When Lola Visits Lands on Best Books of 2021 Lists

I’m overjoyed to share that When Lola Visits has been chosen as one of:

🌟 Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Books of the Year

🌟 New York Public Library Best Books for Kids 2021

🌟 BookPage Best Picture Books of 2021

Many thanks to Kirkus Reviews, NYPL and BookPage!

Art from the book was also selected for The Original Art Exhibit 2021 at Society of Illustrators!  Congratulations to Aaron Asis!  Society of Illustrators photo courtesy of Mabel Hsu.  So much gratitude to my agent Andrea Morrison and editor Mabel Hsu for believing in this story, and so many thank-yous to Aaron Asis, Amy Ryan and Rachel Zegar for making this book beautiful beyond words.

There were so many extraordinary stories this year!  Congratulations to all authors and illustrators who published books in 2021!

It Fell from the Sky

On an ordinary day in an ordinary garden, something extraordinary falls from the sky.  It’s luminescent and has striking colors.  All the insects in the garden are mesmerized by it — it is in fact, a Wonder.  When Spider greedily takes possession of the Wonder and selfishly uses it for his own gain, his friends start to abandon him.  Will he ever be able to win back their friendship?  This stunning, wondrous new story from the Fan brothers will be out on September 28!

It Fell from the Sky was written and illustrated by Terry Fan and Eric Fan and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Animal Architects

Animals and insects are nature’s original architects, creating impressive homes and communities such as coral reefs that can be seen from space, underground ant colonies with labyrinthine tunnels and trails, thousand mile-wide prairie dog towns and towering termite mounds.  Amy Cherrix and Chris Sasaki bring readers into the intricate, intelligent and often astounding world of animal architects.

Animal Architects was written by Amy Cherrix, illustrated by Chris Sasaki and published by Beach Lane Books.  Out on September 7!

Marvelous Machines

Marvelous Machines delves into the mysteries of machines, revealing the different parts that make up a machine, and the forces that make a machine run.  Readers get to see how different kinds of power sources flow through a house and what happens inside kitchen appliances.  Readers also get a peek at the inner workings of machines like telephones, printing presses, maglev trains, container ships and submarines.  The best part?  They get to use a magic lens to do it!  For young builders and those of us with infinitely curious minds, this is one of those eye-opening kinds of books we wish we had as kids.

Marvelous Machines was written by Jane Wilsher, illustrated by Andrés Lozano with Dr. Joseph Corcoran as consultant.  Published by What on Earth Books.

Circle Under Berry

We’re so thrilled to share Carter Higgins’ debut as both author and illustrator — Circle Under Berry.  Its rhythmic text and images are spirited and mischievous, with so many questions in store for readers.  What shapes do they see?  What colors do they see?  Could a berry be more than one thing?  Each page is an exercise in observing, thinking and wondering.  It’s an intriguing and playful book that introduces new perspectives and keeps little bookworms on their toes!

Circle Under Berry was written and illustrated by Carter Higgins and published by Chronicle Books.  It’ll be out very soon on September 14!