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 not enough; spent 6 years in the hills of East Tennessee; then 6 more on the Upper West Side of Manhattan; and now reside in Hamilton Heights in New York City with my husband and two daughters. We love city life—every human, food, adventure and bookstore it has to offer. 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 apartment life. I simply consider our home the not-open-to-the-public version of The Shop Around the Corner.
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, Kadir Nelson, 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 