Join us and School Library Journal on July 25th for the fourth annual SLJ Picture Book Palooza, an all-day, FREE virtual celebration of authors and artists from around the world, who bring picture books to life with their extraordinary art. We’ll have author and illustrators on panels all day long, advance copies of new and upcoming picture books, free resources like author videos, storytime guides, and more! Get a sneak preview of what we’ll have cooking in our booth below and register for the FREE event here.
12:55 – 1:25 PM ET | Lunchtime Keynote
Award-winning authors and illustrators Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation) and Michaela Goade (Tlingit Nation), Being Home (Penguin Young Readers), and Carole Lindstrom (Anishinaabe-Métis) and Aly McKnight (Shoshone-Bannock), The Gift of the Great Buffalo (Bloomsbury), discuss their forthcoming titles that center Indigenous girls living on ancestral lands, separated by 150 years in time.
Moderator: Mandi Harris, Children’s Librarian and University of Washington Information School Doctoral Student
1:30 – 2:20 PM ET | Families at Play
Join these family members as they create their own fun at home, at the beach, and around town.
Julia Pierre Hammond, Soulful Struttin’ (Free Spirit Publishing)
Bee Johnson, What Can a Mess Make (Macmillan Children’s)
Jessica Slice & Caroline Cupp, This Is How We Play: A Celebration of Disability & Adaptation (Penguin Young Readers)
Ashley Woodfolk, Beach Hair (Simon & Schuster)
Moderator: Ashley Rayner, Librarian at NORC, University of Chicago (IL)
1:30 – 2:20 PM ET | Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Indulge young children with a fascination for all manner of things that go with these supremely satisfying lighthearted stories.
Jashar Awan, Towed by Toad (Tundra)
Karol Hernández, I Am La Chiva!: The Colorful Bus of the Andes (Penguin Young Readers)
Rukhsana Khan, Honk Honk, Beep Beep, Putter Putt! (Tundra)
Moderator: Myiesha Speight, Book Reviewer, SLJ
2:25 – 3:00 PM ET | Clarion Calls
New books explore the lives and legacies of three individuals—two scientists and a musician—whose work has brought attention to the plight of our planet and the creatures who inhabit it.
Zachariah OHora, Whalesong: The True Story of the Musician Who Talked to Orcas (Tundra)
Angela Quezada Padron, As the Seas Rise: Nicole Hernández Hammer and the Fight for Climate Justice (Simon & Schuster)
John & Hayley Rocco, Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough (Penguin Young Readers)
Moderator: Kyra Nay, Branch Services Supervisor – Children’s, Cuyahoga County Public Library (OH)
3:35 – 4:25 PM ET | Creating Memories
Intergenerational relationships, cherished by both young and old, are featured in these endearing picture books.
Gabriella Aldeman, Squawk of Spanish (Charlesbridge)
Hannah Chung, The Most Perfect Persimmon (Astra Books for Young Readers)
Ruth Forman, Like So (Simon & Schuster)
Laurel Goodluck & Bridget George, Too Much (Simon & Schuster)
Aisha Saeed, Zuni and the Memory Jar (Penguin Young Readers)
Moderator: Marva Hinton, Articles Development Editor, The Horn Book, Inc.
3:35 – 4:25 PM ET | Visualizing the Text
Children’s picture book artists discuss forthcoming books and the considerations and challenges when approaching a manuscript.
Matthew Cordell, The Ship in the Window (Penguin Young Readers)
Liniers, Night Stories: Folktales from Latin America (Astra Books for Young Readers)
Zahra Marwan, Sakina and the Uninvited Guests (Bloomsbury)
Minnie Phan, Simone (Astra Books for Young Readers)
Lauren Redniss, Heatwave (Random House Children’s Books)
Moderator: Rachel Zuffa, Librarian, Case High School, Racine (WI)
DON’T MISS THESE FREE RESOURCES!
Get behind-the-scenes looks at these new books by Caldecott Medalists!
Watch the Behind-The-Scenes Videos!
Bring this interactive, rhyming ASL read aloud into your library with the ASL Storytime Guide for Teachers and Librarians!
Meet the artists and award-winning illustrators behind these new amazing books with this fun webinar on demand!
Hear from legendary singer Mavis Staples and award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford on their new book, BRIDGES INSTEAD OF WALLS.