Both Il Sung Na‘s new picture The Opposite Zoo and K.G. Campbell‘s recently released Dylan the Villain were named as best books of the month by Amazon! The Opposite Zoo was included on a list of best March books for babies to age 2, and Dylan was included on the list of best books for ages 3-5. Congratulations, Il Sung and K.G.

You can see all of Amazon’s best books of the month at this link, and you can order The Opposite Zoo here and Dylan the Villain here. 

As part of the 92nd St Y‘s Seven Days of Genius program, Gene Barretta has been invited to present his book Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci. The Seven Days of Genius is a program meant to honor historical geniuses throughout history, so Gene’s children book on the great inventor and artist, Leonardo da Vinci, is a perfect fit. Gene’s reading will be at the 92nd St Y in New York, April 4th at 10:30 am. Anyone in the area should definitely stop by! You can find more information at this link.

A live stream will also be available on the day of the event here.

The wait is finally over! K. G. Campbell‘s latest picture book, Dylan the Villain, comes out today. Dylan the Villain tells the satirical story of a little boy born to be a super villain and his adventures at a school for villainous children. Dylan only came out today, but it’s already received plenty of advance praise and attention. The subscription service MyBookBox is featuring Dylan as their March picture book selection, the Children’s Book Review named it one of the Best Kids Books of March, and it was chosen for the Spring 2016 Kids’ Indie Next List.

“Young fans of Disney TV’s The Descendants and kids who adore the cinematic Minions will find the villainous Dylan particularly appealing.” – BCCB

“Campbell’s depictions of Dylan’s antics are filled with humorous details…Soft watercolor and colored pencil illustrations counterbalance the story’s nefarious undercurrents for a playful take on first experiences with competition.” – Booklist

You can order Dylan the Villain online here.

Il Sung Na was interviewed by Mashable, a media/entertainment site, about The Opposite Zoo, his newest picture book, about a zoo filled with opposing creatures. Il Sung told Mashable that a book of opposites had been on his list of books he wanted to write about for a long time. Mashable praised The Opposite Zoo as, “A beautiful lesson in contrast and contradictions,” and shared some exclusive illustrations from the book.  To read the whole article, check out this link. The Opposite Zoo is coming out March 8th, but if you just can’t wait for it, you can pre-order it here.

Good Reads With Ronna, a blog dedicated to reviewing children’s books, interviewed illustrator London Ladd on his recent book, Frederick’s Journey, written by Doreen Rappaport. Good Reads described Frederick’s Journey as an “expertly crafted crafted picture book,” and asked London questions ranging from what medium he likes to work in to his research for this book to the importance of art in general. To read the interesting interview, check out Good Reads’s post about it here. You can order Frederick’s Journey online here.

February is Black History Month, and in honor of that, the online magazine Bold and Fearless made a list of 28 Books Every Black Girl Should Read This Black History Month. Not only did Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, written by Katheryn Russell-Brown and illustrated by Frank Morrison, make this list, it’s the featured book! Little Melba tells the story of Melba Doretta Liston, a famed African American jazz musician in the 1900s, and it’s a great book for celebrating Black History Month. For the other recommended Black History books, check out the full list here. You can purchase Little Melba and Her Big Trombone online here.

Ashley Spire‘s new children book, Over-Scheduled Andrew, was recently reviewed by The New York Times. Over-Scheduled Andrew is the cautionary tale of a little bird who signs up for way too many clubs and classes at school. The New York Times praises Ashley’s “digitally drawn creatures…with big heads and tiny paws and wings” and her “small details,” and remarks on the timeliness of her message in this age of over-scheduled children, calling it, “a sneaky kind of cautionary tale.” You can read the full review on The New York Times website and you can buy Over-Scheduled Andrew online here.

Sarah Dillard spent a fun day promoting her new book series Mouse Scouts at The Flying Pig bookstore in Vermont this past weekend. Mouse Scouts is an adorable series about young mice earning badges and learning about friendship, so naturally the Mouse Scouts event involved giving children a chance to earn their own mouse scout badges. With Sarah’s help, the kids planted seeds, camped out, and brainstormed for charity. Everyone, including Sarah, had a great time! The Flying Pig writes, “What I love about Sarah Dillard’s stories and characters is that they are cute without being cloying, and sweet without being saccharine. Like real children, her characters are a mixture of sweetness and rough edges, kindness and pinchiness. Fans of Ivy and Bean will LOVE this series.” For a fun write up of the whole event, plus cute pictures of kids enjoying Mouse Scouts and the related events, check out The Flying Pig’s post here. You can order Mouse Scouts online here.

The Quickest Kid in Clarksville, written by Pat Zietlow Miller and illustrated by Frank Morrison, comes out today! You can order it online here.

Publishers Weekly calls The Quickest Kid, “A story about teamwork and determination.” They praise Frank’s art, writing that, “Working in watercolor, Morrison…gives the girls abundant personality.” The Quickest Kid in Clarksville tells the story of two girls determined to impress their track hero, Wilma Rudolph, and prove who the fasted kid in Clarksville really is.

Check out Publishers Weekly’s full review here.

Every year, the Texas Library Association chooses a list of 20 books to recommend for children age 2 to grade 2 in order to encourage reading. This year, Race Car Count, written by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and illustrated by Michael Slack, was chosen as one of the twenty books. Race Car Count is a counting book for children age 3-6 featuring Michael Slack’s brightly colored, expressive race cars. Congratulations, Rebecca and Michael!

The 2016 Texas 2×2 Reading List can be found here, and you can order Race Car Count here.