Kristine A. Lombardi, "Crouton: One Cat's Adoption Tale" (Random House, 2026)

Summary

Today we host the wonderfully talented award-winning author-illustrator Kristine A. Lombardi and celebrate her enchanting and funny brand new book, Crouton, published by Random House, in which a cat explains how it went about adopting a human. We talk about her early career and breaking in from advertising into children's literature. We also discuss the importance of persevering and of finding the right agent (in her case Stephen Fraser).

Kristine A. Lombardi has written and illustrated many other books for children, including Lovey Bunny, Mr. Biddles, My Wish for the World and The Grumpy Pets.

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Mel Rosenberg

Dr. Mel Rosenberg is a children's book author and cofounder of www.Ourboox.com, a website and platform for creating interactive picture books. Mel's debut picture book in North America, EMILY SAW A DOOR, will be published by Penguin Random House in February, 2026 and is available for pre-order. He is represented by the Liza Royce Literary Agency.

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