Gene Barretta‘s newest picture book is a continuation of his series on word play. Having previously examined homographs and homophones, he has now moved on to homonyms with The Bat Can Bat: A Book of True Homonyms. A humorous examination of words that are spelled the same but have different meanings, The Bat Can Bat was recently reviewed by Kirkus.

Kirkus praises the hilarious illustrations and the clever explanation of this difficult concept. They write, “Barretta is a master of wordplay…and his hugely expressive, brightly hued watercolor cartoons certainly depict both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, all with endless humor and charm.” They also praise the educational quality of the book which teaches without lecturing, writing, “Youngsters will laugh out loud while they are unconsciously, painlessly learning.”

Kirkus’s full review is available here. The Bat Can Bat is coming out this February and can be pre-ordered online here.

The Andrew Edlin Gallery in New York will be featuring an art show titled “Et Tu, Art Brute?” from November 17 until January 28. The show will be examining the concept of what it means to be an artist by displaying art from a number of non-traditional artists. One of Michael Slack‘s pieces will be featured in this unique show!

Et Tu, Art Brute? will be held in Gallery 2 of Andrew Edlin Gallery at 212 Bowery, NYC. If you have a chance to see it, make sure to drop by! More information about the art show can be found here.

The end of the year is approaching at last. That means it’s time for best books of the year lists! The latest one is from the Chicago Public Library, and their list of recommendations includes seven books from our Painted Words authors and illustrators!

Best Picture Books 2017:

• Lucía the Luchadora, written by Cynthia Leonor Garza and illustrated by Alyssa Bermudez

Best Fiction for Younger Readers 2017:

• Olga and the Smelly Thing from Nowhere by Elise Gravel

Best Informational Books for Younger Readers 2017:

• The Legendary Miss Lena Horne, written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Eizabeth Zunon
• Lost and Found Cat: The True Story of Kunkush’s Incredible Journey, written by Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes and illustrated by Sue Cornelison
• The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist, written by Cynthia Levinson and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton

Best Fiction for Older Readers 2017:

• Clayton Byrd Goes Underground, written by Rita Williams-Garcia and illustrated by Frank Morrison

Best Informational Books for Older Readers 2017:

• One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance, written by Nikki Grimes and with illustrations contributed by Shadra Strickland, Frank Morrison, and Liz Zunon

Congratulations to all our talented authors and artists! The CPL’s full list of recommended books from 2017 is available here.

2017 has been a rough year for many. But in trying times, you can always turn to picture books for inspiration! To that end, Kirkus has composed a list of the Best Picture Books of 2017 to Give Readers Strength. Two of the books on that list, Stolen Words and Lucía the Luchadora, were illustrated by our artists.

Stolen Words, written by Melanie Florence and illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard, is the story of a little girl and her Cree grandfather, who lost his ancestral language in the Canadian residential school system. Kirkus calls this story “Unforgettable.” Stolen Words is available for purchase here.

Lucía the Luchadora, written by Cynthia Leonor Garza and illustrated by Alyssa Bermudez, follows a little girl who is inspired by her family tradition of luchadoras to become a hero on the playground.  Kirkus calls it, “A KA-POW kind of wonderful.” Lucía the Luchadora is available here.

Kirkus’s full list of inspiring picture books from 2017 can be found on their site here.

Don’t Call Me Grandma, written by New Mexico native Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by Liz Zunon, has won a New Mexico-Arizona Book Award! The New Mexico-Arizona Book Award is run by the New Mexico Book Co-op, an organization that seeks to promote local writing from New Mexico, Arizona, and the American South West.

Don’t Call Me Grandma is the story of a young girl’s complex relationship with her prickly and glamorous grandmother. It won the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award in the category of Parenting/Family Issues Book, sponsored by the New Mexico Book Co-op. Congratulations, Liz and Vaunda!

The full list of winners of the 2017 New Mexico-Arizona Book Award can be found here. Don’t Call Me Grandma is available for purchase here.

The Great Dictionary Caper has been raking in the starred reviews, and it hasn’t even come out yet! The latest review, from Booklist, is the third starred review for the upcoming picture book. Written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Eric Comstock, this humorous picture book tells the story of what happens when the words escape from the dictionary.

Booklist calls The Great Dictionary Caper, “Delightful,” and praises both the humor and the educational worth of the story. They write, “It’s all fun and word games, but in the process, readers will also get a tidy lesson in linguistic concepts.” They also praise the elaborate page spreads which visually depict the textual word play, which are “enhanced by Comstock’s energetic, retro-flair illustrations, which fill the pages with cavorting words and creative details.” In all, Booklist concludes, “In approach and format, this is both entertaining and educational—likely to hold and pique kids’ interest in the topic and provide a fun learning supplement.”

The Great Dictionary Caper will be coming out January 2018 and is available for pre-order here.