Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for March 10, 2026

 Kirkus reviews are considered the "gold standard" of book reviews, so it was a great honor receive a positive one for Nighty Night, Dinos. The School Library Journal is also important, since librarians use it to order books for school and public libraries. I'm also very grateful for the reviewers who said good things on the Goodreads site and also on NetGalley. If you order the book, I hope you'll go through your own independent bookstore, or Bookshop, or Thrift Books, or Familius Publishing--any place except Amazon as Jeff Bezos does not need the money!

Tuesay Kidlit Trivia for March 3, 2026

 This New Jersey author/illustrator based her bunny characters, Max and Ruby, on her own two children, Victoria and Beezoo. Although she said these words over 30 years ago, they resonate today as computer generated AI "slop" invades the world of children's books: "The hand of the artist--a little stained with paint around the fingernails--must be seen. The voice of the writer--passionate and idiosyncratic--must be heard. And whether it is through adventure or humor or pathos, the story and pictures must always touch the heart." This is Rosemary Wells, quoted in Anita Silvey's Children's Books and Their Creators.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for February 24, 2026

 This author/illustrator's books, set in Busytown, feature animals which make his art accessible to kids of all cultures, but he's been criticized for assigning only traditional role models to his male and female characters. He got a bit better at this in later books--moms as well as dads took the train to work, boys learned to bake a pie, but Mother Cat never did learn to change a tire. He was born in Boston, served five years in the Army, moved to New York City and hoped to become a commercial artist, but found a job illustrating for Golden Press. His first book, Best Word Book Ever, came out in 1963 and was followed by several other crowded, cheerful colorful books in the late 60's and early 70's. This is Richard Scarry.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for February 17, 2026

 The New York Public Library has stood on 5th Avenue since 1911, guarded by two stone lions. What book has been checked out most often in the library's history? And what did Mayor LaGuardia name the two lions during the Great Depression?  The book is The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, and the lions were named Patience and Fortitude, two qualities the mayor felt the public would need to get through tough times.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for February 10, 2026

  This innocent, sometimes foolish young boy has been a beloved character in Puerto Rican folklore for over 200 years. The tales about him have been called a repository of Puerto Rican culture and a symbol of resistance to colonial represssion, but millions of children simply enjoy his stories for fun. England has their Jack stories, and Puerto Rico has Juan Bobo.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for February 3, 2026

 This Missouri artist's work is instantly recognizable due to her recurring use of black and white checks, black with white polka dots, cherries and small flowers. She set up her own art studio in the family linen closet at age 9 in 1961. As an adult, she originally wanted to illustrate books but was persuaded to try her hand at greeting cards. Her first to be nationally distributed featured a stack of bowls on a chair and the message, "Life is just a chair of bowlies." Her cards were a huge hit and she founded her own company in 1982. Her art appeared on calendars, fabric, dishes and more. She did eventually illustrate books for children, including versions of Mother Goose and The Night Before Christmas, but she has continued designing greeting cards and has a darkly humorous line, called Engledark. This is Mary Engelbreit.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for January 27, 2026

 Some parents might have punished their young daughter for fibbing as she told the neighbors about her 3-legged cat named Spot, the ghost in the attic, the family's trip to Paris, and more. But this Indiana author's parents called her "imaginative" and encouraged her to write her stories down. She went on to have over 50 published books, ranging from fun picture books like Muncha, Muncha, Muncha and Penny & Pip to children's biographies of Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Buffalo Bill Cody and Eleanor Roosevelt. The American Library Association gave her the 2026 Children's Literature Legacy Award for demonstrating "integrity for all children's lives and experiences." I heard her speak many years ago on the importance of writing "a shitty first draft." This is the funny and still imaginative author Candace Fleming.