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Tag: Balzer + Bray

September 5, 2025 by Travis Jonker

SURPRISE! I’m Making a Book with Carter Higgins: LITTLE TURTLE POND

I'm illustrating a story written by Carter Higgins!

December 17, 2014 by Travis Jonker

Top 20 Books of 2014: 15-11

#20-16 | #15-11 | #10-6 | #5-1 15. Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton [Candlewick Press | Grades PreK-1] Click here for additional resources from Watch. Connect. Read. With its combination of suspense and broad humor, Shh! We Have a Plan plays like the best Chuck Jones Merrie Melodies cartoon that never happened. You can practically […]

February 4, 2014 by Travis Jonker

Review: Baby Bear by Kadir Nelson

Baby Bear By Kadir Nelson Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins) ISBN: 9780062241726 $17.99 Grades PreK-1 In Stores Find it at: Schuler Books | Your Library Man, are there a lot of bedtime books out there. With reading to children being such a pre-sleep ritual, however, this proliferation of books dedicated to sawing logs makes sense. In […]

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Review: Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker

August 27, 2012 by Travis Jonker

Summer of the Gypsy Moths By Sara Pennypacker Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins) ISBN: 9780061964206 $15.99 Grades 4-6 In Stores *Best New Book* Find it at: Schuler Books | Your Library In my need to draw pop culture comparisons whenever possible, I’m tempted to call Summer of the Gypsy Moths “Weekend at Bernie’s as a coming-of-age […]

Review: Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen

January 24, 2012 by Travis Jonker

Extra Yarn By Mac Barnett Illustrated by Jon Klassen Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins) ISBN: 9780061953385 $16.99 Grades K-2 In Stores *Best New Book* Find it at: Schuler Books | Your Library I’ve never knitted anything in my life (or is it just “knit”?). Not a thing. The extent of my self-crafted wardrobe is limited to […]

10 Fiction Picture Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2012

January 17, 2012 by Travis Jonker

2012 may go down as the year of the picture book sequel. Aside from the Mo Willems offering I mention below, expect sequels to The Dunderheads, I Must Have Bobo, LMNO Peas, Say Hello to Zorro, Oh No!, Dinotrux, A Pet for Petunia and a whole bunch more. Borrowing heavily (see: stealing) from A Fuse […]

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10 to Note: Winter Preview 2011-12

November 22, 2011 by Travis Jonker

Interested in learning about some of the most intriguing children’s books coming out this winter but would like to keep the amount of titles to a number easily divisible by 5 and 2? This, friend, is the post for you. What follows are 10 books that had me pretending to stroke my whiskers, raise one […]

10 to Note: Fall Preview 2011

August 16, 2011 by Travis Jonker

Catalogs pored over, eyes sufficiently sapped of all moisture – it must be time to look at the 10 books that come out in September, October, and November that have me going around saying “aww, yeah!” to strangers. Or maybe just thinking it. While I search for the Visene®, take a look at the list. […]

10 to Note: Summer Preview 2011

May 10, 2011 by Travis Jonker

With all the summer catalogs properly pored over, now is the time for the quarterly season preview I call 10 to Note. The following is a highly subjective list of books set to arrive in June, July, and August that are intriguing to my eyes and ears. Fiction Missing on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach; […]

Review: Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj

March 1, 2011 by Travis Jonker

Cat Secrets By Jef Czekaj Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins) ISBN: 9780061920882 $16.99 Grades K-2 In Stores On a purely technical level every book engages the reader, right? The act of reading or listening demands at least a small amount of participation. Then you run into a book like Cat Secrets, which shows the heights to […]

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