School Library Journal reviews Dog Meets Dog: Super Sibling Mega Battle!

Yaccarino, Dan. Super Sibling Mega Battle!: A Star Chapter Book. illus. by Ethan Long, 112p. (Dog Meets Dog: Bk. 3) S. & S./Simon Spotlight, Aug. 2026, Tr $18.99, ISBN 9781665980661.

Gr 1-4–Canine siblings Betsy and Bones visit Japan in the third installment of this entertaining transitional series. Betsy discovers overnight success as a snack spokesperson, and Bones finds himself left behind while his sister embraces the limelight. It looks like the only way for Bones to get through to his sister is to take drastic measures, which leads to an uproarious kaiju-esque battle in Tokyo! Bold two-color illustrations and 

easy-to-follow panels are perfect for emerging readers, and Yaccarino captures the back-and-forth dialogue between warring siblings who just want one another’s attention. Long’s illustrations include exaggerated sound effect fonts to add a spark of playfulness to the story. VERDICT Readers will love learning facts about Japan as they laugh out loud at the jokes running through the story. An excellent choice for readers ready to move on to longer books.–Rosemary Kiladitis

Voice Recording for BEEP BOP BOOP!

Just had the time of my life recording the voices and sound effects for the audio version of Beep Bop Boop!, my Early Reader illustrated by Victor Davila. Not sure when the final will be done, but I will post a snippet when it arrives!

Happy 1st Book Birthday!

The Letter Setters in BOP! was published one year ago today!

What a fun series for young readers—mostly visual, with a playful thread of words that change just one letter to become entirely new words, scenes, and surprises.

There are three more books in the series, with two already available and one currently in production.

Happy book birthday to BOP! Enjoy!

My Review of MAKE BELIEVE by Mac Barnett

Heather and I attended Day 2 of the Zig Zag Festival (Thru the Bologna Book Fair ) The highly respected Mac Barnett and the incredible Felicita Sala (Bored and so many other fantastic books) discussed storytelling, creativity, and their long-standing friendship. It was an inspiring reminder of why we do what we do.

As for Mac and his book Make Believe—which I've been asked about almost daily for the past month or two—he and editor Sally Kim discussed it on stage.

My takeaways were pretty simple:

Mac Barnett is deeply passionate about storytelling.
He's incredibly smart.
He genuinely cares about the industry that has given him a career.

But my biggest takeaway was this:

He's just trying to make the world a better place and he has the platform to make that happen.

Mac has a young son. I remember reading to my own kids when they were little and thinking, "I could write that book." Most of us have had that thought at some point. What I heard from Mac was a parent who wants better books, better stories, and a better world for his child—and for all children. If we accomplish that, the world becomes a better place for everyone.

As for the "crud" he talks about in the children's book industry? He's right. Is 94.7% accurate? Hard to say without some deep research, right?

But I, as an author/illustrator have worked on projects that needed more time. I've put out underdeveloped designs. I've written stories that could have been stronger. I've created illustrations that could have been tighter, more meaningful, or more impactful.

What I believe he's asking of us—as creators, as an industry and as humans—is to be more thoughtful. Slow down. Push beyond the expected. Take creative risks. Give kids more surprises. Give them more wonder. Give them more time to simply be kids.

That was my takeaway.

If you get the chance to read the book (it's only 100 pages and a quick read) and engage critically with its ideas—or better yet, hear Mac speak in person—I highly recommend it.

Fresh off the Press!

The advanced copies of Dog Meets Dog: Super Sibling Mega Battle have arrived! They look amazing! What a fun story for these two characters and I always have a blast creating the illustrations. 120 pages of art is a lot of work, but totally satisfying to see the end result. This book is available on August 25th, 2026!

Another Book Sighting!

My daughter Katherine and her friend Breezy spotted these at Book Bird in Avondale Estates, Georgia! Love seeing these books (and these faces) out in the world! 😀

Ethan on EPIC!

Check out my podcast interview on Author Chats with Epic! Thanks to Daniel Rezac and Cherish Mims for making it great!

Episode Description

With over 135 books to his name, Ethan Long is one of children's publishing's most prolific — and refreshingly honest — creative voices. Based in Queens, New York, Ethan is the creator of the beloved Scribbles and Ink series, seen on Epic and PBS Kids, where two artistic rivals learn that making mistakes is just part of the masterpiece.

In this episode Daniel and Cherish sit down with Ethan for Silly Cat Trivia, a deep dive into his creative journey, and some genuinely surprising stories about rejection, perfectionism, and what it really takes to build a career making art for kids.

Ethan gets real about not finding his storytelling voice until his 30s, why he stopped betting the farm on any single project, and why he believes artists are ultimately in the morale business. Plus he teases several new projects — including one top-secret collaboration he'll only reveal when it sells.

Find all Scribbles and Ink books on Epic: go.getepic.com/scribbles

Get Epic for your classroom: getepic.com/educators

Author Chats with Epic is brought to you by Epic — the leading digital reading platform for kids, trusted by over 50 million young readers and 2 million teachers worldwide.

Kirkus Reviews Framed in Paris!

Another great review is in for this fun book! For more information or to purchase a copy, start here!

FRAMED IN PARIS!
A Star Chapter Book
Author: Dan Yaccarino
Illustrator: Ethan Long
Online Publish Date: May 18, 2026
Publisher:Simon Spotlight
Pages: 112
Price ( Hardcover ): $18.99
Publication Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN ( Hardcover ): 9781665980630
Section: Children's
Series: Dog Meets Dog

Following On the Loose in London! (2026), canine siblings Betsy and Bones are traveling again, this time to the City of Light.
The pair couldn’t be more different: Bones accidentally flies to Paris, Texas, before making it to France; Betsy arrives with a minute-by-minute itinerary, starting with a trip to the Louvre. The naïve duo get to the museum just in time to help a mysterious stranger in a dark coat remove the Mona Lisa “to wash it!” Turns out that stranger was “scoundrel, international crepe expert, and art thief…the Fox!” By accidentally assisting him, the siblings end up in Inspector Fronch’s crosshairs. Betsy squeezes in tidbits of trivia about the various sites they stop by on their zany run through Paris (“Did you know that the Seine is the second longest river in France and—” “Not now, Bets”) as they evade Fronch and pursue the Fox to clear their name. The breezy story is mainly a vehicle to carry the characters from joke to joke: Bones offends a shopkeeper by slathering ketchup on a crepe; the siblings pose as mimes to avoid the inspector. The nonstop humor capitalizes on the comic format for visual gags, rewarding readers with laughs at almost every page turn. Two-tone illustrations place cartoonish images of the characters against edited photos of Paris.

An unabashedly silly, madcap caper. (Early reader. 5-9)

Podcast Interview!

I just completed a podcast interview with Author Chats with epic!, the digital reading platform for kids ages 12 and under. Once they’ve edited it and have it available for consumption, I’ll make sure to post it here. It was a fun time!

Book sightings!

Friends, readers, and colleagues spot my books out in the wild and send along photos.

Here are a few recent sightings!

Will Chamelia ever get made?

The dream is to see this in lights: Chamelia: The Animated Series! My partner, Steven Wendland (formerly of Technicolor) has been diligent in his pursuit of a producer, and I still hold belief that it will find a home somewhere. He has some serious leads and I look forward to hearing an update from him soon. Go, Steven and Chamelia!

Current status: Still in search of a production partner.

Pub Day for Dog Meets Dog!

Dog Meets Dog: On the Loose in London (Book 1 in the exciting chapter book series) publishes today! Simon and Schuster/Simon Kids is really pushing this title to promote their new Star Chapter Book series, and we love the exposure! Thanks to Siobhan Ciminera for championing this series for Dan and I. Thanks to Laure Roode, Tim Travaglini and Rebecca Sherman for everything, too!