I’ve always thought that children’s books speak to me. However, author/translator Polly Horvath proved that on a new level.

I mistakenly asked for her views after being charmed by Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, Detectives Extraordinaire. Polly pointed out that Mrs. Bunny is the author, and forwarded my questions. Not being bunny bilingual, I’m grateful to Ms. Horvath’s assistance.

Mrs. Bunny, from your perspective, what’s good right now about children’s literature?

Of course, the fact that you are putting this question to me, Mrs. Bunny (for so I am called,) means that the world of children’s literature is finally becoming more inclusive. It has always been a source of pride for those of us within the children’s lit rabbit community that there are so many wonderful books about rabbits: all the Beatrix Potter books, Mrs. Rabbit and the Lovely Present, The Runaway Bunny, etc. And Mr. Bunny and I were saying just the other day that we do appreciate the effort humans make to keep marmots out of the genre. I’m also happy that as yet no one has tried to romanticize foxes. We need to present our children with a true vision of the world as it is and not create a fantasy. We’re also happy to see that as yet there is no “rabbit vampire” genre. I think we can all be proud of that.

What can be done to make that “good” better?

Well, naturally, that brings us to Mr. and Mrs. Bunny—Detectives Extraordinaire! We need more books about rabbits from the rabbit point of view. Books written about rabbits by rabbits. But we’re working on that.

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Mrs. Bunny lives in Rabbitville, in the Cowichan Valley, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She is married to Mr. Bunny and has twelve children. This is her first book. To learn more about her acquaintance, author (and bunny translator) Polly Horvath, go to www.pollyhorvath.com.

Author-illustrator Alex Beard might be one of my favorite breakfast cereals.

All of his picture books contain the hidden prize inside. Crocodile’s Tears or Monkey See, Monkey Draw might be sweet animal stories with gorgeous art. Keep digging to find bonus tales about ecology and creativity. His layered creations are tasty treats to be savored repeatedly.

Alex, what’s right right now about children’s literature?

Children still want physical books with real pages. They enjoy being read to, and like reading to themselves. This is unlikely to change, regardless of what new technology comes down the pike. So, children’s literature right now ties us to the past, maintains the continuum of the printed word (and illustration), and suggests that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

What can be done to make the good better?

Don’t compromise quality for cost. If the printed book is to survive, concentration on beautifully produced books is a must.  E-readers have replaced the need for cheap throw-away printing. If you’re going to make something, do it well, because digital formats will win against a badly manufactured product every time.

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Learn more at www.alexbeardstudio.com

In elementary school, I loved the jigsaw puzzles showing what each state produced. I loved seeing all the tiny symbols, such as a loaf of bread for wheat. Soon, I wanted to know all the “wheres” of the world. Where did everything come from?

Today, I’d think such a puzzle would have lots of tiny faces. For Canada, I’d add a tiny Barbara Reid. The author-illustrator is one of the country’s greatest exports.

Barbara, what’s right now about children’s literature?

I’ve been a picture book reader all my life, and a picture book illustrator and author for more than 25 years (not counting the unpublished books I created as a kid). To me, a picture book is a child’s first art gallery. The astounding variety of art and story that can be delivered in 32 pages boggles the mind. The form of the book is a work of art in itself. In the best books, word, image and design come together to communicate a valuable experience or emotion. From realistic water colour paintings to digitally created cartoons, from paper sculpture to collage, there is something to engage any young reader. Illustration can be a child’s introduction to art history, visual styles from other cultures and inspire their own artwork.

I feel that the artist’s unique voice is what connects to the reader and makes for the most memorable, read “again and again” book. Every year I see books that excite me, either from an established artist who is experimenting or a newcomer with a fresh way of telling a story. Some of the artists I’m watching are Jeremy Tankard (Grumpy Bird), Renata Liwska (The Quiet Book, written by Deborah Underwood) and Ruth Ohi (Chicken, Cow, Pig series). It is exciting to see how technology can extend that experience. The most successful adaptations and apps stay true to the spirit of the book and the artist’s individuality. I love the way Marie-Louise Gay’s Stella and Sam series have been treated, as well as Brenda Clark and Paulette Bourgeois Franklin the Turtle series.

What could make that “good” better?

All this amazing material doesn’t exist until it reaches a reader. The world needs more teacher-librarians! They are the curators and connectors that are on the front line getting the just the right book into just the right child’s hands. Librarians are also experts who can help readers navigate the sea of electronic information and read critically.

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Barbara Reid’s signature plasticine relief illustrations have won numerous awards including the Ezra Jack Keats Award; her books have been published around the world. The Party won a Governor General’s Award for Illustration; Fox Walked Alone was a Sydney Taylor Notable Book and an IBBY International Honour List selection; Perfect Snow received the Amelia Francis Howard Gibbon Award and was a Toronto Public Library First and Best Choice. Her newest book is Picture a Tree, a visual exploration of the tree, from bare branches tracing the sky to an explosion of colour, a place for an adventure or a friend to shelter us from the sun. Picture a Tree is an Ontario Library Association Best Bets for Children selection and is shortlisted for the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award. Barbara is currently working on a board book titled Welcome, Baby! Through workshops and presentations across Canada, Barbara has enjoyed meeting thousands of readers and young plasticine artists. She lives in Toronto with her family and her husband Ian Crysler. Ian is a professional photographer who shoots all Barbara’s work for reproduction.

To learn more, and view step by step plasticine demonstration videos, please visit Barbara’s website.

Is it July yet?

Author Jacqueline West is writing a fun, surprising series in The Books of Elsewhere. I’m ready for the debut of book three.

Until then, I want to wear Olive’s glasses!

Jacqueline, what’s right right now about children’s literature?

Sherman Alexie recently said ‘right now YA is the Garden of Eden in literature,’ and I completely agree. There is so much fresh, exciting, readable, lovable, beautiful stuff coming out in the YA and MG fields right now—and many studies show that kids’ consumption of books is on the rise, which is kind of a chicken-and-egg situation, I suppose. I just hope that authors and publishers will be able to keep on raising these chickens (or laying these eggs) for a long time to come.

What can be done to make that “good” better?

We need to support local, independent bookstores. For every publishing juggernaut that rolls into the major book chains and big box stores, there are a thousand other books—many of them dealing with important social issues, or using experimental techniques, or published by small presses—that have just as much to offer to readers but lack the same commercial force. Without independent shops, many of these books will have a harder time finding their way to readers. While the big chains and department stores need to follow literary trends, independent booksellers can help to set them. To torture Alexie’s metaphor a little: If kids’ lit is the Garden of Eden, the online booksellers and the big chains can work wonders with the harvest, but the independent stores are tending the seeds.

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CLN member Jacqueline West lives in Red Wing, Minnesota, surrounded by large piles of books and small piles of dog hair. Her first novel for young readers, The Books of Elsewhere, Volume One: The Shadows (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2010) has been translated into ten languages, won the Cybils award for fantasy/science fiction, was a Minnesota Book Award finalist, and made the master lists for the Texas Bluebonnet Award, the Illinois Bluestem Award, and the Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Award. The Books of Elsewhere, Volume Two: Spellbound followed in 2011, and Volume Three: The Second Spy will be released on July 5, 2012. Visit her at www.jacquelinewest.com, and learn more about the books at www.thebooksofelsewhere.com.

“You should have seen Ted Williams…”

Older fans have told me this often. I’ve seen the game footage. What they meant is that I deserve the FEELING of seeing Ted Williams play.

Impossible? Not with There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived by Matt Tavares. (This book is a Chapter & Verse Book Club selection for June 21st.)

The new book doesn’t need such game footage, not even a photo. The book has a gifted author-illustrator on its team.

Matt, what’s right right now about children’s literature?

There is a lot that’s right about children’s literature right now. I make picture books, so the first thing that comes to mind is the art. Decades ago, illustrators were limited by the technology of the time, but with modern printing technology, illustrators today can work in any style, at any size. There is some amazing artwork in today’s children’s books, and it runs the gamut from Kadir Nelson’s monumental oil paintings in Heart and Soul to Chris Raschka’s expressive scribbles in The Hello, Goodbye Window, to Barbara McClintock’s beautiful ink and watercolor illustrations that look like they could have been made in the 19th century. Add to that the element of digital art, and it really is an exciting time to be illustrating picture books.

What can be done to make that “good” better?

With so much changing in the publishing industry, and everyone worrying about what’s going to happen as ebooks and ereaders become more and more popular, the main thing I try to remember is that making a great book is the most important thing. We’re always going to need great stories and great pictures. So I think the best way to make “good” better is for everyone to take a deep breath and focus on making excellent books for children, and not waste too much time worrying about where all this new technology is taking us. Whether a kid is reading a printed and bound book, or reading it on a nook, or a kindle, or whatever the next thing is, the technology is not the most important thing—it’s always going to be about the story, the characters, and the illustrations.

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Matt wrote and illustrated his first picture book, Sebastian’s Ball, as his senior thesis at Bates College. Three years later, after much revision, Sebastian’s Ball became Zachary’s Ball, his first published picture book. Zachary’s Ball went on to win an Oppenheim Gold Seal Award, a Massachusetts Book Award Honor, and was named one of Yankee Magazine’s 40 Classic New England Children’s Books.

Since then, Matt has published eleven more books: he is the author-illustrator of There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, Henry Aaron’s Dream, Mudball and Oliver’s Game, and the illustrator of Over the River and Through the Wood by L. Maria Child, Jack’s Path of Courage: The Life of John F. Kennedy, written by Doreen Rappaport, The Gingerbread Pirates, written by Kristin Kladstrup, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, attributed to Anonymous, Jack and the Beanstalk, written by E. Nesbit, Iron Hans: A Grimms’ Fairy Tale, retold by Stephen Mitchell, and Lady Liberty: A Biography, written by Doreen Rappaport.

Matt’s books have won several awards, including three Parents’ Choice Gold Awards, a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor, four Oppenheim Gold Seal Awards, an International Reading Association Children’s Book Award, and an Orbis Pictus Award for Oustanding Nonfiction for Children. His books have also garnered starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly, The Horn Book Magazine, School Library Journal, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews. His artwork has been exhibited at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators, the Brandywine River Museum, and the Mazza Museum of Picture Book Art.

Learn more at www.matttavares.com

Cathy Camper “gets” kids. She’s an author, illustrator, and librarian with a pulse on children’s literature.

Above all, she’s an avid yet discerning reader.

Cathy, what’’s right about children’s literature?

Graphic novels! When the concept of graphic novels emerged in the 1980s and 90s, children’s publishers raced to jump on the bandwagon. There was much confusion about how graphic novels and comics differed, (there still is!), and lots of children’’s publishers slapped together horrible comics compilations, or cartoon stories that read like B-grade Classics Illustrated comics, just to get something out there they could call a graphic novel. Shrewder children’’s publishers, who had a deeper understanding of how illustrated stories worked, bankrolled their futures by hiring talented illustrators and writers in both the adult and children’’s comics field to create full-length children’’s works. They also scoped out books that were successful in Europe and Asia for translation and reissue in the U.S.

But good art takes time, sometimes decades, especially when an artist is committed to several projects at once.  Now, twenty to thirty years later, this investment has paid off. Many of the graphic novels published today are amazing. Publishers like First Second are releasing original works and translations of high quality. Francoise Mouly’’s Toon Books have come up with one of the freshest innovations in easy readers in decades…—comics with a limited vocabulary. Mouly also imported from comics another innovation to the world of kids’’ books. She encourages writer/illustrator partners to create together, recognizing this kind of creative collaboration is often richer and more fruitful than an editor-assigned partnership. Innovative authors and illustrators are also exploring the variety of just what a ‘graphic novel’ can be. Books like Brian Selznick’’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, The Arrival by Shaun Tan and Mo Willem’s We Are in a Book all stretch the meaning of what a book is, and enhance literacy skills by demanding readers read the book’s’ images as well as the text.

And finally, young creators, who grew up reading graphic novels, can now major in the creation of these same books in art school. It’s an exciting time to be creating, reading, and watching the graphic novel as it finds its place in American literature.

2. What can be done to make that “good” better?

While women and people of color are breaking down barriers and finding a voice in a field that was formerly limited to mainly white males, there is a sad lack of graphic novels for kids of color, especially graphic novels starring kids of non-white backgrounds.

For example, this is glaringly true when trying to find graphic novels for young black readers. Three recent titles, all of them good, make my point. Yummy; The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by Greg Neri, illustrated by Randy DuBurke, fascinates middle-schoolers with its true tale of an eleven-year-old murderer but, in doing so, it also reiterates many of the stereotypes about black males perpetuated on the nightly news. African American Classics edited by Tom Pomplun pairs classic African-American writers with comics illustrators, but it’s historical content (including the use of dialect) place it more in the realm of a school book than a pleasure read. Best Shot in the West; the Adventures of Nat Love by Pat McKissack, illustrated by Randy DuBurke seems like it should be a winner, telling the tale of the famous African American cowboy also known as Deadwood Dick. Sadly, DuBurke’’s illustrations lack the immediacy of the work he did for Yummy. Readers rarely make eye-contact with Love’’s face, (even on the cover of the book), distancing them emotionally from their subject, as if reading about historical ghosts, not flesh and blood cowboys. The technique might work for an adult book, but young readers need a more visceral connect.

While all three individually are high-quality books, without graphic novels showing regular kids of color doing regular things, they create their own stereotypes, limiting the role people of color play to either troublemakers or remote historical role models.

I think of kids of color I see choosing graphic novels at the library, for example, the middle school Somali girls voraciously reading their way through manga series like Fruits Basket. And I ask myself when will we see Diary of a Wimpy Kid starring someone wearing a hijab? No, really!  My hope is, when these kids grow up, maybe a few of them will create a brilliant new form of Somali-manga, an exciting merging of comics and non-white experience that could only happen in America.  I, for one, can’’t wait to read it.

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Cathy Camper wrote Bugs Before Time: Prehistoric Insects and Their Relatives, a nonfiction book that opens big possibilities for readers. She is a person with many hats: musician, robot artist, author, librarian, award-winning seed artist, reviewer, and reader. Learn more at www.cathycamper.com.

Before someone predicts the end of YA literature, realize that doom has to battle Terri Evans.

You may not catch her with a mask and cape. However, Terri hasn’t given up. The teacher-turned-media specialist fights the good fight for books…and readers. That makes her a superhero in my book.

Terri, what’s right right now about children’s literature?

I spent twenty-five plus years teaching high school English. At the time, I was a believer in the “classics” and a vocal advocate for their value in the classroom and in the culture. I was raised on them after all, and To Kill a Mocking bird was my very favorite book! Then I went back to school at the same time that the Young Adult book world was beginning to burgeon. I soon began my career as a Library Media Specialist in a large, diverse, suburban high school. I was immediately concerned about the small number of teens who were reading. I realized right off that my own reading and marketing of books was going to be critical if I was going to get them reading. In the past seven years, my feelings about the “classics” have changed as a result of reading and marketing young adult books. We have new “classics” and a new cultural literacy thanks to the myriad of great Young Adult writers publishing today. As a result, our circulation has doubled from where we began six years earlier.

Don’t let anyone tell you that teens aren’t reading. Give them a good book, and they will come! And good books there are – in abundance. J.K. Rowling, Stephanie Meyer, and Suzanne Collins—all authors of “popular” literature series—are partly to thank. They hooked kids (and adults) on series books that they could talk about together, then sold the movie rights, and made readers hungry for more. Who in our culture hasn’t at least heard of Harry Potter, Twilight, and now The Hunger Games? Once they were hooked, readers came back for more fantasy, vampire fiction, and dystopian fiction – and for the classics. For example, I had several students ask for Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte because Edward and Bella read it in Twilight. In many ways, the likes of Rowling, Meyer, and Collins revolutionized the Young Adult literature world.

Other really fine young adult writers are also to thank. Authors like Sherman Alexie, John Green, Patrick Ness, Marcus Zusak, Jennifer Donnelly, and M.T. Anderson write smart, compelling books. They believe in the tenacity and intelligence of teens, and they write about things contemporary teens can relate to. The old “classics” were often written by white males about white adults and their lives. We are fortunate to have new “classic” writers who write quality literature with diverse teen protagonists who are attempting to navigate the world.

Graphic novelists are also to thank. Manga flies out of our library like there is no tomorrow, and manga then leads kids on to other things like the works of Gene Luen Yang and Brian Selznick. And this leads them to more traditional novels. My favorite example is the student who came to us in the fall of 2010 from Africa, speaking very little English. I only heard him whisper “thank-you” all year long. Despite this, he read every manga book in our library—he was our number one reader his freshman year! When he came back this past fall and came up to me and said, “How are you Mrs. Evans? Did you have a nice summer? I went home to Africa this summer,” I looked at him with my mouth agape. In that one interaction, he had spoken more words to me than he had the entire year before! This year he has ripped through the likes of Rick Riordan and Laurence Yep. He even joined our student book club! His reading and oral language have improved, as has his self-confidence. That smile, as he walks through the halls with a full-blown novel, is worth a million bucks!

Great librarians, libraries, and teachers should also be thanked. There is a plethora of outstanding literature programming and resources available to teens thanks to their tireless efforts!

The “classics”? There is certainly a place for them—but what is more important is that teens read. Period. The concept of “windows and mirrors” put forth by Peggy McIntosh is apt here. Every child deserves literature in which he or she sees himself or herself reflected. Current young adult authors do this magnificently, even for those teens who lead messy, less than ideal lives. Teens also deserve literature that allows them to look through the window into the lives of others. These experiences help them become well-rounded human beings. Many young adult writers produce work that does this admirably. Get teens reading first. The “classics” can come later.

What’s right in young adult literature? In my mind, just about everything.

What would make the “good” better?

For a start, I wish that adults would stop choosing to reward books that they feel are of “literary merit” and that kids should read because it will be good for them – books that adults end up reading and kids don’t. Those awards seem more about economics than anything, not about the intended audience. How about an award given by teens themselves, as they do in England with the Red House Children’s Book Award? The tendency to look down our noses at “popular” literature doesn’t serve us, or teens, well. I have seen the miracles that “popular” literature can wield. And I am a believer!

I also have concerns about the changes that technology is wielding on the Young Adult book world as well. It seems that teens have fewer and fewer opportunities for focused, deep reading that leads to critical thinking and opportunities for contemplation. Yes, reading on the Internet is reading, but it is shallow reading, and the technology provides teens with endless distractions that discourage sustained, complex reading. I am not in any way anti-technology, but we best at least be as aware of the consequences of technology and Internet use as we are of the benefits.

Biography

Terri Evans is a former high school English, speech, and theater teacher. Currently, she is a Young Adult Library Media Specialist. In addition, she reads voraciously, is the member of several book clubs, and is involved in many reading and library organizations including the Children’s Literature Network. Terri is also an active Goodreads contributor. A relatively new aspect of her career is writing reading guides for books by “children’s” authors such as Anita Silvey, Patrick Ness, Nina LaCour, Katherine Applegate, and Gene Luen Yang. You can learn more about Terri.

You can’t judge a book by its cover.

However, I think you can judge some artists by their covers.

In this case, I’m thinking Maira Kalman and her New Yorker covers.

Likewise, I was captivated by Maira’s illustrations for the new edition of Michael Pollan’s Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual.  Grown-up material? Why? Because Maira’s artwork is ageless. She is fun for all ages.

Of course, Maira’s illustrations in the YA gem, the Printz Award-winning Why We Broke Up, or her new picture book Looking At Lincoln (which she wrote, too) are comparable delights.

Yes, fun for all ages.

Maira, what’s right right now about children’s literature?

This is a very fresh time for children’s writing/illustrating. Unusual ideas, funny ideas, interesting illustration, artful funny illustration. Good design.

Lightness and laughter.

From your perspective, what would make that “good” better?

Allowing people with eccentric visions to realize them. But I think that is happening. Making a children’s book is a very interesting proposition.

The writing has to be sharp. The paintings meaningful. Not easy. But a good thing to think about.

__________

Maira Kalman was born in sunny, sandy Tel Aviv, where cafés and bookstores abound. She moved to New York City and drank her first Coca-Cola. She has written and illustrated over a dozen children’s books and also creates work for the New Yorker and The New York Times. Her work is based on her life and her walks and the odd and endearing things she sees along the way. Why We Broke Up, her recent collaboration with Daniel Handler, just won the Printz Honor award.

Learn more at www.mairakalman.com

Music. Sports. Whatever it takes.

Whether as a teacher or author, Phil Bildner knows how to engage and entertain young people. Most of all, his baseball titles (both fiction and nonfiction) reflect the passion of a real fan.

Phil, what’s good about children’s literature right now?

So much!

The number of passionate and talented authors and illustrators keeps growing and growing, and the quality of work being produced keeps getting better and better. The definition of what is children’s literature is expanding as well. Graphic novels and educational apps are now as much a part of the conversation as picture books and chapter books. The opportunities for learning are boundless. We now have so many more ways to reach young readers.

What can be done to make that “good” better?

We now have so many more ways to reach young readers, but we’re not reaching all of them. Too many assume that everyone has access to technology (ebooks, smartphones, etc.) and the internet, but that’s not the case. There is still a huge digital divide in this country. There needs to be a greater awareness of this crisis. And it is a crisis. For many kids, their only access to the internet is at the local library or school. But we’re cutting library funding and making school about tests, not learning. We need to support and respect librarians and teachers. They’re on the frontlines fighting the good fight every day, making sure that everyone has the access they deserve.
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Phil Bildner taught middle school history and language arts for eleven years in the New York City Public schools. He’s written numerous picture books including Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy, The Shot Heard ‘Round the World, Twenty-One Elephants, Turkey Bowl, The Hallelujah Flight, and The Unforgettable Season. He is the co-creator with Loren Long of The New York Times Bestselling middle grade chapter book serial, Sluggers. Phil visits dozens of elementary and middle schools around the country each year. To learn more about Phil, check out his website.

Some authors tell stories. Marisabina Russo lived hers.

First came Always Remember Me, about her family’s experiences during the Holocaust. Then, the 2011 picture book I Will Come Back for You: A Family in Hiding During World War II followed.

Using the perfect, most appropriate words to explore a difficult subject, Russo gives young readers hope amid the darkness of World War II.

Marisabina, what’s right right now about children’s literature?

Besides writing and illustrating books for children, I’ve been lucky enough to be on the Ezra Jack Keats Award committee for the past three years. There are two awards, one for writing and the other for illustrating. The winners must be new to the field of children’s books. When the boxes and envelopes start to arrive almost daily, I feel like a little girl again, unwrapping special presents. It really gives me a chance to see what’s going on out there in the publishing world. What strikes me is the variety of picture books. Yes, there are trends; celebrity books are still with us, princesses and pigs abound, and alphabet books never seem to go out of style. But there are also wonderful surprises, original books that make you sit up and take notice. New talent entering the field of children’s literature is a cause for celebration! Editors who recognize that talent and are brave enough to take a chance on untried authors and illustrators deserve kudos as well.

What could make that “good” better?

I would love to see more media coverage of the best in children’s books. The Caldecott and Newbery winners used to appear for a short interview on the Today Show a day after the awards were announced, but over the past two years NBC has declined those interviews. When you go into the children’s department of a chain bookstore, you get a lot of the ‘big’ names prominently displayed and surrounded by plush dolls and toys. Will a consumer look at the rest of the books shelved with only their spines showing? Publishing is a business, so if a book doesn’t sell well, it will go out of print before its time. This is a sad trend for all of us who work so hard to make books for children. For this reason and more importantly, for the benefit of our young readers, we need to support our librarians, independent booksellers, and classroom teachers. These are the people who will connect the right books to the right readers and inspire a lifetime of reading. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Marisabina Russo began her career as an illustrator, contributing many drawings and five covers to The New Yorker magazine. She began writing and illustrating books for children in 1986. Ms. Russo is the author/illustrator of 24 picture books and two young adult novels, as well as the illustrator of eight picture books by other authors. Her first picture book, The Line Up Book, won the International Reading Association’s award for Best Picture Book of 1987 and was named to the New York Public Library’s list of “`100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know.” Her other books have won numerous honors including the Washington Irving Award, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor, and two Sydney Taylor Notables. Always Remember Me, a book Ms. Russo wrote about her family’s experiences during the Holocaust, was named an American Library Association Notable Book. It was also adapted and produced as a play by the theater department of Idaho State University. Her more recent books include The Bunnies Are Not In Their Beds (translated into Japanese, Chinese, and Hebrew); A Very Big Bunny, and I Will Come Back For You: A Family In Hiding During World War II, both Junior Library Guild Selections. Peter Is Just A Baby, her most recent picture book, has just been published. Find out more at www.marisabinarusso.com.