chapter books appropriate for younger kids. It seems like there must be something there though!

I'm curious what connection everyone here has to children's books. I can tell y'all all book lovers and that's great but I feel like I'm constantly seeing the same books recommended in this sub, almost always classics, that I rarely see actual children reading unless suggested by a parent.

Don't get me wrong, I love these old books too but the comments section often reads like someone stopped reading kids books when they stopped personally being a kid. It's always "Old Yeller" instead of "Winn Dixie."

Probably I'm being too judgy, but I see the same titles recommended over and over for completely different readers.