Picture Book & Early Reader Presenters

These presenters will be in area schools on Friday of the Festival and general sessions throughout the weekend. More presenters will be confirmed in the days and weeks ahead.

Matthew Diffee

Matthew Diffee has been contributing cartoons to The New Yorker since 1999. His work has also appeared in Time, The Huffington Post, The Believer, and Texas Monthly. He is the editor of three volumes of The Rejection Collection: Cartoons You Never Saw and Never Will See in The New Yorker, and has also worked as a freelance illustrator. Diffee is a recipient of the Silver Reuben Award for gag cartooning and was recently named Chairman of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society. He grew up in Texas and now lives in Los Angeles.

  • New Yorker cartoonist Matthew Diffee makes his children’s book debut with this laugh-out-loud twist on the classic animal sound book.

    The cow says “moo.” The horse says “neigh.” Everyone can agree on these. 

    But when the sheep says “baa,” the goat cuts in. The goat also says “baa.” Now what? No one wants to share their sound!

    The sheep has an idea—he’ll just say something no one’s ever said before: “zip zap wickety wack bing bang walla balla flip flap yackety yack.” But an otherworldly visitor shows up to lay claim to this sound, too—and the alien doesn’t want to share his identity either.

    When the alien proposes a radical new way forward, the sheep and the goat find a compromise—and it may sound familiar to adult readers . . .  

    New Yorker cartoonist Matthew Diffee’s hilarious wit will be an immediate hit with young readers in his first picture book. Sure to inspire boisterous read-alouds and threaded with a sneaky message about sharing, Zip Zap Wickety Wack will inspire new nonsense and new values in homes, classrooms, and farmyards around the world.

    A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Brianne Farley

Brianne Farley is the author of Secret Tree Fort and Ike's Incredible Ink. She illustrated Dozens of Doughnuts by Carrie Finison, the Charlotte the Scientist books by Camille Andros, and Building Books by Megan Wagner Lloyd. Farley studied creative writing and art at Macalester College and received her MFA in illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She lives in Michigan.

  • A sweetly humorous picture book about composting, told from the point of view of a worm.

    Meet Worm. He might be little. He might have no hands. But Worm would love to make a sandwich, just for you! 

    To get started he’ll need just one thing: garbage! Delicious, delectable garbage like apple cores and mushy grapes, broccoli bottoms and carrot tops, sad celery, and drippy cucumbers. Worm and his friends eat the garbage. And then they do what everyone does after they eat garbage. They poop! The poop goes in the compost and the compost goes in your garden, which is where the vegetables for your sandwich come from!

    Simple, right? Worm thought you’d agree. He might just need a bit of assistance along the way . . .

    This hilarious, engaging picture book is the perfect introduction to the process of composting from start to finish, told from the perspective of one little worm who is very eager to help.

Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker graduated from Petoskey High School and is now the school librarian for Dorr Elementary (Dorr, MI). He is the author of The Very Last Castle, Blue Floats Away, The Ship in the Window, and Caboose, as well as the author-illustrator of Just One Flake and Just One Wave. Jonker lives with his wife and two children in Zeeland, Michigan. 

  • A hilarious celebration of summertime, curiosity, and outdoor play in this companion to Just One Flake, from critically acclaimed author-illustrator and elementary school librarian Travis Jonker

    It’s the perfect day to go to the beach. The sun is shining, the sand is warm, and the water is . . . completely still?

    Liam is determined to catch a wave, no matter what. He tries waiting patiently . . . no luck. He asks the seagulls for help . . . they are no help. He even tries tempting a wave with his beautiful sandcastle, but the water refuses to budge.

    Nothing seems to work. Until, in a sudden moment of inspiration, Liam realizes if he can’t find a wave, he’ll just have to make one himself.

    From librarian and picture-book creator Travis Jonker comes this companion to the beloved Just One Flake—another hilarious and satisfying story all about the magic and creativity of outdoor play.

Rebecca Lee Kunz

Rebecca Lee Kunz grew up in Oklahoma and went on to earn a BFA in painting from the College of Santa Fe. Kunz is an artist and owns Tree of Life Studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she runs her business and raises three daughters. A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, her work draws upon traditional iconography and is greatly inspired by mythic and archetypal symbolism. Her debut picture book, Chooch Helped, was awarded the Caldecott Medal.

  • Caldecott Medal Winner

    A Cherokee girl introduces her younger brother to their family's traditions — begrudgingly! — in this picture book written by Walter Award-winner Andrea L. Rogers and featuring gorgeous collage illustrations from debut artist Rebecca Lee Kunz.

    Sissy’s younger brother, Chooch, isn’t a baby anymore. They just celebrated his second birthday, after all. But no matter what Chooch does — even if he’s messing something up! Which is basically all the time! — their parents say he’s just “helping.” Sissy feels that Chooch can get away with anything!

    When Elisi paints a mural, Chooch helps. When Edutsi makes grape dumplings, Chooch helps. When Oginalii gigs for crawdads, Chooch helps. When Sissy tries to make a clay pot, Chooch helps . . .

    “Hesdi!” Sissy yells. Quit it! And Chooch bursts into tears. What follows is a tender family moment that will resonate with anyone who has welcomed a new little one to the fold. Chooch Helped is a universal story of an older sibling learning to make space for a new child, told with grace by Andrea L. Rogers and stunning art from Rebecca Lee Kunz showing one Cherokee family practicing their cultural traditions.

Nathan W. Pyle

Nathan W. Pyle is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Strange Planet; Stranger Planet; Strange Planet: The Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature; NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette; and 99 Stories I Could Tell. He is based in Pennsylvania with his wife and kids, but travels the country speaking about creativity and storytelling.

  • It’s bedtime for beaches everywhere–and the Moon is ready to tuck them in. But when one shoreline snuggles up under the cozy blanket of the ocean…the other goes without cover! This hilarious bedtime story from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Strange Planet is sure to lull little ones and their frazzled grown-ups to sleep.

    Have you ever wondered how a beach goes to bed?

    It has to be tucked in, of course!

    So, who tucks in all the beaches around the world? The Moon!

    There’s just one problem–tucking in one shoreline means another one doesn’t have enough cover. Will the Moon find a way to satisfy everyone so that they can all finally get some sleep?

    This tender, laugh-out-loud picture book perfectly captures the bedtime struggle while also teaching kids a pinch of science about the Moon and the tides. And adults and kiddos can check out the backmatter to learn even more about the science behind the tides!