Donna Jo Napoli

Jan 8, 2024 | hbook.com | Robert Furrow |Donna Jo Napoli |Marc Martin |Marc Martín |Zach Weinersmith

You know that feeling when you get excited that a book you love might be a Caldecott contender, only to realize the illustrator does not meet the Caldecott’s U.S. citizenship or residency requirement? Dang it! Your beloved book is ineligible for the Caldecott. Sometimes it's something else. Sometimes a book pushes the boundaries of what might be considered a standard picture book.

Nov 10, 2023 | nytimes.com | R. Gregory Christie |Donna Jo Napoli |Marc Martin |Marc Martín |Felicita Sala

The 10 winners of The New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award are chosen each year by a rotating panel of three expert judges. On the 2023 panel were Sean Qualls, an award-winning illustrator of many acclaimed picture books; Maria Popova, a cultural critic and picture book author; and Christopher Lassen, a children’s librarian at the New York Public Library.

Sep 7, 2023 | publishersweekly.com | Nicola Davies |Donna Jo Napoli |Robert Furrow |Leslie Booth

Despite their static appearance, stones move, change, and tell stories, debut author Barnard Booth details in a picture book that considers its subject in narrative terms. Considering a rock picked up by a brown-skinned child at water’s edge, lines describe it as “not/ just a stone” but an entity that has experienced history on a geological and historical scale.

Jun 22, 2023 | publishersweekly.com | Diana Ejaita |Katherine Roy |April Pulley Sayre |Donna Jo Napoli

Sendy Santamaria. Chronicle, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-7972-1629-4A Latinx child narrates their family’s lengthy morning commute, across hours and over a border, in Santamaria’s vividly rendered, memorable debut. Awakened at 4 a.m. by Mami’s voice, Yenebi prepares for the day ahead: “I pack my backpack. I pack my sister’s too.” Wrapped in blankets, the two snuggle into the backseat of Mami’s car. “When we get on the road, every morning, I confront my archenemy...