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After doing a book reading of my latest children’s picture book, Bin Chicken Abroad , to a 5th grade class, I received thank you letters from each of the kids I had read to. This is one of them: It mentions that I am   perceived as  cool . In fact, it suggests that I may be the coolest . A word from my generation. I was struck by the use of this word by a twelve-year-old. The letter itself is full of everything one hopes for when visiting a classroom. Enthusiasm, sincerity, a

If you’re caring for a toddler in 2025, there’s a good chance a cheerful woman in pink overalls has already moved into your living room. Most people meet Miss Rachel on a screen - singing, signing, and narrating her way through letters, numbers, and first words. But lately, many parents are meeting her in a different place: on the bookshelf. With titles like Ms. Rachel and the Special Surprise  and 100 First Words , she’s now a bona fide children’s book author as well as a g

Leonardo of Pisa, better known as Fibonacci , never saw a sunflower. Yet the sequence of numbers he revealed in 1202, namely 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, describes the hidden architecture of nature itself. Spirals in pine cones, seeds, shells, and galaxies all whisper the same mathematical poetry. Each new term born from the sum of the two before, each life form echoing the balance between order and chaos. Fibonacci and the Logic of Life In plants, Fibonacci numbers are not a

Once upon a time, bedtime meant a parent’s voice softening into the rhythm of a story. Perhaps a worn copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar  or Goodnight Moon  held between lamplight and pillow. Those few minutes before sleep were sacred. A ritual of connection, language, and imagination. But in the glow of our digital age, this nightly ritual is quietly changing. With parents stretched thin and technology creeping into every corner of family life, traditional storybooks are be

This year’s Frankfurt Kids Conference 2025, held as part of the Frankfurt International Book Fair, gathered voices from every corner of the children’s publishing world. Authors, illustrators, translators, and educators. The theme could hardly be more urgent: Children’s Books in a Fragile World . In a time shadowed by war, migration, climate anxiety, censorship, and the digital noise that surrounds childhood, the question is not simply what stories we tell, but why we tell the

Children come into the world curious, fearless, and gloriously unaware of limits. They don’t know what they don’t know. And that’s exactly what makes them such natural learners, explorers, and storytellers. Curiosity Before Confidence Watch a child pick up a feather, chase a shadow, or ask why the moon follows the car. They’re not embarrassed by what they don’t understand. They’re enchanted by it. Every day is a question waiting for an answer. Or better yet, a mystery waiting

When painter Alex Katz  was asked, late in a career most artists would envy, if he still worries about new work failing, he laughed and...

Every year, roughly 4 million new books are published globally.   That staggering number represents the hopes and dreams of millions of...

In the modern Western world, animals play a central role in childhood.   From the moment a baby is born, animals surround them in...

A mutualistic relationship is when two organisms of different species work together, each benefiting from the relationship.   Organisms...

Over the past decade, a quiet revolution has taken root in early childhood education: animals are increasingly being recognized not just...

Saturday April 26th 2025 is Indie Bookstore Day! It’s a nationwide celebration of everything we love about independent bookstores. Their...

Over the last two decades, the publishing landscape has undergone a quiet revolution.   No longer solely the domain of large publishing...

We’ve all seen it: a storybook lion wearing spectacles and sipping tea, or a talking squirrel with a backpack heading to school.   These...

​Admiral William H. McRaven, renowned for his distinguished 37-year career as a U.S. Navy SEAL and leadership roles, including overseeing...

Failure is a universal experience, yet it remains one of the most feared aspects of life.   We are conditioned to avoid it, to view it as...

Will your grandchildren be able to see a flightless cormorant in the wild?   The Galápagos Islands are a place of wonder, a natural...

Children’s picture books have always been a gateway to exploring the natural world. Animals, as beloved characters, help children connect...

As the world grappled with its share of challenges in 2024, Australia quietly achieved some remarkable milestones in conservation.  ...

The following famous assertion by Ludwig Wittgenstein encapsulates a profound philosophical conundrum about language, meaning, and the...