Picture books that make people cry

Dear #kidlit folks headed to ALA in a couple months: Have you written and/or illustrated a picture book with positive neurodiversity representation? If yes to both questions, please drop a comment with your book title (and cover for more fun!)

Notebook paper with purple crayon letters reading “I’m a cranky author”

My kid pranked me with this sign on the back this morning. She’s not wrong

I AM.

My wife has stable employment with health insurance. I teach (very) PT. I work too many hours. But advances for picture books have shrunk in the last 10 years & I’m wondering how I can sustain this work, or if it is possible

Have you ever gotten a review that made you cry… in a good way?

A brown penguin chick of some kind. It looks very much like a man in a suit. It is bedraggled and miserable

Made it to Friday but at what cost

Great cover!

Same

Please consider buying a commission so I can buy groceries.

Thanks!

Really disgusted with House minority leader Mike Chippendale using this tragedy as a soapbox for his anti-trans agenda. I guess he can’t even be bothered for thoughts and prayers for the victims and their families

Join me at Riffraff in Providence on Saturday, Feb 14 at 11am for a Love, Mama storytime and Valentine making! Donuts, hot chocolate, and full bar for the adults!

Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio) YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen

Never thought I’d say this, but… read the comments

youtu.be/wWKSoxG1K7w

How Silicon Valley built AI: Buying, scanning and discarding millions of books Court filings reveal how AI companies raced to obtain more books to feed chatbots, including by buying, scanning and disposing of millions of titles.

“If there is media coverage suggesting we have used a dataset we know to be pirated, such as LibGen, this may undermine our negotiating position with regulators on these issues”

They knew violating copyright law was wrong, but did it anyway

wapo.st/4rjXAMQ #kidlit

Brandi Carlile - Fairytale of New York (Holiday Livestream 2025) YouTube video by Brandi Carlile

For your enjoyment, Brandi Carlile singing Fairytale of New York

youtu.be/VnstFOTGJgc

I don’t know! The Authors Guild has been working hard

Professors aren’t trained in trauma-informed teaching, let alone student staff like RAs and TAs. Counselors are only helpful if people are willing to seek them out.

Sadly we have no SAG-AFTRA to speak for us collectively

Surprised to discover that in a mind boggling act of self sabotage, PW has let themselves be assimilated by AI

Unsure what creators should do beyond the funny “no” comments on this post. PW is such a trusted and central fixture of our industry. Was?

a man wearing sunglasses and a black sweater says " no way " ALT: a man wearing sunglasses and a black sweater says " no way "

Wow.

Purity Culture is Pedophile culture — Strongwilled For this series we at STRONGWILLED are exploring how purity culture, as prescribed by so many religious authoritarian parenting authors, created the ideal conditions to enable predators to sexually ab...

Check out “Strongwilled” on substack for a deep dive into right wing authoritarian parenting & its explicit intent to create adults who will conform to fascism, and the ways child abuse is inherent www.strongwilledproject.com/focus-on-the...

Activist Mollie Davis as drawn by Jeanette Bradley (c) 2025 Jeanette Bradley

Activist Mollie Davis unfurled a scroll of all the school shootings in the US
In 2019.

I deliberately showed the end of the scroll in this illustration, with the hope & belief that there will be an end someday.

How much longer until we act??

Illo from No Brain the Same (June 2026 (c)me)

My heart is with the families who sent their children off to Brown this semester, full of hope and excitement about their future, and who have been counting down the days until they are reunited for the holidays. And with everyone who spent Saturday night in fear — many in a basement, without food 💔

Some have no food

‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens UVALDE, TX—In the hours following a violent rampage in Texas in which a lone attacker killed at least 21 individuals and injured several others, citizens living in the only country where this kind of ...

Praying for the students and others on campus right now. Wish we had more than thoughts and prayers.

theonion.com/no-way-to-pr...

Stop by the Jamestown Arts Center this afternoon and pick up some holiday gifts! Gorgeous work by local artists and signed books by moi.

Last night as I tried to wedge a container of leftover turkey into the fridge, it slipped from my hands and hit the ground corner first, popping the lid & splattering an arc of shredded meat across the kitchen like a bad horror film.
The cat is living her best life. 🍗🐈

Great speech!

Top Stories Latest For You Ask The Post Al More Americans are getting their power shut off, as unpaid bills pile up Average electricity costs have risen 11 percent since January, more than three times the rate of inflation. By Abha Bhattarai Average change in residential Map shows Rhode Island and Nevada are only two states in US that have had a drop in home energy costs

Rhode Island is winning on energy costs - is it because of investments in alternative energy infrastructure? Anyone know why? #RhodeIsland

— The best part of the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner is the apps. The best T-Day meal I ever had was the All-Appetizer Friendsgiving I organized in grad school.

— The second-best part is fun cocktails/mocktails.

We’ve got a spiced sweet potato syrup this year - what should we make?