Kyle Lukoff takes on apologies and consolations in two top-notch picture books.

On this episode of Fully Booked, Kyle Lukoff discusses two new picture books, Just What To Do (Dial Books, July 16) and I'm Sorry You Got Mad (Dial Books, Aug. 23).

Lukoff, a former school librarian and bookseller, is the author of many fine books for young readers, including Stonewall Award winner When Aiden Became a Brotherand the middle-grade novel Too Bright To See, which received Stonewall and Newbery honors and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Recent titles include Different Kinds of Fruit, Awake, Asleep, and There’s No Such Thing As Vegetables. Forthcoming books feature unicycles, rainbows, and the third grade.

Just What To Do, illustrated by Hala Tahboub, contends with supporting loved ones through various kinds of loss—from the death of a cactus to that of a beloved grandparent.“With its emphasis on being there and listening to what people need in times of sorrow,” Kirkus writes, “this book is the perfect complement to Cori Doerrfeld’s The Rabbit Listened. The ultimate message that there is no certainty when it comes to grief complements the minimalist art. A lesson here for adults and children alike, if only people listen.”

I’m Sorry You Got Mad, illustrated by Julie Kwon, is a "master class in apologies and in storytelling through words and art," Kirkus writes in a starred review. In this vibrant epistolary picture book, a boy tries (and tries again) to write an apology note to a classmate at his teacher's behest.

Lukoff and I begin by deciding which book to discuss first: the one that was published first (Just What To Do)or the one that was written first (I’m Sorry You Got Mad). We start with I’m Sorry You Got Mad: inspiration and writing process,how he decided to quit a full-time job as a bookseller to focus on his writing career; and how interacting with young readers—as a former bookseller and school librarian—helps inform his fiction. We talk about the characters in I’m Sorry You Got Mad; the richness of Julie Kwon’s illustrations; and apologies that make the grade. Then, we turn to Just What To Do, and how to comfort loved ones through various griefs. We discuss the book’s structure, which resembles a sonnet; Lukoff’s love of teaching creative writing; and much more.

Then editors Laura Simeon, Mahnaz Dar, and Laurie Muchnick share their top picks in books for the week.

EDITORS’ PICKS:

The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse (Little, Brown)

Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall by Lynn Brunelle, illus. by Jason Chin (Neal Porter/Holiday House)

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Riverhead)

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

From Broken to Blessed by Jerome Petty

The Story I Told Myself by Arvashni Seeripat

Make America Kosher Again by Marc Daniels

Fully Booked is produced by Cabel Adkins Audio and Megan Labrise.