Welcome to Three Books a Night! I am Caryn – a passionate book lover with a soft spot for children’s picture books. I have a degree in graphic design and illustration. I worked for five years in print and web design, honing my passion for beautiful design, before moving to full-time illustration. I am the illustrator of Not So Scary Jerry by Shelley Kinder and A Star Full of Sky by Raven Howell. I spend ridiculous amounts of time reading, collecting, studying, researching, and talking about picture books. I’ve created this space as a way to share my love and accumulating knowledge of children’s books.
I hope to review books of all sorts, from vintage to new, well-known to obscure and will inject interesting facts and history about the authors and illustrators as well. I will also be sharing tips about books, including what to read with different ages or about specific topics, books to be on the look out for, and other random book-related tidbits.
I grew up in Kansas City, Missouri; attended university in Northwest Arkansas; traveled internationally a lot, but never enough. I spent 6 years in the hills of East Tennessee; 9 years on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City, and now live in a charming booktown in Wales with my husband and two daughters. I enjoy cooking, decorating, reading, and creating things. I have more picture books than you probably believe and my family lovingly allows me to continue accumulating and cramming them into our home (and they all love to read them too).
As for favorite picture books, I could no sooner choose a favorite star. I love so many! I’m a big fan of books by Julie Morstad, Anna Walker, Sophie Blackall, Christian Robinson, Ruth Krauss, Maurice Sendak, Roger Duvoisin, Adrienne Adams, and the Provensens, to name a few. Here are a few of my favorites, although the list is ever-growing: Petunia, The Lighthouse, This is Sadie, I Can Fly, and Last Stop on Market Street. I hope you’ll join me in discovering new favorites and perhaps once-familiar books.
You can find my illustrations at smellingoranges.com.
Three Books a Night 