What I’m Doing at Kirkus This Week,
Plus What I Did Last Week,
Featuring Kate Berube, Ryan T. Higgins,
Rafael López, Antoinette Portis, and Chris Raschka
![h1](http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/wp-content/themes/impossiblethings/images/h1.gif)
— From Kate Berube’s Mae’s First Day of School
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/BF3smallzz.jpg)
— From Antoinette Portis’s Best Frints at Skrool
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![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/WW2small.jpg)
We’ve got the whole world in our hands.”
— From Rafael López’s We’ve Got the Whole World in Our Hands
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![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/DS3small.jpg)
Here’s a poem I made up …”
— From Liz Garton Scanlon’s and Audrey Vernick’s Dear Substitute,
illustrated by Chris Raschka
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![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/WDE1small.jpg)
— From Ryan T. Higgins’s We Don’t Eat Our Classmates
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Over at Kirkus today, I’ve got two new picture books on the mind, ones that take a look at both sides of a story.
That is here.
Last week, I wrote here about some good new back-to-school picture books, including Kate Berube’s Mae’s First Day of School (Abrams, July 2018); Antoinette Portis’s Best Frints at Skrool (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, June 2018); Liz Garton Scanlon’s and Audrey Vernick’s Dear Substitute (Disney-Hyperion, June 2018), illustrated by Chris Raschka; Ryan T. Higgins’s We Don’t Eat Our Classmates (Disney-Hyperion, June 2018); and Rafael López’s We’ve Got the Whole World in Our Hands (Orchard/Scholastic, October 2018).
I’m following up today with art from each book.
Enjoy!
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/Mae1left.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/Mae1right.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/Mae2small.jpg)
‘Me neither,’ said Mae. ‘Would you like a cookie?'”
(Click to enlarge)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/Mae3left.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/Mae3right.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/Mae4left.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/Mae4right.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/Mae5small.jpg)
We’re all afraid of the same things. I’m glad I’m not the only one.'”
(Click to enlarge spread and read text in its entirety)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/Maecover.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/DS1small.jpg)
The substitute says
we’re not coming to you …”
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![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/DS2small.jpg)
We usually only get you on Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday.
Today’s an extra. …”
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![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/DScover.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/BF1left.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/BF1right.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/BF2small.jpg)
(Click to enlarge spread and read text in its entirety)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/BF4smallqq.jpg)
so they can think hard about what they’ve done.”
(Click to enlarge spread and read text in its entirety)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/BFcover.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/WW1small.jpg)
(Click to enlarge spread)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/WW3small.jpg)
(Click to enlarge spread)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/WW4small.jpg)
(Click to enlarge spread)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/WW5use.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/WWcover.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/WDE2left.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/WDE2right.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/WDE3small.jpg)
![](http://blaine.org/7pics/2018/08/WDEcover.jpg)
BEST FRINTS AT SKROOL. Copyright © 2018 by Antoinette Portis. Published by Neal Porter Books/Roaring Brook Press, New York. Illustrations reproduced by permission of Antoinette Portis.
DEAR SUBSTITUTE. Text copyright © 2018 by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick. Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Chris Raschka. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Disney-Hyperion, New York.
MAE’S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. Copyright © 2018 by Kate Berube. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Abrams Books for Young Readers, New York.
WE DON’T EAT OUR CLASSMATES. Copyright © 2018 by Ryan T. Higgins. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Disney-Hyperion, New York.
WE’VE GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN OUR HANDS. Interior illustrations © 2018 by Rafael López. Used with permission from Orchard Books/Scholastic.
I picked up Scanlon & Verdick’s DEAR SUBSTITUTE after reading about it here and it did NOT disappoint. Clever, funny–and dead-on about the tricky business of being a substitute (a job which I did for a number of years to bridge my teaching and writing lives) and being a student who HAS a substitute. Thanks for this great post on back-to school books–I plan to read the others soon!