A Geisel Honor for TOWED BY TOAD!

Plus, stars for MABEL and a peek at my 2025 TBR pile

I’ve talked before how about how Towed by Toad began as a funny animal / truck book and ended up being unexpectedly personal.

Well, this book keeps surprising me.

When the phone rang on Sunday night, this was the last thing I expected.¹

Thank you to the ALA, the ALSC, and the Geisel committee for honoring Towed by Toad! Thank you to my agent Erica and the team at Tundra Books—Tara, Ashley, Sophie, Katelyn, and Sam—for guiding Toad on the road to publication and beyond. Thank you to Emily and Max for their love and support.

Thanks to all the friends, family, colleagues, booksellers, and librarians who’ve reached out—I really appreciate it.

A big thanks to readers of all ages out there! And congrats to all the other winners and honorees!

Stars for Mabel

Every Monday Mabel received two more starred reviews!

From The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books:

Confidently illustrated and presented without didacticism, Mabel’s story is an arm-pumping, truck-horn toot to each person reveling in their own “garbage.”

From School Library Journal:

VERDICT Children will be empowered to declare their own special events each week, while educators and parents will see that even small moments are worthy of celebration.

Every Monday Mabel is out February 25th.

New Year, New TBR pile

Back in December,

Caroline Carlson

² asked me to contribute to Lit Hub’s “Most Anticipated Children’s Books of 2025” list. Every day, I read exciting new book announcements or see beautiful cover reveals—there are so many great picture books coming out this year! The books I highlighted were the first to come to mind.³

Little Freddie Two Pants (The Dog with Too Many Pants) by Drew Daywalt, Illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins
As soon as I saw its bright, bold cover, Little Freddie Two Pants went right to the top of my list of most anticipated books of 2025! From the creators of The Day the Crayons Quit (Daywalt) and Stumpkin (Cummins), this one is bound to be a big hit at any storytime as it dares to ask the question, “How many pants should a dog wear?” (Philomel, February 25)

Aggie and the Ghost by Matthew Forsythe

If you’ve read Pokko and The Drum or Mina, you know that any new picture book by Matthew Forsythe is something to look forward to! Aggie and The Ghost tells the story of a girl who moves into a new house only to discover that it is haunted. Her solution to the problem? Challenge the ghost to an epic game of tic-tac-toe, of course. (Paula Wiseman Books, August 19)

Speechless by Aron Nels Steinke

Aron Nels Steinke’s series Mr. Wolf’s Class is a favorite in my household, so we’re all eagerly awaiting his new graphic novel. Speechless is about Mira, who struggles to speak in public and has to deal with a best friend turned enemy turned roommate. While the story still takes place in a school, this time it’s filled with kids rather than anthropomorphic animals. (Graphix, March 4)

Quick Links

• A Towed by Toad appreciation by Jerrold Connors!⁴

• Great episode of This Is Love podcast all about Margaret Wise Brown and Goodnight Moon. (via

  Chrissie Wright
  )

• Jbrary’s 2024 Favorite Storytime Picture Books, featuring Towed by Toad!

• I’m on bluesky!

• Missed the 2025 YMA awards press conference? Watch it here.

Thanks for reading!

-JQA

1. I didn’t answer, of course—I am a millennial after all. I’m so glad Maria left a message and I could call the committee back! It was so nice to hear the news (and cheers) from them.

2. Her upcoming cozy fantasy novel The Tinkerers is coming out this fall from Candlewick Press!

3. I keep a much longer (and ever-evolving) list in the form of library holds.

4. Jerrold Connors is making his picture book debut in 2025 with Jim!, a biography of James Marshall, but I already can't wait for his follow-up, Big Rhinoceros, Little Rhinoceros, in which a pair of rhinos go for a walk and learn together.