Many nights, a young boy has trouble falling asleep.
His dad says falling asleep is just like any other game: as long as he keeps trying, he will win.
Maybe he just needs to copy his dog’s sleep position? Or maybe count a whole lot more sheep?
Nope.
A hilarious picture book collaboration with the amazing Argentinean illustrator ISOL (winner of the 2013 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award).
THE WORDS OF THE ASTRID LINDGREN MEMORIAL AWARD (ALMA) JURY ABOUT ISOL UPON MAKING HER THE LAUREATE OF THE 2013 ALMA AWARD:
“As a visual storyteller, Isol sees things from the eye level of a child. She is unfailingly loyal to her young readers. A straight, consistent line of energy and trust runs through all her works. (…) Isol’s works contain extreme elements, fun elements and unpredictable elements, along with humour and an ability to create visual narratives with a surprising twist.”
– The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Jury
TRANSLATION RIGHTS INQUIRIES:
If you are a publisher interested in checking out and potentially licensing rights to our book, it will be announced in the Fall 2026 catalog from Syllables Agency (ahead of the 2026 Frankfurt Book Fair), which will be available here.
ORDER HERE (English edition)
Things I Learned from My Dog is a heartwarming picture book, illustrated by celebrated Canadian illustrator Dena Seiferling (The Couch in the Yard, Night Lunch). This poignant story promises to capture the hearts of readers young and old.
Things I Learned from My Dog follows a boy’s transformative journey of growth and self-discovery, guided by the unconditional love and life lessons imparted by his loyal dog, Luna. The book combines humor, heartfelt moments, and universal truths, making it a timeless ode to the beautiful bond between humans and their pets.
RIGHTS SOLD:
English (world) and French (North America), Portuguese (Brazil)
TRANSLATION RIGHTS INQUIRIES:
If you are a publisher interested in licensing rights to this book, please get in touch with Florence Pariente at Ttipi Agency (France) by clicking here.
REVIEWS:
"A stunningly crafted tribute to dogs and the lives they enrich." — Kirkus Reviews(STARRED REVIEW) ⭐
"Yep, it's a dog book. And maybe the prettiest one you’ve seen in a long long time. An absolutely beautiful read. Brilliant stuff all around." — Betsy Bird (A Fuse 8, School Library Journal)
"This poignant picture book about the joys of canine companionship and the lasting aches of loss is vivified by sweet, antiqued illustrations in the style of intricate pencil sketches; it is sure to warm every pet lover’s heart." — Foreword Reviews
"While Santos’s text tells the story perfectly, Seiferling’s illustrations take the story to the next level. The story will resonate with anyone who has ever loved an animal." — Quill & Quire
★ A2026 dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picturebooks selection
Illustrator: Iwona Chmielewska
FINITO is a poetic, profound, thought-provoking, and visually stunning picture book about the finitude of life and the importance of enjoying every moment of it.
A beautiful picture book that will leave both young and older readers with a delicious carpe diem taste in their mouths.
ILLUSTRATOR BIO:
Iwona Chmielewska is a world-renowned Polish picture book author and illustrator whose touching, profound books have been translated into many languages and received numerous awards.
Celebrated by readers and critics worldwide for her poetic and sensitive style, she has won the Golden Apple Award at the Biennial of Illustration Bratislava, is a three-time winner of the Bologna Ragazzi Award, and has been a multiple-time finalist for the Hans Christian Andersen Award—often called “the Nobel Prize of picture books.” She has once again been nominated for the 2026 edition of the Hans Christian Andersen Award.
“Her original way of perceiving a book as a unibody of images and text, a perfect container for sequences of pictures and sets of verses, is truly amazing, and bewilders the audience with every new title she has created or contributed to.”
– from Iwona’s 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award IBBY nomination dossier
RIGHTS SOLD:
Korean; Simplified Chinese; Portuguese (Brazil), and Italian
TRANSLATION RIGHTS INQUIRIES:
If you are a publisher interested in licensing rights to this book, please get in touch with my foreign rights agent by clicking here.
PUBLICATION GRANT AVAILABLE FROM THE PORTUGUESE GOVERNMENT FOR FOREIGN EDITIONS
English-edition release date: October 21, 2025
Purchase links are available here. You can also buy your copy at Bookshop.org and support indie bookstores.
★ A 2025 White Ravens book
★ A 2025/2026 dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picturebooks selection
★ Winner of the 2025 edition of the Portuguese National Illustration Prize
★ A 2026 Nami Island Concours winner
★ A 2025 Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition finalist
★ A Fuse 8 Production (School Library Journal) 2025 Unconventional Children’s Bookselection by Betsy Bird
★ Winner of the 2025 Dad Suggests Picture Book Awards (Best Picture Book of 2025)
★ Selo Seleção from Caminhos de Leitura in Portugal (2025)
Have you noticed the world is full of weird people? In this book you will meet several of them. Come on, don’t be weird. What are you waiting for to start reading?
From the author of What Makes Us Human (a 2023 White Ravens selection already translated into 41 languages) and from the renowned and beloved Portuguese illustrator Catarina Sobral (winner of the 2014 International Award for Illustration at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, winner of the 2023 National Illustration Prize in Portugal, and nominated several times for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award), comes a fun, funny, and possibly beautifully weird book about people’s quirks and the notions of weird vs normal.
RIGHTS SOLD (publication grant is avaiable from the Portuguese government):
English (world), French (world), Italian (world), Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil), Spanish (USA + Latin America minus Argentina), Spanish (Spain), Catalan (world), Korean (world), Greek (world), Farsi (world), Croatian (world), Mongolian (Cyrillic alphabet, Mongolia), Estonian (world), Danish (world)
TRANSLATION RIGHTS INQUIRIES:
If you are a publisher interested in licensing rights to this book, please get in touch with my foreign rights agent by clicking here.
REVIEWS:
“Young readers will be amused [...] and delighted to be able to see beyond the protagonist’s literal-mindedness. A different kind of dare-to-be-different book […] with a multigenerational, diverse cast.” – Kirkus Reviews
“This charming picture book explores the diversity of human behavior. Victor D.O. Santos’s succinct text is vividly brought to life through Catarina Sobral’s dynamic illustrations, which add details and side stories.. A funny, empathetic, compassionate picture book.”– White Ravens jury member Jochen Weber
"No truer words have been written—people are, in fact, weird. The work features a variety of amusing scenes to supplement the child’s quirky observations. Great for reading aloud to observant kids full of questions about the world." — Booklist
"People Are Weird is a kid-sized manifesto that confronts contradictions, embraces honesty, and champions being unapologetically oneself." — Montreal Review of Books
"Easily one of the best picture books I’ve read this year. This book has everything. It’s quirky, it’s funny, it’s beautiful. It’s a slice of life kind of book that’s fun for kids and a thinker for adults. Most importantly, it’s fun to read." — Ryan Billingsley (Dad Suggests)
"Weirdly good. […] Rather clever messaging […] and all accompanied by the truly fun and incredible art of Catarina Sobral" — Betsy Bird (School Library Journal’s ‘A Fuse 8 Production’)
⭐ Selected for the dPICTUS Unpublished Picturebook Showcase 6 (8th most voted book out of 600+ entries from over 70 countries)
From the author of What Makes Us Human (a 2023 White Ravens selection) and from Anna M. Kjærgaard, the 2026 ALMA-nominated Danish illustrator of Coffee, Rabbit, Snowdrop, Lost (a 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book, a 2022 Kirkus Prize finalist, and a 2022 USBBY Outstanding International Book)
Pedro’s birthday is coming up soon. This year, things will be different. Pedro and his parents had to leave their home country in search of a better life, and all of Pedro’s friends stayed behind. For his birthday, all Pedro wants is a friend. A touching story about immigration, hope, and friendship.
TRANSLATION RIGHTS SOLD :
Dutch (world), Korean (world), Danish (world), European Portuguese (Portugal), and Brazilian Portuguese (Brazil)
All other languages currently available, including world English.
TRANSLATION RIGHTS INQUIRIES:
If you are a publisher interested in licensing rights to this book, please get in touch with my foreign rights agent by clicking here.
⭐A 2026 dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picturebooks selection
⭐ A “Good Books for Everyone” (好書大家讀) selection by The Children's Literature Association of the Republic of China and the Taipei City Library
Summary:
From the same creators of the acclaimed picture books My Dad, My Rock (a Kirkus Best Book of 2022) and What Makes Us Human (a White Ravens 2023 selection already translated into twenty languages) comes a touching story about cherishing our memories, the present moment, and our loved ones before it is too late.
On Saturdays, Claire’s dad likes to take her to a special place. There are no toys or games there, so sometimes Claire prefers to stay home. Today, before it is time to leave, Claire finds a letter that could change everything . . .
With lyrical text and beautiful illustrations full of metaphors, Before I Forget deals with the heartbreaking experience for children of witnessing a loved one who suffers from dementia lose, little by little, their memories and their ability to function normally. Selected for the dPICTUS Unpublished Picture Book Showcase 5 (2024).
TRANSLATION RIGHTS SOLD :
Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Catalan & Italian
TRANSLATION RIGHTS INQUIRIES:
If you are a publisher interested in licensing rights to this book, please get in touch with my foreign rights agent by clicking here.
DISCUSSION GUIDES: For the Main Discussion Guide to the book, click here (courtesy of Eerdmans Books for Young Readers). For an Additional Discussion Guide (with ideas/activities not present in the Main Guide), click here.
HOW TO REQUEST A COPY FOR YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY: click here
⭐ A White Ravens 2023 book (awarded to the original Brazilian Portuguese edition)
⭐ A 2025 USBBY Outstanding International Book
⭐ A 2025 Bologna Ragazzi (BRAW) Amazing Bookshelf – Sustainability selection
⭐ A Best Book of 2024 in the USA, China, Japan, Portugal, and Greece!
AVAILABLE AT: Barnes and Noble, Eerdmans, Bookshop, Amazon US, Amazon UK
Release: March 5, 2024 / IS BN: 9780802856258
Illustrator: Anna Forlati
Read UNESCO’s official announcement about the book on their website (EN, ES, FR, PT, AR, IT)
I have been around for a very long time. Longer than toys, dogs, or anyone you know. I am everywhere. CAN YOU GUESS WHAT I AM?
⭐ A White Ravens 2023 selection by the International Youth Library, in Munich (Germany)
⭐ Selected for the 2024 Original Art Exhibit by the American Society of Illustrators (SOI)
⭐ Selected for the dPICTUS Unpublished Picture Book Showcase 4
⭐ Selected for the Bologna Book Fair 2023 special exhibition Beauty and the World: The New Nonfiction Picture Book
TRANSLATION RIGHTS SOLD (editions already published or on pre-order are clickable)
English (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers), French (Les 400 Coups), Spanish (La Maleta Ediciones), Italian (Terre di Mezzo), German, Chinese Simplified (Everafter Books), Korean (Hanbit Media), Arabic (Kalimat), Brazilian Portuguese (Editorial Abacatte), European Portuguese (Penguin Random House), Turkish (Yapi Kredi Yayinlari), Japanese (Nishimura Shoten), Slovenian (Malinc), Greek (Epomenos Stathmos), Marathi (Jyotsna Prakashan), Basque (La Maleta), Galician (La Maleta), Catalan (La Maleta), Asturian (La Maleta), Farsi (TUTI Books), Spanish/Mapuzungun (Planeta Sostenible), Spanish/Hñähñü (Secretaría de Cultura del Estado de Querétaro), Mauritian Creole (Editions Vizavi), Hawaiian (University of Hawai’i), Bambara, Soninké, Wolof, Pulaar, Esperanto, Itza’, Mopan, Ch’orti’, Uspanteko, Kaqchikel, Q’eqchi’, Russian, Belarusian, Nepali, Luxembourgish, Mongolian (Cyrillic), Mongolian (Traditional script), Uzbek, Chuj, Popti', Q'anjob'al, Awakateko, Tz'utujil, K'iche', and Mam.
TRANSLATION RIGHTS INQUIRIES:
If you are a publisher interested in licensing rights to this book, please get in touch with my foreign rights agent by clicking here.
REVIEWS:
"Will make readers wonder more with every turn of a page...illustrations are beautifully rendered...the profundity of the topic of language itself hits its mark. A beautiful addition to all libraries." — School Library Journal (STARRED REVIEW)
“Lovely . . . satisfying . . . appealing.” – Booklist
“ Striking . . . artful and attractive.” –Kirkus Reviews
“ Thought-provoking . . . engaging . . . Forlati’s digital illustrations represent both literal and figurative interpretations of the text and beg to be re-examined by the reader . . .[a] fine book.” – Horn Book
"Filled with mystery, suspense and intriguing facts, Santos writes one of the most remarkable picture books of all time for students ages first through fifth grade.”— Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database
“[An] intriguing, captivating masterpiece . . . an important book in every regard.”— Kendal Rautzhan, “Books to Borrow, Books to Buy”
In this video, Yalitza Aparicio, UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassador for Indigenous Peoples and actress nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in 2018 for her role in the movie Roma, reads excerpts from the Spanish/Mapuzungun edition of What Makes Us Human. (Video Copyright: UNESCO)
Illustrator: Anna Forlati
⭐ A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2022 (starred review)
⭐ A Publishers Weekly Children’s Book for Father’s Day in 2022
Oliver never met his grandpa. He wonders what he would tell Grandpa if the two of them could meet, even once. Oliver decides that he would tell him about an amazing man that Grandpa never met: Oliver's dad, Grandpa's own son. In this touching and heartfelt story, you will be taken on a journey of what it means to be a dad and to be the master of your own destiny.
TRANSLATION RIGHTS SOLD (editions already published or on pre-order are clickable)
English (Scribble), Polish (Słowne, rights reverted and available again), Korean (Hanbit Media), Brazilian Portuguese (Abacatte Editorial), Chinese Simplified (LookBook), Turkish (Yapi Kredi Yanulari), French (Éditions Circonflexe), Spanish (only for Chile), and Italian
TRANSLATION RIGHTS INQUIRIES:
If you are a publisher interested in licensing rights to this book, please get in touch with my foreign rights agent by clicking here.
ENDORSEMENTS/REVIEWS:
“Santos ably describes the love and encouraging support that children want from parents at all stages of life. Using short sentences, Santos’ approachable text feels true to a child’s understanding of a nurturing parent, and it will also resonate with caregivers who strive to be positive role models. A beautifully illustrated, touching tale of love.”
– Kirkus Reviews, starred review and a Best Book of 2022
“My Dad, My Rock is a heartwarming picture book about father-son love that carries from one generation to the next.”
– Foreword Reviews (Clarion), starred review
“My Dad, My Rock is a heartfelt and moving ode to the father-son bond … A genuine delight … [A] profound meditation on the ways in which fathers have the power to positively shape their sons.”
– Publishers Weekly (Booklife), starred review, Editor’s Pick, and a Children’s Book for Father’s Day selection
“Such a heartwarming book. Beautifully written and illustrated.”
– author-illustrator Eric Fan (from The Fan Brothers)
“A touching title for good dads everywhere.”
– children’s author and librarian Betsy Bird
“A moving story to remind us that love is a form of deep noticing and that loving can very much be made up of new choices we make.”
– Kate Hoefler, author of ‘Nothing in Common’, ‘Rabbit and the Motorbike’, and ‘Real Cowboys’
As a picture-book author and creator, I read A LOT of picture books every year (most of them borrowed from my local library), both for my own pleasure but also for shared reading with my children. For each picture book I read, I give it a rating from 0 to 10 depending on how much I liked it (of course, taste is subjective).
Any book that receives a rating of 9 or above is what I personally consider to be an outstanding book, and I then purchase a copy of that book for my personal picture book library (not to be confused with my kids’ own libraries).
You can find here some of the books in my personal picture book library and I have read each one of them many, many times. They are all books I have learned significantly from in terms of picture-book making. Most are in English but a few are in other languages due to the lack of an English-language edition at the moment.
