🐢 SCHOOL VISITS 🎉 I've been packing in all the visits I can leading up to the summer break, and I still have a few more later this week. (Hey Milwaukee!) Presenting for days on end can be exhausting, but the students' enthusiasm at every school brings me so much joy.

More Turtle storytimes and draw-alongs coming up! Find me in Winnetka and Oak Park this June, and Cincinnati this July. Turtley ready for summer reads!  🐢🏖️

Signed copies of Turtle Slept In and Umami are now available in Indianapolis! Stop by Golden Hour Books, The Whispering Shelf, or Kids Ink Books to pick up yours while they last 🐢🐧📚

Art process explained 🐢🎨 Hope this adds a bit of clarity on how the many oil pastel mono prints build up to create a full scene!

Join me for a 🐢 storytime and draw-along in Louisville this Saturday 🖍️📚🎉 @carmichaels.bsky.social I'll read my new picture book, Turtle Slept In, share some drawing activities, and hang around after to sign and say hello! #louisvilleky #livelou

Educators! 🐢🖍️ Turtle coloring/fact sheets are now free to download on my website: jacobgrantbooks.com You can find Umami worksheets there as well - just click on a book to access the links!

How I made the art for Turtle Slept In 🐢🏖️ Gather some oil pastels and color pencils and try it yourself! @penguinkids.bsky.social

OAK PARK this Saturday! Join me for a storytime and draw-along as I celebrate my new picture book, Turtle Slept In, with our neighborhood indie Dandelion Bookshop  🐢🏖️  I'll read the new book, draw some turtles, and hang around after to sign books and say hello! #oakpark #oakparkil

Happy book birthday, Turtle! 🎂🐢  Many thanks to Meriam Metoui, Kate Renner, Anabeth Bostrup and the rest of the team at Viking Children's Books @penguinkids.bsky.social for believing in Turtle's story from the moment it hatched. Who's ready for a beach trip?? #kidlit #childrensbooks

Calendar update! I've had a shift in travel plans, and will not be at Blue Marble on May 9 as I had hoped. We're going to work with schools in the early fall and plan for an event at the shop then. Keep an eye out for several Cincy area events in late July 🐢☀️ For now, Evanston Tues! Oak Park Sat!

Early studies for Turtle Slept In 🐢🥚 See the results of all these bits and pieces when the book is on shelves Tuesday! @penguinkids.bsky.social #kidlit #childrensbooks

Not a bad start for our little Turtle! I thought it would be fun to write these by hand and now I realize they might be illegible scrawl. Apologies if that's the case. Just imagine they all say very nice things!

🐢 COVER SKETCHES 🐢 Ever wonder how much bookmakers think about their cover design? We obsess over it! And not just a little bit - like a fairly unhealthy amount. The only cure for this obsession is to sketch up a hundred ideas in hopes that we'll find the perfect baby. Did we get it right?

TURTLE SLEPT IN on shelves next week! 🐢🏖️ @penguinkids.bsky.social #kidlit

TURTLE SLEPT IN events coming up! Join me for a storytime and draw-along at one of these fine booksellers in the weeks ahead. First, we kick things off with a Turtle Pajama Party @bookedevanston.bsky.social  🐢🎉 Hope to see you there!

Preorder TURTLE SLEPT IN from Dandelion Bookshop for a chance to get your own 6x4 🐢 art! dandelionbookshop.com/spotlight/tu... I've made 20 of these little guys so get them while they last! Signed books will continue to be available after 🏖️ #kidlit

Turtle will be in stores in 2 weeks, and to celebrate, the first 20 preorders made through my local indie Dandelion Bookshop will be shipped with a 6x4 piece of original art! dandelionbookshop.com/spotlight/tu... #kidlit

TURTLE PARTY 🐢🎉 Join me @bookedevanston.bsky.social on Tues, April 28 to celebrate my new book's release into the wild. There will be pajamas, and drawing, and even a turtle egg hunt! I can't wait to share Turtle's story with you all.

Fun times with the Mannheim School District in Illinois 📚🖍🎉 Many thanks to the kids, teachers, and phenomenal librarians for making me feel so welcome. Check out those hand-painted book covers made by the library assistants! 😮 #kidlit

The experiments continue. Choosing the best paper for the job is tough, but I like this one. #kidlitart

7 Umami draw-alongs for 7 schools - another WRAD complete! The day is always a bit of a marathon, but it brings me so much joy to read and draw with the students. Thank you everyone for being such kind hosts! #wrad26 #worldreadaloudday

The easel has squeezed back into the tiny studio and all is set for World Read Aloud Day! 📚🖍️✨ #wrad26 #worldreadaloudday

Join the auction to support communities impacted by ICE in Minnesota! www.32auctions.com/publishingfo... We have our own struggles with ICE in Illinois, and I'm offering manuscript reviews for $50 donations to the IL Coalition for Immigrants and Refugee Rights: www.icirr.org We stand together ❤️

2025 was tough from start to finish, but here's to a better year ahead, from our team to yours

Wherever you celebrate the holidays, here's hoping the whole village can make it.

The Choose To Read Ohio Booklist has some hot ones for 2026 🔥 Honored to have Umami on the list among some of our favorites!

Necessary repost! Wishing you a holiday surrounded by all of the hungry 🐧 you can fit at the table

The first experiment for something new 🦝 #kidlit

🐧 Find me this Friday at the Art Academy of Concinnati & Saturday at Books By The Banks 🐧 Fri 10:30 am: Panel talk at AAC with 6 other book illustrators Fri 5-8pm: Gallery opening at AAC with many book illustrators from the region Sat 10-4pm: Meeting readers and signing books at Books By The Banks

Celebrate #nationaldonutday with the kids 😉

🎂 Happy book birthday, Umami! 🎂 What is your favorite food on your birthday? Comment on my Insta post for a chance to win your own Umami washi tape! 3 winners to be announced - (shipping limited to US)

Baby's first book birthday! 🎂 This Wednesday, Oct 29, I'll be celebrating my favorite penguin's birthday with some special Umami washi tape giveaways. Let's party!

A little Reading Rainbow magic at Louisville Book Festival with @mychal3ts.bsky.social 🌈📚🐧 #kidlit

Saturday, join me for an Umami story time and draw-along in Louisville! Be ready to draw some 🐧🐧🐧

My Grandma passed away recently at the impressive age of 96, and I've been thinking about the many warm memories I have from a childhood visiting her home. These doodles are a sort of archive for me to record that place and time. ❤️

Back coaching my daughter's 2nd grade ⚽ team all while making a story about a ⚽ team. The kids are slightly easier to coach this season - at least there are less shoes that need tying, but I'll never figure out how to keep them from throwing grass everywhere.

I'm pleased to announce that I've officially teamed up with Andrea Morrison at Writers House! It feels good to join the talented crew, and I'm excited for what's ahead.

Many thanks to everyone who celebrated Umami with me at the Secretary of State's tent this past Friday. It was a joy to read, draw, and talk about things to eat at the fair!

Find me this Friday at the Secretary of State's Tent from 10am-12pm, giving away 100 copies of Umami! Many thanks to Alexi Giannoulias and the IL State Library for making it all possible 📚🎉 #ilstatefair

My Virtual Saturday Stories with The Society of Illustrators is now on youtube, so grab your oil pastels and follow along as we make a monoprint! www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JHF... @soi128.bsky.social #kidlitart

Doodles from 🇨🇦 - We were lucky enough to spend the first couple weeks of July visiting family and friends in Kitchener, Toronto, and Muskoka - which meant lots of sketching!

Chicago friends! Join me @ 10am this Sunday for a free Umami storytime, draw-along, and hands-on art project at BASH Kids Club 🐧🖍️🎉

Materials for this week's Virtual Saturday Stories with @soi128.bsky.social 🖍️🎉 - oil pastels (student Cray-Pas are perfect) - color pencils - spoon - 8.5x11 printer paper (bring a few sheets) - a space where you can be messy Register here: societyillustrators.org/event/virtua...

While digging through my grade school art I found a favorite! Pretty sure I was just supposed to make a house 🔥

🖍️Free event!🖍️ I'm excited to be teaming up with @soi128.bsky.social for an Umami edition of Virtual Saturday Stories next month. Bring the kids, some oil pastels, and color pencils, and be prepared for a little mess! #kidlitart societyillustrators.org/event/virtua...

🐢 studies #kidlitart

A translation donation for @oakparklibrary.bsky.social 🌎📚 I dropped a big box of books off at the library yesterday with translations of my books from Spain, Poland, Korea, Taiwan, France and the Netherlands. Happy to have the books out of storage and out in the neighborhood! #kidlit

Monoprint demo from a workshop with 5th graders last week 🦕 The more colors, the better! #kidlitart

This Saturday I have the good fortune of joining a panel alongside Valerie Reynolds @jashar.bsky.social and Lindsay Bonilla - Hooray for picture books! If you're in Columbus drop by and say hello 📚🎉 #kidlit

The great green room at Blue Marble Books complete with a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush 💚 Many thanks to the shop and Ft Thomas Schools for making me feel so welcome! #kidlit