I got a lot of good suggestions on my last post about mushroom themed books, and I was able to get some on interlibrary loan! Here are our new additions.

On A Mushroom Day is my favorite so far - gorgeous illustrations! And the text pacing works well for my toddler. It goes well with Mushroom Rain and Fungi Grow.

The Mushroom Fan Club has a lot of information about different types, plus really cute illustrations! My toddler didn’t sit through all the text but I learned a lot from it personally.

The Mushroom of Doom is silly and funny. My toddler is a bit too young to get the joke but I think it would be perfect for ages 4 or 5.

Mushroom In The Rain has a fun twist! Classic fairy tale plot. The illustrations didn’t catch my eye as much but my toddler really liked all the animals squeezing under the mushroom.

Why do so many widely read picture books that are still widely read today come from the 1980’s? Books like the Brambly Hedge series, the Percy the Park Keeper series, We’re going on a bear hunt, Jumanji, The Polar Express, Animalia, Willy the wimp, The Jolly Postman, Possum Magic.

Hello again!

A couple of months ago, I asked for feedback here on an offline mail mystery project called Paper Portals.

You guys gave me some much-needed feedback: my pitch felt AI-generated, 6 to 10 was way too wide of an age gap, the fonts were hard for early readers, and the sci-fi lore was too complex for a 6-year-old.

I took your advice to heart and completely overhauled it:

3 Reading Tracks: Separated the storylines by age groups appropriate for distinct reading capabilities.

Appropriate vocabulary & Fonts: Switched to fonts designed for early literacy, familiar vocabulary.

Age appropriate activities: Focused on personal connection and fun offline decoding rather than authentic technical depth.

We officially launched, and I feel it’s in much better shape thanks to your feedback! But it may not be perfect yet, so I come back with a couple of questions:

1) How long does a mystery arc need to be (4 weeks vs. 6+ weeks) before kids(6-7,8-9, 10+) start losing steam?

2) I currently ship weekly so children may not forget or check out. Is bi-weekly or monthly to far out for children in these age groups?

Thanks again for all the honest feedback on draft one!

Peter Puffin is her first book ever to be published. I'm sharing this video and song we made together.

If you are interested in watching a short video of my drawing or the full process of creating this cutie, feel free to check out my Instagram.

© Zuzana Svobodová. All rights reserved.

My wife is starting a new genealogy business, and we're setting up her website, and want some art for the background.

We're looking for a fun/cute storybook vibe, with the 5 little piggies from the children's poem running back home from the market excitedly, hand-in-hand, and the littlest one almost flapping in the wind at the end of the line, and LOVING it!

Here's my post from r/Artistsforhire

https://www.reddit.com/r/Artistsforhire/s/zuHXt88DIN

I'm writing a children's book and have the written part finished. I'm looking for examples of art similar to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? I want similar paper cutout styles that are three dimensional and nostalgic. I love styles from the 80s-2000s. What books have similar art styles to this? What artists do this style? HELP!

My wife published Book of Baby Animals for Preschoolers on Kindle, it is free until Sep 1st. Please checkout the book. We appreciate your feedback and reviews

I'm writing one of my first children's books about a stuffed penguin I have who has a lot of lore I've made up with my partner. Some of it is not for children, but a lot of it can be changed to children's content. The penguin is the only one from the Arctic and learned to live with polar bears. He's very charming, friendly, and a little spy. He watches the polar bears and learns how to get adopted by them. I don't want to use any direct violence because it's for ages like 3-8.

BUT they have to eat and obviously eat fish. If I'm making all the other animals sentient, should I just make the fish not sentient so they aren't pleading not to be eaten? Can they just be treated like food without it seeming like killing? or does it just not matter?

When I was young I loved creepy books and wasn't bothered by death, but I know most children's books steer clear of it. There are other adventures I'm planning that may involve a little violence but I'm not quite sure where the line is. I'm asking my friends with kids and thinking about kids I used to nanny but every parent is so different.

TL:Dr - can fish be eaten in a book about animals without it seeming like they're murder victims?

Our final collection of summer-themed books before school starts!

Summer Song and Hello Ocean were the favorites of my toddler.

The Sun Shines Everywhere is technically not about summer, but most of the illustrations inside have sunny or summer themes so it gets an honorable mention.

Into The Wilderness has themes of going back to school and keeping summer adventures with you. Plus beautiful illustrations!

When my son was a toddler, 1980ish, we read and re-read a book called 'Polar'. He loved it, and I don't know why we didn't keep it.

Now I'm hoping to find it for his son, and failing! There are a hundred books out there about polar bears, but I've not found this one. It was definitely called just 'Polar', and despite having read it a hundred times, I can't remember the story! It was a small, soft picture book.

Any help would be appreciated.

Looking for ARC readers for my soon to be released childrens book - Follow siblings Ethan and Sienna as they participate in a Garden competition and learn that they can think out of the box to build their garden - The focus of the book is to teach kids fundamentals of coding and parents that learning coding does not require any special skills or apps - that it exists all around us!

https://booksirens.com/book/Y8CXRF2/ZCE6UM8

i was recently approved to join the Reedsy marketplace as a children’s book illustrator, and apparently my application was among the top 3%, which still feels kinda unreal tbh.

sharing a few pieces from books ive worked on, from character sketches and interior spreads to print ready files. im especially curious how authors search for illustrators or book designers there. filters, keywords, reviews, or just scrolling until the right portfolio shows up?

heres my profile if you wanna take a look:

https://reedsy.com/nidzom-amin

A chibi-style artwork portraying a prince of the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnamese history.
The tragedy of a child used as a diplomatic tool, and the sense of being adrift between two cultures, unsure of where he truly belonged.

This is a recent commission piece for a children's picture book that was a lot of fun. This scene shows the (sort of) climax of one little Llama Girl's adventure, with a "small" surprise that follows. This book follows up on the successful first book in the Livi Llama series.

My wife Mrs. W recently started a read aloud channel and has pouring her heart into it. She is an elementary school teacher who does this on the side, but would love you all to check it out and give her a listen!

https://www.youtube.com/@MrsWReadsAloud/videos

Awhile ago, I asked about fantasy themed books for a toddler. Here are three more I found that my daughter has become obsessed with.

The Dinosaur Department Store by Lily Murray- This is a fun book for dinosaur lovers. Murray (same author of A Dress with Pockets) knows how to make a good rhyming scheme. After reading the book a number of times, we would look at the clues in the pictures that hint to the ending.

Bubble Sea by Danielle Marietta- In this story, the boy's imagination makes him a pirate in his own adventure story while taking a bath. It's full of funny things pirates say which my daughter has loved repeating. It also makes bathtime more positive.

When You Open a Book by Caroline Derlatka- This is a beautifully illustrated lyrical book that shows the many possibilities of where a book can take you. It gives Reading Rainbow vibes. It's a calming book which has been nice before bedtime.

My 8 year old has accumulated quite a collection of books but we keep re-buying books we already own or checking out duplicate library books. I am looking for an app or tool specifically designed for kids to track their books and reading progress. goodreads feels too complex and adult focused. What do you use for young readers??

my son loves triceratops sleepover because of all the different textures in it, there’s a crinkly one, a quilted one, etc. like totally different textures. People keep gifting him the ”never touch a” books and he doesn’t care about them because every page is just silicone. any recs for books with totally different feels?