Ursula Nordstrom Would Never: No. 6

Reflections on what works (and doesn't) in kidlit

I’m noticing a trend in some of my recent picture book reading.

Picture book publishing has a whopping case of, “Honey, I forgot the plot.”

An author has a hook or concept with chops, but they put that concept to work in kind of a floppy vacuum that never actually goes anywhere.

Here are two examples:

• The Good Mermaid’s Guide to Bedtime by Eija Sumner, i…